The doors closed behind Bai Zhiqi with a quiet, final sound.
And just like that—
She was gone.
The hall fell into silence.
Not the tense kind from before.
This one was heavier.
Lingering.
Uncomfortable.
No one moved at first.
It was as if her presence still remained, pressing against the walls, echoing in every corner of the room.
Mrs. Bai was the first to break.
Her hand slowly dropped from her mouth, but her fingers were still trembling.
"…She hates us," she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible.
Bai Heng exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
"She has every reason to," he said.
Mrs. Bai turned toward him sharply. "You're siding with her now?"
"I'm stating a fact," Bai Heng replied, his tone calm but tired.
She shook her head, stepping back slightly.
"We did what we had to do," she insisted, though her voice lacked the certainty it once had. "Lanyue's future was at stake. Everything would have been ruined—"
"And so we ruined hers instead."
Bai Heng cut in.
Silence.
Mrs. Bai's expression faltered.
"That's not—"
"That's exactly what it is," he said.
Not loud.
But firm.
Across the room, Bai Zhiqi's father finally moved.
He walked slowly toward the center, his steps measured, his expression unreadable.
"She agreed to it," he said.
Both of them looked at him.
"She accepted the arrangement," he continued. "No one forced her."
Bai Heng let out a quiet breath.
"She was given no real choice," he replied.
"That is not the same thing."
"It is when the outcome is already decided."
The words settled between them.
Sharp.
Unavoidable.
Mrs. Bai sank back into her seat, her composure slipping.
"She didn't have to come back like this," she murmured. "She didn't have to say all that…"
Bai Heng's gaze shifted toward the closed doors.
"She didn't come back to be polite," he said.
Another silence followed.
Her father finally spoke again, his tone colder now.
"She thinks she can take everything back."
Bai Heng didn't respond immediately.
Then—
"She can."
That made Mrs. Bai look up sharply.
"What do you mean, she can?"
Bai Heng turned to them both.
"You think what happened tonight won't spread?" he asked. "The truth is already out. The moment people start connecting it to this family…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Mrs. Bai's face paled.
"For five years, we protected Lanyue's name," Bai Heng continued. "Now that same truth is going to destroy it."
"And ours with it," he added quietly.
Her father's expression hardened.
"We will manage it."
Bai Heng let out a short, humorless laugh.
"Manage it?"
He shook his head slightly.
"You couldn't even manage her."
The words hit harder than expected.
Silence fell again.
Mrs. Bai's voice came out softer this time.
"…What is she going to do?"
Bai Heng looked toward the doors once more.
His answer was quiet.
But certain.
"She's going to take everything we built around her… and make sure we feel it."
A pause.
"And this time," he added,
"we won't be able to stop her."