Chapter 41: To Leave

The cramped van was packed with cameras, tripods, and recording gear.

The cold glow of a laptop screen reflected across a man's face.

Wearing a baseball cap, he sifted through old photos stored on memory cards with practiced ease.

Most of them were photos of celebrities—politicians, business executives, actors, and singers.

And countless discarded shots that had lost their value before they were ever published.

A lot of the photos contained nothing interesting at all.

But from years of experience, he had learned one thing—

it was always better to take the shot now than regret it later.

Regretting that you missed a shot later was far worse.

As he flipped through the images, he let out a sigh about his income.

He really should never have entered this industry.

Back then, he had thought that all it would take was a few sensational photographs to make a fortune.

Instead, years later, he was still surviving on the occasional sale alone.

Then suddenly, he stopped mid-scroll.

"Hm?"

His eyes locked onto the screen.

In the photograph was Lu Nian'an.

Recently, her family's controversies had been all over the news.

Standing beside her was a girl with long white hair.

The man frowned.

She looked strangely familiar.

He immediately picked up his phone and searched through recent headlines.

After reading several articles, his expression slowly changed.

Maiden J.

That white-haired girl looked far too similar to the descriptions circulating online.

His breathing unconsciously quickened.

This photo—

could probably sell for a very good price.

An international call was placed.

"Hello?"

A deep male voice answered from the other side.

"I've got a photo you might be interested in."

The man lifted his phone and quickly took a picture of the image displayed on his laptop before sending it over.

A brief silence followed.

Then the voice on the other end suddenly rose.

"Where the hell did you get this photo?"

The man chuckled.

"Took it a long time ago."

"Maybe six months back."

"Haven't seen her since."

Several seconds passed.

Then the voice returned.

"Twenty thousand dollars. Interested?"

His expression turned cold.

"I didn't call a media company."

"You're the first person I contacted."

"You really think twenty thousand is a reasonable offer for something like this?"

The other side seemed to realize the price couldn't be pushed down.

The voice became noticeably impatient.

"Fine."

"Name your price."

Leaning back in his chair, the man looked at the striking white hair in the photograph.

"One hundred thousand dollars."

Silence.

A few seconds later—

"...Deal."

The next moment, a payment notification appeared on his phone.

Looking at the newly arrived balance, the man froze for a second.

Then he burst out laughing.

"This one really paid off."

◇

It was an ordinary afternoon.

Xia Jiuwei was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.

More than a week had passed.

Little by little, she had grown used to her current life.

A mind half-numb.

Days spent drifting along.

It wasn’t all that bad.

Leaning against her seat on the train, she lazily scrolled through one post after another.

Then, as she kept scrolling, something caught her attention.

An overseas news article.

Its headline was impossible to ignore.

"The Secrets Behind Angel Investor Lu Nian’an"

She frowned.

Then tapped it open.

The article quoted large portions of Xiaoyue's accusations against Maiden J.

It also included statements from alleged victims whose stories were impossible to verify.

And at the bottom—

there was a photograph.

A candid shot.

In it, she was standing beside Lu Nian'an.

White hair.

Even through the blurry image, it stood out painfully clearly.

She scrolled down.

The number of comments was staggering.

Some mocked.

Some spun conspiracy theories.

Others began dissecting the Lu family's background.

Silently, she exited the page.

Then opened another news site.

And another.

Nearly every outlet was covering the story.

Different headlines.

Different narratives.

Different agendas.

But one thing was consistent—

that photograph of her and Lu Nian'an holding hands.

Xia Jiuwei took a slow breath.

Then looked back at the screen.

Just then, the tone of the comments began to shift.

"Maiden J? I don't even see anyone."

"LMAO. This is obviously just people farming Lu Nian'an for attention."

"Okay, but what does this even have to do with Maiden J?"

At some point, people had begun unconsciously overlooking the white-haired girl standing beside Lu Nian'an.

As if something was quietly pulling their attention away from her.

Xia Jiuwei stared at the comments.

Yet her eyes gradually dimmed.

On the way home, the sky was overcast.

Gray-white skyscrapers drifted past beyond the train window.

Xia Jiuwei lowered her head.

