The invitation arrived on a Thursday morning, delivered by courier to the apartment.
Heavy cream envelope. Gold embossed seal. Madam Ye's personal stationery.
Wanyin found it on the kitchen island when she came out for coffee. Ye Beichen was already gone—early board call.
She opened it.
Family dinner. Saturday evening. 7 p.m.
My residence.
No excuses this time.
Bring your… partner if you must.
The word partner was underlined twice.
Wanyin set the card down, fingers steady.
She knew what this was.
War.
Ye Beichen came home at 8 p.m., tie loosened, exhaustion in his eyes.
He saw the card immediately.
"She's escalating."
He nodded. "She doesn't like being ignored."
Wanyin poured him wine without asking. "Lin Meiqi reported back."
"Probably."
He took the glass. "We don't have to go."
"We do."
He looked at her. "Why?"
"Because if we don't, she wins. She'll tell the board you're distracted. Uncommitted. That the merger is at risk because of me."
He set the glass down. "Let her."
"No." Wanyin's voice was steel. "I'm not hiding."
He studied her. "This isn't your fight."
"It became my fight the moment she sent Lin Meiqi here with wine and insults."
He smiled, small and tired. "You're terrifying when you're angry."
"I'm always angry."
"Not at me."
She didn't reply.
Saturday arrived too fast.
They dressed in silence. Him in a dark suit that cost more than most people's cars. Her in a black dress—elegant, severe, no jewelry except diamond studs.
Armor.
The Ye family estate was old money personified—sprawling gardens, marble floors, staff that moved like ghosts.
Madam Ye waited in the drawing room, seated like a queen. Eighty years old, sharp as a blade.
"Beichen," she said, voice warm. Then her eyes slid to Wanyin. "And Miss Gu."
Wanyin inclined her head. "Madam Ye."
Dinner was served in the formal dining room. Twelve courses. Crystal glasses. Conversation in Mandarin and English, layered with meaning.
Madam Ye spoke of family legacy. Of duty. Of suitable alliances.
Lin Meiqi was there, seated to Beichen's right.
She smiled at Wanyin across the table. "Director Gu, I read your latest report. Brilliant. Though I wonder how you find time for work with the… immersion program."
Wanyin sipped her soup. "Efficiency."
Madam Ye smiled thinly. "Young people today. So focused on career. But family is the true foundation."
Beichen's voice was quiet. "Grandmother."
She ignored him. "Meiqi's father and I have discussed a possible engagement. The Lin and Ye families united would be unstoppable."
Lin Meiqi blushed prettily.
Wanyin set her spoon down. "Congratulations."
Madam Ye's eyes snapped to her. "Miss Gu understands business. She knows alliances are necessary."
"I do," Wanyin said. "But forced ones rarely succeed."
The table stilled.
Madam Ye's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Some alliances are destiny."
Beichen stood. "Grandmother, enough."
"Sit down."
He didn't.
"I'm not marrying Meiqi."
Madam Ye's voice was ice. "You will do what is best for this family."
"I am."
He looked at Wanyin.
She met his gaze.
And for the first time, she didn't look away.
Madam Ye saw it.
Her expression shifted—calculation, then something colder.
"Dinner is over," she said.
They left.
In the car, silence.
Then Wanyin spoke.
"She'll go to the board."
"I know."
"She'll use me to hurt you."
He took her hand.
"Let her try."
She didn't pull away.
Twenty-three days left.
And the war had just gone public.