## Authors note
The road to fame is paved with shadows.
In this chapter, Habiba and Lin Sheng travel from Beijing to Shanghai.
As they journey, a question from Lin Sheng triggers a painful flood of memories for Habiba, leading to an intense, vulnerable moment in the car that leaves Lin Sheng breathless and their connection forever changed.
## Chapter 14: The Fragile Vow
The morning air at the Beijing Riviera was crisp, yet inside Habiba’s apartment, the atmosphere felt heavy with the weight of the upcoming journey.
Breakfast was a quiet, domestic scene—Habiba, Lin Sheng, and Zhou Han sharing a final meal before the chaos of their professional lives pulled them in different directions.
After breakfast, they parted ways;
Zhou Han headed to his own apartment to finalize his preparation for his independent project, his agency demanding absolute focus and isolation.
At 10:00 AM, Tang San, their trusted driver, arrived at Habiba’s residence.
Habiba and Lin Sheng loaded their luggage into the car, and letting the engine purr, they began the journey towards the South Beijing Railway Station.
The city blurred into a streak of glass and concrete as they headed towards Shanghai.
Because the opening ceremony was not until 8:00 AM the next day, they were in no rush.
Tang San kept the pace slow, filling the car with soft, melodic music designed to calm the nerves.
Inside the quiet car, slow music, Lin Sheng turned to Habiba, his eyes searching hers.
“Can I ask you something?” he ventured, his voice barely rising above the sound of the music.
Habiba’s hands clasped in her lap, looked at her him, “Go ahead.”
“If a man were in love with you,” he started, his pulse quickening, “would you notice? Truly?”
Habiba laughed, a short sound.
Sharp sound.
“Come on. I’m not a naive young girl; I’m a grown woman. If a man were in love with me… I would see it. I wouldn’t be blind.”
Lin Sheng let out a hollow, bitter laugh.
“You think so? If that were true, you would have seen it by now.”
Habiba frowned, truly confused.
“What are you talking about? I don’t spent time with any other men. So who is that man? I couldn’t see his love … I spend a lot of time with only—you and Zhou Han, my friends family even. You are my brothers.”
Tang San, unable to help himself, chuckled from the driver’s seat.
“Habiba, you realize we’re men too, right?”
“You’re different,” she countered firmly.
“We are friends. There’s no romance there.”
Lin Sheng stared out the window, his heart sinking.
He was a ghost in his own story, haunting the woman he adored, who saw him only as a brother.
“We are going to Shanghai,” he whispered, trying to deflect the ache in his chest.
“You will meet hundreds of actors. Just wondered if you were prepared for the reality of human connection.”
“There is nothing like love in me right now,” Habiba stated, her voice hardening.
“My head is focused on my work. That’s all.”
Tang San glanced at the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting Lin Sheng’s.
The tension was palpable; Tang San knew how his boss was feeling towards her.
It was Habiba only didn’t know, she remained in the dark because of her scars of the past.
“If a man stood before you,” Tang San interjected, his voice low, “and told you he was suffering for your sake—would you give him a chance?”
Habiba stared at him, her frustration boiling over.
“If you refuse, then you’re fine—and if you’re fine, and if you don’t need this, founder kiss me. You don’t need to—”
The words struck like lightning.
Habiba went stiff.
Flashback cascaded through her mind: the suffocating memory of her husband’s betrayal, the cold nights of sleepless agony, the tears that had blurred her vision for months.
The physical reaction was immediate.
Her breath hitched, her lungs seizing as if the air in the car had vanished.
“I will never give a man my heart again. They destroy you like its nothing. I hate them. I despise them. I hate the way they tear you apart.”
The car fell into a suffocating, heavy silence.
To Lin Sheng, her words felt like a blade—sharp and cold, digging into his heart.
He couldn’t bear the pain.
Tears, hot and unbidden, tracked down his cheeks.
“He couldn’t hide it any longer.
As the sobs racked his frame, Habiba finally noticed.
“Sheng? What is it?” This was the first time Habiba saw Lin Sheng’s tears.
She was alarmed.
He wiped his eyes, fighting for control.
He wanted to scream the truth, to hold her until the pain dissipated, but he was trapped.
He wanted desperately to hide his shattered state, but the breathlessness took him.
It was an agonizing cycle of panic.
Habiba leaned in, pressing her lips to his, trying to force air into his lungs, but this time, the gesture didn’t work.
The panic was too deep.
He was drowning.
Habiba turned toward the front, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Tang San.
The way he moved—so accustomed to these episodes—made it clear this was not the first time.
“He does this often, doesn’t he?” Habiba demanded, her voice sharp with a mix of fear and accusation.
“You have been hiding this from me and Han. How many times has he relied on these?”
Tang San didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on the road.
But the silence confirmed her suspicions.
Habiba looked at the medicine in her hand, her expression hardening.
“I am…
Is this varified?” Habiba demanded “you treat your health like its nothing!
I’m not giving this to him!
If it’s not varified, it isn’t safe.”
As Lin Sheng gasped for air, unable to speak, Habiba made her choice.
