The world was too bright. Too loud. Too alive.
Jiang Lianxue sat in the passenger seat of the red convertible, her fingers digging into the leather upholstery until her knuckles turned white. The coastal wind whipped her long black hair across her face, stinging her cheeks, but she didn't blink. She couldn't.
If she blinked, she might wake up back on that marble floor. She might feel the cold spreading from her chest again. She might hear the gurgling scream of Lu Yichen losing his eye.
No, she thought, the mental voice sounding like grinding stones. That happened. It is etched into my soul. But it hasn't happened yet.
She took a breath. It rattled slightly—a phantom echo of the blood that had filled her lungs moments ago in a different timeline. But the air here tasted of salt and exhaust fumes, not copper and death.
She looked down at her hands again. Smooth. Pale. The manicured nails of a pampered princess. She flexed her fingers. The response was instantaneous. Snap, snap. No arthritis. No sluggishness from a decade of sitting in boardrooms.
She squeezed her fist. The power was there.
In her past life, she had abandoned the Xue family's brutal training at eighteen, desperate to be a normal girl for Lu Yichen. She had let her muscles soften, her calluses fade, her instincts dull. It was why she had died. It was why she couldn't save them.
But this body? This eighteen-year-old body? It was a coiled spring. It was fresh from thirteen years of the Xue Clan's hellish regimen. She was currently a lethal weapon wrapped in designer silk.
"Lianxue? Seriously, you're zoning out hard," Xue Suya's voice cut through the haze.
Lianxue turned to her cousin. Suya. The girl with the pink streaks in her hair and the lollipop in her mouth. The girl who, in five years, would be blown into pieces by a car bomb meant for Lianxue's uncle.
Suya was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, humming a pop song. She was so… fragile. A soap bubble floating over a field of needles.
"I'm just nervous," Lianxue lied. Her voice was smooth, the deception slipping off her tongue with terrifying ease. I'm a liar, she realized. I was always a good liar. I just stopped doing it for him.
"Nervous? About B University?" Suya laughed, downshifting as they approached the sprawling campus gates. "Please. You're the top scorer. You're the richest girl in the city. And you have the hottest boyfriend on campus waiting for you. What's there to be nervous about?"
The fact that I'm going to murder that boyfriend, Lianxue thought.
"Just… everything," Lianxue murmured. "New beginnings."
The car rolled through the majestic iron gates of B University. It was an elite institution, a playground for the children of politicians, tycoons, and old money. The architecture was a mix of neo-classical grandeur and modern glass structures. Expensive cars lined the driveways. Students walked in groups, laughing, holding books they would never read, wearing clothes that cost more than an average family's yearly income.
To the old Lianxue, this place had been a paradise. A sanctuary where she could pretend the mafia didn't exist.
To the reborn Lianxue, it looked like a hunting ground.
Her eyes scanned the crowd.
Two security guards at the gate, armed with batons, looking bored. Lazy. Useless.
Rooftops of the dormitories—clear sightlines. Sniper risks minimal, but drone surveillance possible.
The landscaping—thick hedges. Good for ambushes. Bad for visibility.
She wasn't seeing a campus. She was seeing tactical vectors.
"Look! There he is!" Suya squealed, pointing a manicured finger toward the main fountain.
Lianxue's stomach dropped. A cold, oily sensation coated her insides.
Standing by the fountain, bathed in the golden afternoon sunlight, was Lu Yichen.
He was eighteen. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with the top button undone, sleeves rolled up to show his forearms. His hair was styled in that effortless, windblown look that took an hour to achieve. He was smiling at someone, his posture relaxed, exuding that magnetic charm that had drawn Lianxue in like a moth to a bug zapper.
In her memories, his face was twisted in agony, blood streaming from an empty eye socket.
Here, he was perfect.
"Oh my god, he brought flowers," Suya sighed dreamily. "If you don't marry him, I swear I'll steal him."
"You can have him," Lianxue muttered, the words slipping out before she could stop them.
"What?" Suya glanced at her.
"Nothing," Lianxue corrected instantly, forcing her facial muscles into a mask of adoration. It was painful, like stretching scar tissue. "I said… I can't wait to see him."
Suya parked the car. Before the engine even died, Lianxue's door was open.
She needed to face him. She needed to get this over with before her hatred boiled over and she snapped his neck in front of two hundred witnesses.
