The silence that followed Li Shenyan's cryptic smile was deafening.
Bai Lianhua stood frozen in the elite academy's marble hall, her heart thudding wildly beneath her blazer. Moonlight filtered through the high windows, casting sharp silver streaks across the polished floor. Around them, portraits of long-dead scholars watched with judgmental stares.
"I almost didn't recognize you," Li Shenyan said softly, taking a step closer. "But then you smiled—just like you used to. That was when I knew. You haven't changed at all."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lianhua said sharply, her spine straightening. "Step aside."
But Li Shenyan didn't move. His presence filled the corridor, commanding and magnetic. His eyes, once warm, now gleamed with a strange intensity.
"You've been hiding for too long," he murmured. "Behind false names, false power, and carefully constructed lies. But now I'm here, and I see through it all. I remember you. From before."
Lianhua's breath caught in her throat. "From before what?"
His lips curved into a bitter smile. "From the first life. Before the Bai family claimed you. Before Mo Chen marked you as his."
Her world tilted.
"What are you saying?" she whispered, trying to stay composed.
"I loved you," Li Shenyan said. "Before you died. Before all of this began again."
He took another step forward, and this time, Lianhua didn't retreat.
"I don't remember that," she said coolly.
"But I do. I've remembered every moment, every fragment of our past. You—hiding behind temple curtains. Your voice echoing in the courtyards. You promised me forever, and then you vanished."
"You've mistaken me for someone else," she replied, her voice trembling despite her control. "I don't know you."
"You don't yet," he said gently. "But you will."
—
The Web Tightens
Later that evening, Lianhua sat alone in the academy's inner garden, the wind rustling the petals of the crimson night-blooming orchids. She couldn't shake Li Shenyan's words from her mind. Her heart warred with her logic—was it possible that another soul remembered a life she had only glimpsed in broken dreams?
Before she could process it, a shadow slipped into the garden.
"You shouldn't be alone," Mo Chen's voice came, steady and sharp.
"I needed air," she muttered, her gaze fixed on the flowers.
"I heard about your run-in with Li Shenyan," he said, stepping into the moonlight. "He's dangerous."
"He said he knew me from before," she said. "From a life I barely remember."
Mo Chen didn't answer right away. "His name came up during the last cycle. He was never supposed to return. His family… they were exiled after the collapse of the previous power circle. If he's back, someone let him in."
"You mean someone inside the academy?"
"Or worse—someone in the Bai family."
Lianhua turned to face him. "And what aren't you telling me?"
Mo Chen hesitated. "There's a file. I found it hidden among my mother's records. It names several children selected for something called the Legacy Trial. You were one of them."
Her breath caught. "What kind of trial?"
Mo Chen's jaw tensed. "One meant to awaken bloodlines dormant for centuries. You, me… and Li Shenyan. We were all candidates."
—
The Council's Interruption
The next morning, whispers flooded the academy halls. Li Shenyan had been summoned before the Council of Elders—accused of manipulating students and violating privacy wards.
Lianhua stood behind a curtain in the council's observation hall, watching as Shenyan bowed before the robed Elders.
"I did nothing wrong," he said with calm defiance. "I merely recognized someone who should've been told the truth a long time ago."
"And you took it upon yourself to reveal that truth?" one Elder sneered.
Li Shenyan smiled. "Who else would dare? The rest of you have been too busy playing politics to realize a storm is brewing. You've hidden behind the elite walls of this academy while your precious bloodlines rot from within."
Gasps echoed around the chamber.
"I don't fear punishment," he continued. "But if you truly wish to restore the old balance, you'll need someone like me."
Lianhua turned away, her thoughts a blur. He was making a spectacle—but for what purpose?
—
A Heart Between Shadows
That night, she received an anonymous note in her dorm:
Meet me in the East Wing observatory. Midnight. Come alone. —L
Despite her better judgment, she went.
The observatory was dark, silent. Li Shenyan waited there, framed by the stars overhead. He looked like a figure from an ancient painting—one foot in reality, the other in forgotten history.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said.
"I'm not sure why I did," she replied.
He stepped closer. "I'm not your enemy."
"You're not my friend, either."
"But I could be."
His words hung in the air.
"I don't want to fight you, Lianhua. I want you to remember."
"Even if I don't want to?"
"I think part of you already does."
Lianhua's defenses weakened for a moment, and she saw it—an image flashing through her mind: a cherry blossom tree, the sound of flute music, her younger self kneeling beside a boy with kind eyes.
Was it him?
She backed away. "Whatever this is, it's too late. I've already chosen my path."
"And Mo Chen?" he asked. "You trust him more than me?"
"That's not your concern."
His eyes darkened. "He's hiding more than you think. Ask him about the massacre at Yan River. Ask him who gave the order."
She froze.
"You're lying."
"I'm not," he whispered. "I was there."
—
Broken Trust
The next day, Lianhua confronted Mo Chen in his office at the academy.
"Yan River," she said. "What happened?"
Mo Chen's calm shattered. His hands clenched at his sides. "Where did you hear that?"
"Did you order it?"
He looked away. "It wasn't what it seemed."
"That's not an answer."
"There were threats—children being used to awaken bloodlines too early. I tried to stop it, but… I failed."
Lianhua took a step back. "You knew and you said nothing?"
"I was protecting you."
"You were protecting your secrets."
The rift between them deepened, painful and swift. She left before he could explain further.
—
The Unraveling Begins
Li Shenyan's influence grew in the days that followed. Students began to question the academy's teachings. Old allegiances frayed. The headmaster called for a summit, but even that failed to settle the unrest.
Rumors spread—of ancient relics buried beneath the academy, of secrets sealed in blood.
And in the middle of it all, Lianhua found herself torn between two men from her past, two versions of herself, and a future she no longer understood.
She walked alone into the training yard one evening, where the sky bled purple with dusk, and faced Li Shenyan again.
"You want me to remember," she said. "Then help me."
He blinked. "What?"
"I'll do the memory ritual. The one only two marked souls can attempt."
He stepped closer. "It could kill you."
"Or it could save us all."