Chapter 7: The Man with the Jade
The studio was unusually tense that morning. Lin Xiao Yan noticed it the moment she stepped out of the dressing room. Staff members whispered to one another, glancing toward the entrance more often than usual. Cameras were being adjusted repeatedly, and even the producers looked distracted.
Xiao Yan lowered her head, pretending to focus on fixing her shoelaces, but her ears were wide open.
He was coming.
Hua Yichen knelt in front of her, gently straightening her collar. "Xiao Yan, behave today, okay? There's an important guest visiting the set."
Xiao Yan looked up with wide, innocent eyes. "Important guest?"
Hua Yichen hesitated, then nodded. "A… businessman. One of the show's sponsors."
A businessman.
Xiao Yan almost smiled.
Filming began as usual, with a lighthearted parent-child activity. Xiao Yan played her role perfectly—laughing at the right moments, clinging to her mother when the camera zoomed in, earning waves of comments online calling her sweet and well-behaved.
Then, quietly, the atmosphere shifted.
Someone entered the studio.
Xiao Yan felt it before she saw him.
The jade pendant at her chest grew warm, pulsing faintly against her skin. Her heart skipped a beat. The twin soul within her stirred, emotions overlapping—familiarity, recognition, and something deep and aching.
She turned her head.
A tall man stood near the director's area, dressed simply but carrying an undeniable presence. His features were sharp, his expression calm, but his gaze was fixed on the set with unusual intensity. Around his neck, partially hidden beneath his shirt, hung a piece of jade.
The exact same jade.
Xiao Yan's fingers tightened.
Liang Zhiwei.
The man frowned slightly as his eyes landed on her. At first, it was just curiosity. Then confusion. Then something deeper—an inexplicable pull he couldn't explain.
Why did this child feel so… familiar?
Xiao Yan pretended not to notice him at first. She tugged Hua Yichen's sleeve and whispered, "Mommy, I'm thirsty."
Hua Yichen nodded and led her off set for a short break.
As they passed by, Xiao Yan "accidentally" stumbled.
Liang Zhiwei reacted instinctively, stepping forward and catching her before she fell.
"Careful," he said, his voice low and steady.
Xiao Yan looked up at him, eyes round and misty. For a moment, she said nothing—just stared.
Then, in a soft, puzzled voice, she asked, "Uncle… why do you have the same jade as me?"
Liang Zhiwei froze.
The air around them seemed to still.
He looked down. Xiao Yan, with trembling little hands, had pulled her pendant out from under her clothes. The jade was identical in shape, color, even the tiny crack along the edge.
His heart pounded.
"That jade…" he said slowly, "…where did you get it?"
Xiao Yan sniffed. "Mommy has one too. She said it was very important."
Liang Zhiwei's gaze snapped toward Hua Yichen.
Hua Yichen stiffened, recognition flashing across her face. Color drained from her cheeks as she subconsciously touched the jade she kept hidden in her bag—the same one she had planned to sell.
The memories she had buried surged back all at once.
The atmosphere turned strange. Crew members sensed something was off, and the director hesitated, unsure whether to cut the cameras. The audience, watching live, went wild.
"What's going on?" "Why does that man look shocked?" "That jade… is this a plot twist??"
Only Chen Zehao, watching from the shadows, felt true fear.
This wasn't coincidence.
Xiao Yan lowered her head again, hiding the sharp glint in her eyes. Inside her chest, the two souls aligned perfectly, calm and resolute.
This was only the beginning.
She had successfully pulled her father onto the stage.
Now, all that remained was to tear away the lies—and make the truth impossible to ignore.