Chapter 3: A Temporary Paradise

I am a messenger from the darkness, yet I chase after radiant colors!

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It is said that when the church bell tolls at midnight, the gates of heaven and hell open together; yet people so often forsake the angel’s call and fall into hell. Perhaps, for those already consumed by illness, hell becomes a temporary paradise.

So, when that door unexpectedly opens before you, who can resist Pandora’s temptation?

Deep within the shadowed corridor, a woman’s sharp gaze swept through the fleeting play of light and shadow. In the next instant, she spun around and wrenched the clawed hand reaching for her in a fierce grip!

In the elusive darkness, she let out a delicate sigh. Her deep blue eyes, filled with disdain, flickered over the man’s pain-twisted face as she spoke coolly, “It seems someone simply couldn’t wait any longer.”

She released her hold and flashed a sly smile. “Be sure to let him know: only the sole victor at the gaming table has the right to remove my mask.”

Knowing his mission had failed, the man wasted no time. In the brief moment she allowed, he scrambled away, desperate to report back.

And as that panic-stricken figure vanished down the corridor, another presence—one hidden all this while—stepped gracefully into the light.

“Miss Annie.” The woman removed her feathered mask, bowing as she handed it to Annie, who was dressed in an elegant black gown.

Annie’s gaze dropped as she accepted it, her face expressionless. “You must be tired as well. Go and rest.”

“Yes,” the woman replied with a nod. She turned and left, her long, slender shadow spinning in the interplay of light and darkness before fading away…

The noise and splendor of the night continued unabated, yet tonight, “Paradise” seemed to have lost some of its usual glamour, perhaps because of one particular guest.

“And you are?” Annie’s voice, suddenly cold, addressed the impeccably dressed man before her.

The man lifted his head slightly and nodded in greeting. “Miss Annie, Mr. Lu would like to invite you out. Would you do him the honor?”

Annie narrowed her dazzling blue eyes and smiled knowingly. “Since you wish me to follow a stranger, shouldn’t you at least prove you’re not a fraud?”

“Then does it mean that as long as I share my name, you’ll agree to come?” The man’s gentlemanly eyes lingered over her enigmatic black mask—a fatal allure to any man.

In the glow of crystal lights, a cool draft stirred, and black feathers unfurled gently. Her voice, cool and feline, rose, “Are you implying that if I guess your name, Mr. Chu, then I won’t have to accept the invitation?” She lifted the share transfer document in her hand. “Wealth and power—truly marvelous things!”

From the second floor, a pair of brown eyes watched the tug-of-war below with indifference.

At last, as the balance shifted, a voice sounded from behind, unable to hold back any longer. “Mr. Si, shall I send someone to intervene?”

The man merely smiled, his confident voice swirling through the clear wine in his glass. “In her world, there’s nothing but victory. Only winning matters.”

“Understood.”

Si Yang’s gaze followed the vanishing figure, and he took a slow sip of his drink. Why did her wine always carry the bitterness of tears?

A black Cayenne, bathed in the faint morning light, glided into the old manor.

Annie lowered the window, and in the next moment, she tasted the flavor of fine wine on the sea breeze.

The car came to a quiet halt, hidden in the space between night and dawn.

The door opened from outside. The waiting servant bowed respectfully to the guest. “Sir has been expecting you, Miss.”

Following the servant’s direction, Annie looked up. Upon the distant high point, a solitary figure stood, gazing at the sea.

But whom, she wondered, did he so yearn for?

Time slipped by, moment by moment. As the red sun rose, the man finally glanced at his watch, its face bathed in morning light, and frowned.

He did not expect the faintly mocking voice that drifted toward him.

“Such hospitality, Mr. Lu. Surely you didn’t bring me here just to watch a Chinese sunrise?”

Lu Huaining frowned, yet a smile touched his lips. “Miss Heller, you seem quite impatient.”

“Yes, I’m in a hurry to get married, after all.”

She had, at some point, slipped quietly to stand before him.

He watched her as she stepped back, saw the smile slowly fade from her eyes, and felt his heart seize—as if invisible hands replayed, again and again, a cruel memory in his mind.

“Careful—!”

Pebbles shifted beneath her feet and tumbled into the endless sea below.

Annie caught the fleeting panic and sorrow in his eyes but suddenly turned, spreading her arms wide to the ocean. Their fingertips brushed in passing, but could not ignite the dawn.

Beneath her feet stretched a cliff, dozens of meters high, where turbulent waves crashed against the rocks, spraying light like the morning glow.

She looked down at her feet, which edged back unnaturally, and a mocking smile curled her lips. “Are you afraid of heights, Mr. Lu?”

Lu Huaining looked up abruptly, a complex gaze fixed on her face—so familiar, yet now so strange in the morning light.

His cool presence drew near, but as he finally saw the unfamiliar face before him, his steps faltered and every hope shattered into disappointment.

The mask in his hand fluttered away on the wind, drifting silently into the sea.

Annie saw the unfamiliarity and distance in his eyes. Expected, yet still a surprise.

In the distance, smoke curled above the manor, seagulls circled, and her heart leapt with a resounding beat.