Location: Scarlet Pavilion – Moon Terrace (1:17 AM)
The banquet was over.
The laughter had dulled, the wine glasses cleared, and the silvered elites had lted back into their black cars and blacker agendas.
But Lin Feng remained.
He stood alone on the open-air terrace of the Scarlet Pavilion, the city sprawling below him like a ga board he already half-owned.
Behind him, the terrace doors slid open with a soft click.
Xu Shanyue stepped out, barefoot, the long sleeves of her silk robe dragging slightly over the marble floor. No guards. No audience. No mask.
Just her.
And him.
"You stayed," she said quietly.
Lin didn’t turn.
"I was waiting to see if the dragon would co down from her tower."
She stepped beside him.
"And?"
"Looks more like a tired fox tonight."
A corner of her mouth curved. Barely.
"Careful. That kind of talk might get you invited again."
He glanced sideways.
"You say that like it’s a threat."
"It is."
The kind that isn’t awkward — just thick with unspoken things.
Below them, Rootlight shimred. But up here, the air was still.
"Why did you call here, Shanyue?" he asked finally.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a folded slip of paper.
"This," she said, handing it to him, "was delivered to an hour before the banquet started."
He unfolded it.
Just a na.
’Ji Haoran’
And a line beneath it.
"Let Lin Feng bleed. The auction is only a stage."
His expression didn’t change.
But the system stirred:
"Host, alert: External faction interference detected.
Cross-family coordination suspected. Probability of hidden bidder infiltration: 92%."
He folded the note and returned it to her.
"You knew they were targeting . Yet you brought into the lion’s den anyway."
She t his eyes.
"I needed them to look at you."
"Why?"
She paused.
And this ti, no smile.
Only truth.
"Because if they’re looking at you... they’re not watching ."
The admission sat between them like a blade.
And yet... not cold.
Not cruel.
Just calculated.
Lin Feng spoke, softer now.
"You used ."
"Yes."
"And if I lost at that table—?"
"I would’ve toasted you with red wine," she said, voice unreadable.
"Then buried you in silence."
Lin chuckled.
Not bitter. Just honest.
"You could’ve told ."
"And risk sincerity in a room of wolves?"
"Co now, Lin Feng. You know better."
A breeze tugged at her sleeve. For a mont, she looked very, very tired.
Then—
"Don’t lose the auction," she said, turning to go.
"Because if you fall... the people behind him will stop pretending to play fair."
He called after her.
"And if I win?"
She stopped in the doorway.
"Then next ti," she said without turning,
"we won’t talk on the terrace."
"We’ll talk in private. Behind closed doors."
Then she disappeared inside.
"Host status: Emotionally entangled (soft category).
Current strategic advantage: 12% in Crimson Circle.
Weakness detected: Prolonged eye contact with subject ’Xu Shanyue’ causes heartbeat variation."
P.S. You’re not immune. Just really good at pretending you are.
Lin Feng looked up at the stars.
"One trap at a ti, thanks."
Reviews
All reviews (0)