The morning air was unusually crisp for late spring, just cool enough that the breeze carried a hint of dew. A sparrow perched on the edge of the wrought-iron balcony railing, fluffing its feathers as if eavesdropping.
Jiang Zhiqing sat at the small round table tucked in the corner of the balcony, a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, untouched. Her hands cradled the porcelain delicately, but her fingers weren't still. They traced the rim, circled the handle, tapped once, then stilled again.
It wasn't nerves. It was calculation.
A soft click of the door behind her didn't make her turn.
She knew who it was.
His footsteps were quiet but certain. Measured. The sound of leather soles brushing against stone tiles. And then—the creak of the chair opposite her being pulled back.
Xie Zhenhua sat down.
Or was it Fu Zhenhua now?
She didn't speak. Not at first.
Not until he settled in across from her like this was just another scene between them. Another moment, another script. But there was no script now. Just a man she thought she'd understood, and a silence that stretched between them like the space between truth and pretense.
"Do you drink coffee?" she asked finally, her voice soft. Not sharp. Not mocking. Just… distant.
"I do," he said. "Black. No sugar."
She gave a short nod, more to herself than to him. "Of course you do."
Zhenhua studied her quietly. She was dressed in a pale blue cashmere sweater and cream trousers, no makeup except for a hint of balm on her lips. There was something disarming about seeing her like this—still regal, still poised, but stripped of her stage armor.
It made her look real.
And somehow even more unreachable.
"I didn't plan for you to find out like that," he said after a long pause.
"No?" She finally looked up at him, one brow raised. "And here I thought it was some kind of dramatic reveal. Lights, camera, betrayal."
He didn't rise to the bait. His hands rested loosely on the table, palms flat. "I wasn't hiding. I was waiting."
"For what?" she asked. "The perfect moment to spring a marriage proposal mid-press scandal?"
His gaze didn't waver. "For the right moment to explain." I didn't want to bring chaos into your life when it was already full of it."
Her laugh was quiet, but there was no humor in it. "Newsflash, Zhenhua. My life is chaos. You walking in with a new last name just added fireworks."
A breeze rustled through the balcony, and for a few moments neither of them spoke.
Zhiqing leaned back in her chair, finally bringing the cup to her lips. The coffee had cooled. She didn't care.
He was still watching her.
"What?" she said, lowering the cup.
"You're not as angry as I expected."
She looked at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't show all my cards at once. I learned that the hard way."
"I'm not your enemy."
"No. But you're not neutral, either."
He inclined his head slightly. Fair point.
"You knew who I was this whole time. Knew about the engagement. Knew that one day you'd show up with your 'real' name and your 'real' life. And you said nothing."
She wasn't raising her voice. That was the worst part.
She was too composed.
"I didn't say anything," he said slowly, "because I wanted to know you without the pressure of expectation." Without the weight of family deals and strategic alliances."
"Romantic," she murmured, "in a vaguely manipulative way."
"I wasn't trying to manipulate you."
She tilted her head. "Then what were you trying to do?"
He was quiet for a moment, then answered honestly. "Understand you."
She laughed again—this time softer. More human.
"You've been working with me for months. There's not much mystery left."
"There's more than you think," he said, voice low.
She glanced away.
For the first time, something fragile flickered across her face. Not fear. Not anger.
Uncertainty.
A reminder that this wasn't just a political marriage she was resisting.
It was him.
The man across from her. The one who knew how she cried on cue and how she didn't cry when she should've. The one who had seen her perform a dozen different heartbreaks—and now stood at the edge of one that might be real.
"Tonight's press conference," she said, shifting gears like she couldn't sit in that thought any longer. "I'll handle it."
"I can stand beside you, if you want," he offered.
She looked back at him.
Her eyes softened just enough for a crack to show through.
"Why would I want that?"
He didn't blink. "Because standing alone isn't strength. It's exhaustion."
They sat there in silence.
Then Zhiqing rose to her feet, slowly, cup still in hand.
"I don't need a knight, Zhenhua," she said. "But I might tolerate a co-star."
