The invitation burned in her purse like a live wire.
"Private audition. One role. One actress. Come alone."Signed: S.K.
It had no logo, no studio name, and no producer attached. Suspicious. Dangerous. Tempting.
Feng Yuxi sat by the window of her temporary penthouse, staring at the horizon where dusk bled into night. Her reflection in the glass showed a calm, unreadable face. But inside her chest, instincts long buried were whispering.
S.K.She hadn't heard those initials in years. Not since Black Lotus folded after her final mission as Agent Phoenix. Could it be him?
The world thought Feng Yuxi was just a pretty newcomer in the entertainment world. But six years ago, she'd been more than that—an elite intelligence operative in a covert faction that now existed only in whispers.
And now someone was tugging the strings again.
She opened the wardrobe and slipped into something simple but flexible—black leggings, low boots, and a silk trench coat. She didn't bother with makeup. She wasn't going to an audition. She was heading into enemy territory.
The address led her to the edge of the city—an old, unused opera house surrounded by abandoned buildings and broken streetlights. It loomed like a relic from another world, its tall arches cracked and its stained-glass windows smeared with dust.
She stepped inside.
The musty air clung to her skin. There was no staff. No cameras. No welcome sign. Just dim stage lights casting ghostly shadows.
"You're early," came a voice, calm and laced with amusement.
Yuxi's gaze snapped toward the stage.
A man stepped into the light. Late 50s, rail-thin, wearing an ivory suit that should've made him seem benign—but didn't. His eyes gleamed like a knife freshly sharpened.
"You're not S.K.," she said coolly.
He smiled. "Let's call me... an extension of his curiosity."
Before she could respond, a woman stepped out of the wings—identical to her in height and frame. Her walk, her posture, her clothing—meticulously matched. A clone.
"Your audition begins now," the man said. "Impress me."
The lookalike lunged, a gleaming knife in her grip. No hesitation. No warning.
This wasn't an audition. This was a test.
Yuxi ducked, pivoted sharply, and struck the attacker's forearm, disarming her with a clean, swift twist. The knife clattered to the stage.
One strike to the ribs. The woman collapsed.
Yuxi stood over her, breathing evenly.
"Still sharp," the man said, clapping softly. "I knew we didn't bury you deep enough, Agent Phoenix."
That name.She hadn't heard it aloud since her "death."
"You're testing ghosts," Yuxi said coldly. "Black Lotus disbanded. And Phoenix died."
The man's grin widened. "Did she?"He pulled out a remote and tapped it.
Behind him, a screen flickered to life.
It showed a grainy black-and-white surveillance photo—of her, six years ago, just moments before her final mission. Timestamped and labeled: "Target: Phoenix. Termination Ordered."
She froze.
No one was supposed to have that file. No one.
"Someone sold you out," he said softly. "And now, someone wants you awakened."
The lights snapped off. By the time her eyes adjusted, the man was gone. So was the clone. The screen. Everything.
Only a business card lay at her feet.Blank—except for a symbol she hadn't seen in years: a lotus burned black.
Her pulse thundered.
Back at the Li Corporation tower, Li Zeyan stood before a wall of monitors.
Footage from the security drone he had assigned to trail Yuxi looped silently on the main screen.
He watched her move—fluid, fast, lethal.
Not an actress. Not an ordinary woman.
Something inside him shifted.
Zeyan pressed pause on the video and stared at her image.
She was danger wrapped in silk. And she was hiding something far bigger than just a fake marriage.
He didn't know whether to protect her—or destroy her.
"Tell me what you are, Feng Yuxi," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "Before I find out myself."
Meanwhile, in the Li estate's private study, little Fenghao sat cross-legged, surrounded by devices. Holographic data flickered before him.
He traced a string of photo metadata—baby pictures, upload histories, timestamps.
One upload stood out.
Uploader: AgentPhoenix@encrypted.gov.cn
Date: 5 years ago.
His breath caught. "That's… before I was born."
He tapped the screen again and zoomed into the uploader's location. A military hospital.
He stared at the screen.At the blurry ID badge on the corner of the photo.
It was her. His mother.
Fenghao swallowed hard.
He'd always known his mommy wasn't ordinary. But this? This changed everything.