From Nothing to Everything

The night air was thick with the pulse of bass and the shimmer of neon lights. Inside Velvet Lounge, the city’s most exclusive club, the atmosphere was electric — a place where the rich, reckless, and restless mingled like it was the end of the world.

Alice Gu pushed open the doors with shaky hands, her heart still aching from the confrontation just hours ago.

“You were never really one of us, Alice. You’re nothing now. Get out.”

Her stepmother’s words echoed in her head, sharp and cruel. She clenched her teeth, straightening her back as if to physically shake them off.

“Come on, Alice! Forget them! It’s your night now,” Alexis Yang, her best friend, tugged at her arm, pulling her deeper into the club. The music swallowed them, and for the first time in hours, Alice let herself breathe.

Tonight wasn’t about the family that discarded her.
It wasn’t about the fact that her so-called parents weren’t hers — that she was switched at birth, and now orphaned in every sense of the word.

Tonight was about her.
And maybe, just maybe… a little revenge.

“Drinks are on me!” Alexis cheered, lifting two glittering cocktails. Alice laughed — the first real laugh of the day — and took one without hesitation.

“Happy… twenty-fourth to me,” Alice grinned, clinking glasses.

Several rounds later, Alexis’s phone buzzed. She checked it, frowning.

“Shoot, it’s Nathan — he needs me. Emergency with his brother.” Alexis bit her lip. “Will you be okay for a little while?”

Alice, now very tipsy, gave an exaggerated salute. “I’ll be fine, Captain Yang. Go rescue your prince.”

Alexis hesitated, then kissed Alice’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

As Alexis disappeared into the crowd, Alice swayed on her feet, the room spinning slightly. Her gaze wandered — and that’s when she saw him.

Alexander Yang.

The Alexander Yang.

CEO of Yang International, billionaire, business prodigy, and older brother of Alexis. He was seated in a private VIP booth, tall frame leaned back, exuding effortless authority in a tailored black suit. His dark, sharp eyes scanned the club with a mixture of disinterest and calculation, clearly here for some high-stakes meeting.

Alice blinked.

She knew him, of course. Alexis talked about him all the time. And they’d met a few times before — at charity galas, family dinners.
But right now, in the haze of alcohol and heartbreak, none of that mattered.

“Hey… hey you!” she slurred, weaving through the crowd toward him.

Alexander glanced up, brows lifting in mild surprise as she stumbled into the booth, hands on her hips.

“Do you… do you think you’re so cool sitting there all… all broody and rich-looking?” she whined, pouting at him. “Hmph!”

Alexander stiffened, caught entirely off guard. “Alice…?”

She squinted, leaning closer — far too close — and then her face lit up.

“Heyyy! I know you! You’re… you’re Alexis’s… hot brother!” she giggled.

Alexander coughed, feeling heat creep up his neck — something he wasn’t used to. Not in boardrooms, not with billion-dollar deals, and certainly not with drunk girls falling into his lap.

“Okay, okay — let’s, um, calm down…” he murmured, placing steady hands on her shoulders.

But Alice only leaned in further, her glossy eyes locking onto his.

“I got kicked out today, you know,” she blurted, voice cracking with sudden sadness. “They said I’m not really family. Because my real family’s gone. Stupid, huh?”

Alexander’s expression shifted. The teasing glint in his eyes faded, replaced by something softer, more protective.

“Alice…”

“I don’t care though!” she announced, attempting a twirl and nearly toppling over. He caught her easily, steady and unshaken.

“I’m gonna be famous,” she declared, looking up at him with shining, tear-filled eyes. “I’ll show them. I’ll show everyone…”

He stared at her — this mess of beauty and pain, fierce even in her brokenness.

“Come on,” he sighed, rising to his feet and effortlessly scooping her into his arms, ignoring the stares from the VIP crowd. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Alice snuggled into his chest with a content sigh. “You smell… nice.”

Alexander sighed again, a rare, amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

And just like that — in a club lit by flickering neon, beneath the heavy bass of music and murmurs of scandal — something unspoken shifted between them.

The beginning of something neither of them saw coming.