It began with small cracks. Wanning canceled their usual dinners, excused herself with vague reasons. She avoided Shen entirely, though she had once been curious about him.
Then came the night Qinglan's vision showed Wanning standing beside a man in a dark coat. The man pressed an envelope into her hand. Wanning's lips formed words that chilled Qinglan's heart: "She still doesn't know."
Qinglan confronted her friend the next day. "Wanning, what are you hiding from me?"
Wanning laughed too quickly. "What do you mean? You're imagining things."
But her eyes darted away, and in that fleeting moment, Qinglan recognized the same shadows she had seen in her vision.
Later, Shen confirmed her fears. He had followed Wanning, discreetly, and discovered she was in contact with men tied to the very case he was investigating—the same network that had swallowed Qinglan's father years ago.
The betrayal cut deeper than any blade. Wanning, the one person she had leaned on during her darkest days, was part of the web of lies.
Qinglan's pact stirred within her, visions flaring stronger than ever. She saw flames, broken glass, and the echo of her own voice crying out Wanning's name.
The future was spiraling toward her, unstoppable.
---