The Woods Residence - 10:30 PM

Bai Liang paced the length of the sitting room, her voice tight with frustration. “He kept asking about the original designer. He didn’t even try to hide it mom his eyes were on Mei the whole time. Like she was some mystery he needed to solve.”

Mrs. Liang sat stiffly on the edge of the velvet couch, her fingers curled around her teacup. “Lu Rowan?” she asked, her tone clipped.

“Yes, him. He didn’t care about the presentation, didn’t care about me. Just Mei. And she stood there like a ghost, saying nothing.”

Mrs. Liang’s lips thinned. She reached for her phone without another word and dialed. “We’ll move the engagement up before the biding gala,” she said, already scrolling through her contacts. “It’s time we sealed this.”

Her husband picked up on the second ring. She didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Let’s finalize Mei and Shen’s engagement this weekend.”

“Fine with me,” came his voice, calm and unquestioning. “I’ll call Shen.”

Mrs. Liang smiled, satisfied. “Good. Let’s not waste time.”

From the hallway, Mei stood frozen. The words filtered through the crack in the door like poison. This weekend. They were locking her in, sealing her fate with a ribbon she hadn’t chosen.

She turned and walked silently to her room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. Her heart thudded against her ribs, not with sorrow—but with something sharper.

---

"I don't care if it's tomorrow morning. Lu Rowan is showing interest in her, and I won't have our daughter's future marriage prospects ruined by that girl's sudden relevance." Mrs. Liang's voice brooked no argument. "Call Mr. Shen tonight. Tell him we want to finalize everything immediately."

"Honey, what brought this on?"

"Bai just told me how Lu Rowan behaved at the presentation today. He was completely fixated on Mei, asking questions about the original designer, treating her like she was interesting more than our daughter who actually presented the work and her son to be fiance."

Mr. Liang's voice hardened with understanding. "I see. Yes, you're right. We can't let that situation develop." The sound of rustling sheets came through the phone as he sat up. "I'll call Shen right now. His family has been eager to formalize things anyway."

"Good." Mrs. Liang felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. "Make it clear that this is a wonderful opportunity for both families, that we're simply accelerating the timeline because everyone is so pleased with the match."

"Consider it done. I'll have everything arranged by tomorrow evening."

As Mrs. Liang ended the call, she turned to find Bai Liang watching her with a mixture of gratitude and something darker—satisfaction that her cousin's brief moment of potential escape was being crushed before it could bloom.

"Thank you, Mom," Bai Liang said quietly. "I know I probably sound petty, but—"

"You sound like a daughter protecting her interests, and there's nothing wrong with that." Mrs. Liang's voice softened slightly. "You've worked too hard to let anyone overshadow you now, especially not someone who should be grateful for the charity we've shown her."

Meanwhile, in Mei’s bedroom

She pressed herself against the wall, her heart hammering as the pieces of conversation reached her like physical blows.

Lu Rowan... fixated on her... marriage to Mr. Shen... this weekend...

This weekend. The day after tomorrow.

Her hands trembled as she held the glass, water sloshing against the sides. They weren't just accelerating their timeline—they were slamming the door shut on any possibility of escape. And all because Lu Rowan had shown interest in her work.

The irony was bitter as poison. The first person in years to see her as more than furniture had inadvertently triggered the final trap that would lock her away forever.

She listened as Mr. Liang's voice drifted from the living room, clearly on speaker phone: "Shen? Yes, it's late, I know. But I have wonderful news. We'd like to move the engagement to this weekend..."

Mei didn't wait to hear Mr. Shen's response.

Mei sat on her bed, staring at the closed door as if it were the bars of a prison cell. This weekend. Forty-eight hours before her life would be officially signed away to a man who had stolen her work and would probably spend their marriage stealing her dreams.

The old Mei would have accepted it. Would have found a way to be grateful, to convince herself that Mr. Shen wasn't so bad, that marriage would at least give her a different kind of security.

But the old Mei hadn't watched Lu Rowan's eyes light up when he saw her work. Hadn't felt what it was like to be seen as talented, valuable, worth fighting for.

And the old Mei hadn't heard Bai Liang's voice break with jealousy and pain as she talked about Lu Rowan's interest.

Lu Rowan.

Mei's mind began to work with a clarity that surprised her. Bai Liang was in love with Lu Rowan; she had been planning for some kind of alliance with him through their grandfather's arrangement. Lu Rowan had claimed to be interested in Mei's work, and had even made that disastrous marriage proposal of his own.

What if there was a way to turn all of these moving pieces against each other?

What if the quiet, obedient niece could disappear entirely, and someone else could take her place someone who was willing to play the game by different rules?

Mei pulled out her phone, staring at Lu Rowan's contact information. He had said he needed to avoid his grandfather's matchmaking. He had claimed to want a business arrangement, a mutually beneficial partnership.

Fine. She would give him exactly that.

But this time, she would be the one setting the terms.

Her fingers moved across the screen: The Liangs are announcing my engagement to Mr. Shen this weekend. If your offer was genuine, we need to meet and the registration office tomorrow at 8:00clock

She hit send before she could lose her courage, then sat back against her pillows, feeling something she hadn't experienced in twenty years: the dangerous thrill of fighting back.