X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerFu Yuyan’s coming-of-age ceremony officially began.
The lights in the banquet hall went out.
Darkness engulfed everyone’s vision.
The murmurs and scattered conversations quieted down.
After a brief silence, a blazing white spotlight suddenly lit up.
It illuminated Fu Yuyan as she gracefully descended the golden staircase.
Gasps, exclamations, and envious sighs echoed one after another.
Ruan Suhua only glanced once, then looked away.
Her fingertip traced the rim of her glass as she searched the shadows for that youth.
But when Fu Yuyan finished her choked, heartfelt words of gratitude amid the cascading confetti, and the lights came back on, she still hadn’t found him.
Nor had Fu Yuyan’s distant cousin.
“Time really flies.”
Someone carrying a wine glass came to stand beside her.
She turned and saw Fu Jingxian, smiling with feigned calm.
“In the blink of an eye, Little Sister is already grown up.”
“Mm.”
“Ohhh?” Fu Jingxian covered her lips and teased.
“What’s wrong, Miss Ruan? You’ve seemed a bit absent-minded since earlier.”
“Let me guess… are you looking for someone?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Ruan Suhua’s face.
“So I was right?” Fu Jingxian took a sip of red wine, unsurprised.
“Then let me guess again.
The person you’re looking for… is it that particularly handsome young man in the white suit?”
Ruan Suhua quietly looked at her, waiting for her to finish.
“Boring,” Fu Jingxian sighed, spreading her hands.
“To think tonight is supposed to be Little Sister’s coming-of-age ceremony.
I thought the most common question would be about which family she’ll be marrying into.
But instead, all of you keep asking about some young man—even I don’t know where he came from.”
“I thought it was just those women making a fuss, but even you, Miss Ruan, have lost your composure.
It seems that man really does have some charm.”
“Mm.”
“Too bad he’s already taken.”
Fu Jingxian added, “I just learned that he was brought here by my cousin from the Gu family.
That cousin came to catch up with me, said she couldn’t stay long and had to leave early.
She didn’t even stay for Little Sister’s dance tonight.
By now, she’s probably already taken him off the cruise ship.
If you go out now, you might still catch a glimpse of his back.”
Ruan Suhua let out a mocking laugh.
“So, your cousin does have quite a sense of crisis.”
“From the looks of things tonight, if she really felt a sense of crisis, she’d probably want to lock him up at home forever.”
“Just a sense of crisis isn’t nearly enough,” Ruan Suhua replied.
“I’ll go see her off.”
“Looks like our Miss Ruan is determined to win.”
Ruan Suhua said nothing more.
She set her glass down on the counter and left the hall without looking back.
The sea wind on the cruise deck was violent and cold, carrying the damp smell of salt.
She stood on the top deck, her hair whipped into disarray.
The chill pierced through her strapless gown, her fingers trembling from the cold.
But it was as if she didn’t feel it at all.
Her gaze dropped downward.
The ship’s lights made the coastline gleam like daylight.
Rows of cars lined up neatly, black-suited bodyguards walking among them.
She saw Yu Zhu.
He was walking down the carpeted stairs.
He seemed very cold—his steps were unsteady.
Fu Yuyan’s distant cousin walked at his side, holding tightly to his hand.
After they left the ship, the waiting servants hurried up to shield them from the wind and helped him into the car.
Just before he got in, amidst the howling wind and surging tides, the young man turned and met Ruan Suhua’s gaze.
Her heart fell utterly silent.
But he turned away again.
Only the endless wind remained, echoing through the night.
Ruan Suhua didn’t yet know.
That would be the last time she ever saw him.
After Fu Yuyan’s coming-of-age ceremony, Ruan Suhua returned and instructed Uncle Wang to investigate the Gu family.
Specifically Gu Wanting, and the youth she had brought to the banquet.
His background, origins, and relationship with her.
But a week later, Uncle Wang’s report, though detailed on the Gu family, had almost nothing on the young man.
