Chapter 7: Tangled Lies
The morning after their kiss was silent.
Too silent.
Yuyan avoided Jiang Zhen the entire day, retreating into the guest room she had claimed as her own and burying herself in work. But the words, the touch, and the heat of their kiss wouldn't leave her mind.
What have we done?
She knew it wasn't supposed to happen this way. She was supposed to get close to him, break him down, ruin everything he had built. That was the plan. But the lines had blurred, and she no longer knew if she was still the person who wanted revenge, or if she was becoming something else entirely.
As the clock ticked on, she realized she couldn't hide from him forever. She had to face the reality of what had happened between them.
---
Later that evening, Jiang Zhen appeared in the doorway of her room, his posture stiff. His eyes, though cold as ever, held a flicker of something unspoken.
"You've been avoiding me," he said, his voice calm but heavy with unspoken tension.
Yuyan looked up from her desk, feigning indifference. "I've had work to do. What do you want?"
"Are you going to ignore what happened yesterday?" His voice dropped, low and measured. "Because I'm not."
Her breath caught in her throat. "What happened yesterday was a mistake," she lied, her voice not quite steady.
But Jiang Zhen didn't believe her. He stepped inside her room, shutting the door behind him. "A mistake?" he repeated, his voice dangerously quiet. "You think it was a mistake?"
Yuyan didn't answer, her gaze dropping to the floor. She couldn't meet his eyes.
He reached out, lifting her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him. "I don't believe you. And I don't think you believe it either."
She swallowed hard. "I don't know what I believe anymore."
His thumb traced the line of her jaw, the touch so gentle it almost felt like a caress. She shivered, her chest tightening in a way she couldn't explain. "You're lying to yourself, Yuyan."
She pulled back from his touch, her hands shaking. "I'm not lying. I have a plan, Jiang Zhen. I've always had a plan. And you're not going to distract me from it."
He stepped closer, his expression hardening. "I know about your plan. I know what you're trying to do. But what I don't understand is why you're letting it control you."
Her heart pounded in her chest. "Because it's the only thing that's kept me going," she said, her voice raw. "It's the only thing that makes sense in this mess."
Jiang Zhen looked at her for a long moment, his gaze piercing. "You're wrong. This isn't a mess. It's us. You can't keep lying to yourself about what's happening here. And neither can I."
Yuyan shook her head, trying to force the confusion from her mind. "I can't... I can't let go of this. I can't let go of the revenge."
"You've already let go," he said softly, his voice just above a whisper. "And you know it."
The words hit her harder than she expected. She stepped back, her hands trembling. "I don't know who you think you are, but I haven't forgotten everything you've done."
"I know," he replied, his voice quiet but firm. "And I know why you're doing this. But you can't keep holding onto that forever, Yuyan. Sooner or later, you'll have to choose."
Her chest tightened, the weight of his words pressing down on her. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him that she wasn't the one who had changed. That she was still the woman who had watched her family fall apart. But somewhere, deep inside, she knew he was right.
For the first time, the foundation of her plan felt fragile. The anger she had held onto for so long seemed less solid than it once had been. And it terrified her.
"I don't know what you want me to say," she whispered, her voice breaking.
"I don't want you to say anything," Jiang Zhen said. "I just want you to stop pretending."
And then, without another word, he turned and left.
---
That night, Yuyan lay awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling. The room felt too quiet, too still. The walls were closing in on her, and all she could hear was the echo of Jiang Zhen's words.
You've already let go.
But had she?
---