The gala hall did not welcome people.
It evaluated them.
Anqi realized that the moment she stepped out of the car.
The building rose before her in glass and steel, its entrance glowing beneath carefully arranged lights. Cameras clustered like insects near the red carpet, flashes bursting even before anyone important arrived. Voices overlapped. Laughter rang too loudly. Everything shimmered with the kind of polish that hid sharp edges underneath.
She paused.
Just one second.
Long enough to feel the weight of the moment settle into her bones.
"You good?" Lin Xu murmured beside her, straightening his jacket for the tenth time.
Anqi exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Just reminding myself I'm allowed to exist here."
Shen Zhi stepped out behind her, tall and composed, the noise of the entrance seeming to bend subtly around him. His presence changed the temperature of the space, not because he demanded attention, but because people instinctively noticed power.
He didn't rush her. He didn't urge her forward.
He simply stood close enough that she could feel him there.
"Walk when you're ready," he said quietly.
She glanced up at him. The lights caught his profile sharply, making him look distant and unreal for a split second. Then his gaze softened when it met hers, and the illusion shattered.
Anqi smiled faintly.
"Okay," she said. "Let's go."
They stepped onto the carpet together.
Not arm in arm.Not deliberately distant.
Just… together.
The cameras noticed immediately.
Whispers rippled outward like a tide.
"That's her."
"The streamer?"
"She looks different in person."
"She's with him?"
Anqi heard fragments, nothing whole. She kept her chin level, her shoulders relaxed. She did not rush. She did not shrink.
Every step felt deliberate.
Inside the hall, the noise intensified. Crystal chandeliers glowed overhead, scattering light across marble floors. Screens played highlight reels of top creators. Laughter clinked against glasses. Perfume hung heavy in the air.
This was the world she had watched through screens.
Now it was watching her back.
Felix Valentine arrived twenty minutes later.
There was no dramatic announcement. No sudden hush.
He simply appeared.
Anqi noticed him before she realized why the energy in the room had shifted.
Felix moved quietly, dressed simply for an event like this. No flashy accessories. No forced confidence. His posture was relaxed, almost tired, as if he were attending out of obligation rather than excitement.
People noticed him anyway.
They always did.
Felix scanned the room out of habit, not expectation.
Then he saw her.
She stood near one of the tall tables, laughing softly at something Lin Xu said, hands moving animatedly as she spoke. The lights caught in her hair. She looked… present. Grounded. Different from the version he knew through a screen, yet unmistakably the same person.
For a moment, he just watched.
She looked nervous, he could tell. But she wasn't hiding it. She wasn't pretending to be untouchable. There was a quiet confidence in the way she held herself, as if she had already decided that this space would not swallow her.
Felix felt something unfamiliar tighten in his chest.
Not jealousy.
Recognition.
He took a sip of his drink and looked away before the feeling could settle too deeply.
Xu Ruyan arrived precisely on time.
Her entrance was calculated perfection.
She wore elegance like armor, her smile flawless, her movements unhurried. Heads turned. Conversations paused. People made space without being asked.
She greeted sponsors. She acknowledged executives. She laughed at exactly the right moments.
And then her gaze landed on Anqi.
The smile did not falter.
It sharpened.
"So that's her," Ruyan murmured softly.
Her assistant leaned closer. "She seems… calm."
Ruyan's eyes flicked briefly to Shen Zhi standing near Anqi, his attention subtly but undeniably anchored to her.
"She won't be," Ruyan said. "Not for long."
The first confrontation came disguised as politeness.
Anqi was mid-conversation with another creator when Xu Ruyan approached, heels clicking softly against the floor.
"Gu Anqi," Ruyan said warmly. "We haven't formally met."
Anqi turned.
She had seen Xu Ruyan's face before. In articles. In photographs beside Shen Zhi. In rumors that refused to die.
Up close, Ruyan was even more composed. Even more dangerous.
"Yes," Anqi replied, smiling politely. "Nice to meet you."
Ruyan's gaze swept over her with practiced subtlety. "You're younger than I expected."
Anqi tilted her head slightly. "People say that a lot."
Ruyan laughed softly. "I hope this environment isn't overwhelming. Events like these can be… unforgiving."
Anqi met her eyes steadily. "So far, I'm still standing."
Something flickered in Ruyan's gaze.
Before she could respond, Shen Zhi stepped closer, not possessively, but unmistakably.
"Ruyan," he said calmly. "Enjoying the event?"
She turned to him, smile smooth. "Of course. I was just welcoming your… friend."
The word landed deliberately.
Anqi didn't flinch.
"I'm glad," Shen Zhi replied. "She doesn't need guidance."
The air tightened.
Ruyan's smile held. Barely.
"Of course," she said. "I look forward to seeing you around."
She stepped away gracefully.
Anqi exhaled slowly once she was gone.
"Wow," Lin Xu whispered. "That was terrifying and impressive."
Anqi smiled. "She tried to intimidate me politely."
Shen Zhi glanced down at her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she said honestly. "She wanted me smaller. I didn't give it to her."
Something warm settled in his chest.
Felix found himself near her later by coincidence or something like it.
"Hi," he said simply.
Anqi turned, eyes widening. "Felix."
He nodded. "You look… steady."
She laughed softly. "That might be adrenaline."
"Still counts."
They stood there for a moment, awkward but comfortable.
"I'm glad you came," he said. "Not everyone survives their first gala with their sense of self intact."
She smiled. "I had good advice."
His gaze flicked briefly to Shen Zhi across the room, then back to her.
"I can see that."
There was no hostility in his tone. Only observation.
