As the event ended, Jiannan escorted her down the private hall toward the elevator.
"You have enemies," he said without preamble.
"I know," she replied calmly.
"They'll try again."
"I'm counting on it."
He looked down at her, amusement in his eyes. "So, what's your strategy?"
Bai Zhi smiled faintly. "Let them dig holes. I just won't be the one falling in."
The elevator doors opened.
Jiannan didn't move. "Do you trust anyone?"
She turned to face him. "No."
He laughed, low and sharp. "Good."
The doors slid shut, leaving him standing in the hallway with a rare smile.
Meanwhile, in a corner café across town, Bai Meilin sat with her assistant, her lips curled in frustration.
"She walked out of that room like a goddess."
"She has allies now," the assistant said cautiously. "Li Jiannan is watching her closely."
"Then we'll put someone next to her," Meilin said, her tone hard. "Someone she won't suspect."
She tapped her fingers on the table, eyes gleaming.
"She thinks she's untouchable. Let's see how long that lasts."
The Li Group Creative Summit had left Bai Zhi's name buzzing across academic, tech, and entertainment circles. Minghua University had reinstated her research position with honors. Phoenix Studios reached out with a short film pitch. Invitations were pouring in like spring rain.
But Bai Zhi didn't smile at success. Not yet.
She knew Meilin was planning her next move.
It didn't take long for it to arrive.
At Minghua's campus the following Monday, a bright-eyed girl with sleek black bangs and a mild smile approached her after a research lab session.
"Senior Bai, I'm Zhou Lian," she said shyly. "Professor Qian asked me to assist with your neuro-narrative studies. I'm in the master's program in visual cognition."
Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow. Professor Qian hadn't mentioned assigning anyone, but she nodded.
"I see. Do you have lab access?"
"I've already been cleared. I admire your NeuroTheatre project a lot," Zhou Lian said, her voice soft. "If there's anything I can help with data cleaning, interface testing, I'd be happy to."
There was nothing visibly wrong with her.
Too nothing.
Too sweet. Too careful. Too well-timed.
Still, Bai Zhi didn't reject her outright.
Snakes often revealed themselves when given space to slither.
Later that evening, she leaned back in her desk chair as Tang Wei poured over student profiles on the university intranet.
"Zhou Lian. Second-year postgrad. GPA decent, no red flags," Tang said. "But she wasn't even in the professor's top assistant list until last week."
"What happened last week?" Bai Zhi asked.
Tang clicked. "She suddenly got a recommendation letter from... Bai Meilin."
There it was.
"Have her shadow me," Bai Zhi said. "Let's see what she wants."
The next two days passed with Zhou Lian playing her role flawlessly, efficient, respectful, and completely unremarkable.
Too unremarkable.
But on the third day, Bai Zhi caught her red-handed.
Late at night, Bai Zhi returned to the lab to retrieve a folder she'd forgotten, only to see the faint glow of a screen inside.
Zhou Lian sat hunched at her desk, copying encrypted logs onto a flash drive.
The moment she noticed Bai Zhi, she jumped to her feet.
"I...I was just checking the interface…"
"That's not the interface," Bai Zhi said coolly, walking toward her. "That's my neural pattern dataset. Why copy it?"
"I...I was told..."
"Told by who?"
Zhou Lian bit her lip, panic flashing in her eyes.
Bai Zhi's phone camera was already recording.
"I suggest you speak," she said calmly. "Or I'll take this to the ethics board."
"…It was Bai Meilin," Zhou Lian confessed, voice trembling. "She said you didn't deserve all this, that you had faked everything. She said she needed proof."
Bai Zhi's face remained impassive.
"Take your things. You're done."
By morning, Bai Zhi had submitted the recording to both Professor Qian and the university's board. The university launched an internal investigation into unauthorized access. Zhou Lian was suspended from her program.
And Bai Zhi?
She released a public statement, not with drama, but precision.
"To the curious minds who want to peek into creation, if you must steal, at least don't get caught doing it so poorly."
B.Z.
Across the city, Bai Meilin smashed a teacup in rage.
"She exposed her again?" Chen Yuxuan asked quietly, watching her from across the room.
"She was supposed to slip under the radar!" Meilin hissed. "Not get caught like a fool!"
"Maybe you underestimated her."
Meilin's eyes darkened. "She's just lucky. That's all it is. Luck runs out."
Chen Yuxuan didn't respond, but the guilt in his eyes was undeniable.
He still hadn't told Meilin that he'd met with Bai Zhi alone. That she'd handed him back the engagement ring without even blinking.
And something about that image haunted him more than Meilin's tantrums ever could.
Back in her studio, Bai Zhi stood on the rooftop balcony, watching the city below.
Tang Wei brought her tea and asked quietly, "Aren't you afraid of pushing Meilin too far?"
"She already tried to kill me once," Bai Zhi replied, her voice calm. "What's left to fear?"
Tang Wei shivered. "But you're stronger now."
"No," Bai Zhi said, turning her gaze to the skyline. "I'm just awake now."
And this time, she'd never close her eyes again.
The invitation had come in a sleek envelope embossed with gold, the kind meant to impress.
Phoenix Studios: Official Selection Notice
Project Title: Glass Wings
Lead Role: Bai Zhi
It was surreal.
Ten years ago, before the betrayal, before the kidnapping, before her death, she had sacrificed every opportunity to support Bai Meilin's rise. She had declined roles, handed over scripts she had written, and even doubled for Meilin in dangerous stunts.
This time, Bai Zhi was stepping into the light. On her own terms.
One Week Later ; Phoenix Studios Film Set
The set of Glass Wings was a sprawling, modern cityscape built inside a soundstage. Bai Zhi's character, Lin Yuyan, was a broken scientist turned vigilante artist, an unusual mix of cold logic and aching emotion.
The director, Yan Cheng, was known for his brutal expectations and rare praise.
He had wanted her for the lead ever since the Creative Summit. Not just for her striking looks, but the power behind her expressions.
"You're not acting," he said to her after one intense take. "You're living through it."
"That's the point," she replied simply.
She brought to Lin Yuyan something no actress could mimic: the experience of betrayal, the raw grief of losing everything, and the chilling clarity of rebirth. It was art imitating life, and for Bai Zhi, it was relieving her life.
Meanwhile; Bai Estate
The Bai family had heard of the film. The press was hailing it as a "bold new step in cinematic storytelling." The teasers were viral. But what truly shocked them was the poster reveal.
It wasn't Meilin's face under the title Glass Wings.
It was Bai Zhi's.