The Game Begins
Three months. That's all it took for me to start rewriting destiny.
Since my rebirth, every move has been deliberate—a dance between patience and power. In this second chance at life, I'm not just playing the game—I'm changing the board. The people I've recruited—ten of them so far—are unaware of just how pivotal their roles are in this empire I'm building. They think they're climbing a ladder. They don't realize I'm building the tower. I'm the architect of a new age.
The markets? Child's play. Using the memories of my previous life, I pinpointed the exact rises and falls, played them like chords in a symphony, and pulled out days before the crashes. No one suspected a thing.
My goal is clear: build a force strong enough to rival and eventually annihilate the Jun family. Not just destroy them—but humiliate them. They stole everything from me in my past life. This time, they'll choke on regret.
Echoes of the Past
Bai Jiayi is gone—scattered like dust after I exposed her betrayal. But she's not off the hook. She thinks silence is safety, that hiding is freedom. I've seen too much, learned too much. The Bai family's sins are buried deep, but bones always float to the surface.
When I return, it won't be quietly. I'll rise like thunder, my success screaming into their ears, rattling their gates. I've already started my own company, branching into fashion, entertainment, food—and soon, pharmaceuticals. My reach will stretch into every corner of society.
I helped him. I eliminated his enemies, ruined entire families, even shed blood for him. And still, he tossed me aside like yesterday's ash. So now, when I go cold—when I destroy without mercy—don't call me heartless. Call me justified.
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The Crownless Queen
That "beloved" family of leeches, the Feng's—they think they still have control. But what's control without knowledge? Father and Grandpa handed me partial control of a few branches of our restaurant and jewelry chains—thinking it a privilege. They don't even know I've quietly built an empire behind their backs.
Four of the ten I recruited will serve as the backbone of my empire:
Qin Firou: poised and ruthless—perfect for leading fashion.
Gen Guanjun: charismatic, cunning—entertainment's new king.
Ling Chuxian: quiet brilliance, ideal for mastering the ancient wine-brewing arts.
Halan Hexi: a culinary prodigy, with a heart as precise as her knife.
The other six? They'll be my seeds—planted within the entertainment and fashion industries, soon to sprout as stars, icons, idols. I gave each of the four leaders a tailored set of plans, industry scouting lists, and unique, game-changing blueprints. No risk. Just precision. Strategy. Domination.
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Allies in the Shadows
They have six months. That's all. Half a year to lay the foundation, build loyalty, and erect walls that no enemy can penetrate.
Phase one is already unfolding. Phase two? That's where it gets dangerous.
I'll infiltrate the underworld, seduce the shadows. If fate is generous, I'll rise as a queen among them, commanding loyalty from the capos themselves. A woman among wolves—but a wolf nonetheless. I already know who to approach. I know their weaknesses, their losses, their greed.
I failed my family once. Not again.
I emptied my vault, giving each of the ten recruits $900 million in funds. I went from heiress to penniless—but I see the bigger picture. Money returns. Regret doesn't. I'll invest again soon, but not before securing my throne.
For Qin and Gen, I gave comprehensive business strategies. For Ling, ancient wine recipes lost to time—ones I'd perfected in my last life. Halan received my rarest secrets—recipes that not only healed but enchanted, with exact fire temperatures, precision timing, and even a video of me cooking, disguised as "Cheng Li," my alias.
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Collision of Fates
License acquired. Cover identity sealed. The game is set.
But for now, I play the fool. A dumb heiress with too much money and too little brains. That's the mask they'll see. Behind it? A blade, cold and waiting.
Six months till the entrance exam. I'll come first in the entire country. Let them see what happens when ambition meets genius.
That evening, while driving home from my new, inconspicuous duplex, a strange noise in an alley pulled me from my focused thoughts. My gut told me to keep going, but curiosity—it's both a flaw and a spark.
I stopped.
Parked.
Walked into the shadows.
There were voices.
"He might be fine!"
"He won't go far bleeding like that."
"We need to find him before he dies!"
I ducked behind a thick bush, heart racing. My fists clenched. A part of me longed to fight. But another part—a wiser part—waited. Eventually, they left, grumbling curses into the night.
But then… a groan. Weak, yet sharp.
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The Demon's Eyes
And there he was.
Tall, unconscious—drenched in blood—but unnaturally beautiful. Not handsome. No. Ethereal. Like a fallen god with chaos in his bones.
"It's a crime to be this handsome," I muttered under my breath, stepping forward. My hand reached out before I could stop it.
Then—
Snap!
A cold, jade-like hand gripped my wrist.
I froze.
His obsidian eyes snapped open, dragging me into their depths like a whirlpool of shadows and pain. His aura crushed the air between us—ancient, violent, victorious. My breath hitched.
And for the first time since rebirth—I felt fear. Not terror. Not danger. Fear—the kind that thrills.
He looked wounded. Still, he didn't let go of my hand. Instead, he pulled me closer until I fell onto his chest, my weight pressing into his injuries.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to retreat.
But he didn't release me. His fingers lingered, holding on as though letting go meant death.
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The God Behind the Mask
His name… I didn't know yet.
But the way he looked at me—like I wasn't just a girl but an anomaly—something he'd never encountered… that meant everything.
"I can help you," I said.
He nodded. Trust, strange and heavy, passed between us.
Born into power, such men don't trust easily. Betrayal is a second language in families like his. I saw it in his eyes—he was used to being used. But this moment? This was real.
Mu Xie Jing—he later told me. At eighteen, he took control of the world's most powerful conglomerate. In three years, he turned the Mu Corporation into an empire feared across boardrooms and back alleys. His name, both in the business world and underworld, struck fear like a thunderclap.
But here, now, he was just a man—broken, bleeding, and for the first time, unsure.
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Healing the Monster
"No hospital," he rasped. "They'll find me."
I nodded. "Then I'll treat you myself."
He didn't know—didn't understand the lives I'd taken, the wounds I'd mended. I could treat him with ease. I'd stitched myself after stabbings, bullets, even poison. I'd learned in fire and survived in blood.
At my duplex, I laid him in the guest room. As soon as he hit the bed, he passed out. I gathered everything—warm water, towels, first aid kits, surgical thread, even a scalpel. Not standard household items, but when you live my life, you prepare for war at home.
Back in the room, I cut off his ruined shirt, took off his belt and shoes to let the blood circulate.
"Please," I muttered dryly, "get your head out of the gutter. I'm not your nurse fantasy."
His wounds were brutal—deep, jagged. Whoever did this wanted him dead.
"This," I whispered, dipping the towel into the warm water, "is going to be a long night."
And so, I began stitching back together the man who would unknowingly become my greatest weapon—or perhaps… my downfall.
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