The drive back was quiet. City lights faded behind them as their car rolled into the outskirts — toward a wide villa hidden between pine trees.
Inside, soft lights came on by motion. The place was big, beautiful, and almost too silent. Only the hum of the air system and the faint scent of jasmine broke the stillness.
Su Yan slipped off her heels and sank onto the sofa. Lin Zhan followed, dropping beside her with a small grin.
"Feels like this place needs music," he said. "Or maybe someone who talks."
She gave him a sideways look. "You talk enough for both."
He laughed. "That's true. But seriously—" He leaned back, eyes half-closed. "You ever think about cultivating? You've got potential, Su Yan. More than you think."
She crossed her legs, still calm. "Cultivate? I have enough battles already. Mine just happen in boardrooms."
"You'd learn faster than you handle business meetings," he said with a teasing smile. "And you'd get to hit people instead of out-argue them."
That earned the faintest curve of her lips. "Tempting. But i still think its not time."
"Why not?"
Her tone turned sharp but not cold. "Because I'm not done. I want complete control of AstraNova. No partners. No leeches. The Su Family and Park Group still hold shares. Once I buy them out—then I'll think about your martial world."
Lin Zhan studied her profile, her steady confidence glowing under the warm light. "You really want to hold the whole empire in your hands?"
"Yes," she said simply. "When I walk into that building again, I want no one left to question my seat."
He smiled quietly. That's Su Yan. Always precise. Always dangerous when focused.
As she reached for a glass of water, Lin Zhan's thoughts drifted back to something he could never tell her.The night they first slept together, his system had shown a strange message:
[Detected: Rare Primordial Frost Butterfly Physique]
The words had appeared cold and metallic in his vision, fading before he could ask anything. His system wasn't one of those chatty fantasy helpers. It said what it needed and went silent. But the meaning lingered.
He hadn't known what it meant back then. He didn't even know what a "Frost Butterfly" was. But that one time, they were in eachother's ... , he did feel it — a subtle pulse, ancient and dormant, buried deep beneath her calm exterior.
A body that carried ancient power. Frozen, untouched. And she had no idea.
They sat like that for a while — two people from different worlds, yet somehow fitting in the same quiet space.
At last, Su Yan stood up. "I have a meeting early morning. Don't stay up too late."
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll dream of you managing your empire."
She didn't respond, but there was the faintest flicker of a smile as she walked upstairs.
He watched her disappear down the hallway, her steps soft and steady. Then the house fell silent again.
They slept in different rooms — always had, ever since that one night. She was ice, he was fire. Maybe that's why they hadn't melted or burned each other yet.
Lying on his bed, Lin Zhan looked out the window at the cold Seoul skyline.
"Primordial Frost Butterfly…" he whispered. "Let's see when your wings start to open."
-----------------------------------------------------
Morning sunlight spilled through the glass walls of Su Corp's top floor.
Su Yan sat straight with a tablet in her hand. Her eyes calm but sharp. "Buy another five percent of the Su Family shares. Use the Park branch names; don't let them trace it."
Her assistant blinked. "But, President Su—"
"Do it," she said, voice cold enough to chill coffee.
By noon the market shifted. Rumors spread, prices fell, and Su Yan swept in like winter itself—buying everything she needed.
At the Park Group meeting, the older shareholders tried to smile and trap her in polite words.She countered with numbers, confidence, and one soft smile that froze the room.
Evening came. In the villa's quiet living room, she sank onto the sofa. Lin Zhan placed two glasses of wine on the table.
"Looks like the ice queen melted a few wallets today," he teased.
She smirked. "I simply reclaimed what's mine."
He raised his glass. "To victories built on frost and thunder."
She took a sip. "Half this victory feels borrowed."
"Then borrow me forever," he said lightly.
She rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. For the first time, her lips curved—soft, real. And that smile alone felt worth a fortune.
-------------------------------------------------
Later that week, she finally agreed to train.
The basement transformed into their cultivation space — glowing runes etched on the floor, energy lines pulsing faintly through the glass walls. Lin Zhan stood behind her, calm but focused.
"Start with your breath," he said softly. "Let it sink, not rush. Feel it settle in your dantian."
She followed, her body still and precise. Cold mist began to form around her fingers — unstable, flickering, beautiful.
"Harder than handling a board meeting," she muttered through steady breaths.
"At least no one sues you here," he replied with a grin.
That earned a soft exhale that almost passed as a laugh.
He adjusted her posture — one hand guiding her shoulder, the other steadying her back. She stiffened for a second at his touch, then slowly relaxed as he murmured, "Focus… don't resist it."
Energy built up, wild and cold. Frost spread from her palm to the floor, crawling like veins of ice.
"Su Yan, control it!"
She didn't answer — eyes shut, aura flaring. Then suddenly, a blast of icy light burst outward. Lin Zhan moved instantly, his arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her back against his chest as he pressed his palm to her spine.
His energy flowed into her, thunder guiding frost, lightning tempering cold. The runaway power began to calm.
Slowly, the frost light dimmed, leaving a soft mist swirling around them. Her lashes sparkled with frost.
"It's… beautiful," she whispered faintly, eyes half-open.
Then her body went limp.
He caught her gently, lowering her onto the nearby couch. For a moment, he just looked — the serene beauty on her face, the quiet after the storm.
He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and smiled faintly.
"Primordial Frost Butterfly," he murmured, "I did not except the only i would have, would be so capable. It seems its destiny to put us together in this life."
Black energy flickered space faintly around his hand as he gazed at her — that strange mix of power and care in his eyes.
"I'll make sure you awaken completely… no matter what it takes."
Even if he did not know that there is some kind of physique in this world. It should be same in some sci fi or cultivation novels. Powerful, mysterious and great potential.
Outside, frost began to creep along the villa windows — thin, glittering patterns like the wings of a sleeping butterfly.
And above it all, Seoul's neon lights shimmered in the night, unaware that a new storm — of frost and thunder — had just begun.