Liang Ruoxi adjusted the emerald earrings — antique and undoubtedly worth a small fortune — as her image appeared across dozens of monitors in the Mo Corporation media hall.
Every light, every lens, every stare was now trained on her.
She stood beside Mo Zeyan, his hand lightly resting at the small of her back. They looked picture-perfect — poised, composed, deadly.
"Remember your role," he murmured, lips brushing her ear as cameras flashed.
"I never forget my lines," she replied with a poised smile.
The engagement announcement was meant to stun. But even Ruoxi hadn't expected the online explosion that followed.
Within minutes, social media was ablaze:
💥 Breaking: Mo Corporation CEO Engaged to Fallen Heiress Liang Ruoxi!>>Scandal or Strategy? Netizens Ask: What's the Real Deal Behind This Alliance?>>Mo Zeyan, the Ice CEO, Finally Melts?
As reporters surged forward, the tension rose.
"President Mo! Is this an arranged alliance or a love match?"
"Miss Liang, after your public rejection by the Su Family, is this your comeback?"
Ruoxi turned, voice calm but assertive. "I don't define myself by others' choices. This engagement is mine."
Mo Zeyan added, "What I do — and whom I choose — is nobody's business but mine. But since you all insist—"
He reached for her hand.
And kissed it.
Cameras exploded with flashes.
Ruoxi froze — just for a second. His lips were warm. Controlled. Just enough to look intimate.
But behind the show, his eyes told a different story.
We're partners. Not lovers. Don't forget.
Hours later…
Back at the mansion, Ruoxi paced the garden terrace. The mask of grace she wore all day finally cracked.
The silence of the night felt heavy.
The deeper she stepped into Mo Zeyan's world, the more she realized — she knew nothing about him.
The public knew him as the Ice CEO. Ruthless. Brilliant. Private.
But this house, those locked doors, the tension behind his gaze — there were ghosts.
And she'd seen one of them today.
During the press conference, as she turned toward the cameras, a woman in the back had flinched and fled.
Ruoxi saw her reflection in the monitor just before the footage cut.
The woman had her face.
Not entirely. But eerily close.
A twin? No. That was impossible.
But that locket she found near the north wing… the woman in the photo…
She wasn't hallucinating.
Meanwhile…
In a private room of the mansion, Zeyan stood in front of an old piano.
The lid remained closed. Dust-free. But untouched.
He reached into the drawer beneath it and pulled out a photo.
Two girls.
One smiling brightly.
The other quiet, with eyes too knowing for her age.
He traced the quiet one's face.
She looked like Liang Ruoxi.
But she couldn't be.
That girl… was dead.
Flashback – 12 Years Ago
A fire.
Screaming.
A girl trapped behind glass.
Zeyan had tried to reach her.
But he was too late.
The Liang family had covered it up.
The girl's name had disappeared from all records.
Just like her body.
Back to Present…
The door behind him creaked open.
Ruoxi stood there, holding a box.
"I went through the east library," she said. "Found something with your name on it. Thought you'd want it back."
Zeyan narrowed his eyes. "You were told not to snoop."
"I wasn't snooping," she replied. "I was searching. There's a difference."
He walked toward her slowly. Dangerous. Predatory.
"You're testing boundaries."
"I'm not afraid of your rules, Mo Zeyan," she said.
"Then you're foolish."
They stared at each other in the dim light.
Tension crackled like a thunderstorm trapped indoors.
Then suddenly, Zeyan reached behind her — and slammed the door shut.
Ruoxi didn't flinch.
He backed her into the wall, voice low and dangerous.
"You keep digging into my past, Liang Ruoxi," he whispered, "you might just uncover things you're not ready for."
Her breath hitched, but her voice stayed strong. "Maybe I've already uncovered them."
He stilled.
She took a step closer, whispering, "Who was she?"
Zeyan's jaw clenched. "Don't push me."
"You brought me here for protection. But you're the one hiding. From a dead girl."
Silence.
Then—he laughed. A bitter, joyless sound.
"You're not ready for the truth."
"Then make me ready," she snapped.
He walked away, leaving her breathless.
Over his shoulder, he said, "You're playing a game in a house full of ghosts. Be careful, Ruoxi. They don't all stay dead."
Later That Night…
Ruoxi opened the photo box she had kept hidden.
Inside: old files from her time investigating the Liang family.
Hidden names. Financial trails. Adoption records.
She froze when she saw it.
A birth certificate.
It had her mother's name.
But not her father's.
A blacked-out section where the father's name should be.
Instead, a sealed envelope.
She opened it.
Inside was a name scrawled in faded ink:
"Mo Qinghua."
Her eyes widened.
That was—
Mo Zeyan's mother