Chapter 22: The Masks We Wear

📍 Grand FutureTech Banquet Hall – Main Reception

Silk curtains shimmered in gold. Crystal chandeliers bloomed like artificial suns above an audience of power brokers, ministers, and corporate warlords. The music was a waltz—haunting, old-world, and too clean for the war that simmered beneath the surface of champagne bubbles and false smiles.

Han Jiayan entered two steps behind Xinyue, as instructed.

The black suit he wore was tailored, but deliberately understated. He was not here to shine. He was here to reflect her light.

Or so they believed.

"Miss Li," said Chairman Zhou of Phoenix Capital, extending a hand. "Dominating headlines as always."

Xinyue smiled thinly. "Dominance is just discipline that's been noticed."

Zhou chuckled. "And the young gentleman?"

She didn't look at Han Jiayan. "A technical aide. Helps with security infrastructure. Brilliant in the quietest ways."

Han Jiayan offered a polite nod but said nothing.

He didn't need to. That was the unspoken rule tonight.

📍 Ten Minutes Later – Banquet Floor

Xinyue moved like a dancer between conversations. Every greeting was a maneuver. Every toast a veiled threat. Han Jiayan followed silently, lips sealed, eyes observing.

But even silence speaks.

He watched her change tone with every person—soft with old families, sharp with foreign tech delegations, cold with rivals, warm with allies.

And somewhere between the handshakes and smiles, she became someone else entirely.

He began to wonder if he'd ever known her at all.

📍 Private Lounge Room – Back Corridor

Han Jiayan slipped away for a brief moment, needing air, needing quiet.

That's when he heard it.

A whispered conversation behind a slightly ajar door.

"…Li Xinyue's hold is weakening. Word is, someone inside her own system's feeding info out."

"And Han Jiayan?"

A beat of silence.

"He's brilliant, yes. But he's hers. And that makes him predictable."

Han Jiayan turned away before he heard the rest.

But their words had already sunk like hooks.

📍 Main Ballroom – Later

The Minister of Science and Strategic Technologies approached Xinyue during the speech interlude.

"We've reviewed your proposal for the Cyber-Lattice AI Initiative," he said. "But there's concern about autonomous oversight. Your system runs too tight. There's no distributed fallback."

Xinyue's smile didn't waver. "Control is the only real safety."

The Minister frowned slightly. "Your consultant—Mr. Han—his credentials suggest he might be more… progressive. Perhaps he could offer insight?"

Han Jiayan felt all eyes shift toward him.

This was a moment.

He could speak. He could shine.

But Xinyue's voice cut in with impeccable timing.

"We value his insight internally. But this is a policy discussion."

Han Jiayan remained still.

On the outside.

Inside, something cracked just a little deeper.

📍 Balcony Overlooking the City – Late Evening

The banquet faded into the background hum of strings and empty laughter.

Xinyue stood at the railing, wind tugging at her hair. Han Jiayan joined her a moment later, silent.

"You looked angry," she said without turning.

"I wasn't."

"Humiliated, then?"

"No."

She finally turned, reading him with that same sharp gaze that once made the world tremble.

"You forgot something," she said softly.

"What's that?"

She stepped closer, voice cool. "You were a ghost. I gave you a face."

He looked at her long and steady.

"You gave me visibility, yes. But the light doesn't belong to you."

Her jaw tensed.

He added, "I've played your shadow long enough. The world's starting to notice I have substance."

Xinyue didn't reply.

But her hand came up and brushed his collar, adjusting it like a leash she could still hold.

"You're not ready to stand on your own," she murmured.

"I wasn't," Han Jiayan answered quietly. "But you've trained me well, haven't you?"

📍 End Scene – A Private Message Thread Activates

Somewhere in a secure facility, a hidden chat window opened on a black terminal.

Sender ID: WatchtowerMessage: "Node Han diverging from control vector. Phase Shift recommended. Initiate Protocol Eden."

Reply came five seconds later.

Receiver ID: Lantern AlphaMessage: "Confirmed. Let him rise. The higher he climbs, the harder we can break him."

The screen blinked once. Then went black.

Han Jiayan's world was expanding.

But so was the trap.

—

[End of Chapter 22]

—