Away from the Li Family estate.

Ye Chen ran through the city like a madman.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood continuously poured from his injured eye and stained the streets behind him.

Cars honked loudly as he recklessly sprinted across a busy road, nearly getting hit multiple times.

Yet he never stopped.

"I need to get further away... Further..."

He gasped heavily while clutching his bleeding face.

His breathing had become uneven.

His expensive clothes were torn apart.

His body was covered in cuts.

He looked less like a heavenly protagonist and more like a mentally unstable fugitive.

Eventually, Ye Chen stumbled into a dark alleyway.

He quickly looked around anxiously.

Left.

Right.

Behind him.

Only after confirming nobody followed him did he finally collapse onto a piece of dirty cardboard beside a dumpster.

Then he immediately began trying to treat his injuries.

Twenty minutes slowly passed.

Every tiny sound made him jump violently.

A cat knocking over trash.

Footsteps in the distance.

A car door closing.

Everything terrified him now.

Finally, after stabilizing the bleeding around his eye, Ye Chen slowly stood up and looked down into a puddle of water.

The reflection staring back at him looked miserable.

A scar now stretched across his ruined left eye.

"...Damn it."

His entire face twisted.

Then he slammed his fist into the nearby dumpster violently.

BANG!

"HEY!"

A furious voice suddenly yelled from inside the dumpster.

"I’M TRYING TO SLEEP IN HERE!"

Ye Chen jumped backward instantly in shock.

His heart nearly exploded from fear.

’How the hell did I not notice him!?’

For the first time since descending the mountain, Ye Chen genuinely started doubting himself.

He slowly backed away until his back hit the cold brick wall behind him.

His breathing became heavier.

Then he started comforting himself out loud like a lunatic.

"I need to go back to the mountain..."

"I need more training..."

"I obviously wasn’t ready to descend yet..."

His remaining eye twitched.

"This is a tactical retreat!"

"I’m not weaker!"

"I’m just... temporarily disadvantaged!"

The more he spoke, the more convinced he became.

Yes.

That had to be it.

There was no way someone chosen by heaven could lose.

Shen Tian just cheated somehow.

That was the only explanation.

After convincing himself, Ye Chen finally turned around and started walking toward the distant mountains again.

His steps looked shaky.

Broken.

Completely different from the arrogant man who originally descended full of confidence.

. . .

Back at the Li Family estate.

Guests slowly departed one after another.

Servants cleaned shattered glass off the floor.

Guards were being treated for their injuries. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The once elegant hall now was trashed.

At the entrance, Li Lian politely apologized to each departing guest despite the exhaustion visible in her eyes.

"I’m sorry tonight ended so abruptly. Please allow the Li Family to make it up to you another time."

There was nothing else she could really do.

The main host, Li Yunhai, had already been taken to the hospital.

Without him present, the banquet naturally had to end early.

Eventually the hall emptied out almost completely.

Only servants remained cleaning the mess.

Shen Tian and Ling Shuangxue still stood nearby beside Li Lian.

Li Lian looked visibly tired now that she no longer needed to maintain appearances for the crowd.

She lightly bowed her head toward the two of them.

"I’m truly sorry for what happened tonight..."

Shen Tian casually waved his hand.

"Don’t worry about it. None of this was your fault."

Then he smiled slightly.

"If anything, I should be thanking you."

"Thanking me?"

Li Lian looked confused.

Then Shen Tian’s inner voice entered her ears again.

[After all, I finally got to see the real you.]

[Not just the dignified mask you wear to survive.]

Li Lian’s eyes widened instantly.

Shock filled her face.

Because nobody knew that.

Nobody.

The elegant and untouchable Li Lian everyone admired was something she created herself.

A mask.

A role.

The future matriarch of the Li Family could not afford weakness.

She had spent years forcing herself into that image.

Yet somehow Shen Tian saw through it completely.

Before she could even process those feelings, Ling Shuangxue suddenly stepped forward and held her hands warmly.

"From now on, call me Sister Shuangxue."

’I have to show off my main wife status before anything happens between them!’ Ling Shuangxue thought to herself.

Li Lian blinked.

Then, for the first time tonight, a genuine smile appeared on her face.

"Alright. Then you can call me Sister Lian."

The two women smiled softly toward each other.

Shen Tian quietly watched everything with satisfaction.

Everything was progressing perfectly.

"Alright. We should get going."

He turned and started walking toward his car.

Ling Shuangxue naturally followed beside him.

Watching the two leave together, Li Lian suddenly felt an unfamiliar emotion rise inside her chest.

Jealousy.

Without thinking, she called out:

"Wait!"

Shen Tian stopped and looked back.

Li Lian lightly coughed to hide her embarrassment.

"Can I... get both of your contact information?"

Shen Tian casually showed her his number on his phone.

Ling Shuangxue did the same.

Li Lian quickly saved both contacts before the two finally left.

Soon their car disappeared into the night.

Li Lian remained standing outside quietly staring into the distance.

Then she softly whispered to herself:

"Should I have told him... that I can hear his inner voice?"

Shaking her head lightly, Li Lian decided against revealing the truth.

She didn’t want to come off as crazy...

Before Li Lian even realized it herself, she had already started wanting to see Shen Tian again.

"...Maybe I should ask him to coach me in singing."

The moment she remembered his voice from earlier, her face heated slightly.

That singing...

It was impossible to forget.

Every lyric still lingered in her mind.

Compared to it, even she had to admit her own singing suddenly sounded dull and lifeless.

Li Lian lightly touched her chest.

Her heart was still beating a little faster than normal.

"...Jeez, I can’t be acting like this..."

She quietly muttered those words to herself before slowly turning around and walking back into the mansion.

------------

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