The city buzzed with the aftermath of the Gaokao. For most students, it was a time of nervous waiting and wild celebration. For Ye Xia, it was a momentary lull before a different kind of storm. Her perfect scores were a foregone conclusion; her acceptance into the nation's top university was a mere formality. Her focus was entirely on the meeting with Jin, the Leng family's representative.
It was to be a simple business dinner at a five-star hotel, a facade of civility over a raw test of power. Ye Xia dressed for war in a tailored black dress that was both elegant and allowed for freedom of movement. As she prepared to leave, her phone buzzed with a message from Mo.
[Be careful. Jin is a brute, but he's not stupid. He will have backup.]
[I'm counting on it,] she replied. A public demonstration required an audience.
The dinner was a tense affair. Jin, a man built like a bulldog with a cultivator's predatory stillness, made crass jokes and dismissive comments about the Yun family's weakness. Ye Xia said little, her senses extended through the Spirit Gathering Stone. She felt two other cultivators in the room, their Kai signatures muted but present—Jin's hidden guards.
When the dessert was served, Jin leaned across the table, his voice a low growl. "Listen, girlie. You can tell your uncle that the deal is off. We're taking the subsidiary. The Yun are finished."
"This conversation is over," Ye Xia said, her voice calm but carrying an edge of frost. "You will withdraw the takeover bid. Today."
Jin laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Or what? You'll cry to your uncle?"
In a movement too fast for the normal eye to follow, Ye Xia's hand shot out. She didn't strike him. Instead, her fingers, infused with a concentrated point of Kai, tapped the solid mahogany table between them. There was a soft crack, and a web of fractures spread out from the point of impact, splitting the thick tabletop in two.
The laughter died in Jin's throat. His eyes bulged. The two hidden cultivators stepped out of the shadows, their expressions alarmed.
Ye Xia stood up, her Kai flaring around her like an invisible flame. The air in the room grew heavy. "I said," she repeated, each word dripping with controlled power, "the conversation is over. Deliver my message to the Leng family."
She turned and walked out, leaving a stunned silence in her wake. She had passed Yun Ming's test. The message would be delivered: the Yun family had a new, unexpectedly powerful defender.
But as she stepped into the hotel lobby, a different scene caught her eye. A crowd had gathered near the entrance, photographers flashing. At the center was Mo, who had apparently just arrived. And clinging to his arm was the most beautiful woman Ye Xia had ever seen.
Tall, willowy, with hair like spun gold and eyes the color of a summer sky, she was dressed in a gown that probably cost more than Ye Xia's first car. She looked like a princess from a fairy tale, and the way she looked at Mo was one of possessiveness and deep familiarity.
Mo's expression was his usual mask of impassivity, but he didn't shake her off. He was escorting her, playing his part.
A reporter shoved a microphone forward. "Miss Evangeline! Is it true the Mo and de Winter families are finalizing the merger?"
The golden-haired woman, Evangeline, gave a dazzling smile. "Some things are meant to be, don't you think? Our families have been aligned for generations." She squeezed Mo's arm. "It's a union that strengthens everyone."
Ye Xia stood frozen, a cold stone settling in her gut. Evangeline de Winter. The name meant nothing to her, but the context was clear. This was the "ally" the Mo matriarch had chosen. This was the gilded cage intended for Mo.
Their eyes met across the lobby. Mo's gaze was complex—apology, warning, and a flicker of something else. Resignation? Evangeline followed his gaze, and her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as they landed on Ye Xia, assessing her with the cold efficiency of a predator sizing up prey.
Then the moment was broken as bodyguards cleared a path and Mo and Evangeline were swept away.
Ye Xia walked out into the night, the victory over Jin feeling hollow and distant. A new front had just opened in her war, and this one struck at a place she hadn't known was so vulnerable.