The sun had long dipped below the skyline, casting the city in a sheen of gold and deep shadows. From the window of the Gu Group's headquarters, the world looked hushed and insignificant—tiny cars like insects crawling across neon-lit veins of the city. Gu Chenyan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his silver hair catching the golden light like threads of spun metal. His high-end tailored suit clung perfectly to his lean frame, and the glint of a silver tie pin—the Gu family crest—flashed each time he shifted his weight.
But none of that could distract him from the storm building behind his calm, cold eyes.
Lin Nian'an had not answered his last message. The one that simply said, "Wait for me." Short, cold, commanding. Typical of him. But she hadn't replied.
He turned away from the window just as Xu Wen, his assistant, entered the room with a document tablet in hand and concern etched on his youthful face. "President Gu, the final draft of the South Port acquisition is ready for your review."
"Put it there," Gu Chenyan gestured to the desk without looking.
Xu Wen hesitated, then added, "Miss Lin hasn't signed off on the event collaboration yet. Should I—"
"She'll do it," Gu Chenyan interrupted coldly.
Xu Wen swallowed the rest of his sentence and nodded. "Understood."
When the door shut behind him, silence reclaimed the room. But Gu Chenyan's mind wasn't quiet. It was spiraling.
Two Days Ago
Lin Nian'an had stood in front of the ballroom's arched mirrors in a crimson silk dress, her back straight, her profile calm. The event was supposed to be another show of corporate alliance, a celebration of joint investment. But when her gaze had found his across the crowd, it had been cool. Distant. Like she was building walls between them brick by brick.
Gu Chenyan had walked to her, the crowd parting like waves before him. His presence didn't require volume—it demanded attention by its very nature.
"You look beautiful," he'd said, almost casually.
"And you look like you're about to issue a press release, not greet an old friend," Lin Nian'an replied without turning to fully face him.
His fingers itched to touch her—just to feel the heat of her skin beneath all that cool. But they stayed in his pocket.
"We should talk," he'd said.
"Now?"
"Now."
She sighed and finally looked at him, eyes like still lakes hiding tempests. "Your world, your schedule, your timing. Always."
But she had followed him to the rooftop terrace, away from the clink of glasses and empty corporate laughter.
There, under the canopy of stars and the distant hum of city life, they had faced off.
"Why are you pushing this collaboration so hard?" she'd asked.
"Because it benefits both parties."
"And because it binds me to your world again," she'd accused, voice low, brittle.
He hadn't denied it.
"You said we could go at my pace," she whispered.
"I did. And I waited."
"For two months."
"I waited for ten years, Nian'an."
That shut her up. She looked away. But he wasn't finished.
"Every morning, I woke up wondering if you were smiling somewhere. If someone else got to see it. Got to protect it. Now that you're back—how do you expect me to stay away?"
She exhaled shakily. "I don't know."
He stepped closer. "Then let me remind you."
But she had stepped back before he could touch her. Her gaze broke something in him.
"I need to find myself first, Chenyan," she'd said. "I've spent too long being someone else's shadow. Even yours."
Now
He hadn't slept since that night.
The South Port deal would go through. The press would spin it as a triumph. But all he wanted was a message from her.
I understand. I'm ready.
But she didn't send it.
Elsewhere in the city, Lin Nian'an sat curled on her couch, knees to her chest, a cold cup of tea forgotten on the coffee table. The soft city noise filtered in through the windows. She stared at the last text he'd sent: "Wait for me."
It wasn't that she didn't want to.
It was that she was afraid. Of losing herself. Of becoming the Lin Nian'an who only existed in his orbit. But also—of what she'd be without him.
A knock came at the door.
She startled.
Then slowly stood and opened it.
Standing there, slightly breathless, dressed in a black coat over a gray turtleneck, was Gu Chenyan.
"I couldn't wait," he said.
She opened the door wider.
And let him in.