Chapter 5 – The Second Claimant

The rain began just after sundown — a soft drizzle that clung to the old manor’s glass windows and turned the world beyond into a watercolor blur.

Han Yuze sat in the music room, fingers idly gliding over the keys of the grand piano. He didn’t know the melody; his hands seemed to find it on their own, each note pulling at a thread of memory he didn’t yet possess.

A voice came from the doorway. “You still play.”

The notes died instantly.

Yuze looked up. The man standing there was dressed in a dark overcoat, his hair damp from the rain. His features were elegant, his eyes warm with recognition — the kind of warmth that was almost too familiar, as though it had been rehearsed.

“Lu Shixian,” Yuze said, tasting the name. It rolled off his tongue with a faint sense of déjà vu.

Shixian smiled as he stepped closer, his hands in his pockets. “It’s been a long time. I thought… maybe you wouldn’t remember me.”

“Maybe I don’t,” Yuze said evenly, his gaze never leaving the other man’s face. “But you seem very sure I should.”

“That’s because you do,” Shixian replied softly. “Even if you’ve forgotten, your heart won’t.”

The words were warm, but Yuze caught the flicker in Shixian’s eyes — a sharp, almost possessive glint that belied the gentle tone.

They sat together, Shixian taking the seat beside him on the piano bench, their knees brushing. “You used to play this for me,” he murmured, touching one of the keys with a fingertip. “Every time I came over, no matter how late. Do you remember?”

“No.” Yuze’s smile was faint but cutting. “And I’m not in the habit of believing strangers just because they sound convincing.”

Shixian chuckled, leaning back slightly. “You always were suspicious when you were hurt. I told myself, if I ever saw you again, I’d be patient. But… seeing you like this—” His gaze dropped briefly to Yuze’s stomach, and something unreadable flickered across his face. “—it’s hard not to feel… protective.”

Possessive, Yuze thought. Not protective.

“You came here uninvited,” Yuze said lightly. “Why?”

“I heard you were alive. That was enough.” Shixian’s voice dipped, intimate. “I lost you once. I’m not making that mistake again.”

Yuze studied him for a long moment. “You speak like I belonged to you.”

Shixian’s smile didn’t waver. “Didn’t you?”

Butler Chen entered quietly with tea, his sharp eyes noting the proximity between the two men. “Mr. Lu, I trust your visit will be brief?”

Shixian glanced at him, and for a heartbeat, the warmth in his expression cooled into something almost challenging. “That depends on whether Xuyao wants me to stay.”

“I’ll decide that later,” Yuze said before Butler Chen could reply. “For now… tell me about the night of the accident.”

Shixian froze. It was almost imperceptible, just a tiny pause before his smile returned. “What about it?”

“Where were you?” Yuze asked softly.

“Looking for you.” Shixian’s gaze held steady, but his hand curled slightly against the piano bench. “And if I had found you sooner, you wouldn’t have been in that car.”

The rest of the evening passed in polite conversation, but every word felt like a move on a chessboard. When Shixian finally rose to leave, he bent slightly, his lips brushing just above Yuze’s ear.

“I don’t care who else shows up,” he murmured. “You were mine first.”

When the front door closed, Yuze sat back, exhaling slowly.

Butler Chen returned, placing a sealed envelope on the table. “This came for you while he was here. No sender. But the handwriting matches the letter you found.”

Yuze’s eyes narrowed as he opened it. Inside was a single line, written in a flowing hand:

“Not all who claim you are your allies. Trust the one who stayed.”

And at the bottom, again, just the initial: J.

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