The email came without warning.
No subject line. No sender name. Just an address Yaoyue didn't recognize, and a single file attached.
She almost didn't open it.
But curiosity, as always, was dangerous.
The file contained a photo. A blurry image of Yaoyue walking beside Jiang Zeyan outside a restaurant, the night before. The caption was scrawled across the image in red, bold letters:
"He'll never love you like He love me."
Yaoyue froze.
The tone. The possessiveness. It was unmistakable.
Tang Min.
---
Zeyan confirmed it immediately.
"It came from one of her personal servers. The IT team flagged it an hour ago."
Yaoyue stared at the screen, then back at him. "She's watching us?"
"She's unraveling."
"You think?"
"She's gone quiet publicly. That's the dangerous kind of silence."
---
The next blow came in person.
Tang Min arrived at Jinlin Tower without an appointment. She walked in like she still belonged, red lips, designer heels, and a smile too wide for her face.
The receptionist tried to stall her.
She didn't care.
She marched straight to the top floor and barged into the executive suite, where Yaoyue had been reviewing a document beside Thalia.
Yaoyue looked up as the doors burst open.
Tang Min stood in the doorway like she owned the building, until her eyes landed on Yaoyue.
Then everything about her smile twisted.
"Well," she said, voice low and sickly sweet, "look at you. Playing CEO's pet again."
Yaoyue stood slowly.
Thalia didn't move. Just watched with narrowed eyes.
"You're not supposed to be here," Yaoyue said.
"And you are?" Tang Min's tone cracked like glass. "You've always been a temporary distraction, darling. Don't confuse attention with affection."
Yaoyue didn't blink. "Funny. I was just about to say the same to you."
Tang Min's nostrils flared.
"You think this is love?" she hissed. "Do you think he actually feels anything for you? Zeyan is not a man who loves. He controls. He builds. He uses. And when he's done…"
"He's not done," said a voice behind her.
Tang Min froze.
Zeyan stepped into the room, cold and quiet.
"Security is on their way," he said calmly. "But I wanted to give you a moment to explain yourself. Go on."
Tang Min turned, that forced poise slipping into something brittle.
"I was protecting you," she said.
"From what?"
"From her." Her voice wavered. "She's ruining you. Your name. Your image. Everything you built."
"No," he said. "She's the only thing keeping me human."
Tang Min's expression shattered.
For a moment, the mask cracked fully. The grace, the elegance… gone. Her hands trembled. Her smile was a bare line.
"I've known you for years," she whispered. "I was always there. Do you think some girl with a sad backstory can replace that?"
"Yes," he said.
And with that, the last of her composure snapped.
"You're choosing her," she spat. "Her? Over me?"
"It was never a choice."
Tang Min lunged forward, not violently, but in sheer desperation, reaching for his arm.
He stepped back.
Two security guards entered the room a moment later.
Zeyan didn't raise his voice.
"Remove her from the building. Permanently."
Tang Min didn't scream.
But her face twisted into something unrecognizable, not grief, not rage. Obsession.
"You think this is over?" she said as the guards took her arms. "You think she's safe? You don't know who I am, Zeyan."
He looked at her once.
"I know exactly what you are. And now, so will everyone else."
---
She was escorted out.
Silence followed.
Thalia let out a breath and muttered, "Well. That's going viral."
Yaoyue turned to Zeyan.
"She's not going to let this go."
"I'm not going to let her have the chance."
There was no hesitation. No second guessing.
Just calm, cold certainty.
Yaoyue stared at him for a moment longer.
Then said, "You were right. That was the dangerous kind of silence."