The night air was cool against my skin as I walked away from Lune Café, but my blood thrummed with the familiar heat of purpose.
In my past life, I would have gone home that night clutching every sweet word Lu Chen had fed me, replaying them like a fool until I fell asleep smiling.
Now, each word was ammunition.
---
The next morning, my phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. I already knew who it was.
"Xinya." His deep voice carried that mix of casual dominance and charm that had once made me melt. "Are you free for lunch?"
I almost laughed. The old me would have said yes before he even finished asking.
Instead, I let the silence stretch until I could almost feel his impatience through the line. "I'm busy."
A pause. "Busy?"
"Yes. People do have lives, Lu Chen." I kept my tone light, almost teasing — but sharp enough to prick his pride.
---
By noon, fate — or perhaps Lu Chen's arrogance — had delivered the first opportunity for my revenge.
I had gone to a small boutique café near the financial district, a place I remembered visiting often before I became entangled in his world. As I sipped my coffee, voices from the table behind me drifted over.
"President Lu's acquisition deal is shaky. He's counting on the Lin family to back him up."
My lips curved. In my last life, I hadn't learned about this deal until much later — too late to see it as the weakness it was. Now, I had the information early, gift-wrapped by the universe itself.
---
And so, when Lu Chen appeared at my side, looking infuriatingly handsome in a navy suit, I was ready.
"Coincidence," he said smoothly, sliding into the chair opposite mine without asking.
"Or stalking," I replied sweetly, taking another sip of my coffee.
He chuckled, leaning back. "You're different, Xinya. I can't decide if I like it."
"That's fine," I said, setting my cup down. "I'm not here to be liked."
For a moment, the mask slipped — a flicker of something darker in his gaze before the smile returned. "I have tickets to the Spring Gala next week. Come with me."
Ah, the Spring Gala. The place where, in my past life, he'd first introduced me as his girlfriend to the upper circles — and where my father had begun considering him more valuable than his own daughter.
Not this time.
---
"I'll think about it," I said lightly.
"You'll think about it?" He leaned forward, studying me as though I were a puzzle he hadn't solved.
"I've been busy lately," I said, lifting my phone and pretending to check a message. "Work, personal goals… you know. The things people do when they have ambition."
The jab was subtle, but I saw it land.
---
We spoke for a few minutes more, each of us smiling, each exchange a small skirmish. He tried to steer the conversation toward personal topics; I deflected, dropping little hints of an active, private life he wasn't part of.
The more I kept him at arm's length, the more intrigued — and unsettled — he became.
When I finally rose to leave, he stood as well. "You'll come to the gala," he said, not as a question, but as an expectation.
I met his gaze, let a slow smile curve my lips. "We'll see."
And then I walked out first.
---
Outside, I checked my phone. A new email notification blinked on the screen — from a name that made my smile sharpen.
Shen Li.
In my past life, this man had been nothing but a rumor: a rival CEO who could ruin companies with a single well-placed whisper. I had never met him because I had been too wrapped up in Lu Chen's world.
The email was short:
> Miss Lin, I heard you're considering attending the Spring Gala.
We should talk.
---
So, the wolf had scented blood.
I wasn't ready to ally with him — not yet. But I could use him to make my first official move against Lu Chen.
And the Spring Gala would be the perfect hunting ground.
---
That night, I lay in bed, my mind racing.
This time, I wouldn't wait until they came for me.
This time, I would make the first cut.