Chen Rong
I couldn't stop smiling.
The moment Zhang Wei's car disappeared beyond the gates, something sharp and triumphant rose in my chest. It felt wrong and delicious at the same time. For once, he hadn't walked away untouchable. For once, the great Zhang Wei had paused. Hesitated. Looked like a man with something to lose.
I laughed under my breath.
"How did you pull that, Father?" I said, brushing dirt off my sleeve like it mattered. "Did you see his face? The almighty Wei. He looked like someone had finally cracked his spine."
I turned fully toward him now, grin wide. "You're a genius. I swear, for a second there, I thought he was going to snap."
My father didn't return the smile.
"I'm glad you stood up for me today," I went on anyway, words tumbling fast, hungry. "All my life you compared me to him. Grades. Discipline. Power. It was always Zhang Wei this, Zhang Wei that. Today you finally put him in his place."
I stopped abruptly.
A thought crept in, slow and unsettling.
"Wait," I said, eyes narrowing. "Father... were you bluffing?"
He lit another cigar with deliberate calm.
"Were you just trying to scare him," I pressed, "or was everything you said true?"
My voice dropped. "Was Zhang Wei's father really behind the Lui family's termination and death? I always thought it was just a fire accident."
He exhaled smoke like he was tired of breathing the same air as me.
"Stop talking nonsense," he said coldly. "And stop celebrating like a fool."
My smile faltered.
"If you had used half the brain Zhang Wei uses every day," he continued, turning to face me at last, "you wouldn't be standing here congratulating yourself for surviving your own stupidity."
I clenched my jaw. "Father..."
"You almost destroyed us," he snapped. "Our reputation. Our alliances. Our standing. Do you think the Zhangs built their empire by cleaning up after spoiled sons?"
That name again.
Zhang Wei.
"If you were even half the man he is," my father said with open disgust, "we would be competing with the Zhangs, not kneeling beneath them."
My fists tightened. "Not again..."
I looked away, bitterness burning my throat. "I thought you were on my side."
He didn't answer.
But something had already shifted in my head.
"Father," I said slowly, carefully now, "if what you said earlier is true... then we can put it to good use."
His gaze flicked to me, sharp.
"You mentioned the Liu family before, but I was too young to understand ," I continued. "You said their empire vanished overnight. But... you also hesitated."
He went still.
"You said Mr and Mrs Liu were found," I added, pulse quickening. "Bodies identified. Fire confirmed."
I leaned closer, lowering my voice.
"But their daughter wasn't."
Silence.
"They said she burned to ashes," I went on, excitement crawling up my spine. "No remains. no proof. Just... gone."
My father's jaw tightened.
"That part," he muttered, more to himself than to me, "never sat right with me."
I froze.
He stared into the garden, eyes distant now, older than I'd ever seen them. "A fire that violent leaves something. Bones. Teeth. Traces. But there was nothing. As if she vanished before the flames reached her."
My breath caught.
"What if she escaped?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
"What if the Liu heir is still alive," I pressed, a slow grin spreading despite the chill racing through me. "What if she's out there somewhere... watching?"
The thought thrilled me.
"If she exists," I said, voice low and eager, "we find her. We use her. We tear open the Zhang family's history and drag their perfect name through the mud."
I laughed softly.
"For once," I added, "we wouldn't be the ones losing."
My father turned to me slowly.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then something dark and calculating settled into his eyes.
Not pride.
Not approval.
But interest.
And that terrified me more than his anger ever had.
****
Zhao Mei
Later that night, the penthouse was silent.
Too silent.
The kind of quiet that pressed in from all sides, making the darkness feel heavier.
Xiao Lan slept beside me, her breathing steady and soft. She had insisted on staying in my bed, "I'm not letting you out of my sight tonight," she'd said with that stubborn grin. I hadn't argued. Having her close felt like the only thing keeping me anchored.
The day had been full, laughter with Jun, Xiao Lan's teasing, the way the room had felt alive. But now, in the dark, the old shadows crept back.
Sleep finally pulled me under.
And the flames came.
They always did.
The dream was never clear. Never sharp. Just blurry shapes and heat that felt too real.
I was small again, too small, running through a long hallway that stretched forever. Smoke choked the air, thick and burning my lungs. Heat licked at my skin, close enough to blister.
Behind me, a woman's voice, desperate, loving, familiar in a way that hurt my heart.
"Run, Mei Mei! Run!"
I couldn't see her face.
I never could.
The fire roared closer, orange and hungry, swallowing everything.
I reached for the voice, arms outstretched, but the flames took it.
I screamed.
No sound came.
The heat closed in.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't wake.
I thrashed against the dream, trapped, the voice fading into crackling fire.
Run.
Run.
Run.
I woke gasping, sweat soaking the silk nightgown, heart pounding so hard my chest ached.
The room was dark.
For a second, I didn't know where I was.
The flames still flickered behind my eyes.
My hands shook as I clutched the sheets.
Xiao Lan stirred beside me.
"Mei?" she whispered, voice thick with sleep but instantly alert.
"Nightmare?"
I nodded, unable to speak.
She sat up and pulled me into her arms without asking more.
I buried my face in her shoulder, shaking.
"Is it the same one?" she asked gently.
I nodded again.
She stroked my hair, slow and steady, like she had so many times before.
"The fire. The voice telling you to run."
"Yes," I rasped, voice raw.
She held me tighter. "I'm here. You're safe. It's just a dream."
But it never felt like just a dream.
It felt like something trying to break free, like a part of my memory.
I clung to her until my breathing slowed, until the flames faded from behind my eyes.
"Why do I keep having it?" I whispered into the dark. "Why can't I remember anything before the hospital? Before that man said he was my father?"
Xiao Lan didn't answer right away.
She just held me.
"I don't know," she said finally, voice gentle. "But whatever it is... we'll face it together. Like always."
I closed my eyes.
The flames were gone.
Her heartbeat steadied mine.
And slowly, we drifted back to sleep.
********