“Apologies, Miss.
It seems his background has been erased.
Even during our investigation, someone was actively obstructing us.
When we traced back to a suicide case from seven years ago, we found that all related evidence had been deliberately wiped clean.”
“It’s fine.”
Ruan Suhua set down the report, fingers tapping the desk lightly.
“C City hasn’t been peaceful in recent years.
The Huo family seven years ago, the Su family three years ago…
One can see just how deep its waters run.”
“You’ve worked hard, Uncle Wang.
Three months from now, for the Gu family’s old matriarch’s eightieth birthday, I’ll go to C City myself.
For now, this matter ends here.”
“Yes, Miss.”
She watched him leave, lowered her eyes, and sat quietly for a while.
Suddenly, she recalled those obsidian-black, desolate eyes in the sea wind.
We will meet again.
Three months later.
The passenger jet cut through the blue sky and landed smoothly on the tarmac.
Ruan Suhua hadn’t even left the airport before sensing the oppressive, storm-laden air.
“Miss, something has happened to the Gu family.”
Sure enough, the man who came to fetch her bowed respectfully.
“The birthday banquet you were to attend has been canceled.
The Gu family has already sent notice.”
“What happened?”
The man leaned close and whispered, then opened a news feed on his phone and handed it over.
“Miss, Gu Wanting died last night.”
Ruan Suhua froze slightly, her face betraying little surprise, and took the phone.
A police report, white characters on a blue background.
“Gu Wanting is dead?”
Her brow furrowed, her tone unreadable.
“Yes, Miss.
She died of excessive blood loss.
As for the killer—”
“No need to say.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Ruan Suhua closed the report and saw the public frenzy it stirred up, along with a widely circulated image.
The dim, grainy photo showed blood splattered near the bottom-left of a sofa, blurred by mosaic.
But the dark stains on the carpet were still visible.
To the right of the sofa sat a youth, cloaked in shadow.
In his hand was a knife, dripping with blood—the blade uncensored, crystal-clear.
The light and shadow across his face were vague, indistinct.
And yet, even through the blur, he captivated every viewer.
It looked as though he was smiling.
But in such a scene, that smile seemed unbearably sorrowful.
Her chest caved under the crushing weight of emotion.
Yu Zhu.
The final line of the report—
“The suspect suffered sudden acute heart failure.
Despite emergency treatment, he died in hospital.”
Resuscitation failed.
Deceased.
A chilling cold swept through Ruan Suhua.
Her eyes shimmered with fleeting lights.
She fought to steady her trembling as she handed the phone back.
“Miss…”
In the bustling airport, she stood in silence for a long time before speaking.
“Since the birthday banquet has been canceled, book me the earliest flight back to the capital.
As for Gu Wanting, have Uncle Wang send someone to offer condolences on behalf of the Ruan family.
Nothing else needs to be done.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The warm air inside the terminal swept by.
She shivered from the cold.
Back in the capital.
The storm surrounding Gu Wanting grew only fiercer.
Every buried feud and hidden story was dragged into the light.
The news summarized his dazzling first half of life—and the miserable, hopeless end.
Late at night, Ruan Suhua would recall the youth’s faint smile in that photo.
The clear, cold glance in the cruise ship’s corridor.
The ripples it stirred in her heart had not faded with time.
They grew only more turbulent, deafening.
A belated regret filled her chest, like dandelions scattered by the wind—fragile, countless, impossible to gather.
Until one summer morning.
She awoke from her dreams as usual.
And stared blankly at the snowflakes drifting outside her window.
“Miss, are you awake?”
A maid’s muffled voice came from outside the door.
“Uncle Wang says the weather is terrible today.
Your flight has been delayed until midnight…”
She had returned to five years ago.
The machines in the bedroom still hummed quietly.
Memories flickered like shards of light.
Ruan Suhua looked at the pale, beautiful face of the youth and spoke solemnly.
“Xi He.”
This time, let’s start over.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Crow's Golden Fragment! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