When she died, she heard her unborn child's final cry—like a snapped lute string.
When her eyes reopened, the ink on the prenatal report declaring "6 Weeks Pregnant" was still damp.
The pale, gaunt face in the mirror reflected nothing of the soul that had crawled back from hell.
This time, she would make her enemies kneel before the graves they dug… and lie in them.
---
The cold metal forceps invaded the deepest part of Su Wan's body as her consciousness flickered like a dying candle in the wind. No anesthesia, only endless agony—as if she were being torn apart alive. She felt the gloved fingers, not her own, digging ruthlessly inside. The air reeked of blood and the sting of antiseptic.
"Ugh—!" A strangled scream died in her throat, dissolving into guttural whimpers. Sweat and tears soaked the filthy sheets beneath her. Her vision blurred; only the surgery lamp's stark halo exploded overhead like a gateway to hell.
Then, she heard it.
A cry—faint as a thread, fragile as a newborn kitten. The last mournful sound from the life that had once pulsed within her for seven months.
It ceased abruptly.
Like a string stretched to breaking, cruelly, carelessly severed.
Su Wan's body stiffened violently. All pain vanished in that instant, leaving only a cavernous void where her heart had been ripped out. Cold despair, tangible as floodwaters, drowned her last shreds of awareness.
"Zeyu… Baby… Our baby…" Her glazed eyes strained toward the surgery room door, her voice a hoarse whisper lost even to herself.
The response came clearly from outside—conversation laced with casual malice.
"Finally dealt with." It was Lin Weiwei's voice, usually cloaked in false sweetness, now venomous and cold. "Brother Zeyu, the Su family's fortune is truly ours now. That fool Su Wan died believing you loved her."
"Hmph. A country bumpkin they scraped up from nowhere deserves to be my wife? Just a stepping stone." Lu Zeyu's voice held a cruelty Su Wan had never heard—like knives dipped in ice, piercing her already shattered heart. "Weiwei, your flawless plan deserves credit. Making her 'accidentally' fall down the stairs into early labor… bribing the doctor… flawless. The Su family old fools and that brother of hers, Su Heng, just think it was a difficult birth. They're heartbroken. Perfect for us to take over Su Enterprises."
"Dear sister," Lin Weiwei's voice drew nearer, almost pressed against the door, dripping with feline cruelty, "Rest easy. Your position, your man, your Su family wealth and glory… I'll 'enjoy' them all for you."
Boom—!
Su Wan's last flicker of consciousness ignited into an inferno of hatred! So that was it! The fall! The difficult birth! All a meticulously crafted plot by this vile pair! They wanted her life! Her child's life! And to drain the Su family dry!
Lu Zeyu! Lin Weiwei!
If there is a next life, I, Su Wan, will drink your blood and feast on your flesh! I will make you beg for death yet find no release! I will drag you to eternal damnation!
Searing venom and resentment burned through her soul like wildfire, threatening to consume her to ash. As her consciousness plunged into the abyss, only this blood-soaked curse remained, carved into her bones.
---
Gasp—!
Su Wan jolted awake from the suffocating nightmare, gasping like a dying fish. Her chest heaved; her heart hammered against her ribs as if to shatter them. Cold sweat drenched her silk pajamas, clinging clammily to her skin.
The cold, blood-stenched surgery room was gone.
A crystal chandelier bathed the spacious bedroom in soft, warm light. Beneath her was the smooth luxury of Egyptian cotton sheets. The familiar scent of her mother's calming essential oils hung in the air.
This was… her bedroom in the Su family mansion?
She was back? Back to before the hell began?
Su Wan sat bolt upright, a familiar, dull ache pulling at her lower abdomen. Trembling, she threw back the velvet duvet, her hand flying to her flat stomach.
A life was growing there.
The realization struck her chaotic mind like lightning.
