Chapter Two: The Man Who Heard Secrets

At one minute past midnight, Han lunged for the piano. He did not move like a man of sixty. One white glove grazed Shen Yan's face as his hand reached for the black key. Shen Yan turned and blocked him, his shoulder striking the music stand. The key sank soundlessly between them, and cold traveled through Shen Yan's finger bones into his chest. "What did you hear?" Han demanded. "A melody." "Liar." A famished light entered Han's eyes. He released Shen Yan, seized the fireplace poker, and began scraping at a faded stain on the old carpet. "Wash it away and it never happened," he muttered. "Wash it. Burn it. No one can take the Gu family away..." The poker split his glove. Blood spotted the rug, but he appeared not to feel it.