Mei arrived at the office twenty minutes early, as she always did. The building was still quiet, elevator music playing to empty halls. She preferred these moments before the weight of pretense , before she had to watch her words and measure her steps.

She settled at her desk and reached for her drawer, muscle memory guiding her to where she always kept her personal sketchpad. Her fingers met empty space.

She froze.

The drawer was exactly as she'd left it—neat, organized, her work pens in their proper holder. But the sketchpad was gone. The one with the courtyard design. The one that wasn't for Skyline, wasn't for the Liangs, wasn't for anyone but herself.

Mei's pulse quickened. She checked under her desk, behind her computer monitor, even in the waste basket. Nothing.

Maybe I took it home , she told herself, though she knew she hadn't. She always preferred to leave her sketches at work than to carry them home, every time she did she would find them with Bai’s signature and if she tried to fight Mrs Liang would say “They are just drafts just get over it.” She remembered closing the draft, sliding it into this exact drawer yesterday before Mr. Shen's dinner invitation had turned her world upside down.

So someone had taken it.

But who would want her personal sketches? And why?

Arthur's Investigation

Three floors up, in the glass-walled executive offices of Crafts Construction, Arthur Xu stood before Lu Rowan's desk with a tablet in hand and the expression of someone who'd spent the night digging through digital breadcrumbs.

"You found something," Lu Rowan said without looking up from his blueprints.

Arthur nodded. "The anonymous account. @DesignByMoonlight. I traced the IP address, cross-referenced the posting patterns, even analyzed the design style." He paused. "It's not what you'd expect."

Lu Rowan finally looked up, his dark eyes sharp with interest.

"The designer lives in The Woods apartments. Building C, Unit 47. And she works at Skyline Atelier."

Lu Rowan's pen stopped moving. "Skyline?"

"Wait Boss I’m not yet done.”

"Her name is Mei Chen. Junior designer, been there for three years. Keeps a low profile apparently she stays with the Liangs, she's Mr Liang's niece " Arthur swiped on his tablet, showing a blurry photo from the building's security camera. "This is her leaving for work yesterday morning."

Lu Rowan studied the image. A young woman in a simple navy dress, her head down, a messenger bag slung across her shoulder. Something about her seemed... familiar.

Lu Rowan leaned back in his chair, a memory surfacing. "I've seen her before."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"The Woods apartments. I drive past there sometimes when I am going to one of my apartments there." Lu Rowan's voice grew quieter, more thoughtful. "There's a girl who comes out of Building C around 7:30. Always the same route through the courtyard, always looking like..."

"Like what?"

"Like she's carrying the weight of the world." Lu Rowan shook his head. "I used to think she looked pitiful. Same clothes, same quiet walk, always alone. I wondered what kind of life makes someone so... resigned."

Arthur watched his boss carefully. Lu Rowan wasn't the type to notice random strangers, let alone remember them.

"But if she's a designer at Skyline," Lu Rowan continued, "why does she look like she has nothing? Skyline pays well. The Liang family has money, connections..."

"Maybe," Arthur said carefully, "not everyone at Skyline is treated equally and it's said she's been living with the Liangs since she was 2."

This was really suspicious, he thought.

Lu Rowan's phone buzzed, interrupting his thoughts. The caller ID made him straighten he waved his hand at Arthur telling him he can go

*Grandfather Lu*

"Rowan," came the familiar voice, warm but commanding.

"Grandfather." Lu Rowan's tone softened. Despite everything, the old man was the one person whose opinion still mattered. "I'm well. The business is thriving."

"Good, good. But that's not why I'm calling." There was a pause, the sound of tea being sipped. "You remember our conversation last month? About settling down, your grandmother is making a fuss?"

Lu Rowan's jaw tightened. "You said I had time to find someone myself."

"We did,but l guess your time is up." The warmth in his grandfather's voice didn't waver, but steel crept in underneath. "She said she has arranged something perfect. The Liang family from Skyline Atelier—their daughter, Bai Liang. Beautiful, educated, from a good family. She has even won awards for top interior designers . You'll meet her this weekend and I'm sure she will contact you ."

"Grandfather, I—"

"Don't disappoint me, Rowan. This alliance will secure both our futures. The Liangs are expecting the proposal within the month."

Lu Rowan's eyes drifted to the security photo on Arthur's tablet. Mei Chen, walking alone through the courtyard of The Woods, her shoulders cold as if she was carrying invisible burdens .

"Actually, Grandfather," he heard himself saying, "I'm already in a relationship."

Silence. Arthur's eyes widened.

"Oh?" His grandfather's voice was carefully neutral. "With whom?"

"Mei Chen. She's... from the Liang family as well. Mr. Liang's niece."

Another pause, longer this time. "Rowan, the Liangs would never allow that. She's not... she's not the daughter. She's nobody, they probably see her as a charity case."

Something hot flared in Lu Rowan's chest. "I get what I want, Grandfather. You taught me that."

The warmth completely drained from his grandfather's voice. "l will give you time to think carefully about that, you know your grandmother and your parents that means you are going to war with them."

The line went dead.

Lu Rowan leaned back in his chair, studying the photo of Mei Chen again. He'd just claimed to be in love with a woman he'd never actually spoken to, based on anonymous designs and glimpses of her walking through courtyards either he was losing his mind, or something about this quiet designer had already gotten under his skin.

"He the summoned Arthur to his office, "I want you to find out everything about Mei Chen. How she's treated at Skyline, where her designs really went, why someone with her talent looks like she's barely surviving and to why l have never seen her in any gathering or heard about her since she has been staying with them for the past 20 years "—Arthur nodded

Mei's Decision

Back at The Woods apartments, Mei sat on her narrow bed, staring at her laptop screen. Her anonymous design account showed dozens of new likes and comments on the courtyard sketch—the one that was now missing from her drawer.

She scrolled through the responses: "This is breathtaking." "Who is this designer?" "I need this in my home."

One comment made her pause. It was from an account called @LuConstruction: "Would love to discuss commissioning something similar. Serious inquiry."

Mei's heart raced. A real commission. From someone who wasn't a Liang, wasn't connected to Skyline, wasn't part of the suffocating world that had trapped her for more than 20 years.

She was about to respond when she heard voices in the hallway—Mrs. Liang and Bai Liang, talking in hushed, excited tones about wedding planning and business mergers.

They really thought she'd just accept Mr. Shen's proposal. They really thought she had no other choice.

Mei closed her laptop and pulled out her phone. She typed a careful response to @LuConstruction: "I'd be interested in discussing your project. When would it be convenient to meet?"

She hit send before she could change her mind.

Whatever game the Liangs were playing, whatever they'd planned for her future she was about to change the rules entirely.

And somewhere across the city, Lu Rowan's phone buzzed with a message from @DesignByMoonlight, knowing that he was about to meet the girl he'd just claimed to love, his hands trembled.

He took a deep breath and typed out a response, trying to sound casual despite his trembling hands.

"How about tomorrow afternoon? I know a great coffee shop downtown. Would love to discuss the project and get to know you better."

He hit send and waited, his eyes fixed on the screen as the minutes ticked by. Finally, a response popped up.

"Tomorrow afternoon works. He typed out a quick response, confirming the time and place, and then sat back in his chair, a grin that he didn't realise he had spreading across his face.