The dim light of the phone screen flickered softly across Zian Hausi's face as she lay stretched across her bed, one leg half hanging off the edge, completely relaxed in posture but visibly irritated in expression, her brows slowly tightening as the short drama she had been watching reached its final moments, dragging itself toward a tragic ending that she had already predicted long before it arrived.
On the screen, a woman knelt helplessly on the cold ground, her entire body trembling as if even the strength to hold herself upright was slowly slipping away, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her clothes as tears streamed endlessly down her face, her voice breaking under the weight of desperation as she spoke words that sounded more like surrender than love.
"I did everything for you…"
Zian stared at the scene in silence for a few seconds, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to understand something that simply refused to make sense, before finally letting out a quiet scoff that carried more disappointment than sympathy.
Everything.
That word alone irritated her.
Because the woman on the screen had everything most people could only dream of—beauty that turned heads, status that demanded respect, wealth that could buy comfort for a lifetime—yet she chose to throw it all away for something as fragile and uncertain as love.
"That's not love," Zian murmured under her breath, her voice low but firm, as she shifted slightly on the bed, resting her head more comfortably against the pillow while her gaze remained fixed on the screen, sharp and critical. "That's stupidity."
The man standing before the kneeling woman—Fiang Sheng, the most powerful CEO in Hiangsheng City—didn't move, didn't react, didn't show even the smallest flicker of emotion as he looked down at her, his expression completely untouched by her tears, as if everything she had done had never mattered to him in the first place.
"Even if you were pure," he said, his voice calm, steady, and merciless in a way that left no room for misunderstanding, "I would never love you."
Zian's lips pressed into a thin line before she let out another quiet scoff, this time shaking her head slightly.
"Of course," she said softly, her tone carrying blunt honesty rather than cruelty. "He never did."
To her, it had always been obvious.
Love wasn't something you forced.
And no matter how much someone gave, it meant nothing if the other person didn't want it.
But then—
The final line came.
"And for what you did to my sister… you'll pay for it."
The screen went black.
The story ended.
Abruptly.
Coldly.
With nothing left behind.
For a long moment, Zian didn't move.
Her phone slipped from her fingers, landing softly on the bed beside her, but she didn't even glance at it as her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, her thoughts moving slowly but sharply, replaying everything she had just seen, not with sadness, but with a quiet, growing irritation that settled deep in her chest.
"What a useless way to live," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with a certainty that didn't waver even for a second.
She turned onto her side, pulling the blanket slightly closer to herself, her gaze unfocused now as she stared into nothing.
"If it were me," she continued, her tone calm but firm, "I'd never choose something like that."
Her fingers curled slightly into the fabric of the blanket.
"I wouldn't fall for someone who looks at me like I'm nothing, and I definitely wouldn't destroy my own life just to get their attention."
Her expression hardened just a little.
"I'd live the way I want."
The words had barely left her lips when a sudden flash of lightning tore across the sky, so bright that it lit up the entire room in a blinding white glow, freezing everything in place for a fraction of a second that felt strangely longer than it should have.
Then—
Thunder.
Loud.
Violent.
Shaking.
And before she could even react—
Everything disappeared.
When Zian opened her eyes again, the first thing that struck her wasn't what she saw—
But what she felt.
Cold.
Unfamiliar.
Wrong.
The air smelled sharp, almost biting, like something clean but lifeless, and her body felt heavy, as if every movement required effort, as if she had been placed into something that didn't quite fit her.
Her brows slowly knitted together as she blinked, her vision blurry at first before gradually clearing, revealing a white ceiling above her that she had never seen before.
"…Wei Shilling."
The voice came suddenly, cutting through the silence like a blade.
Cold.
Flat.
Impatient.
"I told you before," the voice continued, each word carrying a quiet but undeniable distance, "even if you saved me, I wouldn't love you."
Zian's breath caught.
Her heart gave a sharp, uneven beat as recognition hit her instantly.
That voice—
Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned her head.
And the world stopped.
