The city lights blurred outside my window as I reviewed the file Jiaran had handed me. Every detail mattered. Every number, every contract, every signature could be a key to leverage. I wasn't just planning moves—I was setting traps. And tonight, the first trap would be laid.
I dressed in black again—not for elegance this time, but for precision. Every inch of my attire was designed to blend, to be unnoticed until necessary. The night was mine. I moved with purpose, heels silent on polished floors, my mind calculating the steps ahead like a grand chessboard.
Jiaran had underestimated me, I realized. Not my intelligence, not my boldness—but my willingness to strike quietly, ruthlessly, and with subtlety. That was the advantage of rebirth. I remembered every failure of my past life. Every betrayal. Every humiliation. I would never repeat those mistakes.
The gala had been a test. The office meeting, a challenge. And tonight… tonight would be the first strike.
I slipped into one of the company's subsidiaries under a pretense of auditing reports. Few people noticed me; most assumed I was a high-level executive—after all, the daughter of a billionaire carried weight wherever she went. I accessed the data quietly, leaving no trace of my presence.
Then, I initiated a subtle disruption—shifting a few transactions, redirecting minor funds, exposing small vulnerabilities in one of Jiaran's partner companies. Not enough to ruin anyone yet, but enough to cause ripples.
I watched from a distance, the city alive beneath me, and felt a rush unlike anything I'd known. This was power. Influence. Control. And it was intoxicating.
Minutes later, my phone buzzed. Another message from the unknown number:
"Well done. He will notice. Be prepared."
I smirked. Good. Everything was going according to plan. The ripple had been sent. The fish had begun to bite.
And then, a presence.
I turned, heart steady, eyes scanning the shadows. There he was. Feng Jiaran. Calm, silent, like a predator appearing where least expected.
"You're active tonight," he said, voice low, carrying that cold, dangerous undertone that made my pulse skip. "I like it."
I met his gaze evenly. "Caution is for those afraid to act. I'm not afraid."
He stepped closer, studying me as if weighing my soul. "Bold. Ambitious. Dangerous. You're… unlike anyone I've met."
A shiver ran down my spine—not from fear, but from the tension that crackled between us. The same tension from the first night, but stronger, heavier, charged.
"Your moves are subtle," he said, finally breaking the silence. "I didn't see them coming. Most people wouldn't even notice."
I smiled faintly, letting a trace of triumph show. "Subtlety is everything. You'll notice me more when the next move hits."
His eyes narrowed slightly, almost a smirk. "I look forward to it."
That small exchange, brief as it was, set the tone. He was aware. Alert. Challenged. And intrigued. Exactly what I wanted.
As he turned to leave, I called after him. "Be careful, Mr. Feng. The game is only beginning."
He paused, head tilting slightly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I never worry about games I can win."
And then he disappeared into the night, leaving me with a sense of anticipation I couldn't shake.
Back in my apartment, I reviewed the ripple I had sent through his operations. Subtle misdirections, carefully placed inconsistencies—enough to test his reactions. Every move I made was designed to draw him out, to test him, to make him notice me in ways he couldn't ignore.
And I could feel it already. He was noticing. Watching. Calculating. Responding.
A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. My assistant, Lin Mei, entered, her expression tense. "Miss Xinyue… there's a visitor. He says it's urgent."
I didn't even ask who. My mind already knew.
Feng Jiaran.
As the door opened, he stepped inside, calm, confident, and impossibly close. My heart thudded—not with fear, but with exhilaration. Every time he appeared unannounced, it was a test. A warning. And a tease.
"I wondered how long it would take you to notice the ripple," he said softly, almost a whisper, yet every word carried weight. "Clever. Bold. But subtle. You're dangerous."
"I told you," I replied evenly, letting my confidence shine through. "Boldness isn't dangerous. Only hesitation is."
His eyes locked on mine, and in that moment, the city outside ceased to exist. Only the tension between us remained, thick, palpable, unrelenting.
"You've caught my attention," he said finally, voice low, almost intimate. "I'll admit… I didn't expect that."
I smirked faintly, stepping slightly closer. "Then you should prepare. I plan to keep it."
The brief proximity, the weight of his gaze, and the electric tension between us were intoxicating. Dangerous. And addictive.
Just as he turned to leave, his hand brushed mine—intentional or not, I couldn't tell. But the contact left a spark I couldn't ignore. And from the shadows of the room, a figure I didn't recognize watched silently, phone in hand, capturing every moment…