The rain over 云海 had never been this heavy. As if the entire sky was pouring down everything that had been suppressed for twenty years of a single chessboard. 燕思安—once created from a beautiful promise—tonight became the place where the fate of three people changed forever.
燕思安 was silent. Warm yellow lights, the faint scent of cedarwood lingering in the air. White walls, long curtains, the sound of rain striking the glass like a thousand needles. 宋以燕 sat by the window, the long sofa meant for rest now feeling like the edge of a cliff. She took the bottle, poured, drank, and kept drinking until it was empty. The glass trembled in her hand along with her broken breath. The alcohol burned, cold, but nothing was colder than the feeling that 宋氏集团 was collapsing beneath her because of her own signature. She leaned her head back, her breath breaking apart.
"Why…?"
No one answered. No one explained. No one gave her a reason not to fall apart. In despair, she reached for her phone. Her fingers trembled. She didn't know who she wanted to call, didn't know whose voice she needed. But in the weakest moment of her life, she dialed a number she had known by heart for years.
武傲神.
At Central, 云海, a high-end international dinner was underway. Crystal lights, Burgundy wine, three top-tier European partners sitting across from him. 武傲神—the golden mind of 武氏集团, the most composed man, the one who always kept absolute control. But when the phone rang and he heard her faint, broken voice—
"I… I'm at 燕思安…"
His eyes darkened instantly. Fear struck straight into his chest. He hadn't even set the glass down before standing up.
"I'm sorry. I have to go."
He left the table, the partners, every rule he had lived by. Outside, the rain fell like a waterfall. His black suit was soaked through, hair clinging to his forehead, wind lashing against his face. His car shot down Connaught Road like an arrow. In his mind, there was only one image—宋以燕, alone at 燕思安, on the most desperate night of her life.
"If she collapses alone… I will regret it for the rest of my life."
At the same time, elsewhere in the city, 武傲天 received a report.
"Madam has left, heading toward 蓝海湾."
Something tightened in his chest—not logic, not calculation, just instinct. He had to go. Immediately. He drove himself, no driver, no bodyguards, no one else. His face held no anger, only tension, like he was about to lose something he could not afford to lose.
As he turned toward the road leading to 燕思安, a black Maybach rushed through the gate. Red taillights burned through the white rain. The plate—武傲神's. His heart clenched once, twice, three times. So tight he had to grip the steering wheel. He couldn't breathe.
"傲神… what are you doing here…?"
No answer. The gate opened, the Maybach drove in, and the gate closed, swallowing his younger brother along with a fear he had never dared to face. The rain poured harder as if erasing the road behind them. 武傲天 stepped out of the car, standing in the rain, not shielding himself, not moving. Water streamed down his face, mixed with something bitter he could not name.
"Both of you…?"
"No… I don't want to believe this… I don't even dare to think about it…"
No one heard. No one saw. And for the first time in his life, 武傲天 felt something break—the one thing he had always believed he controlled for twenty years.
Inside 燕思安, 武傲神's footsteps echoed softly on the marble floor. Warm yellow light spilled out from the living room. He opened the door—and froze. 宋以燕 sat alone on the sofa. Her white dress draped loosely, one hand holding a glass, the other gripping the edge of the seat until her knuckles turned pale. Her eyes were red, her wrist stained with spilled wine. She no longer looked like the CEO of an empire, no longer like the most powerful woman in 云海. She looked like an angel with broken wings, thrown into a storm.
武傲神 stepped closer, his lips trembling as he called her name.
"以燕…"
He took off his coat and gently draped it over her shoulders.
"Don't catch a cold… 以燕."
She looked at him, her eyes filled with loss, despair, helplessness, and shattered trust.
"宋氏… can't be saved anymore… right?"
武傲神 didn't answer. He sat down beside her, slowly, carefully, as if afraid that any sudden movement would shatter her completely. He reached out and wiped the trace of wine from the corner of her lips, so lightly it felt like touching air. She looked at him. He looked at her.
And in that moment, every defense they had… collapsed.
Message of Chapter 29: When a woman collapses, only the one who truly loves her will run to her through the storm. When a man is in pain, only silence can keep his heart from completely shattering.