Standing inside the elevator, Yun Xi looked at her reflection in the mirror and gingerly pulled away the scarf wrapped around her face.
Her burning, scorched face was still seeping blood, while her biological mother, Liang Xiuqin's, harsh voice echoed in her ears.
"I asked you to give up your marriage for your second sister, and you caused her to have a heart attack, instead? How could I have ever given birth to a cursed child like you?!"
"No wonder the fortune teller said you would bring bad luck to your entire family! Not only did you kill my unborn son, but you also caused your dad to be unable to get a promotion or make a fortune, even until now!"
"By destroying your face, this marriage will now belong to your second sister. She's the only one who deserves to marry into the Jiang family!"
"Mom, no... Ah! My face..."
Inside the elevator, Yin Xi stared blankly at her horrific face, and her eyes were gloomy.
The moment the sulfuric acid was splashed onto her face, the intense burning had destroyed the last bit of affection remaining between her and Liang Xiuqin.
This marriage was absurd, to begin with.
Grandfather Yun had taken a bullet for Grandfather Jiang many years ago. In order to repay the debt, the two grandfathers decided on this arranged marriage even before Yun Xi was even born.
But afterward, she only had her bright moonlight in her heart and thus disregarded this marriage arrangement.
She had only delayed canceling this marriage for so long because her so-called "fiancé" still needed her to protect him and make it easy for him to fool around with other women and enjoy worldly pleasures.
As for Yun Xi, she used her status of "fiancée of the Jiang family" to smoothly navigate the world of business. She supported the bright moonlight in her heart the entire way to confidently claim the prized position of the CEO of the Han Corporation.
But now her face was ruined, so the rest of her life was probably ruined too...
The elevator chimed as it stopped on the 56th floor.
She jerked her mind back to reality and tightened the scarf around her face before exiting the elevator.
On her way there, she was already thinking that she would exert all efforts to repair her face as long as Han Yaotian didn't shun her!
It was already lunchtime, so there were barely any other people on the entire office floor.
Yun Xi squeezed the bento box in her hand as she reached out to knock on the door.
As soon as she touched the door handle, the low speaking voices of a man and woman suddenly sounded from inside the office. The quiet creaking noises didn't sound right at all.
Yun Xi's hand suddenly froze mid-knock.
"Yun Xi's greedy mother is fairly easy to manipulate after all. I had just randomly provoked her with a few words, and she actually threw sulfuric acid on her own daughter. She's disfigured now, so you only need to tell her a few nice things to trick her. As for the South District construction project, have her go to jail for you!"
"I wanted her to take the blame for the South District construction project for a long time now. But I still need to get the MR Virus formula from her first, since Huicheng Pharmaceuticals actually offered 300 million yuan to buy it from me. This huge sum of money would be enough to fill in the deficit from the gulf project."
There was a mix of pain and pleasure in the woman's voice, along with hints of smugness.
"How do you plan on rewarding me for sending Yun Xi, the idiot, to jail?"
The man laughed lewdly, his deep voice tinged with concealment, "Little fairy, what's the hurry? Once we get the formula from that b*tch, I'll be able to satisfy you with anything you want!"
With a loud bang, the ajar office door was pushed open.
Yun Xi stood at the doorway, her tearful eyes glaring fiercely at the man and woman pressed against the French windows.
One was the bright moonlight she exerted all efforts to support, and the other was her best friend.
Beware of fire, thieves, and best friends—this saying was truly right after all!
She didn't expect to end up in such a situation, all thanks to the plotting by the hands of her best friend and the man she loved.
Han Yaotian suddenly let go when he saw her. A hint of anxiety flashed across his smug face.
"Yun, Yun Xi... You, you have to let me explain..."
"What else do you need to explain? You already know she must have heard everything, from the look on her face. Yun Xi, hand over the MR Virus formula if you know what's good for you. With your hideous appearance, you probably shouldn't come out and scare people again. I'll help you take care of Yaotian from now on!"
Leaning against the window, Qiao Ximin smiled coyly as she wiggled her waist and pressed against Han Yaotian's body. She looked at Yun Xi smugly as a lethal glint appeared in her sharp eyes.
The atmosphere suddenly stiffened, and Yun Xi tightened her grip on the bento box before lifting her leaden legs to walk toward the two people.
In order to help Han Yaotian claim the CEO position of the Han corporation, she gave up on her career as a doctor and joined the laboratory.
In order to make up for the corporation's deficit, she even used her own body to experiment and test drug reactions. She nearly perished on the operating table!
