Time flowed, and the years rolled on.
A lingering fragment of Qingyi's consciousness, driven by an obsession, drifted like a fallen leaf through the long river of history. She witnessed dynasties fall and the world change beyond recognition.
Life after life, reincarnation after reincarnation, all to find the person she had once known.
At last, guided by fate, she met her again in the Old Civilization, during an age of warring generals and turmoil.
Though the times were chaotic, the city of Shanghai seemed like a paradise apart, a place of endless revelry and dazzling excess.
Beneath the eastern night sky, a grand reception was underway at a hotel called Shanghai Nights.
Crystal chandeliers cast a warm golden glow. A gramophone played a lilting tune. Men in suits and women in flowing qipaos mingled over drinks, the air thick with luxury.
In this life, as in her first, Qingyi was a well-known young lady from a wealthy Shanghai family.
At the party, she wore a qipao and high heels, a glass of champagne in her hand and a smile on her face as she exchanged pleasantries with the guests.
Some might say she had been born fortunate and led a charmed life. Only Qingyi knew the exhaustion buried deep in her eyes.
For her family's sake, she had no choice but to move among the powerful.
Her smiles were real. So was her weariness, and so were the loneliness and longing she could never put into words.
Qingyi swept a bored gaze across the hall. Suddenly, her eyes stopped.
Among the crowd, a tall woman walked slowly toward the door with her back to Qingyi. Her dark ponytail was tied high, with a few faint strands of red woven through it.
Qingyi jolted. The glass slipped from her hand and