WebNovels

Chapter 17 - Chapter 17 Quiet Hours

Xueling sat down at her laptop again after a grueling day of training.Every muscle in her body ached, the tendons in her arms singing from hours of sparring and forms. She flexed her fingers once, twice, then forced them to the keyboard.

Discipline. That was the only thing that mattered.It was this brutal self-discipline that had once made her queen of the underground arenas — the undefeated ghost who moved like wind and vanished like smoke. And now, with the Dragon Gate Challenge looming, she couldn't afford to lose even a heartbeat of focus.

If she wanted to win against that unknown "hunter" who'd baited her on the dark web, she needed to be sharper, faster, stronger. Ruthless — especially to herself.

Still, as she typed line after line of code for Helios Tech, her gaze flickered—almost involuntarily—to the tiny encrypted chat window in the corner of her screen.She had turned down every video call, every voice request, every polite offer to "discuss in real time."

What surprised her was that he hadn't pushed.

Instead, Mo Shenyu — the famed Helios founder, the rumored wolf of the financial world — had adapted to her boundaries with quiet patience.He had kept her company during long nights, sometimes reviewing her modules, sometimes debugging them before she even asked.At this rate, it almost felt like he worked for her.

And strangely, Xueling didn't dislike it.There was something disarmingly calm about his presence in the chat — no demands, no judgment, just a quiet, steady warmth.

She didn't want to push it away.She didn't want to name it either.

And right on cue, the message notification blinked softly on the corner of her screen.

M.Shen: You're still awake.Did you eat anything?

Her lips quirked. Eat? When was the last time anyone had asked her that?

XL: You sound like a mother hen, Mr. Shen.I'll eat when I finish.

M.Shen: Then I'll wait until you do.Consider it part of the partnership agreement.

Her fingers hovered. She could picture his expression — not the sharp smile of a CEO, but the quiet amusement of a man who meant every word.

XL: You really have nothing better to do?

M.Shen: Nothing more important.

The cursor blinked. Her pulse gave a tiny, inexplicable leap.

XL: You're unusually sentimental tonight.

M.Shen: I just realized something.You type like someone who's always fighting time —like if you stop, the world might forget you exist.

Her breath caught. For a moment she couldn't look at the words.

XL: Maybe I just hate being idle.

M.Shen: Maybe.But I think it's more than that.You carry yourself like someone who's always had to win just to survive.

Her hands hesitated on the keys. A strange warmth — almost pain — unfurled in her chest.No one had ever said something like that to her before. Not even close.

XL: You read too much between the lines, Mr. Shen.

M.Shen: Only when it comes to you.

…You remind me of something I lost once.A kind of light that never asked for permission to exist.

Her eyes softened. She didn't know what possessed her, but she typed back — slowly, quietly.

XL: Maybe you'll find it again.

There was a long pause before his next reply came.

M.Shen: I think I already have.

Xueling's breath trembled. The cursor blinked in silence for several seconds before she managed a simple response.

XL: Good night, Mr. Shen.

M.Shen: Sleep well, little one.

The words lingered on her screen like a whisper.She closed the laptop, her heart oddly unsteady.For once, she didn't analyze it. Didn't question the feeling that maybe — just maybe — there was someone in the world who saw her, not for her brilliance or her power, but just as herself.

And as she drifted to sleep, her lips curved in a rare, genuine smile.

At Mo Shenyu's Penthouse:

The glow of the monitor dimmed to a soft blue in the darkened office. Mo Shenyu sat unmoving, eyes fixed on the final message still open on the screen.

Sleep well, little one.

He read the words again, and a strange peace settled over him — the kind that only came when he knew she was safe, warm, and sleeping. It was absurd, he thought, how his mind could quiet the moment she logged off.

Every waking hour he wondered about her.Was she eating properly?Had she pushed her training too hard again?Did her wrists still ache from coding until dawn?

That gnawing worry had driven him nearly mad. More than once he had messaged Assistant Liang to push back Helios's internal deadlines, just so she wouldn't feel pressured. She had refused each time — politely, firmly, like she was immune to exhaustion.