She never expected that she was merely a chess piece that he could play to suit whatever needs were desired.
Snorting derisively, she began to laugh freely and with despair.
"Qiao Ximin, even if I die, don't you even dream of getting anything from me! I don't have a problem dragging you two to hell, or dragging the Han Corporation along either."
With a flourish of her hand, she threw the bento box down hard against Qiao Ximin's head.
Ripping off the scarf on her face, she directly lunged over and began to fight with her.
Qiao Ximin was so terrified, she screamed shrilly at the first glance of Yun Xi's horrific face.
In one moment, Qiao Ximin grabbed Yun Xi by the hair and pressed her face against the glass window before viciously slamming her on it!
Her face was ruined!
The man she loved was stolen away!
She had no future career prospects!
Everything was ruined by the hands of this woman here!
How could she have been so blind and not seen Qiao Ximin's true face in all these years?
But it was already too late now. Even if she had to go to jail, she wouldn't let this b*tch off!
The two women fought each other all the way to the balcony, and Yun Xi squeezed Qiao Ximin's neck with all her might. She was furious and insane!
Her back faced the man, so she didn't feel any danger directly approaching her!
Her legs were suddenly in the air as Han Yaotian grabbed them to find an opportunity to shove her outwards. Before she knew it, she had already been pushed off the railing.
The world spun, gravity pulling her down.
On the balcony, Han Yaotian and Qiao Ximin laughed maniacally as they watched her quickly fall to the ground like a bird with broken wings.
It was snowing. The first snow in the Jingdu brushed past her bloodied face as she closed her eyes unwillingly.
The wind whistled in Yun Xi's ears as she opened her eyes to see the dazzling sunlight filtering through the treetops.
She struggled to sit up, and the dull pain on her body made her feel like she had hurt her tendons and bones.
She scanned the surroundings and discovered that this wasn't a hospital or the business district, but rather a dense forest.
There was a faint moist smell in the air.
She remembered that she had been pushed off the building by Hao Yaotian, so how did she end up in a place like this?
She looked down to see that the skin on her arms had been cut by the tree branches and the clothes, that were several sizes too big, were hanging loosely on her body. Her jeans had been washed until they turned white and were also very old fashioned; the hems were already worn down.
These pants... why did she keep thinking they looked somewhat familiar, like the first pair of jeans she had worn when she was 16 years old?
That was the first time in her life she had worn new clothing, so the memory was vivid.
With trembling hands, she touched her face–her smooth and soft skin wasn't corroded and burnt from sulfuric acid, nor did she feel any pain.
She hadn't died!
She was still alive!
She had been reborn into the year she was 16!
When she realized this, Yun Xi suddenly recalled how this was the year her grandfather had sent someone to her uncle's home in the countryside to bring her back home to Jingdu. That was when her greedy Aunt had begun to have evil ideas in her head.
In order to allow her older cousin, Liang Xinyi, to replace Yun Xi and go to Jingdu instead, mother and daughter conspired to push her down the mountain after they tricked her uncle into leaving.
She was fortunate enough to have survived and returned home with a muddy face.
Her uncle had been the one to stand up for her, personally escorting her back to the Yun family and bringing her cousin—the false replacement—back home.
At this time, her auntie must have been frantically trying to send her cousin to the city. She must hurry back, no matter what!
She had lived too cowardly in her last life.
Since the heavens had given her another chance to live her life, she must live properly this time around!
She would send every single person who had conspired and harmed her in the last life straight to hell!
She glanced around and saw the forest swaying in the breeze around her. The wind was blowing to the front and right of her, so she should be able to walk out of the forest by following the wind's direction.
She suddenly remembered how she had used her identity of "fiancée of the Jiang family" all those years ago and cheated her way into training with the Flying Wolf Squad for a few months.
She didn't have high hopes that she had a very strong physique with her tiny, 16-year-old body. However, she hadn't forgotten anything about wilderness survival skills.
As the wind whistled, there was suddenly the addition of wolf howls.
Her subconscious alertness made her tense up!
As soon as she turned around, she instantly saw a dozen black and grey wolves approaching her from all directions.
The golden wolf eyes stared intently at her, and Yun Xi subconsciously stepped back.
It began to howl.
The wolf howls instantly snapped her mind back to focus, and her heels began to shake!
Before her eyes were definitely not huskies, but actual wolves!
It wasn't only one wolf, but an entire pack of wolves!
She exhaled sharply and instinctively bolted the way the wind was blowing!
Suddenly, the light grey wolf in the middle lunged toward her.
She flipped over and tumbled in the opposite direction.
