As Feng Suyin stepped into Xia Lingling's home, she knew she could confide in her friend. Betrayal sat across her shoulders like something physical, pressing down with every step. She told Xia Lingling about the affair between her fiancé Ji Hanjun and her own sister Feng Yilan, everything except the part that mattered most. She didn't dare mention the rebirth. No one in their right mind would believe her anyway.
Xia Lingling listened without moving. She didn't interrupt once. The anger came up gradually in her eyes, the gentleness in them going tight and cold with each new detail of Ji Hanjun's infidelity, and by the time Feng Suyin finished, there was nothing gentle left at all.
"How could they do this to you, Suyin?" Xia Lingling's arms wrapped around Feng Suyin as she cried. Something cracked open in her voice. "I've never seen you like this before."
Finally calming down, Feng Suyin pulled away from Xia Lingling's embrace to wipe away her tears. Xia Lingling's jaw set. "We can't let them get away with this. They need to be held accountable for their actions."
Feng Suyin looked up at her friend with uncertainty.
"But Lingling, what can we do? Confronting them might just make things worse."
"Do you still want to marry that bastard after what he did with your sister?" Xia Lingling countered, reminding Feng Suyin of the warning she had given her about Ji Hanjun. "I already knew he wasn't good enough for you."
Feng Suyin fell silent. Xia Lingling was right. She just couldn't say how right — she had come back from the dead to prove it.
"Of course not," she finally muttered after a silence. "But I'm worried about how Feng Yilan will react. And our parents… they won't take my side again."
Feng Suyin had stopped expecting anything from her adoptive parents years ago. Ever since Feng Yilan entered their lives, they had pushed Feng Suyin to the side. In their eyes, Feng Yilan was irreplaceable, the real daughter, the cherished one. They would sooner question Feng Suyin's character than Feng Yilan's word.
Xia Lingling was different. She had been there through every hard year. Feng Suyin had no doubt she would stand by her now.
"I need to find a way to break off this engagement, Lingling. I don't know how yet."
It wouldn't be easy to push Ji Hanjun toward calling off the wedding. He still needed her for the research they were working on together, and his family had poured money and influence into the project. Breaking the engagement wasn't just personal. It had professional and political consequences neither of them could ignore. Ji Hanjun, like Feng Suyin, was a doctor and surgeon. They had attended the same university and medical school, along with his half-brother, Ji Yuzhe.
Xia Lingling's eyes narrowed. Feng Suyin was in a tight spot, and she knew it too.
"We'll find a way, Suyin. We always do." She paused, lost in thought. The anger went somewhere quieter, turned into calculation. "First, though, you need time away from all of this. Space to breathe."
Xia Lingling went quiet again, turning it over. This would take precision. One wrong move and Ji Hanjun would dig in harder.
"Suyin," Xia Lingling said, voice steady now, "we need to be smart about this. We need evidence — proof of Ji Hanjun's betrayal. That way, we can expose him for the fraud he is. No one will dare question your decision to end the engagement."
Feng Suyin almost smiled. Evidence. She already had it. The recording sat in her phone, every word of their affair captured. She couldn't tell Lingling how she got it — not without explaining the rebirth. So she nodded.
"I know," she said.
Xia Lingling's mouth curved, something sharp moving through her eyes.
"Perhaps we should hire a private investigator," she suggested. Feng Suyin's eyebrows rose. A drastic step. Still, it could drag the truth into the open.
"But how do we find a trustworthy investigator?" Feng Suyin asked.
Xia Lingling's grin widened as she pulled out her phone. "Remember my cousin? He runs a reputable private investigation agency in the city. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help us."
Something eased in Feng Suyin's chest. It wasn't too late.
"We'll need to gather as much evidence as possible," Xia Lingling said as she dialed Alex's number. "Dates, times, locations — anything that proves their infidelity beyond a shadow of a doubt."
Alex was Xia Lingling's cousin, raised abroad, and recently started his agency. Feng Suyin had met him once, briefly, at a family gathering. He'd struck her as straightforward — the kind of person who didn't waste words or inflate a situation. As Xia Lingling spoke to him on the phone, something opened up in Feng Suyin's throat. Hope, maybe. The real kind, not the desperate sort she'd been running on since the betrayal. Then the guilt came in behind it.
She didn't want to pull Xia Lingling any deeper into this. Xia Lingling was a single mother raising her young daughter alone. If the Feng family or Ji Hanjun retaliated, she could lose everything.
Feng Suyin had made up her mind before Xia Lingling hung up.
As the call ended, Feng Suyin reached over and took her friend's arm.
"Ling," she said, "I appreciate everything you're doing for me. I can't let you put yourself in harm's way. You have your daughter to think about. I won't let my problems put her at risk."
Xia Lingling looked at her, worry pulling at her brow.
"Suyin, you're my best friend. I can't just stand by and watch you suffer."
Feng Suyin shook her head.
"I know you care about me, Ling. This is something I have to handle on my own. I'll find a way to end the engagement without putting you or your daughter in danger. This is my fight." She paused. "You've already done enough by being here. Let me take care of this."
Xia Lingling held out for a beat, then nodded.
"Alright," she said. "Just promise me you'll be careful. If things get too dangerous, or you need help, don't hesitate to call me."
Feng Suyin pulled her into one last hug.
She didn't tell Lingling about the recording. Some secrets were too sharp to hand off. The less Lingling touched it, the safer she stayed.
The recording was her insurance. Her sword, still sheathed. When the time came, she would use it. That time wasn't now.
She had tonight to be still.