With money, life opened up in all directions.

Du Lai sold the properties Fu Lisheng had given him, gathered the group of younger brothers and sisters he’d taken in, and moved with them to another city to start fresh.

The reason he moved was wariness of Fu Lisheng. He didn’t want Fu Lisheng to know about these children. Even though he understood perfectly well that if Fu Lisheng chose to investigate, he could find out everything—he still couldn’t help hoping things would stay under the radar.

By the time everything was properly settled, two months had passed.

He found a school willing to take in the younger ones, hired a tutor for Xiaomiao, and with Xiaodou—who was older, with a wilder temperament and no interest in studying—Du Lai spent money to take over a small internet café and put him in charge of running it, which at least kept him from getting into trouble outside.

Having money was genuinely good. It solved at least ninety percent of life’s problems.

The remaining ten percent…

Money couldn’t touch.

Du Lai had followed the old news—stories about that strange cyclone. Coverage was sparse and brief: the passengers on board were mostly safe, and one staff member had gone missing in the accident.

Fu Miaoxue had been there with him, yet all trace of her had been erased from the reports.

They had always been people from two different worlds. What was the point of thinking about her?

…The more he told himself to stop, the more he couldn’t help it. That chaotic stretch of time on the island—there had been real happiness in it. And her fears, her unspoken dread, he had understood them all along: she craved freedom, but she also feared ending up like her parents, tormented to death. So a deserted island had become her perfect sanctuary.

Du Lai began to feel sorry for Fu Miaoxue.

That was not a good sign. He knew that once the pity set in, the good memories would follow one by one, and the more he thought about her, the less he could forget.

This was not love.

He refused to admit he had fallen for a little madwoman.

That night, Du Lai had a nightmare.

At first it was birdsong and flowers, everything peaceful. Fu Miaoxue was running through a garden in a beautiful dress—spoiled beyond all reason, climbing the rocks in the garden the same way she had on the island—and standing at the top with her arms spread wide, doing her impression of flight.

The wind lifted her hair and the hem of her dress—and then her foot slipped, and she tumbled off.

Du Lai woke at exactly that moment.

He sat upright, one hand pressed to his chest, heart slamming. Slam, slam, slam, relentless.

It was only a dream. But he knew with certainty—whether by accident or on purpose, falling off a garden rock was exactly the kind of thing Fu Miaoxue would absolutely do.

She was always reckless, always doing as she pleased.

Du Lai’s heart wouldn’t settle. Every time he thought of some mishap that might befall Fu Miaoxue, he felt anxious.

*I’m not trying to look after her. I just want to know she’s alright.*

*Even one glance from a distance would be enough.*

*We were together all that time. There’s bound to be some attachment.*

*I won’t do anything. I just want to see her.*

Thoughts crowded and tangled. He was a mess—restless and conflicted. He dragged a hand through his hair, thoroughly at war with himself.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his phone on the bedside table. Du Lai gritted his teeth, reached out, picked it up, and dialed.

It was two in the morning—yet the line connected almost immediately.

“…Du Lai?”

“Shifu.” Du Lai slowly let out a breath, sitting in the unlit room. “That thing you mentioned last time. I want in.”

Du Lai had acknowledged two masters in his life. One had raised him and taught him to steal. The other had given him work when he had nowhere left to turn, and taught him magic.

The man on the other end hesitated before speaking. “It’s been so long since you contacted me. I thought you weren’t interested…”

“I had reservations before. I’ve thought it through now.” Du Lai cut in quickly. “If it works out, let’s meet in the next few days and talk.”

His shifu asked, “You’ve really made up your mind? Where we’re going—it’s the Fu family.”

Du Lai thought: *That’s exactly why I want to go.*

—