Rain pattered softly outside the tall glass windows of the Lu estate, turning the city lights into blurred jewels.
Tang Yueru stood in the kitchen, barefoot, making tea. She couldn't sleep.
Again.
The scent of jasmine calmed her nerves, but only slightly. The house, usually silent at night, suddenly wasn't.
Footsteps. Slow. Familiar.
Lu Shenyan.
He entered without a word, wearing a plain black shirt and slacks—so simple it made him look almost human. He noticed the tea.
"You're awake," he said.
"So are you."
---
They sat across from each other at the dining table, steam rising between them like unspoken words.
Then she asked, gently—
"Who was Mei?"
His eyes froze.
Not his body. Just his gaze—locked in time.
"I found a file," she continued. "Hidden in the study drawer. A woman named Mei. She was… close to your mother, wasn't she?"
A long silence.
"She was the maid who raised me," he finally said. "After my mother stopped speaking."
Yueru blinked. "Stopped speaking?"
He nodded once. "My father… wasn't kind to her. The Lu family doesn't tolerate weakness. When she started slipping into depression, they took her off the board. Locked her away from the public."
"She was still alive?"
"Physically, yes."
"And Mei?"
"She stayed. She was the only one who treated me like a child, not a tool."
His voice dropped lower.
> "She was the first person I ever lost."
---
Yueru's chest ached.
She hadn't expected an answer, not one so raw.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He looked at her—and this time, he didn't hide behind coldness.
"You asked me what I want from you," he said. "Maybe… I just want someone to stay."
The words were soft, but they landed like thunder.
Yueru didn't speak. Her fingers curled around the warm teacup. Safe. Familiar.
But her heart was no longer still.
---
He stood to leave but paused.
"She wore jasmine perfume," he said, voice quiet. "Like your tea."
Her throat tightened.
"I didn't know."
"I know."
Then he walked away again—this time with no walls behind him.
---