Thunder rolled in the distance, and flashes of lightning split the sky outside the glass dome. The grand ballroom sparkled with crystal chandeliers, laughter, and clinking glasses. But inside Wu Mei's heart, there was only one sound — the deafening echo of betrayal.
She stood frozen, wine glass trembling in her hand, as the memories of her previous life flooded back.
This night. This exact moment.
Two years ago, she had stood here at this same award ceremony. She had trusted her boyfriend, He Sheng, even when her instincts screamed otherwise. That night, he handed her a glass of wine, laced with something she couldn't have known.
"I don't feel well," she had whispered then, just as she did now. "I don't want to drink."
He had looked at her with that same cold smile. "Wu Mei, don't make me say it again."
The same words.
She had obeyed back then. She drank.
And everything had changed.
Just like before, she could feel the world beginning to blur. But this time… she gripped the glass tighter. Her rebirth wasn't for nothing.
Wu Mei's eyes scanned the room. There — the tall figure entering the hall. Cold, magnetic, and dressed in a sharp black suit that matched the chill in his gaze.
Qin Yanzhou.
Her heart skipped a beat.
In her past life, she had spent every moment trying to escape him. He was obsessive, possessive, and utterly relentless. But he was also the only one who truly saw her. The only one who had ever tried to protect her — even from herself.
That night, two years ago, as the drug overtook her, it was Yanzhou who had caught her when she stumbled. He took her from the ceremony, carried her to his penthouse, and stayed with her.
They spent the night together.
And the next morning?
"Get lost!" she had screamed when she saw him beside her in bed. "I don't want to see you again!"
She had been cruel. She hadn't known the truth then.
That her boyfriend didn't love her. That her stepsister wanted her destroyed.
Wu Yue — the adopted daughter of the Wu family — had taken everything. Her parents' love, her reputation, and He Sheng's affection. She burned Wu Mei alive — literally.
"I'll destroy you today," Wu Yue had said, laughter in her eyes as the flames roared. "Everything should've been mine! This is all your fault!"
Qin Yanzhou came for her again, dragging her from the fire. But it was too late. She was disfigured, broken, and discarded by He Sheng like she meant nothing. Trapped in Yanzhou's estate, Wu Mei couldn't bear to look at herself in the mirror.
She shattered a bottle in rage.
"A-Yan, get out!" she had screamed at him, blood dripping from her palm.
He stepped over the shards, unflinching.
"You're not ugly, Wu Mei," he said quietly. "You'll never be ugly to me. Don't ever leave my side."
He pulled her into his arms, laid her gently on the bed, and kissed her like she was the most fragile, precious thing in the world.
That night, they held each other — not out of passion, but pain.
But her nightmare didn't end there. Wu Yue and He Sheng conspired again, and this time… they used her to get to him.
Qin Yanzhou died protecting her.
His final words haunted her.
"Wu Mei… will you love me, even once?"
Tears had streamed down her face as she held his bloodied body. "A-Yan… I love you. I'm sorry I didn't love you sooner. If there's another life… I'll choose you. Only you."
And then—darkness.
But now, as the chandelier lights sparkled above and her fingers tightened around the wine glass, Wu Mei smiled coldly.
This life? She wouldn't waste it.
She wouldn't trust snakes. She wouldn't run from Yanzhou.
This time, she would love him.
And destroy everyone who once tore them apart.