Her 16-year-old body wasn't agile enough, so her movements were much slower as well.
As soon as the light grey wolf made its move, the other wolves in the pack quickly moved toward her in attack.
The surveillance camera hidden in the branches flashed several times, and the scene was recorded into the surveillance room on the other end.
The alarms in the surveillance room began to sound.
The bodyguards' eyes instantly widened as they watched the young girl battle against the wolf pack on screen.
They grabbed their radios to shout, "Someone broke into the forest! Hurry up and ask the boss to come here!"
Soon afterward, several men wearing dark green camo outfits walked in with authority. They stood in two rows as per their extensive training.
A man with a proud figure walked in from the doorway, with a fierce but lazy snow leopard following behind him.
His strapping figure evoked a sense of oppression.
His dark green, casual outfit cloaked his stalwart figure, and a pair of sunglasses sat atop of his finely chiseled and handsome face.
His invisible imperial aura instantly emanated and prevented anyone from directly looking at him.
The group of bodyguards stood with backs ramrod straight. "Boss!"
His arrival had instantly made the expansive surveillance room feel a bit crowded.
Behind the sunglasses, Mu Feichi's sharp and deep-set eyes were steeped with arrogance. His gaze fell on the figure currently battling the wolf pack on the surveillance monitors.
The movements were swift and vicious!
But upon closer inspection, it was actually... a young girl!
The young girl in the surveillance video was completely unarmed but managed to use a broken branch to hurt a few of the wolves.
The wild nature of the fierce beasts had been provoked, so the young girl would soon end up as the wolf pack's dinner.
Mu Feichi raised a brow slightly and coldly remarked, "Prepare a helicopter."
"Yes, Boss!"
Inside the helicopter, Mu Feichi had just sat down when the snow leopard also quickly jumped inside.
Inside the primary forest, Yun Xi was being crushed into the ground by a wolf. Its fierce claws quickly swiped at the top of her head!
The heavy strength suppressed her, but she managed to flip over with great difficulty.
Her hands firmly held the wolf's claws back as she bent her legs to viciously kick it on the stomach.
The grey wolf—half a human's height—was instantly kicked off to the side by her.
She instantly sat up and vigilantly watched the wolf pack surrounding her.
She ran into a wolf pack as soon as she was reborn, but she didn't recall herself being this unlucky in her previous life!
As she faced off against the eager eyes of the wolf pack, she suddenly felt her scalp go numb.
At that moment, the sound of a helicopter appeared above her head!
When the wolf pack heard the noise, they instantly stopped in their tracks and looked up at the source of the sound.
Seizing the opportunity, Yun Xi didn't even hesitate before bolting toward the other direction.
A rush of footsteps sounded behind her, but she didn't dare to turn back at all.
The noise became even more frantic, so she couldn't help but turn around to take a glance.
There was no wolf pack behind her, but there was only... a large cat chasing after her?
Upon closer inspection, that wasn't right!
Oh, my God!
This was no cat; this was a snow leopard!!
The snow leopard climbed up a tree in a few swift motions and used the branches to quickly leap in front of her.
It slammed to a sudden stop and directly blocked her path of escape.
Yun Xi's legs turned into jelly as she directly fell to the ground.
What kind of hellish place was this? There were wolf packs and snow leopards; this was a zoo of wild animals!
Earlier, she seemed to have heard the sound of helicopters. That meant other people were coming!
She quickly turned around, and a dark green figure walked toward her with his back facing the light.
She couldn't clearly discern his face but could feel a powerful aura surging toward her from all directions.
This was a powerful aura belonging to a high-ranking person!
Before she could even make out who was coming, the snow leopard blocking her path ahead suddenly lunged toward her.
Unprepared, she was knocked to the ground. As soon as she looked up, she saw the now-very-close snow leopard making a fierce expression at her.
She couldn't catch her breath, so her eyes locked straight ahead before she immediately passed out in fear.
The snow leopard looked at the little girl it had frightened into passing out and purposely used its snout to nudge her chin.
1When it noticed the girl truly wasn't giving any reaction, it looked up at its owner and put on a cute face of innocence.
It really hadn't intended to frighten the girl into passing out. Who knew this little girl would be so easily spooked?!
Mu Feichi petted the snow leopard's head and looked down at the battered and bruised young girl on the ground.
He had never expected this delicate, little body to be hiding such great strength!
The earlier surveillance footage of her battling the wolf pack was imprinted in his mind.
Her rapid, accurate, and vicious capture and attack methods were no less impressive than the soldiers he forged with ruthless training!
