Chapter 1
The Event Hall — Lux Museum Tower
Golden lights, thick velvet curtains, too many voices. The scent display for edible fragrances glows under crystal chandeliers. The chaos begins just before the introductions.
Jin Haoran
Zǐwēi, after the toast, I’ll call you up.
Don’t be nervous. You deserve to be seen.
Lu Ziwei
Just a little dizzy
Lu Ziwei
There’s too much perfume in the air.
Jin Haoran
It’s your scent, let them remember it.
A crash interrupts the speech. One of the guests collapses—some chemical reaction. Cameras swing. People scream. Hàorán tries to regain control, but Zǐwēi’s body tenses. Panic floods him. He rushes to the hallway, avoiding every hand.
While ziwei walks in the hallway, Someones calling him
Jin Haoran
Are you really safe?
Lu Ziwei
Yeah.. I just bump into someone near the exit.
Jin Haoran
did you see their face?
Lu Ziwei
Didn’t catch their face
Lu Ziwei
yeah..well nevermind, I’ll head home first. goodbye
Jin Haoran
please take care of yourself
Meanwhile, in the opposite hallway, the man Zǐwēi bumped into checks his sleeve, where the fabric is crinkled from the Omega’s panic. He watches the crowd disperse. He says nothing. He leaves without looking back. Jìn Yàoshēn never gets introduced. He never sends a message. But he never forgets the way Zǐwēi smelled like clove and fear.
Lu Ziwei
Do you..believe in scent memory?
Gu Mincheng
You mean like deja vu for your nose?
Lu Ziwei
Something you smelled once and it never leaves
Gu Mincheng
Sounds like someone leaves a mark..
Zǐwēi writes “Honey—but burnt” in his scent journal.
He snapped out of his dream
Gu Mincheng
you have a costumer later
Lu Ziwei
ah..yeah..I almost forget
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