Chapter 12: Private Retaliation
The night was unusually quiet in the private lounge of Liang Yue's family estate. The city lights flickered softly through tall windows, casting long, angular shadows across the polished mahogany floors. Liang Yue sat in the study, reviewing documents with meticulous precision. Her past life had taught her the value of timing, the subtle movements that could shift entire empires—and she was prepared to act.
A soft knock at the door made her glance up, her sharp eyes already predicting who it might be.
"Liwei." She didn't rise, didn't even look startled.
Xu Liwei stepped inside, his usual polished composure strained at the edges. He closed the door behind him and paused, taking in the sight of her. Liang Yue, relaxed yet commanding, reviewing stock charts with that faintly imperious tilt of her head.
"You called for me?" she asked casually, though every word was precise, measured.
He swallowed. "I... didn't expect you to be so cold."
Her lips curved faintly, a hint of amusement. "Cold is often the only language men like you understand." She set the papers aside, folding her hands neatly. "And yet, you came anyway. Curious... or desperate?"
Xu Liwei hesitated, as if the word had struck deeper than he wanted to admit. "I... I need you to listen. I've changed, Liang Yue. I made mistakes... mistakes I'm willing to fix."
Liang Yue's gaze was steady, unreadable. "Fix? Fix how? By returning what you took, or by convincing me that your remorse is genuine this time?"
He stepped closer, his voice lowering. "I married you because I... I thought I loved you. But I was foolish, blind. I—"
"Blind?" she interrupted smoothly. "Blind is a generous word. Calculating, deceitful, and self-serving would be more accurate." Her tone was casual, almost conversational, but every word landed like a hammer. "Do you truly believe I could forget the truths I lived? Do you think a second life erases lessons carved into the soul?"
Xu Liwei faltered, caught between guilt and the remnants of his arrogance. "Liang Yue... I can prove—"
She rose, moving closer, her voice soft but sharp, a velvet blade. "Prove what, exactly? That you are still capable of manipulation? That Yulan is your accomplice and you two plot behind facades of civility?"
He flinched at the directness. Somehow, she had anticipated the defenses he had rehearsed for months. And in her reborn life, she had knowledge of every trick, every scheme, every vulnerability.
"I... I didn't mean for it to happen that way," he said, voice tight.
Liang Yue's eyes flicked to the door, then back to him. "Meaning...? The years of labor I endured, the betrayal of family, the infertility you caused, the humiliation orchestrated by Yulan? You expect me to believe that none of that was intentional?"
Xu Liwei swallowed hard. "I—"
"You have nothing left to say, Xu Liwei." Her voice was calm, almost bored, but there was fire simmering beneath it. "And yet, here you are, offering charm where honesty might have sufficed. Where integrity could have saved you."
He paused, as if attempting to find a foothold in her unyielding stance. "Liang Yue... I only want to make things right. For us."
A laugh escaped her, quiet but sharp. "For us?" She leaned closer, so that her words were intimate, biting. "There is no us. There never was. There was only your greed, your ambition, and your willingness to sacrifice anyone—including me—to feed it."
Xu Liwei's eyes darkened, frustration creeping in. "You were my wife... I—"
"No," she interrupted, raising her hand just enough to halt him. "I was your victim. I was your inheritance, a means to your ends. I was betrayed, manipulated, and used. And now... now, I am aware. Reborn. Reclaimed."
He faltered, realizing the weight of her words. Every manipulation he had tried was now transparent, dismantled before him without force.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the faint trembling in his hands—he had always maintained composure, but she saw him unravel, piece by piece. And she savored it. Not cruelty, but the satisfaction of balance restored.
"You see, Liwei," she said softly, moving around him with fluid precision, "in your past life, I might have hesitated, I might have doubted. I might have let your words sway me. But this life... I play differently. I act with knowledge. With foresight. And with patience."
Xu Liwei's jaw clenched. "Patience... patience is your weakness."
Liang Yue tilted her head, the faintest smile curving her lips. "Perhaps in appearance. But patience, coupled with insight, is power. And power, Xu Liwei, is something you squandered once. I do not."
A soft chime from her phone drew her attention. She glanced down briefly, noting the news alert that confirmed her recent investment had already begun yielding unexpected returns. Her smile widened imperceptibly. A private victory, hidden but deeply satisfying.
Xu Liwei noticed the shift. "You... you've done this before. Planned it... all along."
"Yes," she said simply, eyes locking onto his. "And each step I take now... is informed by knowledge you could never anticipate. Each decision is mine alone. And each consequence... will be measured, deliberate, and unforgiving if crossed."
A tense silence filled the room. He searched her face for softness, for hesitation—but found none. Only clarity, precision, and a calm ferocity that left him breathless.
"You're... different," he said finally, almost as a statement, almost as a plea.
"I am," she agreed. "Different, yes. Because I survived your betrayal once. And this time, I am ready to take everything that is mine... and leave nothing for those who thought they could take it from me."
Her gaze shifted subtly toward the sideboard, where her assistant waited, having left discreetly when Xu Liwei arrived. Liang Yue knew that outside forces—mutual acquaintances, social whispers, and business intermediaries—might attempt interference, but she had already accounted for them.
Yulan, inevitably, would try to manipulate through mutual contacts. She had always relied on charm, rumor, and small lies. Liang Yue allowed herself a moment of cold satisfaction. She knew exactly what Yulan would attempt next—and it would fail spectacularly.
"Liwei, listen closely," Liang Yue said, stepping closer, lowering her voice to an intimate edge. "Every whisper, every rumor, every attempt to twist perception in your favor... I see it. I anticipate it. And I neutralize it quietly, decisively, before it reaches me. You, Yulan, and your accomplices... are predictable. Transparent. Already obsolete in the game I am playing."
Xu Liwei's lips parted slightly, his composure fracturing. "You... you're cold."
She let the word hang for a heartbeat, savoring it. "I am not cold. I am calculated. And unlike you, I act only when necessary. I do not harm for pleasure, only for precision. That is the difference."
He swallowed, helpless in the face of a woman reborn—intelligent, ruthless, and fully aware.
"Remember this," she added, turning toward the window, watching the city lights reflect off the glass, "every move you make will be anticipated. Every scheme... exposed. And every attempt to control me... futile."
Xu Liwei's shoulders slumped slightly. He had learned, finally, that this woman was no longer the naïve heiress he had manipulated, no longer the victim of circumstance. She was the orchestrator now—the architect of her own fate.
Liang Yue stepped closer again, voice barely above a whisper but carrying the weight of inevitability. "This is private, Xu Liwei. Do not mistake silence for weakness. Do not mistake civility for forgiveness. The next time we meet... the rules will be mine entirely."
She turned abruptly, leaving him in the study, and heard the click of his shoes against the floor as he exited. Every step he took away from her was a concession, an unspoken acknowledgment of his failure.
Liang Yue exhaled, tension leaving her body in a slow, controlled release. She had reclaimed control of the narrative. She had anticipated every move, countered every manipulation, and reaffirmed her dominance. In this private confrontation, no witnesses were needed—yet the victory was sweeter for its intimacy, for its precision.
Her eyes fell once again on the financial report glowing on the screen. Her first investment was performing beyond expectation. Her enemies were floundering. And she—reborn, informed, and unstoppable—was ready for the next step.
She allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. This was only the beginning.