Chapter 01
By the time Vivian Xi transferred to Mingze High International (MHI), she had already heard at least 3 rumours about the infamous student president, Lucien Ren.
The first was that a boy once insulted him during sophomore year and disappeared within a week. He was found two months later in a deserted cabin located in a forest on the outskirts of Northern China. When they found him, he was weak, timid and traumatised to the extent of profound memory loss.
The second was that a teacher had mocked his mistake during class and quietly resigned the next morning, not a trace of her ever to be seen again. Some say she’s long dead, some say she’s fled the country, even to another continent.
The third was the one people only dared to whisper. That Lucien Ren was a murderer. That three years ago, he had killed his own father.
Rain poured steadily outside the tinted windows of the black sedan as Vivian stared forlornly at the wrought iron gates of MHI. The school rose above the bustling streets of modern Shanghai like a monument built for the rich to bury their children in elitism and perfection. Towering glass-paned school blocks reflected the looming storm clouds overhead. Luxury cars lined the arrival plaza, students stepping out holding bags and umbrellas worth more than most people’s monthly salaries.
Vivian exhaled slowly. New school. New city. New beginning. Hopefully.
“Don’t embarrass the family this time,” her mother mumbled without looking away from her phone.
Vivian’s expression flattened slightly as she gave a slight grumble of agreement.
The car door unlocked. Vivian stepped out into the cold rain with one hand gripping her bag tightly. Water soaked the edge of her skirt almost immediately as she walked toward the main entrance.
Conversations drifted through the crowded halls the moment she entered, languages and words blending into each other to form unintelligible noisy chaos. MHI was the kind of school where future CEOs, political heirs, and trust fund babies pretended to study while secretly inheriting half the country.
Every student looked polished. Controlled. Expensive. Vivian hated it instantly.
A girl near the lockers glanced at her uniform. One look, and she scoffed. Vivian looked herself up and down, left in confusion as the girl shuffled away.
Before Vivian could ask, the hallway suddenly shifted. Not quiet. Never fully quiet. But people moved, and fast. Like it was a command, or even an instinct.
Students stepped aside immediately without being told to. Some lowered their voices into bare whispers. Some sought refuge in the nearby hallway restrooms. Others pretended to check their phones while avoiding lifting their heads.
Vivian frowned slightly. Then she saw him.
A tall boy walked down the centre of the hallway with one hand resting lazily in his blazer pocket. Black hair. Sharp jawline. Perfect uniform.
Beautiful in the kind of way that didn’t even feel real. But it wasn’t his striking appearance that made the hallway suffocate around him. It was the silence. No one went within a metre of him. No one blocked his path.
A flash of the nametag crossed Vivian’s eyes. Lucien Ren.
He was exactly as the rumours drew him to be. His expression remained calm, almost bored, as he scrolled through his phone. A silver ring gleamed faintly against his fingers beneath the bright white fluorescent lights.
Then his eyes lifted. Straight toward her.
Vivian felt something uncomfortable settle in her chest. Not attraction. Not romantic sparks starting to fly.
Awareness. Like standing too close to the edge of a rooftop. Lucien’s gaze lingered on her face for one quiet second before drifting lower again. A faint streak of crusty yellow stained the cuff of his white shirt. A blood stain.
Vivian blinked. When she looked again, he had already adjusted his sleeve neatly over it.
The bell rang shrilly. The hallway exploded back into movement and chaos. Someone bumped into Vivian’s shoulder rudely.
“Get lost,” the girl hissed.
Vivian stepped aside instinctively as Lucien walked past her. The scent of rain and cigarette smoke clung faintly to him. Those striking brown cold eyes flickered toward her again. Unreadable. Then his towering silhouette disappeared down the hallway.
By lunch, Vivian understood one thing clearly. Nobody at Mingze spoke about Lucien Ren normally. They spoke about him carefully. Like uttering just one wrong thing would get their necks slit.
“I heard he owns clubs downtown.”
“My brother said his family’s filled with government officials.”
“No, my cousin saw private bodyguards outside his house.”
“I heard someone got expelled because they grazed his car.”
“That’s nothing,” another student whispered. “A senior disappeared last year after spreading rumours about him.”
Vivian sat quietly at the corner of the cafeteria, munching slowly on her sandwich as she listened to the conversations drift around her.
Across the room, Lucien sat alone near the windows. No friends. No conversation.
Still, it was as if the entire cafeteria revolved around him unconsciously. A teacher approached his table nervously. Actually nervous. Vivian watched the teacher speak quietly before Lucien gave a small nod. The teacher immediately apologised, scuffling away with worry etched in her brows.
What kind of student made teachers apologise?
”You’re staring. One piece of advice. Don’t.”
Vivian turned. A girl beside her leaned in carefully.
“That’s Lucien Ren.”
“I know.”
The girl chuckled and shook her head disapprovingly, almost as if it were a quiet warning.
Before Vivian could respond, her phone buzzed. Unknown number. Stay away from Lucien Ren. Her heartbeat slowed slightly. Another message appeared immediately after. This is your only warning.
Vivian stared at the screen. Then slowly lifted her head. Across the cafeteria, Lucien Ren was already looking straight at her. Not at her phone. At her. Like he already knew what the message said. Like he knew everything.
And slowly, he gave a slight smile and a nod.
The entire cafeteria fell into a hush. Vivian looked away first.
That night, the rain poured heavier.
Most students had already gone home by the time Vivian left the library carrying a stack of unfinished orientation papers.
Streetlights reflected across the damp pavements beyond the iron gates. She pulled her blazer tighter and started toward the station alone. The city was quieter here. Too quiet. Halfway down a narrow alley, a strained voice echoed nearby. Begging. Groveling.
“Please…I…I’m innocent…”
A sharp crack split through the rain. Her pulse jumped. The alley ahead was dim except for the weak glow of a faulty street lamp. Vivian took one cautious step closer. Then another. And froze.
Crimson blood flowed down the water, spreading across the wet pavement like dark red paint beneath the pouring rain. A man collapsed against the wall, shaking violently.
Standing above him was a familiar looming figure. Lucien Ren.
His white school shirt was stained crimson beneath the downpour. One gloved hand gripped the man’s jaw firmly. The other held a knife dripping with blood.
Not trembling. Not angry. Steady. Controlled.
The man sobbed weakly, tears and blood all flowing into a stream of pity and sorrow.
Lucien tilted his head slightly, face showing no sign of emotion. His voice, devoid of any hint of sympathy.
“I guess I have to do it now. Thanks for the money.”
His voice was almost gentle, in a way. That was the worst part. Then he drove the blade down without a single moment of hesitation.
Vivian gasped in utter horror. The sound slipped out before she could ever stop it. Everything froze. Rain hammered against the metal rooftops overhead.
Lucien’s head snapped back straight towards Vivian. Water dripped from strands of black hair across his forehead. Blood stained his hands, his sleeves, even the edge of his previously flawless jaw.
For the first time all day, a hint of emotion flickered across his face. Not panic. Definitely not guilt. Recognition. Their eyes locked across the alley. Vivian’s teeming with fear, Lucien’s void of any echo of an emotion.
Vivian stopped breathing. The dying man slumped lifelessly against the metal pole between them. Lucien stared at her silently for a long moment.
Then-
A smile cracked his stone cold face.
Beautiful. Terrifying.
And he started walking. Towards her.
