Wei Lian was running.
Rain lashed down from the sky like sharp needles, soaking her hair, her clothes, her skin. Her breath came out ragged, burning her chest, but she didn't slow down. She couldn't.
Behind her—
"Lian! Stop!"
The man's voice cut through the rain, hoarse and desperate.
She tightened her grip on the small hands clutching hers.
"Faster," she whispered. "Mama, faster…"
Her three daughters ran beside her, their short legs struggling to keep up. Rain plastered their hair to their faces. Their shoes slipped on the wet pavement. Fear trembled in their eyes—but they didn't cry. Not a single one.
They had learned early.
Mama runs.
They follow.
"Mama," the eldest gasped, "why are we running?"
Wei Lian didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Because if she spoke, she might break.
Behind them, footsteps splashed through puddles. Heavy. Urgent. Unrelenting.
"Lian!" the man shouted again. "I'm not here to hurt them! Listen to me!"
She didn't turn around.
She had listened once before.
And it had destroyed her life.
Four years ago, she had been Wei Lian, personal secretary to the president of one of the top three beauty and luxury corporations in the world. She had worked beside him day and night—handling contracts, crises, schedules, secrets.
She had liked him.
And he had liked her.
At a company party, under blurred lights and soft music, one mistake happened.
One night.
One bed.
The next morning, she woke alone.
And later, she realized—
He thought the woman in his bed had been someone else.
Her friend.
The woman who smiled sweetly, cried easily, and stepped into Wei Lian's place without shame.
Wei Lian watched as the man she loved treated another woman with gentleness, protection, and responsibility. She watched him push aside his feelings for Wei Lian, believing he had compromised the "other woman."
She never explained.
She never begged.
Then she found out she was pregnant.
Triplets.
Fear swallowed her whole.
She resigned.
She disappeared.
She gave birth alone.
For four years, she raised her daughters quietly, built a ceramic business with her own hands, and never once looked back.
Until today.
Until Han Zeyu found her.
"Mama!" the youngest cried suddenly.
Wei Lian glanced down.
The child had stumbled.
Wei Lian stopped instantly, scooping her up, pulling the other two close.
They stood under the dim glow of a flickering streetlight, rain pouring down like the sky itself was crying.
Han Zeyu stopped a few meters away.
Rain soaked his expensive coat. His hair was plastered to his forehead. His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared at the three little girls clinging to Wei Lian.
His eyes were red.
"Lian," he said softly now, no longer shouting. "They're… they're mine, aren't they?"
Wei Lian's heart clenched painfully.
She turned away.
"They're not yours," she said coldly. "Go back."
Han Zeyu took a step closer.
"I know the truth," he said. "I checked the hospital records. The blood type. The dates. I know I was wrong."
His voice broke.
"I know I hurt you."
The rain grew heavier.
Wei Lian laughed suddenly—but there was no humor in it.
"Knowing now doesn't change the past," she said. "You weren't there when they cried at night. You weren't there when they were sick. You weren't there when I built everything from nothing."
Han Zeyu swallowed hard.
"I won't take them from you," he said quickly. "I swear. I just want to—"
Thunder roared.
The sky split open with a violent flash of white.
The girls screamed.
"Mama!!"
Wei Lian's instinct screamed louder than reason.
She turned and ran.
They reached the edge of the road, near an old, abandoned construction site. Metal rods jutted from the ground like broken bones. Rainwater pooled everywhere.
"Lian!" Han Zeyu shouted. "Stop! It's dangerous!"
Too late.
The sky exploded.
A deafening crack tore through the air.
Lightning struck.
Pure white light swallowed everything.
Wei Lian felt heat—
pain—
then nothing.
Her last conscious thought was not fear.
It was her daughters.
She pulled them into her arms, shielding them with her body.
"Don't be scared," she whispered. "Mama's here."
The world shattered.
And then—
Darkness.
When Wei Lian opened her eyes again…
The rain was gone.
The road was gone.
And a completely different fate was waiting.