She frantically scanned the room. The digital calendar on the nightstand read clearly: April 12, 20XX. On the vanity sat a folded report. She lunged for it, fingers stiff and icy with tension, fumbling to grasp the flimsy paper.
Unfolded.
"Early Pregnancy Ultrasound Report." Name: Su Wan. Findings: Intrauterine pregnancy, approx. 6 weeks gestation. Yolk sac and primitive cardiac pulsation visualized.
6 Weeks Pregnant! The moment she had confirmed the pregnancy, overflowing with joy to tell Lu Zeyu, only to be coaxed into keeping it secret from the Su family with his lies about his "career taking off" and the "bad timing"!
She was truly back! Back to the starting point where tragedy first bared its fangs! Back when she still had a chance to change everything, to make them pay in blood!
Overwhelming elation washed over her like a tidal wave. But the next instant—the bone-deep agony, the baby's silenced cry, the couple's vicious words outside the door—fragments of her past life pierced her soul like poisoned ice daggers!
"Ugh!" Su Wan clutched her head, doubling over, nails digging crescent moons into her palms. Her body shook violently with hatred and the storm of emotions from this second chance.
Hatred! All-consuming hatred churned in her chest!
Lu Zeyu! The wolf in gentleman's clothing! He'd ensnared her, the fool starved for love and belonging, in a web of false tenderness, slowly draining her dry! Lin Weiwei! Her "bosom friend"! Beneath that pitiful facade hid venomous envy and greed! Together, they had pushed her into the abyss, not even sparing her unborn child!
Tears surged uncontrollably—not the helpless tears of her past life, but molten lava forged in hellfire!
She snapped her head up, glaring at the large floor-length mirror.
The woman reflected was pale, haggard, with dark circles under eyes still haunted by past terrors and a trace of stupid, lingering hope for love. That look of weakness and vulnerability stabbed at Su Wan's eyes.
No! She was no longer that Su Wan to be slaughtered!
She was an avenger clawing her way back from hell with a broken soul!
Stumbling to the vanity, Su Wan slammed her hands onto the cold glass, staring fiercely at the familiar-yet-alien reflection. She drew a deep, shuddering breath, then exhaled slowly, each movement radiating resolve to tear the past apart.
"Su Wan…" she rasped at her reflection, her voice like sandpaper, "Look at you! Fool! Weakling! Deserving of being schemed to death!"
Her gaze shifted. The former softness and timidity receded like a tide, replaced by a cold, hard, bone-deep hatred seeping from her very marrow. Her eyes sharpened into blades, glinting with venom and ice, as if they could pierce the glass and stab her enemies' hearts!
"Lu Zeyu… Lin Weiwei…" She ground out their names, syllable by bloody syllable. "The pain you inflicted… I will return it a hundredfold! A thousandfold!"
Her fist slammed into the mirror!
Thud! A muffled crack. The glass splintered instantly, a spiderweb of fractures slicing the pale, haggard face into shards. Blood welled from her split knuckles, snaking down to bloom like despairing, eerie spider lilies on the pristine surface.
Su Wan felt no pain. She stared only at the fragmented reflections of her own furious eyes.
"In this life…" Her voice dropped, unnervingly calm yet resolute, like the dead sea before a storm. "I, Su Wan, live only for revenge!" "I will ruin you!" "I will leave you destitute!" "I will make you…" A blood-tinted, lifeless smile touched her lips, chilling as a demon's. "…kneel before me and watch everything you cherish turn to dust! Then, you will lie in the graves you dug yourselves!" "Blood debts…" Her voice was steel. "…demand blood repayment!"
Each word was a curse carved into her soul, absolute and irrevocable. The bedroom's warm light seemed powerless against the thick aura of icy hatred and killing intent now enveloping her.
---
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A polite, deliberately gentle knock shattered the suffocating silence.
"Wanwan? Are you awake? Breakfast is ready." Lu Zeyu's voice, still perfectly gentle, laced with calculated concern, sounded from outside—a well-rehearsed script. "You said you felt unwell last night. Better now? Should I ask Cook Zhang to make bird's nest congee?"
