Early autumn brought an unseasonably gloomy chill.
At the SKY base helipad on the outskirts of the city, the helicopter’s rotor blades spun faster and faster, whipping the grass into waves under the fierce wind. The pilot’s muscular arm pulled the ascent lever, and the black-and-white helicopter slowly rose into the sky.
After a brief moment of weightlessness, Sui Yi quickly adjusted to the sensation of flying at high altitude.
Wearing headphones, he looked down at the winding Great Wall beneath him. Without the usual obstruction of towering skyscrapers, the view was exceptionally open, and the heaviness in his chest dissipated somewhat.
Lately, Sui Yi had been annoyed by his arranged marriage partner.
Not only had the woman caused trouble for his girlfriend on set, but she also had the audacity to show up at his company daily, asserting her so-called "claim" over him. He had hinted at his displeasure more than once, but she seemed determined to ignore him. Finally, he had simply walked out in frustration.
After quietly admiring the scenery for a while, he turned to the pilot and asked, "Is that Guanting Reservoir? From up here, it looks so close to Wild Duck Lake."
The helicopter’s noise was deafening, forcing them to nearly shout to be heard.
Bian Che, wearing sunglasses, didn’t even glance at him, replying in a tone dripping with impatience, "Why don’t you swim over and find out?"
He couldn’t understand how, in the middle of lunch, he had been strong-armed into this situation—not only forced to sightsee in this miserable weather but also strong-armed into piloting the helicopter.
Sui Yi, amused by his friend’s sudden detachment from worldly concerns, teased, "Don’t be so cold. I heard you’ve been losing money lately. Thought I’d take you up here to get closer to the God of Wealth—literally."
Bian Che ignored him, focusing on flying.
A phone rang. Sui Yi frowned at the name flashing on the screen and angrily rejected the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket.
With a self-deprecating smirk, he muttered, "You’re the smart one, Bian Che. Women are nothing but trouble. I need to talk to my dad—this engagement has to end."
The phone rang again, more urgently this time.
"Damn it, I’ve had enough—" Sui Yi snapped, yanking the phone out, ready to give the caller a piece of his mind—only to realize the screen was dark.
It wasn’t his phone ringing.
His gaze shifted to Bian Che. "Answer your phone," he prompted.
"What?" The roar of the rotor blades drowned out everything, and Bian Che, still wearing headphones, hadn’t heard a thing.
Sui Yi decided to help, pressing the speakerphone button for him.
The sky was hazy, and from the cockpit, the distant lake and rice fields looked veiled in mist, their outlines blurred.
Bian Che instinctively answered, "Hello?"
"Bian Che, you—%#￥%#￥…"
He frowned, unable to make out the words, and pulled off one headphone to press the phone closer. "Who is this?"
A haughty female voice, thick with fury, echoed through the helicopter: "I’m your ancestor. Next time you want to talk to me, remember to burn incense first."
Before Bian Che could respond, the line went dead, leaving only the dull beep of the dial tone.
He immediately tried calling back, only to be met with an automated voice: "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable."
Blacklisted. Again.
Sui Yi suddenly felt a chill, an inexplicable sense of danger creeping up his spine.
Clearing his throat, he asked, "Since when did you have an ancestor?"
Bian Che tossed his headphones aside and gave him a humorless smile. "There’s a bag under your seat. Take it out."
Sui Yi craned his neck to look. "What’s hidden down there?"
"A parachute."
......
Ye Shengsheng skipped lunch and, after a quick word with Ye Huaisheng, had her driver take her back to her jewelry studio, StellaFantasy.
StellaFantasy was a brand she had founded during college, nestled in the scenic Nanyuan Park, just fifteen minutes from the Ye family offices.
As the car passed rows of lush locust trees, the sounds of Beijing street vendors calling out their wares drifted through the window. Resting her chin on her hand, she stared outside, replaying the confrontation between Ye Huaisheng and Ye Qingzhai in her mind. Closing her eyes, Bian Che emerged from the darkness instead.
Ye Shengsheng hated feeling trapped by invisible chains.
She had been an adult for a long time, navigating life with a carefully crafted mask. But because she had known Bian Che for so long, she had never bothered hiding her true self around him.
Their feud stretched back years.
It had started at a business banquet when Ye Shengsheng was just five years old. Bored out of her mind, she wandered to the second-floor lounge to play. Around her neck hung a pink bear-shaped Polaroid camera—her newest obsession.
"Click."
She snapped a photo of a floral arrangement, eagerly waiting for the image to develop.
As she turned, she noticed a boy sitting on the sofa, engrossed in solving a Rubik’s cube. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing deft fingers that swiftly restored the scrambled colors.
Tucking the photo into her little crossbody bag, she trotted over in her shiny leather shoes.
"Brother, can you be my model?" It was the first and only time she ever called Bian Che "brother."