He stood as well.
"Good," he replied. "Because I'm not here to rescue you."
She started walking toward the door, pausing only once.
Without turning around, she added, "If you surprise me again, I will kick you."
A pause.
"And not in a cute, flirty way."
Zhenhua gave the smallest of smiles.
"No more surprises," he said.
But they both knew that was a lie
As they stepped back into the house from the balcony, Zhiqing and Zhenhua walked in quiet agreement—unspoken, but shared.
This wasn't about romance.
It was about control.
If the world wanted a narrative? They'd give it one.
Zhiqing pulled out her phone and glanced at Zhenhua. "You're really okay with this?"
He nodded. "You?"
She hesitated a second, then: "Yeah. Let's burn it all down."
They both hit call at the same time.
Du Xiaoman picked up on the second ring.
"If you're calling to reschedule your glam team again, I swear I will send them home in protest."
"Relax," Zhiqing said. "I'm not calling about makeup. I'm calling to tell you something... big."
Du went silent. Instantly alert. "Define 'big.'"
"We're announcing the engagement."
There was a pause. Then—
"You're what?"
"Me and Xie Zhenhua."
At the press conference tonight. We're announcing our engagement—and the date."
Silence. As if Du had muted herself just to scream into a pillow.
Then, in a voice barely holding it together:
"You've been on house arrest for less than 24 hours, and you're now casually announcing a celebrity wedding?"
Zhiqing leaned against the banister. "I wouldn't call it casual."
"You were accused of pushing your ex into a nervous breakdown!"
"He was already halfway broken when I met him."
"Zhiqing!"
Across the hall, Zhenhua was watching her with quiet amusement as he listened to his own manager go through the seven stages of disbelief.
Li Yun's voice came sharp and panicked: "You're dating Jiang Zhiqing?!"
Zhenhua blinked. "No. We're getting engaged."
"What the hell?!" Since when?! You two haven't even been spotted having coffee!"
"Exactly why we're announcing it now."
"Zhenhua," Li Yun said slowly, like speaking to someone having a breakdown, "this woman has been through one scandal after another in the past month. She got hit with a rotten egg outside a police station yesterday. She trended under #JiangZhiqingCancelParty. And now you're marrying her?!"
"You forgot #ZhiqingInTheWrong," he added helpfully.
"Shut up."
She took a shaky breath.
"Is this some kind of damage control scheme?" Did her team talk you into this?"
Zhenhua's voice cooled. "No. This was my call."
"Okay." A pause. "So this isn't some publicity stunt?"
"No."
"And this engagement is real?"
"Yes."
"...Do you understand what this means for your image?"
He didn't answer. He didn't need to.
She groaned loudly. "God. You do. You planned this, didn't you? You emotionally repressed ice prince."
On Zhiqing's side, Du Xiaoman was still unraveling.
"Wait—does he even like you? Did you two date in secret?"
"No."
"So this is a spontaneous red carpet wedding prep?!"
Zhiqing smiled faintly. "Spontaneous long-term alliance, actually."
Du was quiet again.
Then her voice dropped into manager mode. Dead serious. "Okay. I'm not even mad right now. I'm just going to need you to be very, very honest with me."
"Always."
"Do you love him?"
Zhiqing hesitated.
Then, gently, "Not yet."
Du sighed. "At least you didn't lie."
When the calls ended, Zhiqing and Zhenhua stood at the base of the staircase again.
"Is your manager okay?" she asked.
"She's already calling the stylist, a therapist, and my lawyer," he replied.
Zhiqing laughed softly. "Mine threatened to leak my entire dating history if I wasn't serious."
They looked at each other—both amused, both a little exhausted.
"You realize they're going to spin this like a drama plot, right?" Zhiqing said. "Reformed villainess. Stoic male lead. Sudden engagement."
"Not a bad tagline," Zhenhua said. "Let's just make sure they never guess the ending."
She paused.
Then offered her hand, fingers open. "Partners?"
He didn't hesitate.
He took it.
"Partners."