The Su family liked their mornings quiet.
Quiet meant nothing had gone wrong overnight. No calls from creditors, no scandals trending online, no sudden illnesses that required donations or excuses. Quiet meant luck was behaving.
Su Nian learned very young that if something broke the quiet, the blame would find its way to her.
So when she stepped out of the Su family gate at dawn, a single suitcase in hand, no one stopped her.
Her father didn't come out to say goodbye. He rarely did anything that required emotional effort. Her stepmother was already awake, sitting at the dining table with her back straight and her lips pursed, as if daring the day to offend her. Her half-sister, Su Wan, watched from the second-floor balcony, arms crossed, expression faintly relieved.
Finally, the bad luck was leaving.
The iron gate closed behind Su Nian with a dull clang.
She paused, then exhaled slowly.
The black qi lingering around the Su house churned uneasily, like smoke deprived of fuel. It had always been thick there—woven from resentment, greed, and fear—but today it loosened, dispersing in thin strands.
"Good," Su Nian murmured to no one. "You can have each other."
She turned and walked away.
Su Nian had never planned to go to the Duan family.
She preferred small clinics, quiet patients, problems that didn't involve power struggles and bodyguards. But Professor Liang's call had come at the worst possible moment—just as the Su family finalized their decision to "cut ties for the sake of everyone."
They say you're unconventional, the old professor had said, voice careful. There's a patient I can't help. I thought of you.
The Duan family heir.
The moment Su Nian heard that, she knew trouble was unavoidable.
The Duan estate sat at the edge of the city, its gates tall and understated. No excessive gold, no flamboyant symbols—just authority. The kind that didn't need to shout.
A uniformed guard examined her invitation with open skepticism. "You're… Miss Su?"
"Yes."
"You're very young."
"I've been told."
He hesitated, then waved her in.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, the air changed.
Black qi.
Dense. Controlled. Deliberately contained.
Su Nian's fingers curled at her side. This wasn't the chaotic misfortune she'd grown up with. This was managed corruption—something cultivated, fed, and restrained by design.
That made it far more dangerous.
Inside the living room, Duan Yichen sat waiting.
He didn't look injured.
He looked bored.
One leg was extended, resting casually on a footstool. His posture was relaxed, shoulders loose, gaze calm and sharp at the same time. His face was handsome in a way that suggested effortlessness rather than vanity.
Su Nian's eyes dropped instinctively to his leg.
The black qi wrapped around it like chains.
Her breath stilled.
This wasn't lingering from the accident.
This was suppression.
Duan Yichen noticed her expression immediately.
"You've been staring since you walked in," he said. "Is my face that offensive?"
Su Nian blinked, then raised her eyes. "No. Just your leg."
Madam Duan frowned. "Young lady—"
"It's fine," Duan Yichen interrupted. His gaze remained fixed on Su Nian, curiosity sharpening. "What do you see?"
Su Nian hesitated.
Honesty was rarely rewarded.
But lies were worse.
"I see something that shouldn't be there," she said carefully.
The room went silent.
Madam Duan's expression hardened. "Explain yourself."
Su Nian stepped closer and knelt. The closer she got, the more violently the black qi reacted—coiling, tightening, as if it sensed her and disliked it.
She extended her hand.
"Don't touch him," Madam Duan snapped.
Duan Yichen lifted his hand slightly. "Let her."
Su Nian's fingers brushed his ankle.
The black qi surged.
Duan Yichen inhaled sharply—not in pain, but shock.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Nothing," Su Nian said honestly. "But whatever is inside you noticed me."
That earned her a slow smile.
"Good," Duan Yichen said. "It's been ignoring everyone else."
She withdrew her hand and reached for her needle case.
"This treatment won't be pleasant," she warned. "And it won't be permanent. But it will tell us if I'm right."
Duan Yichen didn't hesitate. "Do it."
The first needle went in.
The black qi recoiled violently.
Duan Yichen's fingers curled into the sofa.
Then—
His toes twitched.
Madam Duan gasped.
Duan Yichen stared at his foot in silence.
Su Nian removed her hand, heart pounding. "Temporary," she said. "But confirmed."
He looked up at her.
Not with gratitude.
With intent.
"You're staying," he said calmly.
Su Nian met his gaze, unflinching.
Behind her stood a family that had never wanted her.
In front of her stood a man whose world could swallow hers whole.
"I don't belong to anyone," she said.
Duan Yichen smiled faintly.
"Then stay," he replied. "And make yourself useful."
Somewhere deep in the estate, the black qi shifted—irritated.
And far away, in the Su family home, Su Wan sneezed for no reason at all.