"If she wasn't a girl, she would be a pretty good trainee!"
Feng Rui bent down to assess the passed-out Yun Xi.
From the surveillance footage, it was indeed remarkable for her to have such explosive power at a young age!
Unfortunately, she was a young girl.
Leaning down, he was about to pick her up from the ground, but Mu Feichi was already a step ahead.
Feng Rui looked up in shock and widened his eyes like he was seeing a ghost. His expression was in complete disbelief.
Ever since Master Mu's mother passed away, he hadn't allowed any female creatures to approach within one meter!
He actually... picked up this young girl with his own hands!
Was it because the girl was so young that Mu Feichi was automatically disregarding her gender?
When Yun Xi regained consciousness, she was surrounded in complete darkness.
Sitting up abruptly, she looked around with vigilance.
She noticed there were no other people or wild animals, so she finally sighed in quiet relief.
Flipping on the main light switch, the entire room was illuminated.
This was a very masculine and spartan-style room.
It was finished with dark green carpet, a large, wooden bed with grey-green bed sheets, an office desk across from the bed, and all sorts of data drawings hung on the walls.
The room was very spacious with two starkly contrasting decorating styles.
One side was for office use, and the other was for relaxation, yet they didn't interfere with each other to create two individual spaces.
Without any particular trigger, she suddenly recalled the man who had gotten off the helicopter.
Although she hadn't seen his face clearly, that imposing aura had probably belonged to a tall and strongly built man.
Turning her head, she looked down at the men's T-shirt she was wearing as a dress.
The scratches on her arms, shoulders, and legs were wrapped in a thin layer of gauze, so she looked a bit like a mummy. It was a bit ridiculous.
She opened the door to go downstairs.
As soon as she walked to the top of the staircase, she heard the crack of glass breaking from downstairs.
"Get out!" A man's deep and harsh voice disrupted the peaceful quiet inside the living room.
Yun Xi stood at the top of the staircase as she watched the figures of a man and a woman in the living room.
The man was facing the French windows. He was dressed in a casual outfit, and his long legs and slender figure above his boots made up his proud figure.
Even though his back faced Yun Xi, she could already feel the powerful aura he was emitting at that moment.
"Master Mu, I'm begging you not to kick me out. No cars are leaving here this late at night. I'm just a girl and I'm afraid..."
Han Wanling had just reached out to touch his muscular and powerful arms when Mu Feichi rapidly brushed her way. His masculine strength directly threw Han Wanling onto the floorboards.
"Ah..." Han Wanling didn't expect to fall on the ground, so her hands directly pressed down on the glass shards on the floorboards. It hurt so much that she began to whine.
Mu Feichi turned around, raising his brows in disgust.
His slender fingers removed the casual jacket that Wan Wanling had touched before directly throwing it down her head.
Suddenly, a rush of heat rose up his body.
He looked down at the distraught woman fallen to the ground. Yet she hadn't forgotten to twist her waist and cross her legs in an attempt to feign aggrievedness.
Mu Feichi's inky eyes surged with unpredictable darkness. With just one glance, Han Wanling felt as if she had been cut by a sharp blade.
All of a sudden, it was like an invisible hand had clasped around her throat. She could only feel suffocation, so how could she remember to take the opportunity to seduce him?
Yun Xi was finally able to understand what was going on.
She turned around and was about to leave when her quiet movements alerted the keen man inside the living room.
"Stand right there!"
Yun Xi froze and rigidly moved back the leg she had just placed on the staircase.
"Come downstairs!"
Yun Xi turned around and obediently walked down under Mu Feichi's terrifying gaze.
Han Wanling didn't expect there to be other people in the house, so she turned around to assess her.
This wretched girl had popped out of nowhere and was actually wearing Master Mu's clothes!
From the looks of her body, she was just a barely pubescent, young girl!
She had no desirable figure or face, but could Master Mu actually be into this type?
No! That was impossible!
There were so many men who bowed down to her, so she had ample confidence in her allure!
Yun Xi looked up slightly as she stood before this man with such a powerful aura. Even though she had interrupted their business, she didn't appear even slightly harried or embarrassed at all.
Mu Feichi's sharp and icy gaze fixed tightly on her, but he somehow lost control because of her tender and exquisite face!
He finally noticed that something wasn't right!
He instantly turned around to look at the broken cups on the ground, his dark and somber eyes shining with chilliness.
"You spiked my drink?! Do you want to die?!"
Mu Feichi's handsome face was enraged. He ripped the tablecloth off the coffee table to throw all the teacups and tea platter onto Han Wanling.
