Daniel’s thoughts were a scrambled mess as he watched Jia in the garden.
She was kneeling beside Lucas, helping him fit puzzle pieces into a sprawling cardboard volcano, her long hair cascading over one shoulder, the sunlight catching the faint smile on her lips. That same unnerving smile.
Too calm. Too knowing.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
Crossing the garden with forced casualness, he shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat as he approached.
Jia looked up slowly, one brow arched in amusement.
“Well,” she said, dusting her hands, “if it isn’t the Han family’s noble heir. Come to join the lava monster assembly?”
Lucas immediately held up a cardboard piece. “This one’s the monster’s tongue!”
Daniel crouched next to them stiffly. “That’s… very impressive. I’m sure he’ll be the scariest monster in the kingdom.”
Lucas beamed.
Jia’s smile deepened. “Monsters are only scary until you realize they’re usually just misunderstood.”
Daniel shot her a look. “Is that what you think I am? Misunderstood?”
“Did I say that?” She tilted her head innocently. “Interesting that you’d assume I meant you.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Jia. Can I talk to you?”
She patted Lucas gently on the head. “Can you finish the eyes without me, soldier?”
Lucas saluted with a gummy grin. “Yes, teacher!”
Jia rose fluidly, brushing invisible dust off her skirt as she followed Daniel a few paces away, out of earshot, near the trimmed hedges.
He turned to face her. “Why didn’t you tell my grandmother?”
Her lashes fluttered. “Tell her what?”
“You know what.” His voice was low, urgent. “About the party. The whole setup. About what I did.”
Jia stepped closer.
A little too close.
She leaned in with her hands loosely clasped behind her back, eyes half-lidded, voice low—measured like someone testing the weight of a secret before deciding if it’s worth sharing.. “Hmm. Let’s think. What’s the sound of a secret not told?”
Daniel blinked. “What?”
She leaned closer, just an inch away now, lips ghosting near his ear. “Silence.”
A chill ran down his spine.
He swallowed. “So you’re not going to tell her?”
She pulled back slowly, eyes sparkling. “I didn’t say that either.”
Daniel’s jaw ticked. “Then what are you saying?”
Jia’s smile curled, sly. “I’m saying… maybe I like keeping you on your toes.”
Before he could reply, she reached up and gently brushed a lock of hair from his forehead—one of those swoopy, annoyingly perfect strands his stylist always left loose.
Her fingers lingered a beat longer than necessary.
Then her eyes flicked—brief, calculating.
To the window above them.
Daniel followed her gaze just in time to spot the silhouette of his grandmother watching them from her study’s second-story window, veil of lace curtains fluttering as she ducked out of sight.
“Oh, no,” he muttered.
Jia gave him an innocent blink. “You really should close the blinds before plotting your downfall.”
“What did you just do?” Daniel asked, trying not to panic.
“I told you,” she said sweetly, walking past him with a soft pat on his arm, “you’re safe… for now.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“But wait—!”
“Wait,” she echoed, without turning. “It suits you.”
Daniel stood frozen in place as Lucas came bounding over.
“Danny! Danny! Jia said I’m a genius ‘cause I made the volcano breathe fire!”
“Did she now?” Daniel mumbled, still dazed.
Lucas tugged at his sleeve. “Do you think volcano monsters eat cake?”
“I—what?”
“Because I asked Jia and she said some monsters do. But if they eat cake, do they brush their teeth?”
Daniel stared at him blankly. “I think, I have no idea anymore.”
Lucas plopped on the grass, doodling a cake with flames. “You look weird, Danny. Are you sick?”
“Maybe,” Daniel muttered, watching Jia from behind as she gracefully returned to the puzzle, as if nothing had just happened. “Maybe I am.”
Upstairs, behind the now-closed curtain, Madam Han clutched her chest with glee.
“Oh, bless my matchmaking heart,” she whispered. “They’re falling for each other.”
She pulled out her phone.
Madam Han: Progress has been made. Prepare the engagement photoshoot.
Later that evening…
Daniel paced in his room like a madman.
“She didn’t tell Grandma. She clearly didn’t. But now Grandma thinks we’re… bonding?!”
He raked both hands through his hair. “And she’s messing with me. She’s definitely playing some long game.”
He stopped mid-pace.
“…But what is it?”
His thoughts were interrupted by a ping.
[New Message] From: Jia Image attachment: A photo of Lucas asleep on her lap, half-covered by a blanket, clutching the volcano puzzle piece like a teddy bear.
Caption: “Even monsters have soft spots.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
No threats. No hints. Just riddles and smiles and volcano metaphors.
He dropped onto the edge of his bed, groaning. “She’s going to kill me with cryptic poetry.”
But in the pit of his stomach… something twisted.
It wasn’t just guilt anymore.
It was dread.
Not fear of exposure.
Fear of being outplayed.
Downstairs…
Jia stood alone in the kitchen, sipping water as the moonlight pooled in from the garden.
Her expression was unreadable now.
No smile.
Just quiet calculation behind calm eyes.
She turned her phone face down on the counter and whispered to herself:
“One down…”
Then she looked toward the window, where Daniel’s silhouette flickered past his bedroom light again and again—pacing like a nervous animal.
“…many more to go.”
A soft smile touched her lips again.
Not warm.
Not cruel.
Just certain.
And somewhere far off, thunder rumbled.
Later that night, the Han estate slumbered under a velvet sky. Most of the lights had dimmed, save for a warm glow spilling from a single room upstairs—Daniel’s.
Inside, the heir of the Han name lay diagonally across his bed, one leg dangling, eyes glued to the ceiling. A damp towel hung around his neck. The remnants of a panic shower.
“She brushed my hair,” he whispered into the void.
No answer.
“She brushed my damn hair.”
He turned on his side, only to groan and roll right back. “And now Grandma thinks we’re in love.” He clutched a pillow to his chest and growled into it, muffled: “Why am I like this?!”
His phone buzzed again. He flinched. No name. Just another message.
Jia:
Sleep tight, Mr. Han(…)
He stared at the dove emoji for a solid ten seconds.
What did it mean? Peace? Surrender? Was he being truce-offered or… threatened?
Daniel sat up abruptly.
“Okay. That’s it. She’s doing this on purpose.”
A faint knock interrupted his inner spiral.
He blinked. “…Lucas?”
The door creaked open. A small pajama-clad figure shuffled in, blanket dragging behind him like a cape.
“I had a bad dream,” Lucas mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
Daniel softened instantly. “Come here.”
Lucas crawled into bed beside him like a sleepy kitten. He blinked up at his brother. “Was it the volcano monster?”
“No,” Lucas whispered. “It was… you. But you had Jia’s voice.”
Daniel nearly choked. “Excuse me?”
Lucas yawned. “You were yelling riddles and turning people into cake.”
“…What.”
Lucas was already dozing off.
Daniel stared down at the boy’s peaceful face and exhaled. “Yeah, I need therapy.”