The night air was cold.
Xueying walked quickly through the empty corridor, her vision blurred.
She didn't know where she was going.
She just needed to leave.
To disappear.
Her steps slowed—
Then stopped.
Her hands trembled.
And finally—
She broke.
Tears fell silently, one after another.
"I knew it…" she whispered.
"I knew this would happen…"
Nothing had changed.
Not really.
She was still the same girl.
Still not enough.
Still—
Unwanted.
—
"Xueying."
She froze.
That voice.
She didn't turn.
"I'm fine," she said quickly, wiping her tears.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Steady.
Until he stood in front of her.
Gu Yichen.
"You're not," he said.
She shook her head.
"It doesn't matter."
"It does."
His voice was firm.
Closer.
Real.
"You shouldn't have seen that," she said softly.
"Why?"
"Because…" her voice cracked slightly.
"Because now you know they were right."
Silence.
Then—
"No."
The word was immediate.
Certain.
Xueying looked up.
"…No?" she repeated.
Yichen's gaze didn't waver.
"They weren't laughing because you're not good enough."
"Then why?" her voice trembled.
"Because they're afraid."
Her breath caught.
"Afraid… of me?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Xueying stared at him.
Confused.
Broken.
"Why would anyone be afraid of me?" she whispered.
Yichen stepped closer.
Close enough that she couldn't look away.
"Because you endured what they never could," he said quietly.
Her chest tightened.
"And you're still standing."
Something inside her—
Shattered.
Not from pain.
From something else.
Something overwhelming.
"You're lying," she whispered.
"I'm not."
His voice softened.
Just slightly.
"They see you as weak," he continued.
"But I don't."
Her heart raced.
"Then what do you see?" she asked.
A pause.
Just a moment—
But it felt like everything.
"…Someone I don't want to see hurt again."
The words were quiet.
But they hit harder than anything else.
Xueying's breath trembled.
For a second—
She forgot how to speak.
Forgot how to think.
Because no one—
No one had ever said something like that to her.
—
Yichen hesitated.
Then slowly—
He reached out.
And this time—
He didn't stop.
His hand gently held hers.
Warm.
Steady.
Real.
Xueying's fingers trembled slightly in his grasp.
But she didn't pull away.
She couldn't.
Because for the first time in her life—
Someone was holding her—
Like she mattered.
—
From the shadows—
Zhao Meilin watched.
Her expression darkened completely.
Her nails dug deep into her palm.
"…You dare," she whispered.
Her voice no longer soft.
No longer controlled.
It was something else now.
Something dangerous.
Something vengeful.
"If you want to take him from me…"
Her lips curved slowly.
Cold.
Cruel.
"Then I'll take everything from you."
—
The night grew colder.
But for Xueying—
Something had already begun to change.
Not the palace.
Not the people.
But her.
Because once someone shows you your worth—
It becomes impossible to forget.