She didn’t wait for anything to happen to him.
She leaned into him, her lips pressing against his in a deep, desperate kiss.
She poured all her focus into him, ignoring the fear, acting as her anchor.
Slowly, the agonizing rhythm of his breathing began to steady.
As his consciousness returned, the shock of her touch sparked a fire in him; he lost control, wrapping his arm around her and returning the kiss with a raw agonizing intensity that spoke of everything he couldn’t say aloud.
Tang San, witnessing the shift, realized the moment had moved beyond his intervention.
He pulled the car off the road and quietly stepped out of the car, closing the door firmly and moving a distance away to give them the privacy they needed.
When they finally break apart, the air in the car was heavy with their shared breaths.
Lin Sheng was pale, his heart still hammering against his ribs, but he was alive.
“We are going to the hospital,” Habiba stated, her voice firm.
“I have seen you like this too many times. You need professional help.”
Lin Sheng shook his head slowly, reaching out to steady himself.
“No. We aren’t going to the hospital. We’re going to Shanghai. To the project site, Habiba. Please… I’m okay.”
Once Lin Sheng did consult his personal doctor, about these episodes without telling Zhou Han and Habiba.
And the doctor said that, their is nothing wrong with him.
The taste are showing he is fine.
Mr Gao web, Lin sheng doctor come to a Consultation that these are Matters of the heart.
“Yes I have” Lin sheng answered, “since When…?” The doctor ask.
I love her so Much!
She is; my Soul, my whole world.” Lin Sheng stated.
“Who is she?, Oh, don’t tell me, let me guess Is She Habiba?” “Yeah…
Thats right!
She is the one!” Lin Sheng answered Gao Wen Said, “You have not told her yet, That’s why you are having these Condition then.”
“Take my advice, you have to let it out Otherwise, they will be Consequess in the Future! So, you have to tell her Okay, Lin Sheng!”
“Okey Okey I heard you doctor, Yes sir. I will do as you say Promise.”
Habiba Stared at him, her frustration boiling over; “If you refuse, then you’re fine—and if you’re fine, you don’t need this”
She held up the medicine.
“You people treat medicine like peanuts. It’s not food, Lin Sheng. It will harm your body. I’m throwing these away.”
Lin Sheng watched her, his gaze softening as he saw the genuine concern beneath her anger.
He signed leaning back against the seat “Okey You can throw them away”
He paused, his eyes locking onto hers, filled with a sudden, nervous vulnerability.
“But before you do… Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead,” Habiba replied, feeling a strange flutter in her chest.
“If I have this situation,” he whispered, “can you let me kiss you? Can you let me hug you so tightly? I don’t want to do this with anyone else! Can you be there for me, no matter what?”
Habiba sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.
She reasoned with herself: I cannot heal the wound of the girl he truly loves, so I will help him with this.
“Okay” she said softly.
“I will be there for you. If it helps, I will be your medicine, and your doctor. I will let you kiss me and hug me as much as you want okey.”
” Will you be okay with this?” Lin Sheng asked, his voice shaking.
“It’s a huge favour.”
Habiba looked away, her face sad.
“I don’t know why I don’t feel anything.
I know I have scars in my heart, but something is wrong with me.
Lin Sheng tell me why I can’t feel my heart race or my body heat up?.
“I am abnormal even people will agree with me, don’t get me wrong I know we are friends but something is definitely wrong with me. How can a woman be kissed like that and feels nothing absolutely nothing, sheng am I abnormal?? I must be.”
Lin sheng reached out gently caressing her face.
You are not abnormal, you are a perfect woman any man could wish for, your are brilliant amazing Author and you will be a brilliant actress too.
I just know your a perfect mother as well.
“That man who hurt you was a fool. You are just going through alot-a process, Habiba. I will be here every step of the way.”
Lin sheng thought kissing and hugging her is the way not, Only helping him, but both he is preparing Habiba to love again in the future.
Kissing her and all that is to soften habiba heart to heal her pain so that she will let go of the past completely.
He doesn’t want to see Habiba in pain-cause she is suffering in the process and him too.
If she continue like this she will not be able to enjoy life because of that foolish man.
Lin Sheng will not allow it Habiba to suffer and destroy her life, to be bitter while he is there with her.
He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her with an affection so deep it felt like a vow.
Hours later, on the train to Shanghai, they were exhausted.
Habiba slept on Lin Sheng’s shoulder, while he leaned his head against hers, both finding a fragile peace.
By the time they reached the hotel in Shanghai, the city was alive with the hum of upcoming ceremony.
They retreated to their separate rooms to refresh, but the echo of the car ride lingered.
Later that evening, they gathered for dinner, with other crew cast members, the vow between them hanging in the air-a promise of protection and a beginning of a pact which seems like intimacy.
## Authors note
From the intimacy of the car to the quiet peace of the train ride, the pair arrives in Shanghai with their secrets tucked away.
As they check into the hotel and join the rest of the cast for dinner, the professional world of acting awaits—but can they carry the weight of what just happened into their new roles?
Dear readers, thank you so much for reading!