Han Wanling wasn't able to dodge in time, so her eyes saw stars from the collision.
"I... Master Mu, I, I don't know what you're talking about!"
She instantly felt the embarrassment being seen right through by his glaring look. She kept her head down to avoid his frightening eyes.
Yun Xi finally looked at the woman standing behind Mu Feichi and clearly discerned her face. Her heart instantly jumped.
Wasn't this Han Yaotian's older sister, Han Wanling?
She was calling this man, "Master Mu..."
Yun Xi turned around to visually assess the man before her eyes. The handsome and harsh lines of his side profile appeared as sharp as a knife, and his expression emanated coldness that warned others against approaching.
As far as Yun Xi knew, there was only one exception of such a man in China. He possessed the most unique identity, held dual roles, was involved in two circles, used dual identities, and was born of a noble background!
He was the figure who had a god-like existence in China—Mu Feichi.
In Jingdu, there were three great noble families and four incredibly wealthy families with centuries of history.
Mu Feichi was the youngest clan leader of one of the three wealthy families, the Mu Clan. Mu Chongli was already a legendary character in Jingdu, but Mu Feichi was the son who had surpassed his father!
At a young age, he had made enough achievements to stand equally alongside his father.
In the entirety of Jingdu, Mu Feichi was the only one allowed to use the title of "Master Mu." As soon as the name "Master Mu" was mentioned, nearly everyone knew who was being referred to.
There was only one such major figure in China to be the youngest person to cross both circles.
Yun Xi had never expected that she would be trespassing into this man's territory as soon as she was reborn again!
She looked over, and, at that moment, her dark, glossy eyes collided with the other pair of eerie, eagle eyes; his lofty aura immediately commanded solemn respect.
Her heart rate increased rapidly.
Crouching down to pick up a shard of glass from the broken cup, she licked the water inside the groove and the faintly bitter taste permeated the tip of her tongue.
She had spent half her previous life inside a laboratory. As soon as she tasted it, she instantly knew what this apparently colorless and tasteless substance was.
There wasn't a high level of scopolamine, and it was very difficult to purify in this era. Presumably, Han Wanling spent much effort to get her hands on this.
"The water was definitely spiked by someone!"
She turned around to look at Mu Feichi, then her eyes finally locked on to Han Wanling's guilty face.
Han Wanling truly had no fear, since she hadn't even considered her target carefully before spiking the drink. If someone like Mu Feichi really had fallen into her trap, then he certainly wouldn't have allowed her to live through this.
No one enjoyed being tricked or used, nor did anyone enjoy being controlled by others. This was especially the case for a person with a unique identity like Mu Feichi.
They were accustomed to having control, so they wouldn't allow someone else to have the chance to control them.
However, Mu Feichi's sharp gaze fell upon Yun Xi's figure. There was a trace of scrutiny in his eyes.
This young girl could actually taste the drug in the water?
Han Wanling instantly panicked when the word "spike" was mentioned.
"No... Master Mu, I didn't do it! I never even touched your glass of water!"
She knew that he was a germaphobe who would never touch something that someone he didn't trust had touched before. That's why she merely dropped the drug along the wall of the glass!
Yun Xi squinted her eyes slightly and smiled with innocence. "I think we are the only three people in this house?"
Han Wanling suddenly whirled around to glare at Yun Xi, anxious to cover up her tracks.
"Stop speaking nonsense! What would a puny girl like you even know? Don't even dream of framing me for this!"
"Who did I frame?"
Yin Xi raised a brow and winked as she sat on the couch with an innocent expression. She crossed her legs and watched Han Wanling continue to dig a deeper grave for herself.
With such poor acting skills, she was truly making it more obvious the more she tried to hide!
Was she actually treating Mu Feichi like an idiot?
She remembered that Han Wanling's acting skills had been quite good in her last life!
When Han Wanling had colluded with her mother—who had climbed her way up as a mistress—to harm Yun Xi, their tricks came one after another. It was enough material to act out a bitter drama!
Why did Han Wanling's intelligence fail so badly when Yun Xi had met her earlier on in this new life?
"There are only three of us here. If you aren't framing me, then are you claiming that Master Mu was the one to spike his own drink with a date rape drug?"
Yun Xi snickered quietly, and her eyes curved into little crescents. She propped her chin up as she leaned against the sofa and reminded Han Wanling suggestively.
"I didn't say it was a date rape drug. You're going to admit it yourself so soon?"
"You..." Han Wanling suddenly realized she had a slip of the tongue, but it was already too late to take the words back.