That familiar voice was a serpent's tongue flicking against her eardrum, igniting the suppressed fury in her chest! His cold, venomous words from her deathbed echoed like a curse!
Su Wan's body tensed like a coiled predator, eyes flashing with lethal cold. She nearly lost control, the urge to tear his mask off surging through her!
But she bit her lip hard, the taste of blood flooding her mouth. The sharp pain cooled her boiling bloodlust for a crucial second.
No! Not yet!
She had just returned, weak. Lu Zeyu and Lin Weiwei's plot was just beginning; there might be others involved. Her Su family parents and elder brother, Su Heng, likely held more disappointment than trust for their "love-struck," "hopeless" true heiress. She needed time! Evidence! Power!
Reckless revenge would only repeat the past!
Su Wan drew a deep, silent breath, forcing down the hatred threatening to burst from her chest. She looked at the dried blood on her knuckles and the shattered mirror. Her eyes swiftly regained their icy stillness, like dead water beneath thick ice.
She needed to pretend. At least until she was ready to tear off their masks and grind them into the mud, she needed the skin of the "obedient wife" and the "gullible friend."
She quickly grabbed tissues, wiped the blood from her hand, swept the bloodied tissues and larger glass shards into the trash bin, hiding them under other refuse. The cracked mirror had to stay for now. She avoided looking at it.
Finished, she walked to the door and turned the lock.
Outside, Lu Zeyu stood impeccably dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, radiating gentle warmth, holding a cup of warm milk. Morning sun slanted through the hallway window, gilding him in a flattering light—the picture of a handsome, devoted husband.
To Su Wan, that handsome face now hid fangs more grotesque than any demon's.
"Zeyu." Su Wan spoke, her voice deliberately raspy and weak. She lowered her gaze, avoiding his seemingly affectionate but calculating eyes, hiding the murderous cold beneath. "I… I have a headache. Not hungry." She shifted slightly, letting him see her pallor and faint dark circles—no acting needed; the shock and hatred had done that.
Lu Zeyu's gaze swept the room, pausing almost imperceptibly on the shattered mirror. A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes, quickly buried under deeper "concern."
"What happened? Bad dream?" He entered, placing the milk on the nightstand. His hand reached out naturally to embrace her shoulder, voice dripping with tenderness. "You look terrible. Didn't sleep well? Don't be scared, I'm here."
His hand neared her shoulder. Su Wan's body stiffened minutely. A wave of violent nausea surged up her throat! His icy deathbed words screamed in her ears! She almost recoiled!
No! Endure!
Su Wan's nails dug into her palms again, pain forcing calm. She sidestepped subtly, feigning to reach for the water glass on the nightstand, evading his touch. "Mmm, a terrible nightmare," she said, sipping the cold water. It soothed the burning hatred slightly, lending her voice more "authenticity." "Dreamt… dreamt I lost the baby…" She let vulnerability and fear show, her hand instinctively moving to her abdomen.
The gesture and words perfectly explained her state and fit her "newly pregnant and anxious" persona.
Sure enough, the last trace of doubt vanished from Lu Zeyu's eyes, replaced by calculating "pity." He sat on the bed, his voice syrup-sweet, coaxing. "Silly, dreams are the opposite. Our baby will be fine. It's just the timing… You know I'm still proving myself at Su Enterprises. Dad and your brother are watching me. If they hear about the pregnancy now, they might think I'm distracted. Bad impression."
The same lies! Last life, this "considerate" reasoning had tricked her into secrecy, isolating her within the Su family, paving the way for their plot!
Su Wan sneered inwardly, outwardly showing hesitant hurt. "But… it's our child. Mom, Dad, and Brother… they'd be happy…"
"Wanwan," Lu Zeyu took her hand, gazing at her with soulful intensity, as if she were his universe. "Just wait a little longer, okay? Let me achieve something, earn Dad and Su Heng's real approval. Then we'll announce it properly, with everyone's blessing. For our future, for our child to grow up secure… bear with it for now? Trust me?"
