Bach Lan sat silently, staring at the computer screen. The cursor blinked steadily, almost hypnotizing her gaze. Without thinking, she placed her hand on the mouse, yet in her mind, a familiar image flickered haunting, insistent, refusing to be ignored.
***
Amid the roaring, biting wind, a warm hand grabbed her.
"Go, Bach Nhi!" – the voice was low, hoarse, commanding. – "The Celestial General is hunting. If you stay here, it will be dangerous!"
She staggered behind him, her cloak snagged on a branch, sweat dripping down her face. Thick smoke clouded the path, and behind them, the blazing red flames of the spreading fire cast an ominous glow.
"No." – She stopped, eyes red and glistening, voice frantic. – "What about Trach Hien? Will they hurt him? What if they catch him?"
The man in front of her glanced back, his expression tightening. He had always been silent, loyal, and always there when she was in danger. But now, calm had left his face.
"Do you think he doesn't know how to protect himself?" – His tone was restrained but tense.
"No! Trach Hien… he's just human. He got caught in this because of me! If the Celestial General finds him…"
She spun around, ready to rush back, but his grip on her hand was iron-strong.
"Do you want to die?!"
Tears streamed down her face as she screamed.
"Let me go! I can't let them take him! I have to save him!"
His eyes flickered, as if he wanted to say something, but he only tightened his hold, teeth clenched, unable to speak the words.
The wind whipped her hair around her face, and distant explosions echoed through the forest. A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down from the sky, blindingly bright. She trembled, knowing they were close.
She screamed, breaking free from his grasp. Heat surged from her body, exploding into a beam of white light. Trees bent and twisted, rocks flew through the air, and he was thrown violently to the ground.
He lay sprawled, wounded and battered, yet forced himself upright:
"Bach Nhi… Please don't go."
***
The wind suddenly died down.
Bach Lan startled, snapping back to the present, her body trembling slightly as if she had just escaped from a deep dream.
What was that?
A dream? Or a fragment of memory?
The images were strange yet familiar. She didn't know if the girl in them was herself. She certainly didn't know who the shadowy man was. Yet why did her heart ache so deeply?
Everything blurred like smoke, but the pain seemed etched into every cell of her body.
Just then, a light tap on her shoulder made her flinch.
"Hey! What are you thinking about, getting so lost in your head?"
She looked up.
"Hoang Phuong?"
Her colleague smiled, placing a USB on the desk.
"Your sister sent this. She said it's urgent and that you'll need it right away."
Bach Lan widened her eyes.
"My sister? Are you sure?"
"Who else would it be? Why do you look so surprised?"
She froze. Only a few minutes ago, her sister had called from the landline. It should take at least forty-five minutes to get here from her house. How could she be here so fast?
The USB sat neatly in front of her. A cold sensation crept up from her palm to her wrist. She said nothing, only lowered her head and plugged it into the computer.
A strange file appeared on the screen.
She didn't open it, only stared. Deep inside, she felt as if something was awakening.
Right at that moment, Hoang Phuong leaned close and whispered:
"I just heard some classified news."
"About the new boss?" – Bach Lan interrupted.
Hoang Phuong's eyes widened.
"How did you know?!"
"..." – She gave a shy smile.
He sat down, pulling out a messy little diagram as he usually did:
"This is Bitter Melon, the Chairman. Rabbit is the Vice Chairwoman. And Bear is..."
"Director Trach Dong?"
"Smart guess. Bear does tend to hibernate, though." (Dong in Vietnamese means Winter)
"And the radish?"
"Rabbit likes eating radishes!" – Hoang Phuong winked, full of hidden meaning.
Bach Lan froze, each subtle hint in that diagram pricking her mind like tiny needles. A power struggle, a hunt in the shadows?
Before she could ask anything more, the head of finance walked by, eyes sharp as knives. Hoang Phuong quickly hid the paper and sat up straight.
The immediate tension eased. But inside Bach Lan, the storm was just beginning.
The late afternoon sun slanted through the skyscrapers, casting streaks of deep golden light across the glass like old wounds that hadn't fully healed. In a high-rise room, silent and cold, a figure stood behind a telescope, eyes piercing through the distance.
"She's started." – The voice was low, roughened by years of restraint. – "She's on her move."
The air in the room seemed to thicken. Behind him, another figure approached, face swallowed by shadows.
"What about Trach Hien?"
The man at the telescope didn't turn, only curved his lips into a faint, knowing smile:
"He won't stay idle. Not when Bach Lan begins to remember."
Elsewhere, in the grand lobby on the ground floor of the company, Thanh Nhi stepped out of the elevator. The late sunlight painted the steps red, and the cold winter wind tousled her long hair. She paused, eyes instinctively drawn to the gate.
A luxury car glided by sunlight glinting off its polished surface. Through the tinted window, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
Her face paled, eyes widening in shock.
"Dong Ha?" – Her voice barely escaped her lips; a whisper choked with disbelief.
Her hand clenched, nails pressing into her skin. It couldn't be him, yet her heart thumped in rhythm with a beat it had once known. A fragment of memory, thought long asleep, stirred without warning.
Back in the high-rise room, the light reflected off the glass, blurring the figure watching everything.
"Slower than we expected, but finally, he's here." – The low voice carried the weight of fate itself.
The second figure stepped closer, cautious.
"And Trach Hien?"
"Still remembers nothing." – He replied, the corner of his mouth curling. – "But his instincts won't let him stay aside. He will come to her."
"You mean his memories will awaken?"
"No." – He shook his head, eyes fixed on the telescope. – "Not memories. Emotions. Something that transcends time and reincarnation. We don't need him to remember. As long as he feels… that's enough."
The air felt dense, on the verge of breaking, yet the other voice hesitated slightly.
"And the girl?"
"Thanh Nhi?" – He chuckled softly, the sound low and like wind brushing across an open plain. – "She intervened. The USB was transferred in mere minutes. You think that was random?"
"Didn't expect her to act so soon."
"We underestimated her. She isn't just the sister; she's the final wall between Bach Lan and the truth. If that wall falls, everything will be swept away."
"So what's next?"
The eyes behind the telescope were cold, sharp with calculation.
"Step two." – His voice was like melting ice. – "Draw Trach Hien out of hiding. Let him seek her himself."
"But he remembers nothing."
"No need. Just seeing her will be enough."
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