Chapter 4

The Confrontation

Gu Yichen finally pulled Xueyan aside one evening.

“I need you to tell me honestly,” he said, voice colder than before. “Are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Trying to hurt her.”

Xueyan’s breath caught. “You think I would?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.”

That was worse than accusation.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I love you.”

He closed his eyes briefly.

“This isn’t love,” he said quietly. “Love doesn’t destroy people around it.”

“I didn’t—”

“Stay away from her,” he interrupted. “From us. If this continues, I won’t forgive you.”

From us.

The words shattered her.

The Silent Victory

From the second-floor corridor, Xueyi watched again.

Calm.

Still.

As Xueyan stood crying below.

The Night She Became Her

The Lin mansion was unusually silent.

For the first time in years, it felt empty.

Lin Zhenghao and Madam Chen had traveled to a charity banquet in a nearby city. Most of the household staff had been dismissed early because of the approaching storm.

Only one person remained.

Lin Xueyi.

She stood inside Xueyan’s bedroom.

The room smelled of white roses and expensive perfume. The curtains were ivory silk, the vanity lined with jewelry arranged in perfect symmetry.

Everything in this room felt soft.

Untouched.

Belonging to someone loved.

Xueyi stepped toward the wardrobe.

Her fingers hovered only briefly before she pulled out a pale blue evening dress — one Xueyan had worn only once.

She slipped it on slowly.

It fit perfectly.

Of course it did.

They shared eighty percent of the same face.

Nearly the same body.

But not the same destiny.

She walked to the mirror.

For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

It was Xueyan looking back.

Soft eyes. Gentle lips. Fragile shoulders.

She lifted Xueyan’s pearl necklace from the jewelry box and fastened it around her neck.

The transformation was complete.

She touched the mirror lightly.

“So this is what it feels like,” she whispered.

To be chosen.

To be loved.

To be her.

Running Through Her World

She left the bedroom and walked through the mansion slowly.

She sat in Xueyan’s usual place at the dining table.

Stood in front of the grand piano and pressed a few uncertain keys.

Opened her sister’s notebooks.

Lay down briefly on her sister’s bed.

It wasn’t theft.

It was rehearsal.

If she could play the role perfectly…

Would anyone notice?

Would anyone care?

The Window

Thunder rolled in the distance.

Lightning illuminated the sky.

Xueyi returned to the bedroom and stood near the large balcony window.

Rain began tapping against the glass.

She imagined standing here as Xueyan every night.

Imagined someone walking her home.

Waiting below.

Caring.

A faint sound broke her thoughts.

The doorbell.

Her heart skipped violently.

She ran downstairs, pulse racing.

She already knew who it was.

“Oh… Gu Yichen.”

She opened the door slowly.

There he stood.

Slightly drenched from the rain, dark hair falling across his forehead, eyes searching her face.

Except he wasn’t looking for Xueyi.

He was looking for Xueyan.

“Xueyan,” he breathed softly.

Her chest tightened.

For one dangerous second, she wanted to correct him.

Instead, she smiled gently — exactly the way her sister did.

“My parents went to a banquet,” she said softly. “They’ll return tomorrow.”

Lightning flashed behind her.

“Why did you come?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

His expression shifted.

“I came to apologize,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice because of Xueyi.”

Her fingers curled subtly.

He said her name.

Her real name.

But not to her.

She lowered herself onto the sofa, letting her shoulders tremble slightly.

“It’s fine,” she murmured.

Rain poured harder outside.

Suddenly—

The lights flickered.

Then darkness.

Thunder cracked violently across the sky.

The power cut.

Candlelight

The mansion fell into silence except for rain and distant thunder.

“Wait here,” she whispered.

She moved gracefully through the dark, finding matches, lighting candles one by one.

Soft golden light filled the living room.

Shadows danced against the walls.

The atmosphere shifted.

Quieter.

Closer.

More intimate.

Gu Yichen stepped toward her.

“You don’t deserve this,” he said softly.

His voice felt warmer in candlelight.

His breath brushed faintly against her cheek.

She lowered her eyes.

“She’s my sister,” she said gently. “Maybe she’s just confused.”

He studied her face carefully.

“You’re too kind.”

Kind.

The word felt almost cruel.

If only he knew.

He reached out instinctively — his hand resting lightly at her waist, steadying her as thunder roared again.

The touch was warm.

Solid.

Real.

Her heartbeat thundered louder than the storm.

For a moment, she almost stepped back.

Almost confessed.

Almost broke the illusion.

But instead, she leaned slightly closer.

“Will you stay?” she asked quietly.

There was no hesitation in him.

“I will.”

Something irreversible shifted in the space between them.

Not lust.

Not yet.

Something more dangerous.

Trust.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

His touch lingered — careful, gentle.

If he noticed anything different, he didn’t show it.

But his eyes searched her more deeply than before.

And for the first time—

She saw doubt flicker.

“Xueyan…” he began slowly.

Her breath caught.

“Yes?”

He hesitated.

Then shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Outside, thunder roared again.

Inside, the candle flames trembled.

He pulled her gently into an embrace meant for someone else.

She closed her eyes.

For one stolen moment, she allowed herself to feel what it was like to be chosen first.

Not second.

Not shadow.

First.

But even in his arms, she knew the truth.

He wasn’t holding her.

He was holding her sister.

And she was holding a lie.

Upstairs

Later, when he left, she stood alone at the balcony window.

Rain soaked the garden below.

She touched her lips lightly, remembering the closeness, the warmth.

She whispered into the storm:

“One day… you’ll look at me and say my name.”

Not Xueyan.

Not sister.

Mine.

Behind her, in the mirror across the room, candlelight flickered.

And for a brief second—

Her reflection looked less like Xueyan.

And more like herself.

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