Rain poured endlessly outside, turning the city into a blur of distant lights and reflections. The streets below were almost empty now, swallowed by the late hour and the storm that showed no signs of stopping. Inside the apartment, silence stretched heavily through the room.
Xiaoyu stood near the window, unmoving.
Her fingers rested lightly against the cold glass while her thoughts spiraled far beyond the city in front of her. The envelope still lay open on the table behind her, the paper inside slightly crumpled from how tightly she had held it earlier.
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyu. If you're reading this… it means Lu Shen has already found you."
Those words refused to leave her mind.
Every time she tried to think about something else, they returned.
Lu Shen already found you.
Not "met."
Not "helped."
Found.
As if everything between them had started long before she even realized it.
Xiaoyu closed her eyes slowly.
Nothing made sense anymore.
The storage unit.
The photographs.
Her father.
Lu Shen standing beside him years before they were ever supposed to know each other.
And worst of all—
The look in Lu Shen's eyes when she confronted him.
He hadn't looked shocked.
He hadn't denied anything.
That hurt more than the truth itself.
A quiet breath escaped her lips as she leaned her forehead lightly against the glass. The rain outside traced slow paths down the window, distorting the city lights into broken shapes.
Maybe that was fitting.
Everything felt distorted now.
Broken.
A faint sound behind her suddenly interrupted the silence.
The door unlocking.
Xiaoyu froze instantly.
For one dangerous second, her heart forgot how to beat.
Slowly, she turned around.
Lu Shen stepped inside the apartment, his dark coat damp from the rain. His expression remained calm as always, but there was exhaustion hidden beneath it now—subtle enough that most people would miss it.
Xiaoyu didn't.
The moment his eyes met hers, the air between them tightened.
"You shouldn't be here," she said quietly.
Lu Shen closed the door behind him. "You left before we finished talking."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"Talking?" she repeated. "Is that what you call what happened?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That silence again.
Always silence.
Xiaoyu felt frustration rise sharply in her chest. "Do you enjoy doing that?" she asked. "Standing there acting calm while everyone else is losing their mind?"
His gaze remained steady on her. "Panicking doesn't change facts."
"No," she replied coldly, "but lying about them does."
Something shifted slightly in his expression.
Barely noticeable.
But it was there.
"I never lied to you."
Xiaoyu stared at him in disbelief. "You hid my entire past."
"I hid dangerous parts of it."
"That's not your decision to make!"
Her voice finally cracked through the room, sharper and louder than before.
The rain outside seemed quieter compared to the tension between them.
Lu Shen stepped forward slowly. "If you knew everything too early, you would've become a target."
"I already am one, apparently."
He stopped.
That answer landed harder than she expected.
Because he couldn't deny it.
Xiaoyu folded her arms tightly, trying to steady herself. "Tell me the truth," she said. "No more vague answers. No more half-explanations."
Lu Shen watched her carefully.
"You really want the truth?"
"Yes."
Even now, she didn't hesitate.
Something unreadable passed through his eyes before he finally spoke.
"Your father wasn't just involved in my family's business," he said quietly. "He was investigating them."
Xiaoyu felt her chest tighten.
"What?"
"He discovered something he wasn't supposed to."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"And because of that," Lu Shen continued, "people started disappearing."
Xiaoyu's breathing slowed.
Not from calmness.
From shock.
"My father…" she whispered, "what exactly was he investigating?"
Lu Shen's gaze lowered briefly toward the envelope on the table.
Then back to her.
"You."
Silence.
Complete and crushing.
Xiaoyu blinked once, convinced she had heard him wrong.
"…Me?"
"When you were a child," he said carefully, "something happened. Something connected to your family. After that, your father began searching for answers."
Her heartbeat grew louder.
Faster.
"What kind of answers?"
Lu Shen didn't respond immediately.
That hesitation terrified her more than any words could.
Finally, he spoke.
"There was an incident."
The phrase sounded too small.
Too simple.
As if it couldn't possibly explain the fear hidden behind his voice.
"What incident?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"The fire."
Xiaoyu's body went completely still.
A memory flashed through her mind without warning—
Heat.
Smoke.
A woman screaming.
Then darkness.
Her hand instantly pressed against her head as pain shot through her temples.
Lu Shen moved immediately. "Xiaoyu—"
"Don't," she whispered sharply, stepping back from him.
Her breathing became uneven.
Images flickered in broken fragments inside her mind.
A burning hallway.
Someone carrying her.
Blood on the floor.
"No…" she murmured. "No, I don't remember this…"
"You were never supposed to."
Her eyes snapped toward him.
"What does that mean?"
Lu Shen exhaled slowly, as if deciding whether to cross a line he could never uncross.
Then he said the words that shattered everything completely.
"The fire wasn't an accident."
The world seemed to stop.
Xiaoyu stared at him silently, unable to process what she had just heard.
"…What?"
"Someone caused it."
Every sound disappeared beneath the pounding in her chest.
Rain.
Breathing.
Thoughts.
Everything faded except his voice.
"And your father," Lu Shen continued quietly, "spent the rest of his life trying to find out who."
Xiaoyu shook her head slowly, panic beginning to rise beneath her skin. "No… no, this is insane…"
But deep down—
Something inside her already knew it was true.
Because memories were starting to return now.
Small pieces.
Sharp pieces.
And every single one of them felt dangerous.
Lu Shen took another careful step toward her. "Xiaoyu, listen to me carefully. There are people who never wanted you to remember any of this."
"Why?" she whispered.
His eyes held hers steadily.
"Because if you remember everything…"
He paused.
And for the first time since entering the apartment—
Lu Shen looked genuinely worried.
"…you'll remember who was responsible for the fire."
Silence crashed over the room.
Xiaoyu's breathing stopped completely.
And somewhere deep inside her fractured memories—
A face began to appear.