The ball went on late into the night, but my parents forced us to depart early. Not due to the thinning of the crowd—far from it, the ballroom was still filled with violins and laughter—but because the Xu heir had cast his shadow upon us.
The ride home was somber. Uncle Chen was behind the wheel, steady hands gripping it, and the rest of us sat stiff in the leather-backed chairs. My brothers, typically bickering or tormenting me, said nothing too, merely exchanging glances that contained a weight I was unaware of.
When we finally drove into the Zhang estate, the welcome light of lanterns lining the driveway ought to have put me at ease. Instead, they seemed like keen eyes, guarding secrets I had not yet begun to understand.
"Inside," my father barked as soon as the car stopped.
We obeyed.
The marble entryway was stilled, the chandeliers reduced to a soft amber light that pooled on the polished floor. Servants stepped forward to greet us, but my mother waved them back. She did not desire listening ears this evening.
In the sitting room of the family, the air was heavy, as if the walls themselves hurt to contain the words suspended on the brink of speaking.
"Sit," my father growled.
I settled onto the velvet couch, trying to stay calm although my heart had not slowed since Jianyu's hand had touched mine. My brothers huddled into the armchairs, but even they were tense in their posture.
My father's gaze sliced through me, sharp as a knife. "Do you have any idea what happened tonight?"
I looked him in the eye, though the heaviness of it made me want to glance away. "He asked me to dance."
"A dance?" My father's laughter was cold, tense. "Lihua, that was not a dance. That was the Xu family making their claim in front of everyone. Each of those guests in that room will wake tomorrow and say the same thing—that Xu Jianyu has taken notice of the Zhang daughter."
My breath was stuck. The words had been complimentary, but not safe.
My mother inched closer, her tone softer but no less cautionary. "He doesn't make moves without purpose, Lihua. Tonight he picked you. That signal may be attractive to the outside world, but it holds only danger for those who take it."
My brothers shifted positions, agitated. The elder one, Minghao, spoke. "Father is right. Jianyu is not like the other sons we've encountered. He's… merciless. Cold. I've heard things at the university—people say that he never loses, no matter what the cost."
"They say," my middle brother, Liang, continued, "that he doesn't have friends. Allies, yes, but also enemies."
The youngest, Chenjie, frowned. "Then why her?"
That was the question, wasn't it?
My father didn't answer. He simply turned his focus my way again, as if he could carve the response out of my silence.
I curled my hands into fists in my lap to hide their trembling. "I didn't go looking for him," I said softly. "I hadn't seen him at all until he was there. It wasn't my choice."
No, my father admitted, his face softening only slightly. "But maybe it will be yours. And you should get ready." He leaned back, easing. "We will double guard for you. Uncle Chen will hang around more. You are never to go see Xu Jianyu alone under any circumstances.".
The weight of his edict rested on my breast, but under it, there was a spark of rebellion. For half of me, though afraid, could not keep out of mind the way Jianyu's eyes had met mine at the ball, the way the air seemed to shift as if the entire world bent toward that moment.
I acquiesced, but it was not a promise that my heart could give.
---
Later, when the house had calmed down and my brothers and sisters had retreated to their beds, I slept restlessly in the canopy bed, the darkness weighing on the ceiling. The silk sheets clung to my body, but nothing could settle the storm of thoughts roiling around my head.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Jianyu's face, the tiny smirk that was almost, but not quite, a smile, the silence that had been more deafening than the orchestra.
And then, of course, there was the card.
I retrieved my clutch from where I had secreted it under my pillow. My fingers found the weight of it at once. Black card, silver character: 徐. Xu.
I ran my thumb over the embossed strokes, questioning whether he had done it himself or an unseen hand. Either way meant that he wished for me to possess it.
It was not a plea.
It was not even an invitation.
It was an anchor.
A gentle tap on my door startled me. I stuffed the clutch under the pillow again just as the door opened with a groan.
It was Minghao. He strode in, the lamp's light highlighting the gold threading on his still-buttoned suit jacket. "You're not sleeping."
"Neither are you," I whispered.
He exhaled a small huff and perched on the edge of my bed. "You have to be careful, Lihua. Careful than you realize. Jianyu… he has a reputation. He does not let go of once he sees something. He sets his sights on."
"Or someone," I mumbled.
Minghao's face hardened. "I mean it. Don't get caught up in whatever game he's playing. If you do, none of us can keep you safe—not even Father."
His words sent shivers down my spine, but I forced a smile. "I'll be fine."
"You don't sound fine."
He stood up, stopping at the door. "Just… promise me you'll be careful."
When he was out of sight, I wrapped myself tighter in the bedclothes, gazing into the blackness.
Warning. That was what they all required of me. But how to warn when the very thought of Jianyu already ensnared itself around me like a web?
The hours crept by, and I floated in and out of fitful sleep. And in the haze between dream and wakefulness, I thought I heard the faintest whisper of a sound, low and even:
"You don't belong with them, Zhang Lihua. Not really. You belong where I choose."
I leaned up from the pillow, panting, but the room was empty. Only thick quiet.
But the card under the pillow burned like a secret flame, daring me to believe I'd dreamed nothing.