Shanghai – Tianlu Pavilion, Floor 47 – 11:42 PM
The city lights of Shanghai gleamed like artificial stars, stretching endlessly beyond the high glass windows of Tianlu Pavilion.
But to Zijiang Zhenyu, those lights meant nothing tonight.
She sat alone at a luxurious round table. A silver-gray satin dress wrapped her slender frame, her makeup flawless—as always.
Two wine glasses. A bottle of red, open. Silence reigned, broken only by the soft clinking of silverware and faint classical music floating from ceiling speakers.
Tang Mian arrived in a glittering red gown, her smile too wide.
"You haven't changed," she said, taking her seat. "Still punctual. Even at a dinner you arranged."
Zhenyu stared flatly. "I wanted to speak privately."
Tang Mian poured wine into both glasses. "About what? Oh... don't tell me it's that silly rumor. Me and Weixun?"
"Not a rumor," Zhenyu interrupted. "I know everything."
Tang Mian stiffened. "Know... what?"
Zhenyu clutched her glass but didn't drink. Her eyes locked onto Tang Mian's.
"My husband's birthday. I flew in unannounced to surprise him. I brought a ring I'd chosen myself."
Tang Mian lowered her gaze.
"In Shibuya," Zhenyu continued, her voice steady. "I saw you. Holding hands. Laughing like newlyweds. Not once. For hours. On the day that should've been ours."
Tang Mian opened her mouth but no words came.
"I stayed silent. I carried that wound home. I thought if I said nothing, you'd remember what trust means."
Her voice hardened. "Instead, you poisoned me?"
"I It wasn't me!" Tang Mian trembled. "Weixun said... it was just something to make you dizzy! So you'd miss the shareholders' meeting"
Zhenyu stood.
"Enough."
Tang Mian followed her up. "Zhenyu, please! I love him! I always have. Since before you two married!"
"And yet you stayed my best friend for ten years? Incredible."
Suddenly, Zhenyu staggered. Her glass nearly slipped.
"W-what... did you..." Her breath caught. Her chest tightened.
"Zhenyu?!" Tang Mian panicked.
Zhenyu stared. "You really killed me... just because you couldn't live in my shadow."
She turned and stumbled out of the restaurant, refusing to collapse in front of betrayal.
Emergency Lift – ZH Group Building En route to Rooftop
Zhenyu hit the rooftop button with trembling fingers. Her body froze, her heart slowed.
But a fire still flickered within.
She would die on her own terms. Not by theirs.
Floor 27 – Rooftop
Shanghai's night sky loomed heavy above. Skyscraper lights cast long shadows.
Footsteps approached.
"Zhenyu."
Yan Weixun.
She didn't turn. "Here to claim my corpse?"
He said nothing. The wind tugged at his tie.
She turned slowly. "I loved you."
"And I once loved you," he replied coldly. "But your love came in schedules. Memos. Orders."
"I built our company from nothing... for our future."
"You built a kingdom where I had no throne."
Zhenyu stared blankly. "So this is your solution?"
He stepped forward. "A clean slate. A reset."
Suddenly, a harsh shove.
She fell.
The world slowed. Wind tore at her dress. The mirrored glass of the tower reflected her face... until it cracked.
Behind the cracks: another face.
A mirror. Rongxu Jing.
A girl inside. Crying in silence.
Zhenyu closed her eyes and embraced the dark.
Tianxu Palace – Lianyu Pavilion
Zhenyu awoke with a muffled scream.
But instead of steel and concrete, she saw golden carvings of clouds and dragons above her.
The air smelled of incense. Old. Strange.
"Third Concubine!"
A girl knelt beside the bed.
Zhenyu tried to rise. Her body frail. Her hands small, scarred.
"What... is this...?"
"Concubine Qingyin... you're awake...?"
Qingyin?
The girl's teary eyes stared in awe. "Meilan, your maid."
Zhenyu turned. A large mirror stood in the corner. Its surface foggy. But through the mist... a shadow.
A girl. Like her. But weeping.
Tears fell. Not hers.
From the mirror.
Zhenyu stepped closer.
"Who... is crying?"
The mirror trembled.
Rongxu Jing stirred.
Two souls stared at each other from two broken worlds.
Inside Zhenyu's Mind
A whisper. No mouth.
"You are not me... but you know death."
"This body isn't yours... but its wounds are."
"To survive... remember who hurt me."
"And who wished me dead."
Zhenyu opened her eyes.
The mirror was still.
Only her reflection remained.
Meilan approached timidly. "You... are not yourself, are you?"
Zhenyu said nothing. Only stared.
"Then... who are you?" Meilan whispered.
Zhenyu's reply was soft.
"I am... the woman who died twice."