THE REAL PROTEGE

A hush swept across the room like a change in wind direction.

Even the soft rustle of fabric as Ling Li walked seemed choreographed.

Ren gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. "Mom looks unreal…"

Chatty blinked as if trying to focus.

Pharsa, "That is not just a wedding gown. That is war armor for a goddess."

Lily let out a high-pitched squeal that made Leeroy hop backward and bark once — just once — before sitting obediently with her tail wagging, mesmerized like everyone else.

Four Eyes, the groom — stood frozen halfway between tension and awe. He had seen Ling Li command in a bloodstained lab coat, her sleeves rolled up and a blade in her hand. He had seen her walk into boardrooms and have men twice her age scrambling to adjust their collars. But nothing, nothing, could have prepared him for this. He stood staring at his bride in awe.

It wasn't just that she was beautiful. It was that she looked completely at peace — and still entirely untouchable.

His chest tightened with the force of everything he couldn't say in front of all these people.

And M, Léon Moreaux — arms crossed dramatically near the full-length mirror — exhaled with theatrical pride. "Voilà," he announced, eyes a bit glassy behind his tinted glasses. "If the bride must cause a landslide of emotions, let it start here."

M turned to the planning team and hissed softly, "We are canceling Plan A for the aisle entrance. She's floating. We'll build her a cloud."

Laughter bubbled around the room, light and giddy.

Ling Li tilted her head slightly and raised a brow at him. "A cloud?"

M grinned. "Darling, don't ruin the illusion by walking like a mortal."

The team set to work again, fussing with the hem and making minor adjustments, but nothing could distract from the mood that had settled over the room: a soft, weightless awe.

After all the battles, all the secrets, and all the storms she had weathered —

Ling Li stood in white, unshaken, radiant. Not a symbol of fragility but of power wrapped in silk.

And somehow, just seeing her there made it feel like the wedding was no longer a distant event on a calendar.

It was real.

And it was coming.

That night, after the Fitting, the evening settled like a silk veil over the estate — soft, still, gilded by the fading warmth of amber twilight. The final threads of chatter had dimmed to quiet laughter. The wedding planners packed their last bolts of fabric, the twins had been whisked away to bed with kisses and cake crumbs on their cheeks, and M disappeared in a swirl of cologne and eccentric praise, declaring this fitting day "a poetic crescendo of mortal joy."

The main hallway lights dimmed one by one as the household retired.

And then — tranquility.

Ling Li stood barefoot near the open balcony of the master suite, her hair loose now, flowing like black river silk past her shoulders. Her gown had been replaced by a simple ivory wrap, soft against her skin. Outside, the cicadas had begun their symphony, night birds cut across the sky, and the wind whispered secrets through the mountain trees.

Behind her, Four Eyes stepped in from the adjoining room, freshly showered, casual in dark linen pants and a loose white shirt unbuttoned just enough to reveal the steady rise and fall of his breath. There was something unguarded in his gaze now — a softness that rarely breached his careful composure.

He watched her quietly.

How she stood with her arms resting on the carved wooden banister, her shoulders relaxed for once, how she stared up at the stars without armor.

"You didn't say anything," she murmured, not turning around.

Four Eyes stepped closer, each movement deliberate. "If I had opened my mouth, I might've ruined it."

Ling Li smiled faintly at that.

"I've never seen you look like that before," Four Eyes said, voice lower now, with something reverent curled into it.

Ling Li finally turned to face him. "Like what?"

Four Eyes searched for the right words — ones weighty enough to carry the truth but light enough to touch her.

"Like you were… made to be loved out loud."

Ling Li blinked once, surprised. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out — not right away. Not when her heart gave a traitorous lurch in her chest.

"And I get to be the man standing next to you that day," Four Eyes continued. "Knowing everything you've carried. Everything you've hidden. And somehow, you're still standing."

"I'm standing because I had to," Ling Li said, voice quiet, brushing against the moment like silk on skin.

Four Eyes stepped even closer. "But tonight… You don't have to. Not with me."

Ling Li looked up at him then, and something in her shifted — something she rarely let anyone see. Not pain. Not power.

Peace.

"Come here," Ling Li whispered.

Four Eyes didn't hesitate.

They stood together on the balcony as the night deepened around them. Four Eyes wrapped his arms gently around Ling Li's waist, and she leaned her head against his chest. The world could burn, kingdoms fall, and stars collapse — but in this pocket of time, there was only the sound of his heartbeat under her ear and the cool breeze tangling softly through their hair.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Eventually, Chu Yan murmured against her temple, "You know, this is probably the last quiet night we'll get before chaos returns."

Ling Li smiled faintly. "Then I'm glad it's with you."

He held her tighter, anchoring her in a way no mask, title, or legend ever could.

Above them, a thousand stars blinked like quiet witnesses.

And down in the still halls of the mansion, past the floral-scented corridors and sleeping warriors, the silence of the night wrapped around them — a lullaby cradling two hearts that had fought, survived, and now, for once, simply belonged.

Meanwhile, it was Butler Oda's Journey to Hidden Valley. The moon hung high, casting its pale glow over the winding mountain paths leading to Hidden Valley, also known as Heavenly Dao. Mist clung to the peaks, swirling like phantom whispers, wrapping the dense forest below in an eerie embrace.