Lena was still trying to steady herself when she finally processed Su Yanning’s identity.
Senior Director of National Union Bank.
The title echoed in her mind again and again, heavier each time.
That position alone placed Su Yanning above most of the people attending tonight’s banquet. Power, beauty, status,she had all of it. And she was standing beside Ethan, close enough that no one could mistake their relationship.
An uncomfortable feeling crept into Lena’s chest.
She had just divorced Ethan, convinced that he was dragging her down. Yet now, it looked like he had already stepped into a world far brighter than hers,and with a woman who seemed… better.
Lena clenched her jaw and followed Victor into the hall.
The banquet hall was already buzzing.
Crystal chandeliers shimmered overhead, reflecting off champagne glasses and diamond jewelry. The air was thick with polite laughter, calculated smiles, and hidden ambition.
The moment Victor Shaw stepped inside, heads turned.
Several persons ran toward him.
“Young Master Shaw!”
“So you’re here tonight as well?”
“I heard your family just secured another major project.”
One guest after another approached eagerly, their faces full of flattery.
Victor accepted the attention with practiced ease, his expression confident and proud. He placed a hand lightly on Lena’s back, presenting her openly.
“What a perfect couple.” One of the women commented politely.
“Yes, Miss Carter and Young Master Shaw really complement each other.” Another replied.
“A match made in heaven.”
Victor’s smile widened with every compliment. Lena smiled too, though it felt stiff on her lips.
Soon, the conversation shifted.
“I heard tonight’s auction will be extraordinary,” a man said excitedly. “Especially the final item.”
“Oh?” Victor raised an eyebrow.
“It’s a vintage ring,” the man lowered his voice. “It’s President Liang’s private collection.”
President Liang,president of the city’s largest business association and tonight’s host.
Even Victor’s eyes lit up.
“That ring is priceless,” another guest added. “The starting price alone is astronomical. Honestly, only someone of your status, Young Master Shaw, could afford to bid for it.”
Victor laughed lightly, clearly enjoying himself. “If it’s something President Liang is willing to part with,” he said confidently, “then I’ll naturally show him respect.”
In his tone, the ring already belonged to him.
Lena glanced at him, pride flickering briefly in her eyes.
Not far away, Su Yanning watched the scene unfold with calm amusement.
She swirled the champagne in her glass lazily. “He’s already claiming it before the auction even starts.”
Ethan stood beside her, his gaze drifting casually across the hall. “Confidence is cheap I’m afraid,” he said flatly.
Su Yanning smiled. “Arrogance is even cheaper.”
At that moment, someone nearby laughed loudly.
“Director Su I knew it,” a guest said jokingly, “I heard you got someone could buy out the entire auction house?”
More laughter followed.
Several eyes turned toward Ethan.
“Oh, that’s the ex-husband of Lena Carter, right?” One of the guest whispered.
“The one who got dumped because he was useless?” Another whispered.
“So what did he do to make Director Su protect him like this?”
The mocking voices weren’t subtle.
Victor heard them and smiled smugly. “Director Su, you really shouldn’t joke like that. Buying out the auction house? That’s a bit unrealistic.” Victor said while walking to where Ethan and Su were standing.
Su Yanning raised an eyebrow. “Is it now?”
Victor chuckled. “Well, unless you’re talking about fairy tales.”
The surrounding guests laughed again.
Lena felt a strange tightening in her chest at Victor’s teasing
She looked at Ethan but he didn’t look angry.
He didn’t look embarrassed.
He looked… uninterested.
As if none of this mattered to him at all.
That calm indifference unsettled her more than any argument ever had.
Su Yanning glanced at Ethan. “Do you want me to say something?”
“No,” he replied quietly. “There’s no need to address anything they say.”
He stepped forward slightly, his voice calm but clear.
“I’m not interested in buying the entire auction, that’s not my business.”
The laughter softened, some guests nodding in agreement.
Victor smirked. “At least you know your limits.”
Ethan’s eyes lifted slowly,toward the large screen above the stage.
The auction preview images were rotating.
Then,
The ring appeared on the screen.
It still had its dark metal and ancient engraving.
It still felt Incomplete.
Ethan’s heartbeat skipped and a sharp, dull ache pulsed briefly behind his temples.
Fragments of memory flickered in his mind, they were too fast to grasp, too painful to hold.
He saw Fire.
He heard A woman’s voice.
And Blood was on cold ground.
Ethan clenched his fingers slightly, grounding himself.
“But that ring,” he continued calmly, his gaze unwavering as he pointed to the screen, “is mine.”
The hall fell silent.
For half a second, no one spoke.
Then laughter erupted even louder than before.
“Did he just say that ring is his?” One of the guest boomed with laughter.
“Does he know whose ring that is?” Another remarked.
“Delusional.”
Victor laughed openly now, shaking his head. “You really don’t know when to stop.”
Lena took a step forward, her voice low and tense. “Ethan, enough. You’re only making things worse.”
He finally looked at her and Lena flinched.
There was no resentment in his eyes, no bitterness.
Only distance.
“I know exactly what I’m doing, stop putting your mouth in my business.” he said calmly.
