Lu Yichen's Private Lounge – Midnight
Shen Yue didn't expect to find him there.
He was slouched on the leather couch, sleeves rolled up, collar undone, the city lights painting tired shadows across his face.
The door hadn't even fully closed behind her when he spoke:
"I was in love with you before the first betrayal."
Her heel paused mid-step.
He didn't look at her.
"I should've said it then. When you were crying on the boardroom steps. When you signed away your shares. When I watched you walk away thinking no one would ever come for you."
Shen Yue said nothing.
Silence wrapped around them like fog.
[System Alert: Emotional Trigger – Lu YichenRegret Score: 63%System Note: Potential romantic flag forming…]
He stood, finally meeting her eyes.
"I don't care about the company anymore. Or my mother. Or what the press says. I just"
"No."
She cut him off, voice cool, precise.
"I don't want your love, Lu Yichen."
He blinked.
She took one step closer, not out of affection, but clarity.
"I want your regret.I want your sleepless nights.I want your shame every time you remember how you watched me fall."
He looked shattered.
"You're saying… you can't forgive me?"
She tilted her head.
"I'm saying I'm not yours to be forgiven by."
He reached for her wrist, hesitating just before contact.
"Then what am I to you?"
Shen Yue's gaze didn't flinch.
"You?" she said softly. "You're just Chapter One."
[System Trigger: Relationship Breakpoint – Lu YichenRegret Score: 71%Emotional Fallout TriggeredNew Achievement Unlocked: "Cold Flame – Reject a Confession Without Losing Power"]
Back at Shen Yue's Apartment – 1:14 AM
She sat alone by the window, eyes dry, fingers slowly opening the original Shen Yue's diary once more.
At the bottom of the last page, there were three words she hadn't noticed before.
Make them remember.
Shen Yue whispered into the dark:
"They will."