Lianxue stepped onto the pavement. Her heels clicked rhythmically. Click. Click. Click. Like the countdown of a bomb.
Lu Yichen turned. His eyes lit up when he saw her. It was a look of pure, unadulterated love.
Fake, she screamed internally. It's all fake. He's looking at a bank account, not a person.
"Xue'er!" Yichen called out, jogging toward her. He held a bouquet of white lilies—her favorite. Or at least, the favorite of the girl she used to be. Now, they looked like funeral flowers.
He reached her, opening his arms for a hug.
Lianxue's body tensed. Her peripheral vision sharpened. She saw the trajectory of his hands. Her instincts, honed by the Xue masters, screamed at her to intercept. Grab the wrist. Twist. Dislocate elbow. Strike throat.
She suppressed the urge with an act of sheer will that made her teeth ache.
She let him embrace her.
His arms went around her waist. He smelled of that same expensive cologne. Sandalwood and citrus. The scent of her death.
"I missed you," Yichen whispered into her ear, pulling her close. "Summer break felt like a century."
Lianxue stood stiffly for a fraction of a second before forcing her arms to wrap around his back. She felt his spine. The vertebrae were right there under his shirt. One hard strike… just one…
Not yet, she told herself. Death is too easy. He needs to lose everything first. He needs to know why.
"I missed you too, Yichen," she said softly. Her voice sounded sweet, breathless. It was the voice of a girl in love.
Inside, she was vomiting.
He pulled back, holding her by the shoulders, searching her face. "You look… different."
Lianxue's heart skipped a beat. "Different? How?"
"I don't know," Yichen frowned slightly, a shadow crossing his handsome features. "More… intense? Did you change your makeup?"
"Just tired," Lianxue smiled, tilting her head. "Travel fatigue."
He bought it. Of course he did. He was arrogant. He thought he owned her completely. Why would he suspect that the sheep had grown fangs?
"Well, let's get you checked in," Yichen said, taking her hand. His grip was firm. Possessive. "I already talked to the dorm supervisor. I made sure you got the room with the south-facing balcony. Only the best for my princess."
"You're too good to me," Lianxue said.
You're grooming me, she corrected mentally. Isolating me. Making me dependent on your kindness.
Suya caught up to them, dragging two suitcases. "Hello? Heavy lifting here? A little help, gentleman?"
Yichen laughed, the sound smooth and practiced. "Sorry, Suya. I was just distracted by your cousin's beauty." He moved to take the bags.
Lianxue watched him. She watched the way his eyes lingered on a passing girl in a short skirt before snapping back to Suya. She watched the way he checked his reflection in the car window.
Micro-expressions.
In her past life, she had been blind. Love had been a thick blindfold. Now, looking at him through the lens of betrayal, he was transparent. He was a shark in a human suit.
"Let's go," Yichen said, leading the way.
Lianxue followed, her shadow stretching long and dark on the pavement.
The registration process was a blur of fake smiles and mindless paperwork. Lianxue moved through it on autopilot, her mind occupied with a tactical review of her assets.
Father. Currently at the Jiang headquarters in the city center. Alive. Unaware of the snake his daughter was dating.
Xiao Fan. Eleven years old right now. Likely at his boarding school. She needed to pull him out. Or better yet, hire a detail of Xue clan shadows to watch him 24/7.
The Xue Family. Her maternal family. Her grandfather was still the Dragon Head. Her uncle was his enforcer. To them, she was the prodigy who ran away to be a civilian.
She needed to reconnect with the Xue family. But she couldn't just walk back in. She had burned bridges when she left for college. She had told her grandfather she wanted a life of peace. He had let her go, heartbroken.
If she went back now, saying, "I want to be the heir again," they would be suspicious. She needed a reason.
Or… she could just show them.
"Earth to Lianxue!"
She blinked. She was standing in her dorm room. It was luxurious for a dorm—a suite, really. Two bedrooms, a shared living space, a kitchenette. Suya was her roommate, naturally. Money greased many wheels.
"Sorry," Lianxue said, placing her handbag on the desk.
"You really are out of it," Yichen said. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching her. His eyes were narrow, calculating.
Lianxue felt a prickle on the back of her neck. Danger.
"Just a headache," she said, turning to face him.
"Maybe you need some fresh air," Yichen suggested. He took a step into the room. "Or maybe… you need to relax."
He closed the door behind him.
The click of the latch was deafening.
