PROLOGUE
212 Words
In a sterile hospital room, Yu Liang gasped for breath. Bright light... sirens... then silence.
When he opened his eyes again, the ceiling above him was wooden, faint smoke curling from a stick of incense in the corner. The air was warm, heavy with the scent of sandalwood and aged timber. His body felt fragile, as if every bone had been replaced with glass. Limbs ached as he pushed himself up, and the thin blanket slid away to reveal a pale hand—slender, delicate, marred with faint bruises.
"Where... am I?" His voice was hoarse, softer than he remembered.
The sliding door creaked open, and a young maid hurried in. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw him upright.
"Young master Yuheng! You should not leave the kitchen without permission! Madam will be furious again!" she whispered urgently, glancing toward the doorway as if someone might be listening.
Yu Liang froze. Yuheng?
Memories that weren’t his began to flash—cold winters spent alone, harsh words from a smiling woman, the sting of punishments disguised as lessons. A name whispered through the fog: Shen Yuheng.
Thus began his new life in a body that had long been broken, in a world where beauty was a curse… and silence, survival.
- Writer