Fiang Sheng stood beside the bed, one hand resting lightly against the metal rail, the other tucked into his pocket, his posture relaxed but his presence overwhelming in a way that filled the entire space, his cold gaze fixed on her as if she were nothing more than a problem he didn't want to deal with.
Real.
Not imagined.
Not distant.
Real.
For a few seconds, Zian simply stared at him, her mind completely blank as it struggled to process what her eyes were telling her, because nothing about this made sense—not the room, not the situation, not the fact that the man who was supposed to exist only on her phone screen was now standing right in front of her.
Her fingers tightened slowly against the bedsheet as she forced herself to sit up, ignoring the dizziness that hit her almost immediately, her breathing becoming uneven as her gaze moved quickly around the room.
White walls.
Machines.
The steady beep of medical equipment.
A drip connected to her arm.
A hospital.
Her gaze dropped to her hands.
Slim.
Pale.
Not hers.
A cold realization began to settle deep inside her chest.
She turned toward the glass beside the bed, her movements stiff, hesitant, as if part of her already knew what she would see but didn't want to accept it.
And when her eyes met the reflection—
Her breath stopped.
It wasn't her.
It was Wei Shilling.
Before she could even begin to understand what was happening, the sound of footsteps approached from outside, steady and unhurried, followed by the door opening as several people entered the room without hesitation, their presence immediately shifting the atmosphere into something heavier, something far less forgiving.
At the front stood her mother, her posture straight and composed, her expression sharp and cold as her eyes landed on Zian without the slightest trace of warmth, followed by her father, who remained silent, his presence calm but distant, as if he were observing rather than participating.
Sterling leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his expression filled with clear irritation, while Huo Lou stood beside him, her lips curved into a faint, mocking smile as she looked at Zian with thinly veiled disdain.
No one spoke at first.
No one moved closer.
No one showed concern.
Zian looked at them quietly, her expression calm even as her thoughts moved sharply beneath the surface.
Wow… not a single one of them looks worried. What a perfect family.
The moment that thought formed—
Everything shifted.
Her mother's expression tightened ever so slightly.
Huo Lou's smile froze.
Sterling's brows pulled together sharply.
Even her father's gaze changed.
Because they heard it.
Every word.
Clear.
Unfiltered.
Inside their heads.
Zian, completely unaware, leaned back slightly against the pillow, her eyes half-lidded as if she were already bored of the situation.
Inside—
They look more annoyed than concerned. Did she really mess up that badly?
Silence filled the room.
But this time, it wasn't ordinary silence.
It was heavy.
Unsettling.
Dangerous.
Fiang Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
So it wasn't just him.
Her mother spoke, her voice colder than before, though her expression was now far more controlled, as if she were holding something back.
"You're finally awake," she said. "Do you understand what you've done?"
Inside Zian's mind—
Here comes the lecture.
Huo Lou's fingers tightened.
Sterling looked away for a second.
Zian didn't answer.
She simply watched them.
Inside—
Do they ever talk about anything else?
Fiang Sheng moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
He stepped closer to the bed, his presence immediately becoming overwhelming again as he raised his hand and placed it against the wall beside her head, trapping her in place as his shadow fell over her, his cold gaze locking onto her face.
"Stop doing useless things," he said quietly.
Inside her mind—
Why is he doing this again? Does he think this makes him look intimidating?
This time—
Everyone reacted.
Huo Lou's eyes widened slightly.
Sterling turned his head sharply.
Her mother's expression darkened further.
But Zian didn't notice.
Fiang Sheng leaned closer, his voice dropping lower.
"Are you trying something new?"
Inside her mind—
If you don't move right now, I'm going to hit you.
His gaze darkened.
One.
Sterling stiffened.
Two.
Huo Lou frowned deeply.
Three.
SLAP.
The sound cracked through the room like thunder.
And in that moment—
Everything changed.
Because now—
They weren't just watching her anymore.
They were hearing her.
And none of them knew—
How far this would go.