The last light of evening spilled through the carved lattice windows of Su Helin's vast chamber, staining the polished floor in gold and crimson. The scent of sandalwood lingered faintly in the air.
Helin stirred beneath layers of silk blankets.
The moment his eyes opened—
A face hovered inches from his own.
"Sister?!" He jolted upright so violently the bed curtains swayed. His heart pounded. "What—what are you doing here?!"
Su Huian straightened, offering him a sheepish smile.
But beneath that gentle expression was something fierce. Determined.
Of all the Su family, only Helin had ever treated her like true blood. And tonight—if memory remained cruelly accurate—would be the night he died.
She remembered the flames. The screams. The suffocating smoke at the Yan Min Tea House. She remembered standing before a charred ruin while her brother's body was carried out.
Not this time.
In this life, she would not allow it.
"Aren't you heading to the drugstore?" Helin asked warily, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Huian walked calmly to the round table and sat down, smoothing her skirts. "I decided to stay home today. I thought I'd spend it with my little brother."
Helin blinked. "Sister… are you feeling well? We can spend time another day. Today I'm… busy."
"Busy?" Huian tilted her head. "Strange. I asked Nanny Zhu. Your schedule is empty." Her voice softened, wounded. "Unless… you dislike me too?"
Helin groaned softly. "It's not that. I just have something important—"
Huian lowered her head and began to sniffle, shoulders trembling convincingly.
Helin panicked instantly. "Alright! Fine! We'll spend the day together!"
She looked up immediately, eyes perfectly dry. "Then I'll wait while you change."
Helin stared. "You weren't even crying."
"What are you waiting for? Go change."
"Sister," he said slowly, "you are in my room."
"Oh." She stood. "I'll wait outside then."
The door shut.
She leaned against it.
"Sister… you're not guarding me, are you?"
"I'm not moving no matter what you said," she replied calmly through the wood. "What if you sneak away?"
Silence.
Then an exhausted sigh.
The day that followed was torture for Helin.
Huian shadowed him like a second skin. When he tried sending a maid with a secret message, Huian intercepted it with a smile. When he claimed he needed the bathhouse, she waited outside the door without blinking. When he pretended to nap, she sat cross-legged in the hallway like a devoted guardian.
"Sister," he snapped at one point, "don't you have anything to do?"
She smiled serenely. "I quite enjoy this."
By late afternoon, Helin was unraveling.
They walked through the corridor just before dinner and encountered Su Zian.
"Elder Brother," Helin said quickly, eyes pleading.
Zian studied the pair. "You two seem… unusually close."
Huian laughed lightly. "I realized how much I missed him. Doesn't he look just like when he was little?"
Zian glanced at her, confused by her sudden affection.
As he turned to leave, Helin grabbed him and whispered urgently, "Brother you have to help me! She's been clinging to me all day. I have somewhere important to be."
"With those friends of yours?" Zian asked.
Helin nodded.
"It's best you stay home tonight," Zian replied. "You're not going anywhere."
"Brother—"
But Zian had already walked away.
Huian leaned in immediately. "What were you whispering?"
Helin threw up his hands. "Why are you doing this to me?!"
"I'm worried," she answered softly.
"I'm not a child anymore!"
The argument continued until a maid approached.
"Second Miss, the Old Mistress requests your presence."
Huian frowned. "Me?"
The maid nodded.
Huian hesitated. Something felt wrong. Did her grandmother ever asked for her?
She grabbed Helin's sleeve tightly. "Do not leave your room. Not long ago, I went to the temple to get some readings. Your fortune lately has been terrible. So stay indoors."
Helin stared at her incredulously. "You've been harassing me all day because of fortune-telling? Are you becoming Grandmother now?"
"Helin just stay," she insisted. "I have something important to tell you."
Reluctantly, she left.
The moment her footsteps faded—
Helin slipped away like smoke.
When Huian reached the Old Mistress's residence, the elderly woman looked puzzled.
"I did not summon you, Huian."
Huian's blood ran cold.
Helin. That bastard tricked her again!
"But now that you're here, you should stay. I heard you've been overseeing the drugstores lately, how's everything?"
She wanted to leave immediately, but countless of questions was thrown at her. Minutes stretched into an eternity.
Meanwhile, the Yan Min Tea House glittered brilliantly under hanging lanterns. Music flowed. Silk-clad nobles laughed freely. The scent of wine and perfume filled the air.
Among them stood Liu Xuanwen, dressed in elegant robes, blending seamlessly into the crowd of nobles.
She knew what needs to happen. Xuanwen was sure 'he' has his spies all over the place. Making one small mistake will change everything, so for now, it's best if she follows his instruction.
Across the hall, Su Helin entered with his friends—Mo Yuxuan, Li Yong, Zhu Long, Ye Qiang—and Prince Wang Haoran, the only son of Princess Zheng Wanning.
They were laughing.
Carefree.
Unaware.
The first scream shattered the music.
Smoke crept upward from the lower floor.
Then flames erupted.
Panic exploded through the building. Guests shoved and trampled one another in desperation.
Upstairs, Helin and his friends, drunk and slow, stumbled toward the exit—only to find the door jammed from the outside.
Helin kicked it violently. "Open! Goddammit we're trapped!"
Smoke thickened. The air burned.
Outside, Xuanwen soaked a cloth in wine and tied it over her face. She charged through the chaos and slammed her shoulder against the blocked door. Once. Twice.
It splintered.
Inside, the six young men were collapsing, overcome by smoke.
Flames licked along the ceiling beams.
Xuanwen rushed in, eyes stinging. As she makes her way toward Helin, she accidentally stepped on someone's hand. She dropped to check his pulse.
Alive.
Barely.
She hauled him toward the window and kicked him out into the water.
Splash.
Xuanwen turns her attention back to the burning scene, Helin was laying down unconscious against the table.
Two others were pinned beneath burning beams—already unmoving. Some of them had likely managed to leap earlier.
The ceiling groaned dangerously.
Grabbing Helin's collar, she leapt.
The lake swallowed them in icy darkness.
She surfaced, gasping, and dragged Helin toward shore. Her lungs burned. Her limbs trembled.
On the bank, she pressed on his chest again and again.
"Breathe," she muttered urgently. With another slap to his face, Xuanwen tries to repeat pressing his chest.
After agonizing moments, Helin coughed violently, water spilling from his mouth.
Behind them, the tea house collapsed in roaring flames.
"NO!" Helin screamed hoarsely, trying to stand. "My friends!"
"You can't go back!" Xuanwen shouted, restraining him.
"Helin!"
Huian's voice broke through the night. She ran toward him, skirts soaked, face pale with terror.
She fell to her knees and wrapped him tightly in her arms. "You're alive…"
"I should've listened," Helin sobbed. "The Prince—what if—"
"He's safe," Huian said quickly. "I found him in the water. He has already been rescued by his people"
Xuanwen's eyes flickered.
So that was the body she had thrown first.
Helin turned weakly. "Sister… she saved me."
Huian looked up.
Their gazes met.
"Miss Liu?" Huian asked softly. "How did you—"
Xuanwen offered a calm smile. "It was merely a coincidence, I jumped into the lake to escape from the burning fire. Then out of nowhere I saw him struggling in the water and pulled him out."
The explanation was thin.
But in the chaos, it was enough.
Behind them, flames painted the night sky red.