Lu Shen rarely called twice.
If the first call wasn't answered, people usually called him back within seconds.
This time, no one answered.
He stared at the screen for a moment before dialing again.
Still nothing.
Across the conference table, twelve directors remained silent.
No one dared interrupt.
Finally, his assistant stepped closer.
"Mr. Lu?"
Lu Shen locked his phone.
"When is the next agenda item?"
"Twenty minutes."
He stood.
"Postpone it."
The oldest director frowned.
"The overseas investors are waiting."
"They can continue waiting."
Without another word, Lu Shen walked out of the meeting room.
Every executive watched him leave.
One whispered,
"I've worked with President Lu for eight years."
"So have I."
"I've never seen him leave a meeting halfway."
Neither had anyone else.
---
Meanwhile...
Xiaoyu was still standing beneath the old maple tree.
The violinist continued looking at her with quiet disbelief.
His hands trembled slightly as he lowered the instrument.
"You really don't remember?"
She slowly shook her head.
"I've never met you."
The old man smiled sadly.
"I suppose that's possible."
"You called me a little girl."
"You were."
"When?"
He looked toward the empty park.
"Many years ago."
"You came here every Sunday."
"You would sit exactly there."
He pointed toward a wooden bench beside the lake.
"And you always asked me to play the same melody."
Xiaoyu stared at him.
"No..."
"My father never brought me here."
The violinist seemed confused.
"It wasn't your father."
Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
"Then who was it?"
Before he could answer, a black luxury car stopped beside the path.
The rear door opened.
Lu Shen stepped out.
Still wearing the same dark suit from the board meeting.
His tie was slightly crooked.
His breathing uneven.
As though he had arrived faster than he intended.
The violinist recognized him immediately.
His expression changed.
"Mr. Lu..."
Lu Shen gave a small nod.
Then looked at Xiaoyu.
"Are you alright?"
She ignored the question.
"You know him."
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
"A musician."
"Don't do that."
"What?"
"Answering without answering."
For several seconds neither spoke.
People walking through the park began slowing down.
Some recognized Lu Shen.
Others simply noticed the tension.
Finally the violinist sighed.
"This isn't the place."
He reached into the worn leather case beside him.
From inside he removed a tiny object wrapped in faded blue cloth.
Carefully, he unfolded it.
A silver hairpin appeared.
Simple.
Elegant.
A single tiny blue stone decorated one end.
"I've kept this for fifteen years."
He extended it toward Xiaoyu.
"You dropped it here."
She stared at the hairpin.
Without understanding why,
her chest tightened.
She reached for it.
The moment her fingers touched the cold silver—
Everything disappeared.
---
Rain.
Heavy rain.
A little girl no older than eight running across the same park.
Laughing.
Holding a violin almost larger than herself.
An older woman sitting on the bench.
Beautiful.
Gentle.
"Slow down, Xiaoyu."
The child laughed.
"I'm practicing!"
Another figure approached.
Tall.
A teenage boy.
Perhaps fifteen or sixteen.
Expression serious.
Hands buried inside his pockets.
The little girl immediately ran toward him.
"Shen-gege!"
She grabbed his sleeve.
"Listen!"
Without waiting, she played the same melody.
The boy listened quietly.
When she finished,
he reached into his pocket.
From a small box,
he removed the silver hairpin.
"You broke the last one."
"So?"
"So this one is stronger."
The little girl smiled brightly.
"Then I'll never lose it."
---
The memory shattered.
Xiaoyu staggered backward.
The hairpin slipped from her hand.
Before it could hit the ground,
Lu Shen caught it.
His fingers closed around the silver ornament with practiced familiarity.
Xiaoyu looked at him.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
"...Shen-gege?"
For the first time since she had met him,
Lu Shen's perfect composure disappeared.
His eyes widened.
Just slightly.
Enough for her to notice.
The violinist quietly looked away.
He had already realized the truth.
---
No one spoke during the drive back.
The city moved outside the windows,
but Xiaoyu barely noticed.
Fragments continued flashing inside her mind.
A little boy.
A violin.
Cherry blossoms.
Laughter.
None of it made sense.
She looked toward Lu Shen.
"Were we..."
She stopped.
He kept looking forward.
"Were we what?"
"...friends?"
Long silence.
Then—
"Yes."
Only one word.
Yet it echoed louder than any confession.
She laughed softly.
Except it wasn't happiness.
It was disbelief.
"So I spent three years hating someone..."
"...that I already knew?"
"You remembered nothing."
"And you never told me."
"No."
"Why?"
His hands tightened slightly.
"Because remembering should belong to you."
She looked away.
Anger.
Confusion.
Curiosity.
Everything mixed together until she couldn't separate one emotion from another.
---
Late that night,
after Xiaoyu had finally fallen asleep,
Lu Shen stood alone on the balcony outside his study.
The silver hairpin rested in his hand.
His assistant approached quietly.
"The surveillance team confirmed it."
"The violinist wasn't followed."
Lu Shen nodded.
"And the other matter?"
The assistant hesitated.
"The photograph reached them."
Silence.
Then another file was handed over.
A single picture.
Taken that afternoon.
Xiaoyu touching the silver hairpin.
Someone had been watching from across the street.
On the back of the photograph,
only six words were written.
Subject One has started remembering.
For the first time in years,
Lu Shen closed his eyes.
Not because he was tired.
But because he knew exactly what those words meant.
And he knew something Xiaoyu did not.
The moment she recovered her memories...
the people who destroyed her family would begin searching for her again.
And this time,
they would not fail.