The night at the Li residence was unusually quiet, but for Meilin, the silence was a scream.
She lay curled beneath silk sheets, her lashes trembling against her cheeks. Then—darkness swallowed her.
....
The underground smelled of blood and rust. The memory came not as fragments, but whole, vivid, and merciless.
They ran through the stone corridors, hands clasped so tightly their knuckles were white. Footsteps echoed like death chasing them. When they finally reached the surface tunnel, Meilin laughed—a frantic, breathless sound.
"We did it," she breathed. "We're out."
Zihan leaned against the damp wall, his chest heaving. His hair was damp with sweat, but his eyes were still as sharp as a blade. "If we live," he said, his voice hoarse, "I'll find you again."
"You think I'd disappear?" Meilin frowned, her fingers tightening on his sleeve.
"I think the world won't let us meet easily," he replied.
"Then promise me," she whispered. "If we survive—become strong. Strong enough that no one can cage us again."
Zihan looked at her, his expression softening into something gentle—a look he only ever saved for her. "You're already strong."
"No," she replied softly. "I'm still alive. That's different."
They stepped into the open. The cold night air felt like freedom. Then—a faint electronic beep. Zihan's pupils shrank.
"Meilin—RUN!"
He shoved her back with all his strength. The explosion tore the world apart. Fire. Sound. Pain. As the blast swallowed them, she felt his arms around her, shielding her instinctively. Her last thought before the white light took her: If there is another life… I will save you first.
The Awakening
Meilin jolted upright, her chest heaving. Cold sweat drenched her back.
"…Zihan."
The room was dark. The Li residence. This life. Her fingers clenched the sheets until they nearly tore. She walked to her desk and pulled open a hidden drawer, revealing a plain black diary.
She began to write, the pen pressing hard against the paper:
Xie Zihan. Capital City native. Orphaned early. Financial prodigy. Status: Admitted to Capital University, Finance Major. Condition: Struggling. No backing. No protection.
She paused, her gaze sharpening.
Decision: I will not go to hua City. I will enter Capital University. This time, I will stand where he once stood alone.
.......
The next morning, Meilin walked straight to her father's study. Li Jianyu looked up, surprised by her sudden appearance.
"Dad," she said clearly. "I've decided to go to the Capital City for university. I want to attend Capital University."
Jianyu's brows furrowed. "Capital? But you applied locally. And where would you stay?"
"At the Tang residence," Meilin answered evenly. "I want to stay with Grandpa Tang."
The name Tang made Jianyu flinch. The Tang family was one of the three most prestigious families in the Capital, alongside the Wen and Mo families. Because of his second marriage to Huang Xinyu, Jianyu had a massive rift with the Tangs, and he feared their status.
Seeing the iron resolve in his daughter's eyes, Jianyu realized she wasn't asking for permission—she was declaring a fact. He sighed. "You've grown up. If you've decided… I won't stop you."
As Meilin stepped out of the study, the sunlight hit her face. But the peace was short-lived.
Huang Xinyu and her daughter, Huang Yuxuan, were standing in the hallway, their faces twisted with suppressed eavesdropping.
"Capital City?" Yuxuan sneered, her "innocent bunny" mask slipping. "You just want to run to the Tang family because you know you're a failure here. Do you think a prestigious place like that will accept someone as dull as you?"
Meilin stopped, her gaze sliding over her step-sister like she was looking at a piece of trash.
"The Tang family values bloodlines and brains, Yuxuan," Meilin said, her voice dropping to a chillingly calm temperature. "Two things you unfortunately lack. While you stay here playing house, I'll be sitting at the table with the people who own this country."
"You—!" Xinyu stepped forward, her face flushed with anger. "How dare you speak to your sister that way? Your father—"
"My father just gave me his permission," Meilin interrupted, stepping into Xinyu's personal space. The air around her felt heavy, predatory. "The Tangs are looking for a reason to settle the score for how you treated my mother. If I were you, I'd spend my time packing your bags rather than blocked my path. Because when I return from the Capital, this house won't have room for two vipers."
Behind her, the hallway was thick with a suffocating silence. Huang Yuxuan stood frozen, her fingers digging so hard into her palms that her nails drew blood. Her mind was a chaotic blur of the previous night—the shame, the drugs, the way the guests had looked at her like she was a common street walker.
"She did it," Yuxuan hissed, her voice trembling with a raw, jagged hatred. "Mom, it was her. The wine... she switched it. She watched me lose everything while she stood there like a saint!"
Huang Xinyu grabbed her daughter's shoulders, her own face pale with fury. "I know, Yuxuan. I saw the look in her eyes just now. She isn't the same girl anymore. She's dangerous."
"I don't care how dangerous she is!" Yuxuan screamed, spinning around to stare at the closed door of the study where their father sat. "She thinks she can go to the Capital and start over? She thinks the Tang family will be her fortress?"
Yuxuan's eyes turned red, filled with a crazed light. The drug from the night before was still humming in her veins, making her emotions volatile and sharp. She stepped toward the stairs, looking in the direction Meilin had gone.
"You drugged me, Li Meilin! . Yuxuan shrieked at the empty hallway. "Go to the Capital! Hide behind your grandfather! But I'm not leaving you. I will follow you to the ends of the earth. I'll take every breath, every win, and every man you ever want. You want to be a Bigshot? I'll make sure you're nothing but a corpse in the gutter!"
Xinyu watched her daughter, a dark, chilling smile slowly spreading across her lips. "If she goes to the Capital, she's away from your father's protection. Let her go. We'll use the Zhang family's remaining connections. If the Li family won't give us what we want, we'll take it from the Tangs."
Downstairs, Meilin paused at the front door. She heard the faint, distant screaming of her step-sister from the upper floor.
She didn't flinch. Instead, she reached into her pocket and touched the cold metal of her phone. She sent a single text to Mother Wu.
"The vipers are agitated. They're coming to the Capital. Ensure the Tang family's shadow guards are ready. I want them to see every step I take—and every trap I set."
Meilin stepped out into the morning sun. Let them come. In her past life, she was the one being hunted. In this life, she was the one laying the bait.
The Capital City was waiting. And so was the boy who didn't know he was a King.