Chapter 1-The Open Door

Shen Xie had never liked coming home late.

Tonight, however, she had no choice.

The meeting that was supposed to last until midnight had ended unexpectedly early. Instead of returning to the Shen residence, she decided to visit the apartment Hao Zeyu had prepared for her.

She hadn't told him she was coming.

She wanted to surprise him.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator, Shen Xie noticed that the apartment door was slightly open.

She frowned.

She clearly remembered locking it that morning.

Pushing the door open, she stepped inside.

The lights were on.

Then she heard a woman's laughter.

Shen Xie froze.

It was a voice she knew better than most.

“Zeyu, what if Xie comes back?”

Qiao Ruxi.

Her best friend.

A man's low chuckle followed.

“She won't. She told me she'd be working late.”

Shen Xie's fingers tightened around the strap of her handbag.

For a moment, she couldn't move.

Then she slowly walked toward the living room.

The scene before her was painfully clear.

Hao Zeyu was sitting on the sofa.

Qiao Ruxi was beside him.

Too close.

Close enough that there was no explanation worth hearing.

Neither of them noticed Shen Xie.

She stood silently at the entrance.

Three years.

Three years of engagement.

Three years of defending Hao Zeyu whenever her family questioned him.

Three years of believing that he loved her.

And Qiao Ruxi...

She had known her since they were young.

Shen Xie had trusted her enough to tell her everything.

Her dreams.

Her worries.

Even the smallest details of her relationship.

A bitter realization slowly settled in her chest.

She had handed both of them every weapon they needed to hurt her.

Qiao Ruxi suddenly looked toward the doorway.

Her face went pale.

“Xie…”

Hao Zeyu turned.

His expression changed instantly.

“Shen Xie?”

She looked at them.

Neither spoke.

She didn't cry.

She didn't shout.

She didn't ask how long it had been happening.

Some truths were too ugly to require confirmation.

Shen Xie lowered her eyes.

“I forgot something.”

She turned around.

“Xie, wait!”

Hao Zeyu rushed after her.

She pressed the elevator button.

“Listen to me. It's not what you think.”

The elevator doors opened.

Shen Xie stepped inside.

She looked at him one last time.

“Then don't explain.”

The doors closed between them.

Only then did her composure begin to crack.

Her phone vibrated.

Hao Zeyu.

She stared at his name.

The call ended.

Then came another.

She switched off her phone.

Outside, rain had begun to fall.

Shen Xie walked without an umbrella.

The cold water slipped through her hair and soaked her clothes.

She barely noticed.

Her mind was filled with fragments of the past.

Her grandfather's warnings.

Her brother's distrust.

Her mother's quiet questions.

Are you certain about him?

She had always defended Hao Zeyu.

For him, she had moved away from the Shen residence.

For him, she had rejected opportunities offered by her family.

For him, she had repeatedly told herself that love meant choosing the person she loved over everything else.

Now she wondered whether she had simply been foolish.

A sharp horn suddenly tore through the rain.

Shen Xie looked up.

Headlights blinded her.

A vehicle was speeding toward her.

She tried to move.

Too late.

The impact came without warning.

Pain exploded through her body.

Her vision blurred.

She heard shouting somewhere nearby.

Footsteps rushed toward her.

Then a man's voice cut through the chaos.

“Call an ambulance.”

His voice was calm.

Commanding.

Shen Xie struggled to open her eyes.

Through the rain and blurred lights, she saw a man kneeling beside her.

Dark hair.

A sharp, unfamiliar face.

A black coat.

And near the edge of that coat—

A small silver-black orchid embroidered into the fabric.

Their eyes met.

For a few seconds, neither looked away.

Then darkness swallowed her.

---

The hospital doors opened.

“Female, mid-twenties. Severe trauma from a traffic accident.”

Doctors and nurses rushed her toward the emergency room.

The man who had brought her in remained outside for only a moment.

His gaze followed the doctors.

His assistant approached.

“Sir.”

The man glanced at him.

“Handle it.”

“Yes.”

He turned away.

Then stopped.

“Make sure she survives.”

His assistant looked toward the emergency room.

“I understand.”

The man walked away.

He had no reason to know the woman whose life he had just tried to save.

Not yet.

---

The nurses rushed Shen Xie into the emergency room.

“We need her identification and emergency contact.”

One nurse checked her handbag while another spoke with the doctor.

“Her phone is here. It's locked.”

“Emergency contact?”

The nurse glanced at the screen.

“Hao Zeyu.”

“Call him.”

Another nurse looked through the belongings that had arrived with her.

“There isn't a family contact?”

“Not listed.”

“Then contact this person first. The patient's condition is critical.”

The call was placed.

Meanwhile, the man who had brought Shen Xie to the hospital had already left.

His assistant had completed the necessary arrangements and paid the initial medical expenses before disappearing into the night.

Nobody in the emergency room knew why a stranger had taken such careful responsibility for an unconscious woman.

And nobody knew that the person listed as her emergency contact was the very man who had betrayed her.

Hours later, the hospital corridor was silent.

Hao Zeyu arrived.

Qiao Ruxi was with him.

The doctor stepped outside the room.

“Her condition is critical.”

Hao Zeyu's face turned pale.

“Doctor, please save her.”

Qiao Ruxi covered her mouth, tears running down her cheeks.

Inside the room, Shen Xie couldn't move.

She couldn't open her eyes.

But she could hear.

Footsteps.

Voices.

Hao Zeyu's trembling breath.

Then the door closed.

Silence.

Qiao Ruxi whispered,

“What if she wakes up?”

For several seconds, there was no answer.

Then Hao Zeyu spoke.

“She won't.”

Shen Xie's heart seemed to stop.

His voice became even quieter.

“After tonight, there won't be anyone left who can tell a soul what really happened.”

Her fingers slightly twitched beneath the blanket with no strength left in them.

For the first time since the accident, fear overwhelmed the pain.

What has really happened?

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***