Suya was in her bedroom unpacking. It was just Lianxue and Yichen in the small living area.
Yichen walked toward her. The playful boyfriend mask slipped, just a fraction. There was a hunger in his eyes that wasn't entirely romantic. It was the look of a man inspecting a prize he had won.
"You know," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "We've been dating for a year now, Xue'er."
"We have," Lianxue said, holding her ground. She kept her hands loose at her sides, ready.
"And you've been… very conservative," he continued, reaching out to stroke her hair. His fingers brushed her neck.
Lianxue suppressed a shudder. His touch felt like a slug crawling on her skin.
"My father is strict," she said, reciting the excuse she had used a thousand times in the past.
"Your father isn't here," Yichen murmured. He stepped closer, invading her personal space. He trapped her against the desk.
In the past timeline, Lianxue had been flustered by this. She had giggled, pushed him away playfully, blushed. She had thought it was passion.
Now, she recognized it for what it was. Testing boundaries. Pushing for control.
He leaned in to kiss her.
Lianxue's mind raced. If I reject him too hard, he gets suspicious. If I let him kiss me, I might bite his tongue off.
She needed a diversion.
Crash.
From Suya's room, the sound of a suitcase falling over.
"Damn it!" Suya yelled.
Yichen flinched, pulling back. The moment broke. The predator mask vanished, replaced instantly by the golden boy smile.
"Sounds like Suya needs help," Yichen chuckled, though his jaw was tight. He was annoyed.
Lianxue let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "We should go help her."
She side-stepped him, moving toward Suya's room. As she passed him, she felt his gaze burning into her back. It wasn't loving. It was cold. Calculating.
He's impatient, Lianxue realized. He needs the Jiang fortune to pay off his father's gambling debts. That's the timeline. His father gets in deep with the Triads this year. Yichen needs to marry me or get access to my trust fund soon.
Good. Desperation made people sloppy.
Evening fell over the campus. The sky turned a bruised purple.
Lianxue sat on a bench near the campus lake, watching the reflection of the moon on the water. She had told Suya and Yichen she needed a moment alone to call her father.
She held the phone to her ear, listening to the dial tone.
"Hello?"
The voice was gruff, deep. It was a voice she hadn't heard in thirteen years.
"Dad," Lianxue whispered. tears pricked her eyes instantly. Real tears, this time.
"Lianxue? Is everything okay? Did you arrive safely?" Jiang Zhenghua's voice softened. He was a titan of industry, a man who ate competitors for breakfast, but for his daughter, he was a teddy bear.
"I'm fine, Dad," she managed to say, wiping her eyes. "I just… I wanted to hear your voice."
"Hah! Sentimental girl. It's only been six hours." He chuckled. "Don't tell me you miss home already. You were so eager to run off to that boy."
The mention of Yichen hardened her heart again.
"Dad," she said, her voice shifting. Becoming serious. "I need you to do something for me."
"Oh? Did you max out your credit card already?"
"No. I need you to pull Xiao Fan's security detail logs for the past month. And double them."
There was a silence on the line. "Lianxue? What is this about? Is someone threatening you?"
"Just a feeling," she lied. "I had a… a bad dream. Just promise me, Dad. Increase security. For you too. Check the brakes on the Rolls-Royce."
"The brakes? Lianxue, you're scaring me."
"Please, Dad. For my peace of mind."
Jiang Zhenghua sighed. "Alright, alright. If it stops you from worrying. I'll have the head of security look into it."
"Thank you. I love you, Dad."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
She hung up. It wasn't enough, but it was a start.
She lowered the phone and looked across the lake. The shadows under the willow trees were deep.
Suddenly, the hairs on her arms stood up.
Someone was watching her.
Not Yichen. This felt different. Heavier. More dangerous.
Lianxue didn't turn her head. She didn't react visibly. She took out her compact mirror, pretending to check her lipstick.
She angled the mirror.
Behind her, about fifty meters away, standing in the shadow of a library pillar, was a figure.
A man. Wearing a grey hoodie. He wasn't a student. His posture was too rigid. He was standing perfectly still, blending into the concrete.
A tail?
Lianxue's eyes narrowed in the reflection. Was it one of Yichen's hired thugs? No, Yichen couldn't afford professionals yet.
Was it the Xue family?
The figure moved. He brought a hand to his ear. An earpiece.
Surveillance.
Lianxue snapped the compact shut. She stood up, stretching casually.