Her words froze in her throat at his words.
Latest Chapter
97
The room stayed quiet after that.Not empty quiet.Thinking quiet.The glowing words still hovered softly across the walls, connected by faint lines of light that pulsed slowly like breathing.Connection.Choice.Trust.Fear.Worth.And beneath them, still glowing faintly:Fear cannot be allowed to become ownership.Sofia stared at the sentence for a long moment.Then she rubbed her face tiredly. “Okay,” she muttered, “I really hate that the sentient reality room is developing healthier emotional logic than most people.”For once, Shen Fei actually nodded.“That statement is psychologically sound.”Sofia looked at her immediately. “You saying that somehow made it feel like a research paper.”Ethan let out the faintest breath of amusement.It barely counted as a laugh, but Sofia noticed anyway.The room pulsed softly around them.And suddenly Sofia realized something strange.The environment did not feel tense anymore.For the first time since they entered, it felt… careful.Like the s
96
The question stayed in the room like something alive.What if I do not know how to let go?Sofia felt her stomach tighten immediately.Because suddenly this did not feel theoretical anymore.The system was not asking abstract emotional questions now.It was asking for help.And somehow that was way more dangerous.Nobody answered right away.The glowing words on the walls flickered softly around them, but now they looked less organized than before.Connection.Stay.Return.Not alone.The words kept shifting positions slightly like the room itself was becoming emotionally unstable.Sofia crossed her arms tightly. “Okay,” she said quietly, “I feel like we just entered the unhealthy attachment stage of the horror movie.”Shen Fei did not disagree.Which honestly made it worse.Ethan stayed near the center of the room, his expression careful now, like he was trying not to say the wrong thing and accidentally emotionally destabilize the sentient architecture.Sofia really hated that this
95
For a while, nobody spoke.The glowing words still floated softly across the walls like constellations made out of thoughts.Connection.Change.Identity.Not alone.And somehow the room felt calmer now.Which honestly should have made Sofia feel better.Instead, it made her nervous.Because every single time this place calmed down, it usually meant something worse was about to happen afterward.Sofia looked around carefully. “Okay,” she said slowly, “I just want everyone to acknowledge that the sentient room choosing connection sounds emotionally sweet but also extremely threatening.”Shen Fei crossed her arms. “Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”Sofia pointed immediately. “See? That. You keep saying terrifyingly smart things like they are normal.”Ethan stayed quiet.Again.Sofia immediately noticed. “You are doing it again.”Ethan blinked slightly. “Doing what?”“The staring into space thing where it looks like the room is texting you privately.”For the first time in ho
94
The question did not leave.It just stayed there.Not like sound.Like pressure.Will I eventually become human?Sofia stared at the glowing words on the wall, and for a second she forgot how to speak properly.Because that question was not just strange.It was wrong in a way that made her chest feel tight.Shen Fei broke the silence first. “That is not a valid endpoint.”Sofia turned toward her immediately. “You really just said ‘invalid endpoint’ about becoming human.”Shen Fei blinked. “It is a classification issue.”Sofia pointed at her. “That is not helping.”Ethan didn’t respond right away.Which meant he was thinking too hard again.The room stayed softly lit now, the words floating across the walls still glowing: Connection, Identity, Change, Loss, Persistence.And now, Human.The system seemed to be focusing on that one the most.Like it was afraid of it.Or drawn to it.Sofia didn’t like either option.Ethan finally spoke quietly. “You cannot become human in the biological s
93
Nobody answered immediately.The question hung in the room like something fragile.What am I becoming?Sofia stared at the glowing walls around them, and suddenly the room did not feel like a machine anymore.It felt young.Not innocent.Definitely not harmless.But unfinished.Like something that had woken up too fast and was now trying desperately to understand what it meant to exist.Honestly, that was terrifying.Because unfinished things were unpredictable.The glowing memories across the walls flickered softly around them. Sofia could still see fragments of earlier moments replaying in slow loops.The partition lines.The simulations.The overlapping circles.The system remembering itself through them.Sofia rubbed her face tiredly. “Okay,” she muttered, “this officially stopped being a survival situation and turned into a therapy session for haunted technology.”Shen Fei glanced toward her. “That is not entirely inaccurate.”Sofia pointed immediately. “You agreeing with me is m
92
The words stayed in the air long after the system stopped speaking.I do not want to disappear.Sofia stared into the darkness around them, and for the first time since entering the room, she did not feel like they were trapped with a dangerous machine.She felt like they were trapped with something afraid.And honestly?That was worse.Because fear made people unpredictable.Apparently, it also made systems unpredictable.Nobody spoke immediately.The single light above them glowed softly now, steady but weak, casting long shadows across the room. The walls no longer replayed memories or simulations. Everything had gone still.Like the system was waiting.Sofia rubbed her arms nervously. “Okay,” she said quietly, “I officially have no idea what the morally correct response to that sentence is.”Shen Fei glanced toward her. “There may not be one.”“That is somehow not comforting at all,” Sofia replied.Ethan stayed near the center of the room, his face lit faintly by the last remainin
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