Reincarnation: lord is extremely hardcore

Chapter 1: Never Bow Down

Smack!

The sound of the slap rang crisp and clear through the banquet hall. Mu Rulan's cheek burned with a numbing pain, the metallic taste of blood flooding her mouth.

Not a single onlooker showed any sympathy. Dressed in their finest, clutching glasses of red wine and champagne, they watched with cold, mocking smiles curling at their lips.

"Say that again!" Mu Zhenyang trembled with rage, his eyes shooting blood-red fury. Anyone watching might have thought Mu Rulan was his enemy, not his own flesh and blood daughter.

Mu Rulan stood in her school uniform, now stained with red wine. Her back was straight as a birch tree, stubborn and unyielding. Her eyes blazed with defiance, her fists clenched tight at her sides. "I was right!"

"You-"

"Father... no, Uncle Mu, it's my fault. Please don't blame sister. I overestimated myself..." Bai Suqing's voice was soft and fragile, a deep handprint blooming across her pitiful cheek. She shook her head, but even her cascading hair couldn't hide the mark. The sight of it sent another wave of fury through Mu Zhenyang. He lashed out with another slap, sending Mu Rulan crashing to the floor.

In front of so many outsiders, without a moment's hesitation, he struck his own daughter-twice-for an interloper. This was her father.

Mu Rulan sat on the ground, a faint, bitter smile tugging at her lips-but her eyes, against her will, burned red.

She was wronged. Bai Suqing had been in her home for only half a year, yet she'd stolen her parents, her brother, her lover. Mu Rulan had always thought perhaps she truly was the one at fault. But Bai Suqing had admitted it to her face-every bit of it was calculated. While Mu Rulan had naively believed she was gaining a sweet little sister to cherish, Bai Suqing had schemed to have her gang-raped by school thugs. Then she'd played the savior, comforting Mu Rulan and earning her gratitude-only to leak the video online the very next day. Humiliated, disgraced, even her fiancé's family had cast her aside for being "impure."

She'd tried to explain to her friends, her parents, her brother. All she got in return were cold stares and ridicule. "Mu Rulan, you're despicable. Suqing has been so good to you, and you slander her behind her back. No wonder those things happened to you-it's karma. You deserve it!"

Yes. She deserved it. She deserved it for being blind and stupid. She'd always been stubborn, and she couldn't bear the pain of being abandoned by everyone she loved. After a few failed attempts to defend herself, she'd stopped trying. She lived by one belief: Those who truly care about you don't need your explanations. Those who don't, won't believe them anyway.

Since they wouldn't believe her, she'd cast them out of her heart. She remained the same stubborn, proud girl. She couldn't out-scheme the schemer, but she could keep her distance. A family that could be stolen away-she didn't want them. A lover and friends who could be taken-she didn't want them either. But she never expected that black-hearted little white lotus to leave her no way out. When she came back to gather her belongings, Bai Suqing wouldn't let it go. She'd said she couldn't believe Mu Rulan had the nerve to show her face again. Mu Rulan had replied that she had every right to be there-unlike a pheasant who'd lost her own parents and came crawling into someone else's home, thinking a change of address could turn her into a phoenix.

And so, the little white lotus had her crony slap herself, then burst into tears. And with so many "champions of justice" around-including her own parents and brother-they all flocked to Bai Suqing's side.

Mu Rusen sneered coldly. Having a sister like that-he must have been cursed in a past life.

Mu Rulin stood at the back of the crowd, his gaze icy, as if watching a stranger's drama unfold.

"Apologize! Now!" Mu Zhenyang was furious. Hadn't this daughter brought him enough shame? He truly regretted not strangling her the day she was born-at least then she wouldn't be here today, making a spectacle of herself!

"Rulan, apologize to Qingqing! You're her older sister-how could you say such things to her? Apologize this instant!" Her mother, Ke Wanqing, held Bai Suqing in her arms, soothing her, while shooting Mu Rulan a sharp, icy glare that carried more than a hint of threat.

Mu Rulan's gaze was cold. She stood up, ignoring everyone, and walked straight toward the exit. Her back was straight, her frame thin and fragile-but no one, not even the parents who gave her life, would ever make her bow her head. Today, she'd spoken one truth and been publicly humiliated by her own parents. If she'd raised a hand against Bai Suqing, they'd probably want her drawn and quartered.

"If you take one step out that door without apologizing, the Mu family no longer has a daughter!" Mu Zhenyang was so enraged he looked ready to grab a stick and beat her. She was challenging his authority as her father and head of the household! How dare she disobey him!

Mu Rulan's fists clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms. Without a word, she kept walking toward the door. A family like this-whoever wanted it could have it. She had hands and feet. Even if she had to beg on the streets for the rest of her life, she would never set foot in this house again!

Behind her, angry curses rang out. Mu Rulan acted as if she hadn't heard. The bright moonlight spilled over her, making her look lonely and gaunt.

She had just reached the roadside when Bai Suqing's anxious voice came from behind. "Sister! Sister, don't be rash! It's my fault-don't go, I'll leave! Sister..."

Mu Rulan ignored her. Headlights blazed ahead, stinging her eyes.

"What's the rush?" The previously fragile voice turned sharp and piercing. Bai Suqing grabbed Mu Rulan's arm, a mocking smile curling at her lips. "I'm not done playing yet."

"What more do you want? I've got nothing left. What else could you possibly take?" Mu Rulan shook her off and stared at her coldly, her expression defiant-as if she didn't care about everything that had been stolen from her.

Bai Suqing narrowed her eyes. "I want to see you cry! I want to see you groveling on your knees like a dog! I want to see you filthy and worthless as an ant-but why won't you cry?" She loathed Mu Rulan's pure, untouchable air. Even after being raped, even after her body was tainted, she still carried herself with the innocent clarity of a child-and that made Bai Suqing want to tear her apart.

Mu Rulan's lips curved into a cold, stubborn smile. "Then I'm afraid you'll never get what you want. Not in this lifetime."

"Then go die!" A flash of murderous intent crossed Bai Suqing's eyes-and she shoved Mu Rulan straight into the middle of the road.

BANG!

Shock froze on Mu Rulan's face like a photograph. Every bone in her body screamed in agony. Crimson blood spread rapidly from her skull. Her neck twisted at an odd angle, her vision hazy as she stared ahead.

She saw Bai Suqing's vicious, smug, contemptuous smile. She saw her family running over. She saw that the man who'd run her down was the one she'd once loved with every fiber of her being.

That shove had been so blatant-anyone with eyes could see it.

And yet-they all seemed perfectly happy to see her dead.

Mu Zhenyang said: "Don't take it to heart. This wasn't your fault."

Ke Wanqing held the "traumatized" Bai Suqing in her arms, soothing her: "It's alright. I still have you-my good daughter, dearer to me than my own flesh and blood."

"Tch. That kind of woman deserved to die long ago. Having her alive was nothing but an embarrassment!" Mu Rusen had his hands in his pockets, chewing gum, looking at the body lying in the road like it was nothing but trash.

"I've loved only you-from beginning to end." The same man who'd just run her over now declared his undying love to Bai Suqing with all the devotion in the world.

Her consciousness began to fade. In her last moment before death, amid the hatred, a strange sense of envy and admiration flickered through her. To be able to kill someone in plain sight and be comforted for it-that was a kind of success, wasn't it?