The gates of the Leng Manor slammed open with a screech as Mo Tianyi's car came to an abrupt halt. He stepped out with barely restrained fury in his stride, the weight of every headline and cruel comment fueling his every breath.
"Leng Xuanmo!" he barked the name like a command, pushing past the butler who failed to stop him at the entrance. "Tell him to come out now!"
The servants were startled. The butler tried to compose himself. "Sir, Master Xuanmo is not—"
"Don't play dumb with me," Tianyi snapped, glaring. "He had time to show up uninvited on Jingyan's photoshoot, but not enough guts to face me?"
Before the butler could answer, a calm yet sharp voice echoed from the staircase.
"He's not here."
Tianyi turned quickly. It wasn't Leng Xuanmo — it was Leng Meixuan, her long coat draped elegantly over her shoulders, hands tucked calmly into her pockets.
"He left for Country C two days ago," she said, eyes narrowing at the furious man standing in her family's hall.
Tianyi's jaw clenched. "So he was here."
"He was," she replied. "But not anymore."
Tianyi scoffed. "Coward. He creates chaos and flees the moment it blows up in his face."
"He didn't flee," Meixuan countered coolly. "He went to clean up the mess."
Tianyi's eyes darkened. "You call humiliating Jingyan on set cleaning up? Or letting the internet accuse her of seducing her way back to relevance without saying a word?"
Meixuan's gaze didn't flinch. "He wasn't behind those headlines."
"He didn't stop them either," Tianyi snapped. "Don't defend him. You of all people should know what she's suffered."
For a moment, Meixuan didn't answer. Then she let out a breath and stepped further into the light.
"You're right," she said. "I do. And I didn't care before. But I do now."
That stalled Tianyi.
She continued, quieter now, "I once stood exactly where you are — pointing fingers, full of assumptions. I hated her, resented her for everything I thought she took away from the Leng name. But when everything fell apart, and she still stood with dignity... it changed me."
Tianyi's expression shifted slightly.
Meixuan's voice held a tinge of shame. "She was alone, yet she never begged for pity. She was destroyed, but she didn't retaliate. And now, after everything, she's rising again — with no family name to lean on. Just grit."
Tianyi's voice softened. "Then why is your brother trying to insert himself now?"
"Because he regrets it," Meixuan said, finally. "Because he's realized he wasn't defending his sister — he was destroying someone who never fought back. And maybe... maybe he's trying to make things right."
Tianyi's fists clenched at his sides. "I don't trust him."
"You're not supposed to," she said plainly. "But Jingyan has a mind of her own. If she wants to shut him out, she will. But if there's even the smallest part of her willing to hear him... you shouldn't get in the way."
The anger in Tianyi's chest simmered, cooling into frustration.
"She's my cousin," he said. "And I watched her lose everything."
"And now?" Meixuan asked. "You're watching her build it back."
Tianyi was quiet.
"She'll be fine," Meixuan added. "With or without him. But if Xuanmo can make up even a fraction of what he's done... don't stop him before she decides for herself."
After a long pause, Tianyi turned toward the door.
"Tell your brother," he said over his shoulder, "he's walking a tightrope. One wrong move, and I'll be the one to end it."
Meixuan gave a small nod. "Fair enough."
As the doors closed behind him, the manor fell into silence again — but the tension lingered, like a storm yet to pass.