Quietly looking at her own hands.

Somehow—

without even realizing it—

she felt like she was pulling Lu Nian'an deeper and deeper into an abyss.

"You're back."

As the front door opened, Lu Nian'an greeted her with a smile brighter than usual.

Xia Jiuwei blinked.

...Something felt off.

She looked at the woman in front of her.

After several seconds of silence, she finally asked softly,

"What happened?"

Lu Nian'an paused.

“I saw it as well.”

At that moment, Xia Jiuwei felt her heart sink.

"...But didn't you already handle it?"

Lu Nian'an smiled gently.

"It's okay."

"As long as we get through this, things will slowly get better."

She reached out and pulled Xia Jiuwei into an embrace.

"Go take a shower first."

Her voice was so soft it sounded like she was comforting a child.

Inside the bathroom, hot water poured endlessly from above.

Xia Jiuwei lowered her head.

Letting the stream run through her white hair.

Inside her mind, thoughts churned in disarray.

She didn't know whether she still had the right

to remain in a life like this.

A warm home.

A dinner waiting for her.

Lights left on every evening when she returned.

And Lu Nian'an's embrace.

Suddenly, she thought of who she used to be in the Under-Reality.

Back at the beginning,

she had genuinely wanted to save people.

She had once thought power alone could prevent tragedy.

But somewhere along the way,

everything had slowly changed.

Water slid from her eyelashes.

She thought about Lu Nian'an.

About how exhausted she had been lately.

The endless news stories dragging her into public controversy.

And how, despite being so tired,

she still worked every day to hold everything together.

A heaviness settled in Xia Jiuwei's chest.

She didn't want Lu Nian'an to keep living like this.

Maybe one day,

Lu Nian'an would end up just like her.

Breaking apart,

piece by piece.

Perhaps...

never finding her way back.

And yet,

she didn't seem to have the courage to leave.

At some point,

she had already become accustomed to Lu Nian'an's presence.

Just imagining the word leave

sent an indescribable pain through her chest.

Late that night.

Half-asleep, half-awake.

The familiar emptiness beside her greeted her once again.

Xia Jiuwei frowned slightly.

This had been happening for quite some time now.

Quietly, she climbed out of bed.

Step by step.

Making her way toward the study.

She stopped outside the door.

Without entering.

Simply watching in silence.

After a while, Lu Nian'an finally paused her work.

Lowering her head, she slowly exhaled.

As if something had suddenly crossed her mind.

The calm expression she had maintained all day gradually cracked.

A sorrow she could no longer hide surfaced beneath it.

"...Things will get better."

She spoke softly.

As though comforting someone.

Or perhaps only herself.

Then she opened a drawer.

Took a capsule from a bottle inside.

And swallowed it without hesitation.

Outside the door,

Xia Jiuwei stared blankly at the scene.

The Lu Nian'an she saw during the day

was always gentle.

She smiled at her.

Held her.

Stayed quietly by her side.

As though she would never break.

But now,

the person before her felt painfully unfamiliar.

All that exhaustion she had been forcing herself to carry—

it was leaking out into the loneliness of the night.

It hurt.

As though something sharp

had been driven straight into her chest.

Suddenly, she realized something.

All this time,

she had only been protected.

Protected with desperate determination.

And Lu Nian'an—

had already been close to her limit for a very long time.

Xia Jiuwei stood frozen.

The hand resting against the doorframe loosened slightly.

The study door shifted.

A faint sound escaped.

Lu Nian'an froze.

Then looked up.

And saw the white-haired girl standing in the doorway.

The room fell silent.

Xia Jiuwei’s eyes slowly reddened.

She didn't even notice it herself.

"You..."

The moment she spoke,

the tremble in her own voice startled her.

And then—

all her emotions seemed to surge to the surface at once.

She drew a deep breath.

As though she had finally made a decision.

"Lu Nian'an..."

"I can't keep dragging you down anymore."

Lu Nian'an's heart dropped instantly.

"No—"

She hurried to her feet, wanting to move closer.

But stopped herself halfway.

She was afraid.

Afraid that getting closer would only make Xia Jiuwei's emotions spiral further.

And in the next moment—

Xia Jiuwei was gone.