The sun cast a soft glow across the business class cabin.
Golden light streamed through the oval windows, brushing over leather seats and polished armrests, warming the cool, muted tones within.
Beyond the glass, the sky stretched endlessly—clear, pale, and still.
As the city skyline and runway unfolded beneath them, Wang Zi Rui gazed out the window, his expression unreadable.
Yet in his eyes, something flickered—pain, regret, and a quiet thread of nostalgia that softened the sharp line of his jaw.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign as we begin our descent into H. City," the flight attendant's voice echoed gently through the cabin—calm, practiced, and quietly breaking the hush that had settled within.
Once the plane landed, Wang Zi Rui rose from his seat, stretched, and reached up to retrieve his bag from the overhead compartment. Just then, someone suddenly bumped into him.
It wasn't a hard bump—just a slight jolt. But the contact was unexpected, breaking his calm composure. Instinctively, he reached out an arm to help the person regain their balance.
His hand caught the fabric of her white shirt, fingers grazing the curve of her waist. Her skin was soft, cool beneath his touch—so fleeting, yet enough to break the stillness between them.
She stiffened slightly, breath hitching, and slowly turned to meet his gaze.
Wang Zi Rui scanned her face, most of it hidden behind a black mask.
His gaze moved slowly, tracing the line of her nose until it met her eyes—wide and expressive, almost unreal, as if they held a life of their own. Striking. Unmistakably beautiful.
Meanwhile, Song Meiqi, who had stumbled into his arms, found herself staring back.
A white mask obscured the lower half of his face, and a few loose strands of hair brushed against thick brows that nearly shadowed his eyes.
Then she saw them—golden-brown, glowing beneath a beam of sunlight. Sharp and commanding, yet laced with an unexpected warmth.
She froze, caught in the depth of his eyes—golden, unreadable, and far too beautiful. She had never seen eyes like his before. Something about them pulled her in, made the world blur at the edges. Her thoughts drifted, unmoored, until a voice cut through the haze.
"Are you not letting go?" His voice was low and raspy—cool and distant, like winter air brushing against bare skin. It sent an unexpected shiver down her spine.
She jerked back, straightening in a flurry of motion.
Panic flared in her chest as she bowed repeatedly, head dipping over and over while a string of stammered apologies tumbled from her lips.
"It's fine," Wang Zi Rui said, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of distaste as he brushed at his clothes, as if her touch had somehow soiled them.
Seeing this, Song Meiqi felt a pang of offense and sneered inwardly.
'I took a bath and I smell nice. I know I'm not unclean', she thought before walking away.
Oddly, Wang Zi Rui's eyes followed her as she walked toward a small group gathered a short distance to his right.
There was something about her—something quietly familiar.
He couldn't place it, not yet. But the feeling tugged at the back of his mind, persistent and faint, like a half-remembered song.
As he searched his memory, his secretary, Si Qi, leaned in and whispered,
"Boss, that's Everbloom's Song Meiqi. I never thought I'd actually see her up close. She's even prettier in person."
Wang Zi Rui turned to him, his expression faintly puzzled.
His secretary gasped, clearly shocked.
"You don't know Everbloom, Boss?" he asked, his voice rising slightly in disbelief.
Zi Rui gave a small nod—more of a silent care to explain?
"Well... they're the most popular girl group in Country C right now," the secretary said, still wide-eyed. "Their fame's global—they trend almost every day."
"They're probably just getting back from their world tour concert," he added, glancing in Meiqi's direction with admiration.
Wang Zi Rui also glanced her way one last time, something unreadable in his eyes, before turning to leave the cabin without a word.
Meanwhile, Song Meiqi retrieved her phone from her bag and opened her chat messages.
'I'm back. Can't wait to see you. I miss you', she typed, a faint smile touching her lips as her eyes lit up with quiet excitement.
A reply came almost instantly.
'Me too. Once I finish taping, I'll head to your place.'
Meiqi let out a soft laugh, warmth blooming in her chest as she stared at the screen.
Then, she set her phone down and moved to disembark, joining the rest of the crew and staff filing out of the cabin.
What she didn't notice was that her every gesture—her smile, the glow in her eyes, the way she held her phone—had been silently observed.
Zheng Mengyao, seated a few rows behind—one of Meiqi's fellow group members—had seen it all. The way Meiqi smiled while texting stirred something uneasy in her chest—an emotion she didn't quite name but couldn't ignore.
"Yaoyao… Yaoyao."
Xiuying, Everbloom's leader, called out to her, snapping her back to reality.
Mengyao turned to look at her.
"What are you doing? We have to go," Xiuying said—her voice tired, yet steady.
The two quickened their pace to catch up with the others. As Mengyao's gaze fell on Meiqi walking just ahead of them, memories began to stir.
Everbloom was made up of five members: Xiuying, Lina, Siyu, Mengyao, and Meiqi.
But among them, Meiqi had always felt the closest—
They were the same age, entered the industry around the same time, and shared a bond Mengyao had once thought was unbreakable.
But now, after what she'd done, she wasn't sure if anything between them could ever be whole again.