The library was silent.
Photographs lay scattered across the polished wooden floor, each one capturing a forgotten piece of a life Xiaoyu no longer remembered.
A little girl laughing beneath cherry blossoms.
A teenage boy standing beside her with an expression far too serious for his age.
A promise written in blue ink.
I'll protect you forever.
Xiaoyu's hands trembled.
Her heartbeat echoed loudly inside the empty room.
Then she heard footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
The stranger in the black suit took another step inside.
His smile never reached his eyes.
"Miss Xiaoyu."
She instinctively stepped backward.
"Who are you?"
"I've already told you."
His voice remained polite.
"I'm here to take you home."
"I don't know you."
"You used to."
Another step.
"Your memories are returning."
"I think you're mistaken."
"No."
He glanced at the photographs scattered across the floor.
"They've already started."
For a brief moment, fear settled inside her chest.
Not because of his words.
But because part of her wanted to believe them.
---
Outside the mansion...
Black tires screamed against the pavement.
Lu Shen's car stopped before it had completely entered the driveway.
He stepped out immediately.
His assistant followed.
"Security reported movement inside the library."
Lu Shen didn't answer.
He walked straight through the front entrance.
Every servant moved aside.
Even Madam Chen looked unusually tense.
"Mr. Lu..."
"The library."
She simply nodded.
---
Inside...
The stranger calmly picked up one of the fallen photographs.
He studied it before placing it back on the table.
"You've spent years searching for answers."
He looked at Xiaoyu.
"But the truth is much more painful than forgetting."
She forced herself to remain calm.
"If you know the truth, tell me."
"I could."
His smile widened.
"But someone arrived first."
The library door opened.
Lu Shen entered.
The temperature inside the room seemed to drop instantly.
Neither man spoke.
Neither looked away.
After several seconds, the stranger chuckled softly.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Lu Shen's voice was perfectly calm.
"Leave."
"Still giving orders."
"Leave."
"I haven't harmed her."
"You won't."
The stranger glanced toward Xiaoyu one last time.
"Your memories belong to you."
He slipped a small white envelope onto the table.
"When you're ready..."
"...read it."
Then he walked past Lu Shen without another word.
No guards stopped him.
No one touched him.
Within seconds, he disappeared into the night.
---
The silence that followed felt heavier than any argument.
Xiaoyu looked at the unopened envelope.
Then at Lu Shen.
"You know him."
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
"He isn't a danger."
"He walked into your house."
"He left."
"Because you told him to."
Her voice rose for the first time.
"Everyone knows something except me."
Lu Shen remained completely still.
"I'll handle it."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You always say that."
"I will."
"And I'm supposed to trust you?"
He didn't answer.
That silence hurt more than any lie.
---
Later that evening...
Additional security arrived.
New cameras were installed around the mansion.
Two guards remained outside Xiaoyu's room.
Another patrol walked the gardens every hour.
The mansion felt less like a home.
More like a fortress.
Madam Chen quietly knocked before entering with tea.
"Mrs. Lu."
"I'm not hungry."
"I know."
She placed the tray on the table.
"Mr. Lu hasn't eaten either."
Xiaoyu looked away.
"I didn't ask."
Madam Chen smiled sadly.
"No."
"But you noticed."
---
The next morning passed without conversation.
Breakfast was silent.
Lunch was silent.
Dinner was silent.
If their hands reached for the same cup, one would quietly move away.
If they crossed paths in the hallway, polite nods replaced words.
The servants quickly noticed.
So did the security staff.
Even the assistant, who rarely commented on personal matters, asked Madam Chen,
"Did they argue?"
She simply replied,
"They stopped speaking."
---
One day became two.
Two became three.
The envelope remained unopened inside Xiaoyu's drawer.
Lu Shen spent longer hours at the office.
He returned after midnight.
Left before sunrise.
Neither of them mentioned the library.
Neither mentioned the photographs.
Neither mentioned the memories slowly returning.
Yet every silence seemed to say more than words ever could.
---
On the third night...
Xiaoyu stood beside the bedroom window, gently holding the curtain as city lights shimmered in the distance.
The house was too quiet.
It reminded her of waiting for something she couldn't name.
A soft click echoed behind her.
The bedroom door opened.
She didn't turn around.
"You're still awake."
His calm voice filled the room.
"I couldn't sleep."
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Measured.
Neither of them realized that the distance created over three silent days was about to become the most dangerous thing between them.
And somewhere across the city, hidden inside a private medical archive, someone quietly deleted another file connected to Xiaoyu's past.
The truth was running out of places to hide.