Six months earlier…
The hallway stretched endlessly before her, like a dreadful path leading An Mei Lin toward her own demise. She had no idea why she had been summoned, but she didn't need an intelligence network to sense the danger ahead.
Her hands clenched tightly at her sides, her eyes burning with an emotion too complex to name. Anxiety coiled within her, making each breath feel heavier than the last.
Yet her face remained blank.
She had long learned never to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Not here, not in this place. To them, any weakness was something to exploit.
As she approached the double doors at the end of the hallway, An Mei Lin forced herself to steady her thoughts, running through every psychological technique she knew just to keep her mind clear.
When she finally reached the door, her hand paused on the handle, a thought struck her.
Her gaze shifted, scanning the dim hallway carefully. Her expression hardened almost instantly.
'Why are there no guards?'
Such a small detail… yet nothing in this house was ever without purpose.
Chairman An was a man who planned everything down to the smallest detail. The absence of his personal bodyguards was too deliberate to be ignored.
Her unease deepened, but her face remained unchanged.
Taking one final breath, she pushed the door open.
The study revealed itself, dimly lit and lined with towering bookshelves on every side.
An Mei Lin didn't step in immediately. Her eyes swept across the room cautiously. The last thing she would do was walk blindly into a trap.
The air was cold and oppressive, just as she remembered.
As a child, she had always dreaded this place. To her, her father's study had felt no different from a graveyard at night.
The irony was…She now found herself here far more often than she ever wanted.
The room was silent, almost unnaturally so but she wasn't alone.
Her father stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back facing her, a glass of whiskey resting loosely in his hand.
Months ago, the mere sight of him would have made her tremble.
Now? The only thing she felt was the murderous intent simmering quietly beneath her calm exterior.
Her gaze shifted to the side of the room. An Feifei, her half sister sat lazily on a chair, flipping through what seemed to be a magazine as if she didn't have a care in the world.
An Mei Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you plan on standing by the door forever?"
Her father's voice cut through the silence, deep and domineering.
An Mei Lin didn't respond, rather she closed the door gently behind her and walked toward the desk at the center of the room, her steps steady and measured.
As she moved, she could feel An Feifei's sharp and unpleasant gaze on her but she igorned it. Her bratty half-sister was the least of her concerns.
Reaching the desk, An Mei Lin pulled out a chair and sat down gracefully without waiting for permission.
And then silenced followed. Minutes flew by and yet no one showed any intention of saying anything but An Mei Lin wasn't affected. She knew this game so well. Silence was one of her father's favorite tactics. It was meant to unnerve, to make the other party restless. But years of enduring his manipulation had shaped her into someone far more resistant.
The clock ticked steadily in the background.
Seconds stretched.
Then minutes.
It almost seemed like her father intended to keep her there indefinitely.
Until...
An Feifei scoffed, clearly losing her patience.
"Father," she said sharply, "are you going to tell her the assignment or not?"
'Assignment?'
An Mei Lin's brows furrowed slightly.
Whatever this was… it wasn't going to be simple.
The absence of guards alone had already told her that much.
As if finally stirred from his thoughts, An Guowei turned.
He walked toward the desk with slow, calculated steps before taking his seat across from her.
As he drew closer, An Mei Lin observed him carefully.
His hair was slicked back neatly, exposing a slightly receding hairline. His expression was grim, his presence heavy, radiating a cold authority that filled the room.
When he sat, his sharp gaze lifted to meet hers as he studied her for a moment. The girl before him was too calm, far too calm… for someone whose mother's life rested in his hands.
Neither of them spoke, they simply stared, a silent battle of control.
An Feifei cleared her throat again, irritation evident.
The sound broke the slight tension between them.
An Guowei finally looked away and leaned back slightly before opening a drawer, he then pulled out a small folder. His eyes flickered back to An Mei Lin for a brief second, before tossing the folded in front of her.
"Your new assignment."