Chapter One: The Mirror Remembered Him Before the Applause Did

With three eight-counts left, Lin Wu heard someone applauding inside the mirror. The sound was faint beneath the roar filling Studio One of *Burn the Night*, yet it struck with impossible clarity, as though silk-gloved hands were clapping just behind her ears. Shen Yan's right hand locked around her waist. They had just survived the most dangerous lift in their routine: Lin Wu dropped inverted from his shoulder, toes skimming the water spread across the black stage. The circular screens magnified the spray into a silver storm. The global livestream counter climbed past 230 million. “Don't look at the mirror wall,” Shen Yan breathed. But the next beat of their choreography was a backward glance.