"Okay, Auntie. Be careful on your way!"
Jiang Leyi hung up with a sweet smile, only to turn and meet Shenruxue’s intense gaze.
"Well?" Shenruxue pressed.
"I definitely have photos of my auntie. But my future stepmom? Not so sure."
Jiang Leyi studied her best friend thoughtfully. Shenruxue’s fascination with her family felt... off. It wasn’t just casual curiosity—it was a fierce, almost obsessive need to know everyone around Jiang Leyi. Vaguely, Jiang Leyi sensed Shenruxue’s love for these people rivaled her own. Maybe even burned hotter.
Except for that stunningly beautiful future stepmom. Shenruxue’s glare held pure hostility—like she wanted to flay her alive.
Asking for photos earlier hadn’t been innocent curiosity. It was raw hunger.
In the six months they’d been friends, Jiang Leyi had never seen the academy’s icy, untouchable beauty queen lose control like this. Not even when Shenruxue had crept into her father’s room to sniff his clothes. Or when Jiang Leyi caught her slipping a pair of his boxers into her pocket.
If the sting in her palm wasn’t still sharp from slapping Shenruxue’s wrist, Jiang Leyi would’ve thought she was dreaming. Whatever her friend was scheming, she had to redirect that dangerous focus.
"I’ve got photos of my dad though," Jiang Leyi offered lightly. "Home shots, work shots... Want to see?"
She’d saved them years ago, joking she’d sell his photo album for pocket money someday. But Jianglai had never let her want for anything. Though raised by a single father, she’d lacked nothing materially. Still, Jiang Leyi hoarded worries like coins. Even in happiness, her mind flashed red warnings—*What if we go broke? What if we starve?*
She had a secret stash, known only to her auntie. They’d promised each other: *Someday, we’ll take care of Jianglai. No more overwork. No more exhaustion.*
"Y-your father’s?" Shenruxue’s cheeks flushed slightly. Her fingers twisted a strand of hair. "I’d... love to see them."
No hiding it now. When she’d learned Jianglai had cheated on her—*her*, his wife—Shenruxue had nearly revealed her true identity on the spot. She’d imagined tying him to the bed, draining every drop of that pent-up desire from decades of loneliness. *Make him forget other women. Like before.*
Back when they first married, Shenruxue had been insatiable. No longer the shy girlfriend—just a seductress claiming her husband day and night until he lay spent. *Let those wildflowers try their luck then.* That relentless passion had gotten her pregnant fast. She’d craved more of that intoxicating closeness... until Jianglai left for an open-ended business trip right before Lunar New Year.
The separation should’ve hurt. Instead, relief washed over her. *What if he’s forgotten me? What if he loves this new woman?*
She knew Jianglai had loved her to the bone once. Only her dying plea—"Take care of our daughter. Our sister. Our parents."—had kept him from following her to the grave.
But years had passed. Their daughter was grown. Her little sister no longer hid behind her skirts. Everything had changed. Could his love survive time and distance? The thought ached like a fresh wound.
*If he loves someone else now... I’d understand.* She’d abandoned her duties as wife, mother, daughter. Since reincarnating, she’d burned to return to him—to their daughter. Yet reality crushed her: reborn as a helpless child, what could she do but wait?
She’d plotted for years. Then Jianglai’s sudden transformation shattered her plans.
Her heart had always belonged to him. From their first meeting in her past life. Through decades of rebirth. He was her first love. Her everything.
*Selfish? Unreasonable?* She didn’t care.
Jianglai was hers yesterday. He’d be hers forever. Even if he loved another.
She’d reclaim him—by any means. No matter how vile.
Since she couldn’t see him yet... she’d eliminate the homewrecker first.
*Let the world call me the other woman.* Shenruxue’s resolve hardened. *No one steals my husband. No one makes my child call them "Mom."*
She’d destroy anyone who tried.
