Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The First Thread of Fate
The rain had been falling since morning, turning the city streets into silver mirrors.
Lena Shen hurried across the university courtyard, holding her books against her chest as she tried to protect them from the rain. She had only five minutes left before class.
She was almost at the building when someone suddenly walked straight into her.
Her books fell to the ground.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Lena quickly bent down.
“So am I.”
The unfamiliar voice made her pause.
A young man was already picking up her books. He had dark hair, calm eyes, and an expression that was strangely difficult to read.
He handed her the last book.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Their fingers touched for only a second.
Neither of them knew why, but they both stopped.
The moment passed quickly.
Lena looked away and gathered her books. “I’m Lena.”
The man hesitated before answering.
“Evan Chen.”
His name sounded ordinary, yet something about him felt strangely familiar.
“You’re new here?” Lena asked.
“Yes.”
“Then you’re probably lost.”
A faint smile appeared on his face. “Maybe I was.”
Lena laughed softly. “The science building is that way.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you walking in the opposite direction?”
Evan looked at her for a moment.
“I suppose I was meant to meet someone first.”
Lena smiled, thinking he was joking.
“You’re weird, Evan.”
“Maybe.”
The bell rang across the campus.
Lena suddenly remembered her class.
“I have to go!”
She turned and ran toward the building.
After a few steps, she stopped and looked back.
Evan was still standing there.
Watching her.
Neither of them noticed the small silver pendant that had fallen from Lena’s bag onto the wet pavement.
Evan walked toward it and picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched the pendant, his expression changed.
For the first time, the calmness in his eyes disappeared.
He stared at the symbol engraved on it.
A symbol he had seen before.
A long time ago.
In a memory that should have been impossible.
Evan quietly whispered, “It’s you.”
Across the courtyard, Lena suddenly felt a strange chill.
She turned around.
But Evan was already gone.
She had no idea that their meeting was not an accident.
It was the beginning of a fate that had been waiting for them long before either of them knew each other’s names.
