The Eminence in the Night

Nie Linfan stood at the crosswalk. At seventeen, he had an ordinary face, ordinary grades, and an ordinary family. Toss him into a crowd, and he would disappear in an instant. He had been a background character all his life. But nobody knew that beneath his unremarkable, mild-mannered exterior lay an obsession he had harbored for years. The world chased the light. He loved the dark. The world longed to stand on a high platform, bask in the spotlight, and be adored by all. His lifelong dream was to stay behind the scenes, hide in the shadows, and direct the world like a game of chess. He would be no prodigy in the limelight, no hero who saved the world. He would be the shadow sovereign, unknown to all and seen through by none, controlling everything from the darkness. This was the ideal of power he kept in his heart, a vision he had never shared with anyone. Unfortunately, the real world was dull and uneventful. There were no supernatural powers or hidden currents of intrigue. His obsession was nothing but an impossible fantasy with nowhere to go. The light turned green. Nie Linfan gathered his thoughts and stepped onto the crosswalk. Traffic came to a standstill as pedestrians hurried past. Everything was just like countless other evenings. This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.