The Xu family estate hadn't changed.
It stood as it always had,grand, overbearing, and cold.
The stone lions flanking the gate stared down at her like she was a trespasser, not a daughter. The trimmed hedges were still perfect. The air still smelled of manicured roses and old wealth.
But nothing here ever smelled like love.
The car rolled to a stop on the white gravel drive. A butler opened the door, but Meilin stepped out before he could reach her. Her heels crunched against the stones, steady and slow.
She wasn't afraid.
Not anymore.
But the tension in her shoulders told a different story.
The heavy doors opened before she could knock.
The main hall welcomed her with silence,high ceilings, polished floors, expensive art hung like trophies rather than meaning. No warmth. No family photos.
Just power.
Just image.
Just performance.
She stepped into the sitting room where they were already waiting.
Her mother(Li Wenhua) sat on the cream sofa, a teacup held delicately in her gloved hands. Her expression, as always, was unreadable. Cold beauty frozen in time.
Her father (Xu Zhenkai)stood by the window, arms crossed behind his back, looking out as if she hadn't entered. He didn't turn.
He never did.
"Meilin," her mother finally said, placing the teacup down with a soft clink. "You're late."
"I wasn't aware I had a scheduled appointment," Meilin replied, voice even.
Her mother's eyes narrowed just slightly.
"You've gotten sharper," her father said, still facing the window. "Marriage has made you bold."
"Marriage has made me quiet," she said. "But I'm no longer deaf."
There was a silence.
Then her father turned.
His presence filled the room like a storm cloud,tall, stern, merciless.
"Don't mistake our silence for disinterest," he said. "You carry the Xu name, no matter where you sleep at night."
Meilin felt a flicker of something deep in her chest, resentment, perhaps. Or sadness. Maybe both.
"I carry it," she replied, "because I was born into it. Not because I was ever welcomed by it."
That earned her a look.
from her father.
Just a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze.
Her mother cleared her throat.
"We've called you back because the Shen family will be visiting city Z next week. A formal dinner has been arranged. You and Zeyan will attend."
Meilin blinked.
"Why?"
Her mother raised a brow. "Because the Shen daughter is fond of your husband. And the Shen family's alliance is crucial for both L&Z international and Xu Holdings."
"So I'm expected to parade around like a warning label? 'He's married, hands off'?"
"No," her father cut in sharply. "You're expected to perform your duty. As a Xu. As his wife. We made this match happen, and we expect returns."
Returns.
Like she was an investment.
A pawn.
A tool.
And suddenly, the warmth she had started to feel at the Moon Pavilion, however brief, however delicate, felt galaxies away from this place.
Meilin nodded slowly.
"I see."
Her mother smoothed her skirt, satisfied. "We'll send you the details. The event is Friday. That gives you four days."
Her father spoke
"You've changed, Meilin."
She turned to look at him.
"Not really," she said. "I've just stopped hiding it."
---
As she walked out of the estate, a servant tried to hand her an umbrella, but she refused.
The sun was hot.
But the house behind her was colder than anything the sky could give.
She stepped into the car, letting the door shut behind her like closing the chapter of a book she'd never asked to be written in.
And still, like a ghost, her father's words followed her:
"You carry the Xu name."
She looked down at her wedding ring.
But I sleep in Li Zeyan's home.
She thought.