And then she would deliver code that stunned even Helios's most senior engineers.Her architecture was flawless; her logic danced with elegance and ferocity.He had watched the reports roll in, each new success like a reminder of why he could never let her go.

How could someone this brilliant also make him feel so… out of sorts?

The quiet hum of the night air-conditioning filled the silence. He leaned back, pressing his thumb to the spot between his brows, as if he could ease the ache there.

Respecting her distance was the hardest discipline he had ever learned. He had spent a lifetime commanding armies of men and corporations, and yet one girl's boundaries had tamed him utterly.

Still, beneath the calm, a pulse of hunger coiled tight in his veins. His knuckles whitened where his hand curled into a fist, tendons standing out sharply under his skin.

Soon, he promised himself.Soon, the lines she'd drawn would no longer separate them.

He let the monitor fade to black, her last words burning behind his eyes."Soon," he murmured again — half vow, half prayer —and the quiet room seemed to hold its breath with him.

On the other side:

The smoke from Chen Yutian's cigar curled lazily toward the ceiling of the presidential suite, catching in the golden light. Below, Jinhai glimmered — sleek, rich, oblivious. A perfect playground for ruin.

He lounged in the armchair, half-dressed in a silk shirt, the top buttons undone. His assistant, Yu Mingxu, stood across from him, notebook in hand, trying to hide the nervous twitch in his fingers.

"So," Yutian drawled, exhaling a slow ribbon of smoke. "The invitations for the Dragon Gate Challenge are out?"

"Yes, Young Master. All confirmed participants have been announced on the black network. The organizers are keeping the names anonymous to the public, but… insiders know which groups are sending fighters."

Yutian smiled thinly. "And the Black Viper?"

"Confirmed, sir. He accepted the challenge slot. Says he'll happily destroy the girl."

"Good." He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "The mysterious girl who's been wrecking our network, outsmarting every hacker we send, and humiliating the Chen family — finally stepping into the ring herself…"

He stubbed the cigar against the ashtray, the sound sharp. "We'll make sure she never walks out of it."

Yu Mingxu hesitated. "You mean—"

"Exactly what you think," Yutian cut him off. "I don't just want her beaten. I want her erased."

He stood and paced toward the glass wall, the city lights painting cold reflections across his face. "She's no ordinary fighter. The footage — her movements, the precision — that's old-school training, military or sect lineage. Not something a street-level amateur could fake. If we let her rise, she'll draw eyes we can't afford."

"But, sir…" Yu Mingxu's voice trembled. "The Black Viper only agreed… but not erase her. And There's talk that Mo Shenyu himself is coming to watch the tournament. If we act there—"

"That's the point."Yutian turned, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. "Mo Shenyu's little obsession has made him sloppy. He's gone from silent specter to lovesick fool — tracking one girl across half the country. He's walking straight into our den, Mingxu. All we need is to shut the gate behind him."

He flicked open a digital schematic on his tablet — the Dragon Gate Arena, mapped in ruthless precision. "We'll have three layers of insurance.First, our own fighter in the tournament — the Black Viper — already briefed to target her directly. Make sure to up her share of the cut. We can pay even one billion if it means Black Viper can Erase that girl.

Second, sabotage the arena's safety systems. A stray malfunction, a spark, an 'accident' can end her before she even knows what's coming.And third…" His voice lowered. "Snipers at the upper ring. If Mo Shenyu steps in — if he tries to interfere — we end it there."

Yu Mingxu's knuckles went white around his pen. "That's… dangerous, sir. Killing Mo Shenyu—"

Yutian's eyes flashed. "It's the only way to bring the Mos down. You think the Chen family can crawl back after what he did to us? He burned our casino to the ground, humiliated my brother, ruined our standing with the old man. This is our one chance."

He walked back to the bar, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and raised it slightly, his tone chillingly calm. "The Dragon Gate will be our stage.The girl he protects will die.Mo Shenyu will fall.And we will finally have not just the Chen family, but also the entire capital under our thumbs. All families will bow down to me Chen Yutian, the uncrowned King"

Outside, thunder rolled faintly over Jinhai

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