Chapter 1: The Ghost in His Eyes
489 Words
The room was too quiet for a place where life was supposed to begin.
It smelled like antiseptic, like cold metal and untold regrets.
Xiao Nai stood frozen, staring at the hospital bed where Jiali lay still — skin pale, lips barely curved into the faint smile she wore even in death. Their baby, a daughter who never took a breath, had gone with her.
He didn’t cry. Not that night. Not even when the doctor placed the lifeless child in his arms.
What was the point? No sound he made would bring them back.
Three years later, people still talked about it. But never in front of him.
In the sleek, polished hallways of Veridian Interactive, the game development company he built from scratch, Xiao Nai was a force of focus and silence. He worked like a machine — no small talk, no personal days, no mistakes. If he smiled, it was a myth. If he cared, he didn’t show it.
People respected him. Feared him. No one dared cross him.
But down on the 11th floor, nestled within the buzzing R&D team, someone dared to glance a little too long.
Lee Ziya had never been particularly bold, especially not around bosses. But Xiao Nai wasn’t just any boss.
He was the reason she joined Solaris in the first place. A former legend in game mechanics, his university thesis was still used as a model in her design courses. She remembered sitting in a lecture hall, watching him guest speak — calm, composed, devastatingly sharp.
Back then, she’d had a quiet crush. The kind you shelve away, behind practicality and self-worth.
She’d never expected to meet him again. Never expected to work under his company, much less see him in elevators or late-night meetings.
Certainly never expected he would one day look at her at all.
"Ziya, you done with that debug report?"
The voice broke her thoughts — Zhou Chen, her cubicle-mate and personal headache.
"Just about," she said, saving her file.
Zhou Chen leaned back dramatically in his chair. "I swear, you work too hard. You gotta learn how to flirt with the boss to climb ranks like the others."
Ziya gave him a look. "I’d rather climb with skill."
"Ugh. You and your dignity," he whined. "Fine. But if he ever notices you, I want full credit for sticking by your side through the un-glamorous times."
She rolled her eyes and smiled. Zhou Chen might be annoying, but he had a good heart. Too good, sometimes.
From the upper floors, murmurs drifted about an upcoming annual company party — one Xiao Nai was rumored to attend. Normally, he didn’t do events. Didn’t socialize. But this year marked a huge investor milestone, and for once, even the iceberg CEO was expected to make an appearance.
Lee Ziya had no idea that night would change everything.
That the ghost in his eyes… would finally look at her.
- Writer
