Ye Wanwan opened her eyes.
She met a pair of eyes that filled her with terror, shaking her to the very depths of her soul.
"Ah—"
The girl's pale fingers suddenly clutched the sheets beneath her tightly.
The tearing pain in her body surged back to life, as if she were reliving it all over again.
Was this hell?
Why, when she had clearly died, had she returned here, back to this man's side?
Her mind was a fog of confusion, scorched by the man's searing heat. Instinctively, she resisted, "Don't touch me!!"
The man's movements halted, then, as if a forbidden scale had been touched, his bloodthirsty face darkened like storm clouds. His cold, sharp lips descended with devastating ferocity, biting down as if to devour her bones and blood whole.
In an instant, the pain overwhelmed Ye Wanwan, leaving her unable to think of anything else. She could only murmur unconsciously, "Why... why me... Si Yehan... why does it have to be me..."
"Because, only you."
The man's low, hoarse voice echoed in her ear, like a shackle binding even her soul.
Hearing the same answer as in her previous life, Ye Wanwan slipped into unconsciousness.
...
When she opened her eyes again, the window had shifted from night to day.
The air was filled with a refreshing floral scent, and the warm morning sunlight streamed through the lattice, easing her mind involuntarily.
Yet, in the next second, Ye Wanwan's nerves tensed sharply.
An overwhelming pressure spread through the room as the man awoke.
The arm around her waist tightened abruptly, holding her like a pillow in his embrace.
"Still running away?"
The chilling voice whispered in her ear.
Driven by survival instinct, Ye Wanwan nodded vigorously without thinking.
The man, unsure if he believed her, let his gaze linger on her face for a moment. Then, he lowered his eyes, kissing her lips bit by bit, her chin, her neck...
His heavy, scorching breath buried in her neck sent constant signals of danger.
Ye Wanwan froze like a fawn caught by the throat, not daring to move.
After what felt like an eternity, the man finally released her.
In the next instant, Ye Wanwan's eyes were met with an utterly alluring sight.
The man rose from the bed half-naked, the backlight outlining his tall, slender form and lean waist.
The view lasted only a moment before he picked up the clothes by the bed, his long fingers meticulously buttoning his shirt up to the very top collar.
Just moments ago, he had been as savage as a beast, yet now his strikingly handsome face was icy cold, devoid of any earthly warmth.
Only when the door closed did Ye Wanwan's taut nerves finally unwind.
At last, she could sort through her current predicament.
She slowly surveyed the room's furnishings and then the mirror on the opposite dressing table, reflecting a self both familiar and strange—
In the mirror, the girl's black lipstick was gnawed away to faint remnants, her smoky makeup smeared by tears and sweat. Her body, marked with bruises and hickeys, was covered in large, bloody, terrifying tattoos.
To escape Si Yehan, she had deliberately made herself look this ugly and repulsive.
She had... truly been reborn...
In that instant, immense fear and despair nearly suffocated her.
She had returned to that night seven years ago, when Si Yehan, in his fury over her escape, had forcibly claimed her!
Why...
Why make her relive seven years ago!
Even death was better than returning here, back to this man's side.
Because of him, she had lost her lover, her family, her dignity—her entire life destroyed!
Did she have to endure it all again?
No, since heaven had granted her a second chance, she would change everything!