His palm was warm. His words were poison coated in honey.
Su Wan fought the urge to snatch her hand back and slap him, nausea churning. She lowered her lashes, hiding the icy contempt.
For the future? For the child? Ha! To make it easier for you to strike!
She pretended to struggle, then nodded faintly, voice barely audible. "…Okay. I'll listen to you."
"Good girl." Lu Zeyu smiled, satisfied, like a child with a new toy. He patted her hand. "Rest more. Drink the milk. I have an early meeting." He stood, straightened his suit, the picture of the elite again. "Okay," Su Wan murmured, eyes downcast.
Lu Zeyu turned and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.
The click of the latch was the trigger. The fragile, submissive mask vanished. Su Wan's head snapped up. Her eyes were Siberian ice, sharp as honed blades, boring into the closed door!
She darted to the door, listening until his footsteps faded, then turned the lock. Leaning against the cold wood, she allowed herself to gasp, the suppressed hatred and nausea crashing back.
She rushed to the bathroom, turned the faucet on full, and scrubbed the hand he'd touched until the skin was raw. The icy water flowed, unable to wash away the deep-seated filth and loathing.
"Lu Zeyu… Lin Weiwei…" She stared at her pale, cold-eyed reflection, mouthing the names soundlessly, each syllable dripping with lethal intent. "Wait… The show has just begun!"
Drying her hands, her gaze regained its icy composure. She didn't return to bed. Instead, she went straight to the personal safe in her room—a gift from her parents when she returned to the Su family, holding her valuables and documents.
Su Wan knelt, fingers flying over the combination lock—not the birthday code Lu Zeyu thought she foolishly shared, but the password she'd accidentally discovered he used for a secret offshore account in her past life.
Beep. The safe opened.
Inside, beyond jewelry and cash, lay important documents. Su Wan ignored the gems. She pulled out an old, non-smart backup phone and a thick manila envelope.
She opened the envelope. Inside were copies of the draft, unsigned prenuptial agreement between her and Lu Zeyu, and… several covert photos of Lu Zeyu and Lin Weiwei in compromising situations! Though the angles weren't perfect, their posture and exchanged glances screamed intimacy beyond friendship!
These were the "evidence" she'd collected in her past life, only to be gaslit by Lu Zeyu's excuses of "work necessity" and "playing a part," even believing she was paranoid! Locked away, a testament to her folly and despair!
Now, they were her first sharp blade of revenge!
Su Wan's finger traced Lu Zeyu's hand on Lin Weiwei's waist in a photo. Her eyes showed no emotion, only icy stillness. She picked up the old phone, swiftly inserting a brand-new, unregistered SIM card.
Power on.
The screen glowed faint blue.
Drawing on fragmented memories, she dialed a number. Zhao Lei. The personal assistant her elder brother Su Heng trusted implicitly—silent, fiercely capable, loyal only to Su Heng.
The call connected. A calm, brief male voice: "Hello?"
Su Wan didn't speak immediately. She walked to the window, pulling back a curtain corner. Morning sun glared. Below, a gardener trimmed precious roses. She looked at the vibrant blooms, her gaze seeming to pierce time, seeing her enemies' future ruin.
Into the phone, her voice was unnervingly calm—no tremor of rebirth, no vulnerability, only the icy, absolute clarity forged in hell:
"Assistant Zhao, it's Su Wan. Book me an appointment. Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dr. Lin Xue, Downtown Central Hospital. Today, 2 PM." She paused, her gaze falling on the envelope. "Also," her voice remained steady, "investigate two people. I need all their abnormal bank transactions, asset changes for the past three months… and all traceable hotel registry documents." "Names are—" She uttered the names etched into her soul, a sentence of doom. "Lu Zeyu." "Lin Weiwei."