Elegance, like knives, can cut both ways.
AiLi didn't know what to wear for a dinner where she was both the guest and the blood sacrifice.
A maid — one with a face like marble and hands too skilled — had already laid out her attire: a soft lavender qipao with golden-thread embroidery. The fabric shimmered like moonlight, but AiLi felt like she was wearing someone else's skin.
The door opened behind her without a knock. Her breath caught, because she already knew who it was.
"You don't know how to knock?" she muttered, not looking up.
Zhou didn't answer. His reflection appeared beside hers in the mirror — a sleek shadow in black, tall and unshakable.
He adjusted her necklace. "You'll meet my parents tonight."
"Is this another order?"
"No," he said, locking eyes with her through the mirror. "It's a warning."
The dining hall was everything AiLi wasn't used to — ten chandeliers, a table longer than her math exams, and silence that didn't feel peaceful.
Mrs. Deng sat at the head like a queen, dressed in flowing jade silk, her eyes like calm waters that hid unseen depths.
Mr. Deng was already sipping his wine, his expression unreadable, like a wolf wearing human skin.
AiLi bowed low. "Good evening…"
Mrs. Deng gave her a small nod. "So, you're the girl."
The girl.
Not the bride. Not the daughter-in-law.
Just… the girl.
Zhou placed a firm hand on AiLi's back, guiding her to sit beside him. The gesture looked casual, but AiLi felt the weight of possession behind it. Like he was saying: She's mine. Handle with care.
Dinner began. Courses arrived in silence. No one asked if AiLi liked the shark fin soup.
Then came the question.
"How old are you, dear?" Mrs. Deng asked, delicately dabbing her lips.
AiLi straightened her back. "Fifteen."
A pause. A shared glance between Mr. and Mrs. Deng. AiLi caught it, even if they didn't speak.
Too young. Too untrained. Too inconvenient.
"She's obedient," Zhou said, cutting a piece of meat with graceful brutality. "And brave. Most wouldn't talk back to me."
His words hung in the air like a suspended sword.
Mrs. Deng gave a thin smile. "She'll need more than bravery in this family."
After dinner, AiLi stepped out into the balcony, needing air. Shanghai glittered below, oblivious to her new cage.
"She didn't like me," AiLi whispered.
"She doesn't like anyone."
Zhou leaned beside her, fingers slipping into his pocket for a cigarette. But he didn't light it.
"You're too young for this," he said suddenly.
She looked at him — at the monster everyone feared.
And for a fleeting second, he looked tired.
"Then why agree to marry me?" she asked.
"Because this isn't about age, AiLi. It's about power."
She frowned. "And what am I in this power game? A pawn?"
He looked at her then. Really looked. And his voice dropped to something raw and dark.
"You're not a pawn. You're the bait."
Inside, someone watched from the hallway — lips curled in a cold smirk, red nails trailing along the marble wall.
Mei Ling.
The ex-girlfriend.
And the storm she brought was just beginning.