The private jet sliced through the air, carrying the three occupants back towards the central city.
The massive cabin was silent, except for the soft hum of the powerful engines, but Han Yue felt a pressure far louder than any machine. She sat alone in the leather seat, staring at a stack of financial reports, pretending to absorb the figures.
She wasn't reading. She was watching Zhao Min.
Zhao Min was across the aisle, completely absorbed in drawing small, simple sketches for Han Qing. Han Qing, vibrant and restored, was giggling, her health radiant and undeniable. Her constant, fragile need for Zhao Min had now solidified into pure, happy possession.
Han Yue watched her younger sister's effortless joy, and a wave of deep, cold exhaustion washed over her. She was only twenty-eight. She was the CEO of Nova Consulting, a colossal empire worth billions. She should have felt powerful, decisive, and invincible. Instead, she felt like a successful, high-paid prison warden.
She closed the folder, the crisp sound sharp in the quiet cabin. She remembered her life before Zhao Min. It had been cold, clean, and perfectly predictable. Her goals were simple: work twenty hours a day, surpass her demanding father, and control the entire family fortune without ever needing anyone. Love was a liability. Trust was a weakness. She had solved every problem with a contract, a lawyer, or a direct transfer of massive funds.
But the moment she legally tied herself to Zhao Min a frantic panicked legal move to secure his proximity after discovering his luck—everything became chaotic. She realized she now had to solve every problem with kindness and constant emotional vigilance. She had traded her supreme solitude for a state of perpetual, high-stakes management.
The constant tension in the air was a battle she fought every hour. She had to manage her sister's desperate dependence, the rising threat of Mei Lin's pure, competing charm, and the terrifying, murderous cycle of Li Mei's Karma. And she had to do all of this while hiding the most dangerous truth: she wasn't securing an asset; she was falling deeply in love with the kind, simple man who was the gold in her cage.
The numbers she had reviewed were astronomical. The deals they had closed since Zhao Min arrived were unprecedented successes. She had secured more wealth in three weeks than she had in the last three years combined. She was richer than ever before, but the weight of that wealth, dependent entirely on another person's moral state, was terrifying.
She hated the constant, low-level guilt she felt about Li Mei. Han Yue had discreetly activated her legal and security teams to mitigate the risk and protect the company's image, ensuring the loan sharks were dealt with through powerful legal actions. But she knew that physical safety was not enough. Zhao Min's conscience was still bleeding for his ex. He valued salvation, not legal revenge. Han Yue knew that if she truly wanted his love and the full, stable Luck Flow he represented, she had to be morally superior to Li Mei—she had to be the better, more selfless savior.
Han Yue stood up, her body feeling stiff from the intense emotional review. She walked to the galley kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water. Zhao Min looked up instantly, his pen pausing over the cat sketch, his face immediately lighting up with concern.
"Are you okay, Ms. Han?" he asked, his voice gentle and genuine. "You look incredibly tired."
"I am fine, Mr. Zhao," she replied, her voice maintaining a professional, steady tone. "Just reviewing the assets." It was a lie she told every day. She was not just reviewing assets; she was managing her heart.
She almost dropped the corporate mask. She almost told him the truth: I'm tired of managing fate. I'm tired of pretending. I love you, and the feeling terrifies me because it makes me weak.
She returned to her seat. Her mind immediately ran back to the core challenge: Li Mei. The problem wasn't the ex-fiancée herself; it was the pity she was draining from Zhao Min. If that pity continued, the stress would eventually fracture the Harmony Protocol.
Han Yue realized she could not fight a battle of pity with legal force or wealth. She had to fight it with a genuine, selfless act of true kindness. She had to prove to Zhao Min that she valued his moral purity over her own ambition. She had to secure Li Mei's long-term future, removing the source of Zhao Min's guilt completely.
She picked up her private, secure phone and messaged her chief security and legal counsel, bypassing the usual corporate chain.
The message was brief and contained no corporate jargon, reflecting the new reality of her life.
"Focus the investigation on Li Mei's long-term, permanent safety and housing. Find a way to secure her safe, stable future, permanently, without involving Min. Do it quickly and silently. This must be a clean solution. This is crucial for corporate harmony and the continuation of the current deals."
As she put the phone down, she felt a slight easing in her chest. It was a costly, complicated move, but it was the right thing to do—not just for the luck, but for the man she loved. She had traded her old, ruthless persona for a golden cage, and the price of staying inside that cage was her own moral evolution. She had to become the person Zhao Min believed she already was.
She looked at Zhao Min again. He was smiling at Han Qing's perfect, happy laugh. Han Yue felt a powerful surge of protectiveness. She had secured the legal contract, Han Qing had the emotional claim, and Mei Lin had the claim of purity. Han Yue resolved that she would win the final, true claim, the claim of true goodness.