CHAPTER 6Four Minutes, Twelve Seconds
Luna stared at the paper crane in Leo's outstretched hand. It was exactly as she remembered—the faint crease on the left wing where she'd pressed too hard, the slightly asymmetrical tail.
"You kept it," she whispered.
"Some things are worth preserving," he said, his voice giving nothing away. He placed it back on the desk with a precision that felt deliberate. "Even if they're imperfect."
He gestured to a sleek chair opposite his desk. "Sit."
She sat, back straight, hands folded in her lap—the perfect posture her mother had drilled into her. Leo took his own seat, his eyes never leaving her. The silence stretched, filled only by the soft hum of data flowing across the screens.
"My mother said I'd be apprenticed in digital archives," Luna began, her voice too formal.
"Your mother," Leo said, leaning back slightly, "negotiated an apprenticeship six months ago. As part of a larger arrangement between our families."
Something in his tone made her stomach tighten. "What arrangement?"
Before he could answer, the door to the office slid open silently. An older woman entered, her presence immediately filling the room. She wore traditional silks in shades of charcoal and silver, her hair swept into an elegant knot. Her eyes—sharp, intelligent, and utterly unreadable—settled on Luna.
"Grandmother," Leo said, standing. A gesture of respect Luna had never seen him offer anyone.
"Fen Wǎngshā," the woman said, her voice like dry silk. She didn't offer her hand. "You are the Xiānyǔ girl."
It wasn't a question.
"Luna Xiānyǔ," Luna said, rising and bowing slightly. "It's an honor to meet you, Madam Wǎngshā."
Fen's lips twitched—not quite a smile. "Polite. Good." She circled Luna slowly, assessing. "You look like your mother. Same fragile bones. Same… sensitive eyes."
Luna held her gaze, refusing to look away. "I've been told sensitivity is a flaw in our world."
"By people who mistake cruelty for strength," Fen said, stopping in front of her. "Sensitivity, when controlled, is a weapon. It allows you to see what others miss. To feel the cracks in the foundation before they split." She glanced at Leo. "She'll do."
"Do for what?" Luna asked, her heart beginning to race.
Fen ignored the question, turning to Leo. "The tea ceremony is at sunset. Ensure she's prepared." With that, she left as silently as she'd entered.
Luna turned to Leo. "What tea ceremony? Prepared for what?"
Leo's expression was unreadable. "Your apprenticeship begins now. Your first task: catalog these." He gestured to a stack of ancient-looking ledgers on a side table. "They're the original trade records between our families from the last century. Cross-reference them with the digital database and note any discrepancies."
"That's it? You brought me here to… archive ledgers?"
"The past," he said, turning back to his screens, "is the foundation of the future. Even I can't delete what I don't understand." He paused, his fingers hovering over a holographic keyboard. "Begin."