Tang Fei knelt in the middle of the dimly lit room.
The only source of light came from a fist-sized hole in the wall, where a thin beam of sunlight cut across the darkness like a blade.
Dust floated in the air.
His breathing was uneven.
“S-Sky… I-I…” His voice shook uncontrollably.
“Speech disorder?” a languid voice drifted down from above, calm enough to sound almost bored, yet carrying a danger that pressed against the skin like cold steel.
“No!” Tang Fei hurriedly denied, lowering his head further.
“Then explain properly why you disobeyed my orders.”
The voice was not loud.
It did not need to be.
Tang Fei swallowed hard.
“I didn’t mean to! I-it was Mathew! H-he—”
“Is he your father?” Sky asked mildly.
“N-no.”
“Your master?”
“No! You’re my only—”
“Nonsense.”
The single word echoed through the room.
Tang Fei’s shoulders trembled violently.
Cold sweat slid down the side of his face.
Damn it…
How could just a voice make him feel like this?
Nobody had ever seen Sky before.
No one knew his age, his appearance… whether he was even human.
For all he knew, the man sitting above could simply be a crippled old fraud hiding in the dark, relying on fear to control people.
Yes… that had to be it.
An old man too ashamed to show his face—
“Don’t.”
The word fell softly.
Yet in that instant, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Tang Fei’s pupils shrank.
“W-what?”
Tang Fei was too quite for a while.
So Sky knew he definitely was thinking something.
“Don’t finish that thought,” Sky said lazily.
“Or I might lose my patience and peel your mind open piece by piece.”
A suffocating pressure crashed onto Tang Fei.
“Umph—!”
His fingers dug into the floor as pain exploded through his skull, as though invisible hands were forcing themselves into his thoughts.
Silence followed.
Then—
“Fail again… and the next time you wake up, you’ll wish you had died here instead.”
A shadow finally rose from the throne-like chair above.
Tall.
Straight.
Not the bent figure of an old man.
For a brief second, dim light brushed against the edge of a jawline before the darkness swallowed him again.
Then footsteps faded into the distance.
Leaving Tang Fei frozen on the floor, no longer certain whether the man called Sky was human… or something far worse.
*
Yu Yang and Li Yeli sat opposite each other at the long dining table.
Li Yeli wore a dramatic white button-up shirt with oversized tiered ruffle shoulders that made her look untouchably elegant.
A black leather corset-style belt hugged her waist tightly, adding a sharp contrast to the softness of the fabric.
Meanwhile, the dishes laid untouched before her.
Completely oblivious to Yu Yang’s gaze, she continued staring into the distance as though the person sitting across from her did not exist.
“You know,” Yu Yang finally said, “people would think we’re enemies if you keep this up.”
Only then did Li Yeli glance at him.
“But we’re not.” She said.
“That,” he sighed, “is exactly the point.”
“We’re business partners.”
Silence.
Yu Yang nearly choked on air.
“We’re getting engaged soon,” he reminded carefully.
“Shouldn’t we try getting to know each other better?”
“Yes,” she agreed calmly.
“After we sign the contract.”
…Sorry, what?
He blinked slowly.
“Contract?”
“You said it yourself.” Li Yeli spoke in the same emotionless tone.
“You don’t do free things. After the wedding, we divorce after one year. And naturally, you state what you want in return.” She lifted her eyes to meet his.
“Get the papers ready.”
For the first time in years, Yu Yang genuinely felt speechless.
“Apologies, Miss Li,” he said cautiously, “but when exactly did I suggest a contract marriage? We never discussed signing anything.”
“We did.”
“No, we absolutely did not.”
“You said you’re a businessman,” replied.
“And businessmen only do profitable things. Since you only do business…” She blinked once.
“Then let’s do business.”
“….”
Yu Yang stared for a long moment.
At this point, he truly wanted to go back in time and strangle his past self.
Why exactly had he said that line so confidently?
“What?” Li Yeli asked when he remained silent.
“I don’t know any lawyers. So you do it.”
A laugh nearly escaped him.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and stood up.
“Excuse me.”
A few minutes later, he returned.
“It’ll be here shortly.”
“Hm.”
Not even a full minute passed before someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Yu Yang said coolly.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man entered carrying a brown envelope.
Without saying a word, he handed it to Yu Yang and quietly left.
Yu Yang opened the envelope, scanned through the contents briefly, then nodded to himself before handing the document across the table.
Li Yeli accepted it and frowned slightly.
“What is this?”
“A marriage contract.”
“I know that.”
“Then let’s make things official between us.” He passed her a pen.
“There’s no way I’m signing this!”
For the first time, her real voice came out—not the soft whisper she usually used, but something clear and alive.
Yu Yang raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her sudden reaction.
“What’s wrong?”
She pointed at the paper and read out loud.
“‘If, during the one-year duration of this contract, both husband and wife develop genuine feelings for each other, the contract shall immediately become void, and both parties will continue living together as a legally married couple…'”
Her expression darkened as she continued reading.
“‘However, if neither party falls in love within one year, the marriage shall be dissolved peacefully, and both parties will go their separate ways.'”
She slowly lowered the paper and stared at him.
“What makes you think I would fall for you?”
Yu Yang leaned back lazily against his chair.
“Because,” he said without hesitation, “it’s inevitable.”
Lu Yeli looked at him as though she had just discovered a new species.
What a narcissist.
“Are you afraid?” he asked suddenly.
“Of what?”
“Falling for me.”
She scoffed softly.
“I trust myself.”
A slow smile appeared on Yu Yang’s face.
“If you truly trust yourself…” he said quietly, tapping the contract with one finger, “then why aren’t you signing it?”