The city woke under a pale gold sky, and the top floor of the Baihe Tower was already bright with work lights. Bai Li stood by the wide glass window in a dark suit, one hand holding a tablet, the other resting in her pocket, looking calm and sharp in the way people had come to expect from her. She was the owner and CEO of Baihe Group, one of the largest companies in the country, and in the ABO world, her name carried weight everywhere. She was an alpha with strong control, strong instincts, and a cold face that made board members sit straighter the moment she entered a room. Yet in the quiet before the day fully began, when the city was still soft with morning haze, Bai Li was not thinking about business. She was thinking about the woman sleeping in the private lounge behind her office, her wife, Yan Cijin. The thought alone changed her face. The line at the corner of her mouth softened, and the cold shine in her eyes warmed at once.
