It was past midnight at the Mo residence. Most of the estate was cloaked in silence, the occasional flicker of garden lights casting soft shadows against the manicured hedges. Inside, Lu Jingyan sat by the bay window of her temporary suite, a book in her lap and a blanket draped across her knees, though her mind hadn't touched a single sentence in over an hour.
The quiet was broken by an urgent buzz at the front gates.
Downstairs, Mo Tianyi was still awake, reviewing security footage when the alert chimed. He frowned at the screen—then stood abruptly.
"Li Zeyan?"
The voice was unmistakable. Ragged. Slurred. And loud.
"Open the damn gate!"
Mo Tianyi's expression turned granite-cold as he stepped into the hallway and gestured for his housekeeper. "Call security. Don't open the gate."
But it was too late.
A car door slammed outside, followed by a stumbling figure dragging another behind him.
"Sir, please—" Li Zeyan was breathless, trying to hold onto his boss's arm. "You shouldn't be here—at least not like this—"
Leng Xuanmo shrugged him off roughly, eyes bloodshot, blazer half-open, shirt wrinkled. His usually sharp presence was reduced to a haunted, staggering mess. "I just… want to see her."
"You reek of whisky," Li Zeyan hissed under his breath, trying to block him from the door. "This is madness."
"She hates me anyway," Xuanmo muttered, lips twisted into a bitter smile. "What more damage can I do?"
The door opened—not by invitation, but because Mo Tianyi had come to stop the scene from escalating.
"Take one more step onto this property and I'll have you removed," he said coldly.
Li Zeyan stepped forward first, apologetic and tense. "President Mo, I'm sorry. I tried to stop him—"
"You shouldn't have brought him here at all."
"He drove off before I could stop him. I followed to make sure he didn't crash into a tree."
Tianyi's gaze flicked to Xuanmo, who leaned against the porch column like the weight of his own body betrayed him.
"I didn't come here to fight," Xuanmo said quietly, breath fogging in the cold air. "I came to see her."
"She doesn't want to see you."
"I know." His voice cracked. "But I had to try."
From the top of the stairs, Lu Jingyan stood frozen, watching the scene unfold below.
His eyes found hers.
"Jingyan…" he exhaled, straightening a little. "I—"
Mo Tianyi stepped into his line of sight, shielding her without hesitation. "She's done hearing your excuses."
"I didn't come to excuse anything."
"You should've come sober. You should've come sooner. But instead, you chose the path that ruined her family—and you think turning up like this erases any of it?"
"I never meant—" Xuanmo's words faltered, buried under a dry laugh. "It's funny, isn't it? All it took was one moment. One wrong decision… and now I can't breathe without hating myself for it."
Lu Jingyan's hands curled tightly around the railing above.
Mo Tianyi's voice dropped, icy. "You think guilt gives you permission to disrupt her peace?"
"No." Xuanmo's voice lowered too. "But grief does strange things to people. I'm not asking for peace. Just… five minutes."
"She's not a salve for your conscience."
A tense silence. Even Li Zeyan didn't speak this time, simply standing quietly, gaze downcast.
At the stairs, Lu Jingyan finally turned and walked away.
From below, the creak of her steps was louder than thunder to Xuanmo's ears.
"She still can't look at me," he whispered, shoulders slumping.
"She's not obligated to," Tianyi replied. "You lost that right the moment you put your sister's pride above someone else's life."
Xuanmo looked down at his hands. Shaking. Hollow.
"I'm sorry," he said, not to anyone in particular. "I don't even know who I am anymore."
Tianyi didn't reply.
Li Zeyan gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go home, sir."
This time, Xuanmo didn't resist.
As he turned back toward the car, Tianyi's voice rang out once more.
"She's rebuilding without you. If you care at all, let her."
Xuanmo paused. Nodded once.
And walked into the dark.