Ava woke to the sound of someone knocking—politely.
Which was already suspicious.
The lights in the room had begun their slow sunrise shift, syncing to her bracer's vitals, but the knock beat them to it.
She sat up slowly, the hoodie half-twisted around her ribs, and blinked toward the door. "Yeah?"
It slid open with soft precision.
Ren Zhou, the Bai family's head butler, stood there as crisp as a military funeral—gloves on, tablet in hand, not a wrinkle in sight.
He bowed slightly. "Apologies for the intrusion, Miss Zhang. It's time you saw the estate's business."
Ava blinked again. "It's morning?"
"Technically late morning. You slept thirteen hours. Impressive, if inefficient."
She groaned as she rolled out of bed, stretching her arms behind her back. "And you're exactly as cheerful as I remember."
