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Join the Server“Yueyue, don’t be upset that Mom is being strict. Tomorrow is New Year’s, why do you still keep running out?”
“It’s not that I won’t let you play with your friends, but you have to come home earlier in the evening. You said you were already on the way at nine o’clock. Mom even took a nap, but why aren’t you back yet?”
At two in the morning, on Yun Street Bridge—half an hour away from Xianhu Courtyard—Ming Yue, stuck in traffic for a long while, opened her mother’s messages.
It was late at night, and her mother’s words carried an urgent press.
Ming Yue tapped and deleted in the input box several times before finally sending:
“Got it. I’m already at Yun Street Bridge, I’ll be home soon. You should rest early, don’t wait for me.”
After sending, she didn’t wait for a reply.
She put her phone away and sat idly in the car.
The radio played a soothing English song.
The heater was turned up high.
Her pale red suede cloak was folded on the passenger seat, carrying with it faint traces of camellia fragrance that spread in the warm air.
“Jiejie…”
She remembered when she changed her elder sister’s clothes—how delicate her wrists were, fragile as a fledgling’s bones, where even a careless touch could leave red marks.
More delicate than the Princess on the Pea.
When she dressed her in the crimson brocade skirt, she heard her call “sister,” lips trembling in fear, not daring to make another sound.
Those slender fingers clenched so tightly in Ming Yue’s palm left crescent marks when they finally loosened.
Her sister’s nails had grown long.
Next time, she must carefully trim them.
If scars were left on her palms, how unsightly that would be.
And the hair ornament too.
Originally, she had wanted a gold hairpin.
But because the timing was too short, it couldn’t be finished before the year’s end.
So she had to settle for a coronet from the same set.
When it first arrived, she thought the style and color looked old, a poor substitute for the hairpin.
But once worn in her sister’s hair, it carried an air of elegance that made her quite pleasing to the eye.
Next time, she should order both a hairpin and coronet.
Should it be jade, or silver?
Would carnelian red look even better?
She would order them all.
Her thoughts darted quickly.
The cars ahead slowly began to move.
Ming Yue leaned forward, picking up her cloak and draping it over herself.
The scent of camellia grew stronger, and a radiant smile bloomed across her cold, delicate face.
“Good evening, dear drivers. This is your late-night radio station, and I’m your good friend, Ling Ling.”
The soft music was suddenly interrupted by the host’s voice.
“…We have an emergency bulletin. Around 1:30 a.m. tonight, a fire broke out in the distant Riyuan Villa District…”
Ming Yue’s hand froze over the dial.
“The fire is currently severe. The Riyuan fire department has already rushed to the scene. Drivers traveling through Changle Street, South Ring Middle Road, and Zhou’an Road, please yield to fire and rescue vehicles.”
Her heart gave a sudden jolt.
A wave of unease spread through her.
The announcement ended, and the broadcast continued:
“…It is now two o’clock in the morning. For night driving, please avoid fatigue at the wheel…”
“Tomorrow marks the New Year, and Ling Ling wishes everyone a joyful reunion with family…”
“Click.”
The radio was switched off.
The elegant female voice disappeared without leaving the faintest echo.
The lake-blue Ferrari crawled forward with the flow of traffic.
Ming Yue’s grip on the steering wheel was so tight it hurt.
Her temples throbbed violently.
Her mind was in chaos.
Calm down.
She took a deep breath.
It had already been nearly an hour since the fire, yet no one had contacted her.
That meant it couldn’t be her villa.
It couldn’t be.
If there really were a fire, someone would have told her.
So…
So…
The hollow chime of her ringtone suddenly exploded inside the car.
“Screech—”
A sharp sound tore through the night.
The Ferrari’s wheel spun wildly as she slammed the brakes, stopping dangerously in the middle of the road.
The phone buzzed relentlessly.
A heavy cloud of dread loomed.
The unease in her heart grew stronger.
Ming Yue stared at the unfamiliar number.
She hesitated for a long time.
Finally, in the last second before the ringing stopped, she slid to answer.
“Hello, is this Ms. Ming Yue?”
She did not speak.
“I’m with Ju’an Property Management, the manager responsible for the Riyuan Villa District. I’m very sorry to disturb you at this late hour. It’s like this—your property at Songting No. 1 has caught fire.
The blaze is currently very serious. Firefighters are on-site attempting to control it.”
“Would you be able to come over now? For determining the cause of the fire and handling compensation, we’ll need to discuss in detail. Having this happen on New Year’s Eve—we truly apologize…”
“…Ms. Ming? Are you still there?”
“Mm.”
The sound scraped hoarsely from her throat.
Ming Yue sat in the car, her cloaked body ice-cold, her hands trembling.
“Beep—”
A sharp horn blared.
The car behind, having kept its distance, honked impatiently.
Headlights flashed, illuminating Ming Yue’s pale face.
“Ms. Ming Yue, may I ask if anyone else was inside your villa?
We and the firefighters are doing our utmost, but the fire is far too large.
Regarding the possible loss… please, prepare yourself mentally…”
The voice on the other end kept going, even with the crackle of flames faintly bleeding through.
But Ming Yue no longer heard a word.
She was so close to home.
The city’s neon lights painted the dark sky beyond her window.
The camellia scent still lingered at her nose.
Everything looked just as it had when she left at noon.
And yet, this phone call plunged her into a nightmare made real.
This isn’t a dream?
Her nails dug into her thigh, leaving bruises as purple as ink.
Ming Yue pressed a hand against her pounding heart.
A fire?
How could there be a fire?
How could there…
“Beep—”
The blare of another horn snapped her back.
Her mind had gone blank.
Gradually, the world around her regained focus.
She placed both hands back on the steering wheel, forcing down the tremor in her body.
She drove the car off the main road and stopped by the side.
A fire…
Ming Yue remembered how, before leaving, she had carefully fastened the chain around Yu Zhu’s wrist.
Afraid of another lapse, she had checked again and again before going.
Her throat constricted.
She didn’t dare imagine Yu Zhu, locked helplessly to the bed, facing the raging fire.
He wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Only watch himself consumed by the flames.
Unable to escape.
“Jiejie…”
“Jiejie…”
He couldn’t escape.
He could never escape.
The cold wind and fine snow swept in through the window.
Ming Yue sat in the driver’s seat for a long time, her face turning numb and blue from the chill.
The voice on the phone still droned on.
“…Ms. Ming Yue, if the investigation later confirms the cause of the fire as… then…”
“I understand. Someone will contact you later.”
Her voice was cold, cutting off the call.
The night wind howled outside.
Ming Yue closed her eyes, pressing both hands against her frozen face.
She stripped her expression of all emotion.
Closing the window, she turned the car and drove toward the distant suburbs at two in the morning.
On the way, sleepiness slowly rose, numbing her senses.
The retreating scenery along the roadside blurred into something dreamlike.
But when she finally stepped out of the car, standing blankly before the smoking ruins—
All drowsiness vanished.
An endless tide of confusion and pain crashed down, swallowing her whole.
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