The rain hadn't stopped all day. A cold hush cloaked the Leng Manor, as if the walls themselves were ashamed of what they'd once protected.
In her room, Leng Yumo sat cross-legged on the carpet, papers scattered around her, but her eyes were fixed on nothing. The silence wasn't peaceful it was guilty.
A soft knock came. Then the door opened.
Leng Meixuan stepped in, her expression unreadable. She wasn't one for quiet visits or heart-to-hearts. Especially not with Yumo. And certainly not about Lu Jingyan
Yumo blinked. "Sister Meixuan?"
"Why are you here?"
"No one else would come, so I figured I would."
Yumo didn't answer. She just stared, waiting for the usual bite in Meixuan's voice.
But it didn't come.
Instead, Meixuan stepped inside and leaned casually against the desk. "Xuanmo asked you about the bullying, didn't he?"
Yumo nodded slowly.
"And?"
"I told him," she whispered. "Not everything. But enough."
Meixuan studied her. "Did you tell him why it happened?"
Yumo hesitated. "They said I was… irrelevant. That the Leng family wasn't even in the top five when it came to fashion anymore. That the Lu heiress—" she corrected herself quickly, "'she' was everything. Style. Power. Headlines."
Meixuan gave a soft scoff. "Stupid girls with too much mouth and no substance."
"They said I was riding the Leng name with nothing to show. That I was just a 'shadow cousin.'" Her voice cracked. "I didn't know what to say. I was angry. So I told Xuanmo someone was bullying me. I didn't say names. I just wanted it to stop."
"And it did," Meixuan said flatly. "Spectacularly."
Yumo winced. "But I never thought…"
"That he'd take it that far?" Meixuan tilted her head. "Of course you didn't. But people like Xuanmo don't need names to draw blood. They just need a reason."
There was a pause. Yumo sat up straighter.
"Why are you here, Meixuan?" she asked. "You've never liked her."
"No," Meixuan agreed. "I didn't. Maybe I was jealous. Maybe I thought she didn't belong in this family. She was too perfect. Too composed. She made the rest of us look smaller without trying."
She crossed her arms. "But I see now… that girl held this whole house together longer than anyone else did. Even when she didn't know it."
Yumo blinked.
Meixuan stepped forward, her gaze sharp, but no longer cold. "And now she's gone. Because we broke her. And whether you meant to or not—whether I meant to or not we helped."
Yumo's voice was barely a breath. "So what do I do?"
"Tell her the truth."
"She won't want to hear it from me."
Meixuan didn't smile. "It doesn't matter what she wants. It matters what she deserves."
Yumo swallowed. "I don't know how to face her."
Meixuan's voice softened just enough. "Then start with not hiding anymore."
She turned to leave, pausing at the door. "You want to fix this, Yumo? Own it. That's the only thing that separates cowards from those worth forgiving."
Then she was gone.
And Leng Yumo sat, not in silence now—but in a decision slowly beginning to take shape.