She began to walk back toward the dorms, taking the long way. The path that led through the dense ornamental gardens. The path with no cameras.
If someone was hunting her, they were about to find out that the prey had teeth.
She entered the garden. The path twisted between tall hedges and ancient stone statues. It was dark here. Quiet.
She heard footsteps behind her. Soft. Rubber soles on pavement. Trying to be silent, but mistiming the rhythm.
Amateur, she thought.
She turned a sharp corner around a statue of Confucius and stopped. She pressed her back against the cold stone pedestal, holding her breath.
The footsteps approached. They hesitated at the corner.
Three… two… one.
The grey hoodie stepped around the bend.
Lianxue moved.
She didn't strike to kill. She struck to disable.
She grabbed the man's wrist as he reached for his pocket, yanking him forward. She used his own momentum to slam him face-first into the stone pedestal.
THUD.
"Guh!" The man grunted, stunned.
Before he could recover, Lianxue had his arm twisted behind his back, forcing him to his knees. She placed her knee between his shoulder blades and applied pressure.
"Who are you?" she hissed, her voice low and venomous.
The man struggled, but Lianxue's grip was iron. She found the pressure point on his elbow and dug her thumb in. He yelped.
"Talk, or I snap it."
"Crazy bitch!" the man gasped. "Let go! I'm just—I was just hired to take photos!"
"Photos?" Lianxue frowned. She reached into his pocket with her free hand and pulled out his phone. It was recording.
"Who hired you?" She twisted his arm harder. The joint popped warningly.
"I don't know! It was an anonymous request! On the Dark Web forum! They just wanted dirt on Jiang Lianxue! Anything compromising!"
Lianxue's mind raced. An anonymous request? Already?
She looked at the phone screen. There was a message notification.
Client: Did you get the shot? Is she alone?
Lianxue shoved the man's face into the dirt. "Get out of here. If I see you again, you won't walk away."
She released him.
The man scrambled up, clutching his arm, looking at her with terrified eyes. He had expected a rich sorority girl. He had found a demon. He ran, disappearing into the darkness.
Lianxue stood alone in the garden, the man's phone in her hand.
She looked at the message again.
Client: Did you get the shot? Is she alone?
She typed a reply.
Me: She's not alone. And she's watching you.
She hit send.
Almost instantly, the message was read. Then, the number blocked her.
Lianxue dropped the phone on the ground and crushed it under her heel. Glass crunched satisfyingly.
She didn't know who the client was. It could be a business rival of her father. It could be a jealous ex of Yichen. Or it could be…
"Lianxue?"
She spun around.
Lu Yichen was standing at the entrance of the garden path, silhouetted by the streetlights. He was staring at her.
"What are you doing in the dark?" he asked. His voice was curious, but there was an edge to it.
Had he seen?
Lianxue's heart hammered. She smoothed her skirt, instantly adjusting her posture. She went from lethal assassin to lost girl in a heartbeat.
"I… I thought I heard a cat," she said, walking toward him. "I got scared."
Yichen watched her approach. He didn't move. He looked at the crushed phone on the ground behind her.
"A cat," he repeated. He looked up at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. It didn't reach his eyes.
"You know, Xue'er," he said softly, stepping closer until they were chest to chest. "You really are full of surprises today."
He reached out and took her hand—the hand that had just nearly broken a man's arm. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"I hope you're not keeping secrets from me," he whispered against her skin. "I hate secrets."
Lianxue felt the cold dampness of his lips. She looked into his eyes and saw the abyss staring back.
He suspected something. Maybe not the truth, but something. The game had begun faster than she anticipated.
"I have no secrets, Yichen," she lied, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Only you."
As she pulled back, she saw a flicker of something over his shoulder. In the distance, on the balcony of the male dorms overlooking the garden.
A cigarette glowing in the dark.
Someone else had been watching.
Lianxue suppressed a shiver. The board was set. The pieces were moving.
"Let's go back," Yichen said, wrapping his arm around her waist tightly—too tightly. "I have a bottle of wine in my room. We should celebrate our reunion properly."
The threat hung in the air, unspoken but heavy.
Lianxue smiled, a ghost of a smile in the darkness.
"Lead the way, darling."
Take me to your lair, she thought. Let's see who eats whom.
As they walked away, the shattered phone in the dirt buzzed one last time, the screen flickering with a glitching light before dying completely.
[End of Chapter 1]