Across the room, Shen Zhi noticed them speaking.
He felt it then. Not anger. Not resentment.
Awareness.
Felix Valentine was not a fantasy. He was real. He was present. And he saw Anqi clearly.
Shen Zhi did not intervene.
He trusted her.
And that trust felt more intimate than any gesture.
The gala continued.
Speeches were made. Awards announced. Applause echoed.
Anqi listened, clapped, smiled when appropriate. She spoke when spoken to. She laughed when she felt like it. She didn't chase attention, and somehow, that made people gravitate toward her anyway.
Near the end of the night, Shen Zhi found her standing by the balcony doors, the city lights stretching endlessly beyond the glass.
"Still breathing?" he asked quietly.
She smiled. "Barely. But yes."
"You did well."
"I did it my way," she replied.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "That's what matters."
They stood there, close but not touching, the world buzzing just beyond the glass.
Inside the hall, cameras flashed. Outside, the city glowed.
And between them, something unspoken grew stronger.
The gala had not broken her.
It had revealed her.
And this was only the beginning.
Felix did not leave the gala immediately.
Long after the last applause faded and the staff began quietly clearing glasses, he remained standing near the edge of the hall, one hand wrapped loosely around a drink he had forgotten to finish.
That was when it happened.
Across the room, between the movement of guests and the wash of chandelier light, Anqi lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
It was brief. Accidental. Unplanned.
But Felix felt it like a hand closing around his heart.
She looked different tonight. Not polished in the way the gala demanded, not carefully sculpted like the women beside her. She was radiant in a softer way — eyes bright, posture steady, warmth spilling naturally from her expression like sunlight through glass.
She was beautiful.
Not in a flawless sense. Not in the kind of way magazines approved of.
But beautiful in the way people remembered.
Felix had seen thousands of faces in his life. Fans. Creators. Crowds.
But her face struck something old inside him.
And suddenly, without warning, the present dissolved.
The bridge had been cold.
Concrete under his palms. Metal biting into his fingers. The river below moved steadily, uncaring, reflecting the pale orange glow of streetlights like broken glass.
Felix had been sixteen.
Tall for his age, shoulders already carrying weight they shouldn't have. His hair had fallen into his eyes back then, dark and unkempt, his face pale from sleepless nights. He had been handsome even then, though he didn't know it — the kind of quiet, somber beauty that drew attention without asking for it.
But his eyes had been empty.
Too old. Too tired.
He remembered standing at the edge, staring down, thinking that if he let go, at least the noise inside him would stop.
That was when he heard crying.
Soft. Shaky. Like someone trying very hard not to be heard.
He turned.
She stood a few steps away.
A girl with tear-streaked cheeks and trembling hands, her hair tied messily as if she'd done it in a hurry. Her clothes were simple, worn, slightly oversized. Her eyes were red, but they burned with life.
She was beautiful.
Not because she was flawless — she wasn't.
But because she looked like someone still fighting, even when she was losing.
Felix had barely processed her presence before she moved.
Small arms wrapped around his waist, sudden and fierce, her body warm against his back.
The world tilted.
They fell — not into the river, but onto the rough ground of the bridge. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.
Before he could speak, she was above him, eyes blazing.
"Are you stupid?!" she shouted, voice cracking. "How can you stand here like that?!"
Felix blinked, dazed.
"How can you give up," she continued, fists clenched in his jacket, "when I'm still trying to live?"
Her words cut deep.
"You don't understand," he said hoarsely. "My only family is gone. My mom… she died."
The fire in her eyes wavered.
"She was all I had," he continued, tears burning despite himself. "I bring bad luck. People around me disappear. I ruin things."
The girl froze.
Then she broke.
She cried like the world had finally tipped too far.
"I lost my mom too," she sobbed. "She was sick. She knew she was going to die."
She wiped her face harshly, trying to steady herself.
"She told me to smile," the girl said through tears. "Even if it hurts. Even if I don't want to. She said if I keep smiling, I'll live. So I'm trying."
She looked at him — really looked at him.
"I'm not living well," she admitted. "My family doesn't want me. My sister pranks me, bullies me, leaves me alone like this."
Her voice shook.
"But I'm still trying."
Felix felt something crack open inside his chest.
She leaned forward and hugged him.
Not gently.
Not carefully.
But like she was holding him in place.
"So you try too," she whispered fiercely. "If I'm trying, you don't get to quit first."
Felix didn't remember when he started crying.
Only that suddenly, the weight felt lighter.
She pulled back and raised her pinky.
"Promise me," she said. "We live well. We make other people happy too."
He stared at her small hand.
Then linked his pinky with hers.
"I promise."
They didn't exchange names.
They didn't ask questions.
They just sat there as the night slowly loosened its grip.
Felix opened his eyes.
The city outside his hotel window shimmered.
Years had passed.
He had kept the promise.
He streamed because it felt like sitting beside someone in the dark, keeping them company. Because maybe, if he stayed calm and gentle, he could be the person she had been to him.
And then one night, years later, he saw her.
On a screen.
Laughing too brightly. Talking too fast. Smiling like someone who had learned how to survive.
He recognized her instantly.
Not her face.
Her warmth.
That was why he watched her.
That was why he noticed her.
That was why he asked his manager to ensure her gala invitation was sent.
He wanted to see her again.
And tonight, when their eyes met across the room, he knew.
She was still trying.
Still smiling.
Still alive.
Felix closed his eyes, heart aching softly.
"I kept my promise," he whispered.
She didn't know.
She still thought of him as an idol.
But to Felix Valentine, Gu Anqi was not a fan.
She was the light that stood on a bridge and refused to let him fall.