The auditorium was packed.
Not with fans but with critics.
Jiang Yue knew the difference the moment she stepped inside.
Fans looked at her like she mattered.
Critics looked at her like she needed to prove it, despite some won't care even when the truth stared right at them.
"…I hate this already," she muttered under her breath.
Tessa squeezed her arm. "You'll be fine. Worst case scenario, you emotionally destroy them with poetry again."
"…That's not comforting."
"It is to me."
[System Alert: Host entering hostile environment.]
[System Suggestion: Increase confidence. Or fake it convincingly.]
"I always fake it," Jiang Yue whispered internally.
[System: I know.]
The stage was set with five chairs.
Four were already occupied.
Jiang Yue took the last one.
And immediately felt the tension.
To her left, a senior critic with decades of influence.
To her right, a bestselling author known for tearing others down in reviews.
Across from her, two panelists who had already dismissed her work publicly.
Perfect, just perfect it's at times like this she wonders why her bad luck won't save her from proceeding with this.
The moderator smiled politely.
"Welcome, everyone, to tonight's discussion: Modern Literature, Depth or Performance?"
Jiang Yue almost laughed.
Oh, they're coming for me.
It didn't take long.
"Miss Jiang Yue," the critic beside her began smoothly, "your work has gained… significant popularity."
That pause.
That tone.
Jiang Yue smiled politely. "…Thank you."
"But some argue," he continued, "that your writing relies too heavily on emotional appeal rather than literary substance."
There it was.
The room quieted, everyone was waiting and watching expecting her to make a fool of herself or trip on her own words, but wrong day crit
Jiang Yue tilted her head slightly. "You mean… I make people feel too much?"
A few chuckles rippled through the audience.
The critic didn't smile. "I mean your work lacks restraint."
She leaned back slightly. "…So does grief."
A pause.
The room shifted.
The Room Tightens
Another panelist leaned forward. "Literature should challenge the mind, not just the heart."
Jiang Yue nodded slowly. "And what do you think the heart does?"
The venue was now silenced by her words,
Tension thickened.
The moderator cleared his throat. "Perhaps we can—"
"No," Jiang Yue said softly.
Then she stood.
The room stilled completely.
[System Alert: Improvised performance detected.]
[System Note: Oh, this is going to be good.]
The Poem
She didn't look at the panel.
She looked at the audience.
At the people who came to judge her.
And the ones who came to understand her.
Then she spoke.
"'They said my words were too soft,
too soaked in feeling,
too willing to bleed where ink should behave.
They asked me for restraint,
as if grief ever learned to sit still.
Tell me
have you ever watched a heart break quietly?
Have you ever heard silence scream
in the shape of someone missing?
You call it too much.
I call it truth.
Because some stories aren't meant to be dissected
they're meant to be survived.'"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then the applause was loud and unstoppable
The critics said nothing.
Because they couldn't.
At the back of the room
Li Zhenkai stood, arms crossed, gaze fixed on her.
Pride flickered in his eyes.
Unhidden.
Unmistakable.
Jainyu leaned closer. "Yeah… she just ended careers."
Zixuan grinned. "I think I'm in love."
Yuze didn't look away from his screen. "…Focus."
Zhenkai's voice was quiet.
"I am."
As the applause continued
Yuze's fingers moved rapidly across his keyboard.
Then—he froze.
"…Zhenkai."
One word.
That was all it took and Li zhenkai immediately understood his friend.
Zhenkai stepped closer. "What is it?"
Yuze turned the screen toward him.
A name.
Not Zhou Meili.
Someone else, someone more powerful and hidden...
Connected to multiple shell companies, had funding and surveillance.
Zhenkai's expression darkened instantly.
"…So that's who."
Dean frowned. "You know him?"
Zhenkai's voice turned cold.
"Yes."
A pause.
"…And he just made a mistake."
Backstage
Jiang Yue exhaled, her hands still slightly trembling.
"I think I blacked out," she muttered.
Tessa grinned. "You destroyed them. I'm proud."
"I'm terrified."
"Same thing."
Suddenly—
The lights flickered.
Then went out.
"…No," Jiang Yue whispered.
[System Alert: Environmental hazard detected.]
[System Note: Of course this is happening.]
The door clicked shut.
Locked.
Jiang Yue turned sharply. "Did you hear that?"
"Yes," came a voice behind her.
She froze.
Zhenkai.
Relief hit instantly.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
The room was dark, and silent in this enclosed space, if I wasn't panicking I would think about something romantic but now
Just the two of them.
The Forced Proximity
"Stay close," he said quietly.
"…I don't think I have a choice."
She stepped toward him—
And tripped.
Of course she did.
He caught her instantly.
Her hands pressed against his chest.
His arm wrapped around her waist.
Too close.
Way too close.
[System Alert: Forced proximity achieved.]
[System Mission: DO SOMETHING WITH IT.]
Her brain short-circuited.
"Your timing is terrible," she whispered internally.
[System: My timing is perfect.]
Zhenkai's hand tightened slightly at her waist.
"You're shaking again," he murmured.
"I'm locked in a dark room after almost getting poisoned yesterday," she replied. "Give me a minute."
His lips almost curved.
Almost.
"You're safe," he said.
Her breath caught.
"…You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Silence stretched.
The kind that felt heavier than words.
Her fingers curled slightly against his shirt.
"…What if one day it's not?"
His grip tightened.
"Then I'll change that day."
Her heart stuttered.
"…You can't control everything."
"No," he said quietly.
Then
"I just control what matters."
Her breath hitched.
"…And I matter?"
He didn't hesitate.
"You do."
She didn't want to banter or act a romance movie with him now.
The darkness made everything sharper, closer, more real.
His hand moved slightly,
From her waist to her back.
Her breath slowed.
His gaze dropped.
Even in the dark, she could feel it.
[System Alert: THIS IS REALLY IT.]
Her heart pounded.
She didn't move this time.
Didn't pull away.
Didn't overthink.
She just stayed.
His face tilted closer and closer but at the crucial moment
The lights snapped back on.
They froze.
"…Seriously?" Jiang Yue whispered.
[System: I DIDN'T DO THAT.]
Zhenkai exhaled slowly, stepping back just slightly.
"…We're leaving," he said.
She nodded quickly.
"…Yes. Before something else explodes."
Later that night
Jiang Yue sat by her window, replaying everything.
The panel.
The poem.
The room.
Him.
Her fingers touched her lips unconsciously.
"…Twice," she muttered.
[System: Third time's the charm.]
"…If we survive that long."
[System: You will.]