He studied her for a moment before asking, "What’s in it for me?"
She blinked her long lashes, scrambling for an answer. "We can be friends!"
Bian Che paused, then tossed the cube aside. "Fine. Take the picture."
Children’s friendships needed no preamble. A shared candy, a toy, or a simple "Can I play too?" was enough to forge an instant bond.
......
A sharp cry suddenly pierced the quiet of the lounge.
Ye Shengsheng didn’t understand why, after just one photo, the handsome boy suddenly collapsed, his body convulsing as he gasped for air, his face turning an unnatural shade of gray.
Terrified, she burst into tears, dropping to her knees beside him. "W-what’s wrong? Get up! I won’t take your picture anymore… please…"
Staff rushed over at the commotion, and soon, hurried footsteps echoed from the brightly lit banquet hall below.
A crowd swarmed around them. A young couple pushed to the front—the man scooping Bian Che into his arms while the woman frantically dialed for an ambulance.
Ye Shengsheng sobbed uncontrollably. Just days before, she had visited her grandmother in the hospital, her face just as pale. Her mother had said Grandma had gone on a trip to the sky and wasn’t coming back.
She was terrified her new friend might leave for the same place.
Amid the chaos, Bian Che’s dark eyes suddenly flew open, his complexion returning to normal as a mischievous grin curled his lips.
"You’re awake?" Ye Shengsheng stared at him, tears still streaming down her face.
"I just had a heart attack," he said breezily. "Now I’m fine."
Bian Che had planned to keep up the act a little longer, but the girl’s devastated crying had pricked his conscience. After all, his goal had only been to send a message to his parents—if his older brother could get special treatment for having a heart condition, then so could he.
Ye Shengsheng didn’t realize it was a mischievous boy’s prank. She murmured the words to herself, “What’s a heart disease?”
Bian Che had no time to answer her. His father, face grim with anger, forcibly carried him away. Dangling under the man’s arm, Bian Che managed to wave at her before disappearing.
Ye Shengsheng barely had two seconds to process what happened before a gentle older brother helped her up. He looked strikingly similar to Bian Che but was much frailer.
“I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of my brother.”
The scene replayed in her mind, and the anger refused to fade.
After that incident, she relegated Bian Che to the enemy camp, never sparing him a friendly glance whenever they crossed paths. Bian Che, however, seemed unbothered—eating heartily, living carefreely, and consistently topping the academic rankings. Their mutual resentment only deepened, locking them into a rivalry as sharp as needle against thorn.
How could two people who despised each other ever become husband and wife? She shook her head, laughing at herself for even entertaining the thought.
On a quiet weekday afternoon, Nan Yuan Park was so still that only the whisper of the wind could be heard.
Back in her domain, Ye Shengsheng kicked off her high heels and changed into casual wear in the lounge.
Her assistant, Bella, approached with a safe, unlocking it in front of her. “Shengsheng, these are the colored gemstones we sourced from the Sri Lanka Gem Exhibition. You mentioned wanting to design a back chain for the gown—see if any of these stones fit your vision?”
Had Bella not reminded her, Ye Shengsheng would have completely forgotten.
She tied her hair into a ponytail, slipped on her glasses, and examined the gemstones’ clarity under a magnifying glass. After a while, she rubbed her throbbing temples. “No rush on that. Take them away for now.”
The office returned to silence, the air lightly scented with citrusy incense, gradually soothing her nerves.
She picked up her iPad and began sketching a design.
As a jewelry designer, Ye Shengsheng had a penchant for vibrant gemstones and the intricate art of traditional Chinese filigree. Her work effortlessly bridged the divide between Eastern and Western aesthetics.
She told herself she didn’t care, but the competitive itch from her bet with Gao Xueying still gnawed at her.
By then, the sky had cleared, and the sunset cast a warm glow from the sofa to her desk. Under the lamplight, she saved the finalized design of the floral collar ear cuff and sent the image to her own WeChat.
The ache in her back reminded her that the day had slipped away.
After admiring her work for a while, she couldn’t help but marvel—this was her expertise. The finished piece would be breathtaking.
Since the PDF incident, the number of “plastic sisters” inviting her to events had noticeably dwindled. Scrolling through her feed, she spotted a nine-grid photo posted three minutes ago by Ding Wenwen’s close friend. Even without zooming in, she could see Zhu Ze and Gao Xueying posing brightly with the birthday girl, their radiant smiles practically blinding.
They weren’t just public now—they were flaunting their presence in her social circle.
Ye Shengsheng had always been the jewel everyone adored. When had she become this sidelined, pitiable figure? Every recent incident—Ye Huaisheng’s illness, the company’s troubles, the social exclusion, and even her one-night stand with Bian Che—pierced her nerves like poison coursing through her veins.
Taking a deep breath, she unblocked a name from her blacklist and sent a message for the first time:
"Interested in discussing a collaboration?"
