Chapter 1

The expansive floor-length mirror reflected a slender figure. The woman in the mirror had fair skin, and though her features were no longer as youthful and beautiful as they once were, they exuded a grace honed by time. The corners of her lips curled slightly, her demeanor poised and elegant. Though her attire appeared simple at first glance, intricate details revealed its exquisite craftsmanship.

Fang Junrong’s expression grew distant, her hand unconsciously rising to touch her face. The woman in the mirror mirrored her movement. How long had it been since she last saw herself like this?

Well-dressed, gentle in temperament—not disheveled, wretched, and despised by all.

As one of China’s most renowned billionaires, with a husband equally wealthy, an outstanding son, and a lively, adorable daughter, Fang Junrong should have been the envy of all—a true winner in life. Yet, after the arrival of her daughter-in-law, Jiang Yage, her life had spiraled relentlessly into ruin.

Jiang Yage was the daughter of her husband’s college friend. After her parents died in a car accident, her husband, Li Wangjin, took pity on her—orphaned and surrounded by predatory relatives—and brought her into the Li household. At first, Fang Junrong had treated her kindly, considering Jiang Yage’s father a friend and finding the girl pitiable yet well-mannered. But as conflicts between Jiang Yage and her daughter, Li Xinyun, grew more frequent, that fondness gradually faded.

Both her husband, Li Wangjin, and her son, Li Shize, favored Jiang Yage, always taking her side in disputes and blaming Xinyun. How could Fang Junrong possibly like her under such circumstances? In the end, her son, Li Shize, even fell in love with Jiang Yage, repeatedly defying his own mother for her sake and treating his younger sister with cold indifference. To make matters worse, Jiang Yage seemed to have a knack for stirring up trouble—yet, as if blessed by the God of Fortune, she always emerged unscathed, while those around her suffered the consequences. Fang Junrong’s precious daughter, Xinyun, bore the brunt of it, her face disfigured and her personality growing increasingly withdrawn.

Back then, Fang Junrong had loathed Jiang Yage with every fiber of her being, desperate to drive her away. Yet both her husband and son stood firmly against her, condemning and despising her instead.

“Yage is already heartbroken—how can you keep blaming her? She never meant for this to happen. You’re just lashing out unreasonably. You’re not the understanding wife I remember anymore.”

“If my sister hadn’t kept such unsavory company, she wouldn’t have been targeted. Suffering a little now is better than suffering greatly later. Once things settle down, we’ll send her abroad for reconstructive surgery.”

Their cold, unfamiliar expressions were seared into her memory, chilling her to the bone. Her family had shattered from that moment on. Fang Junrong had once sought revenge, but Jiang Yage was fiercely protected by powerful figures. Their interference thwarted her at every turn, until finally, her own son and husband personally delivered her to a psychiatric hospital.

During her time there, everyone called her mad—a woman who couldn’t appreciate such a wonderful daughter-in-law, who brought ruin upon herself through her own actions, leaving her abandoned and alone. When news arrived that her daughter, Li Xinyun, had jumped to her death, Fang Junrong drew her last breath in bitter darkness. And at that very moment, her beloved son, Li Shize, was happily honeymooning with his cherished wife.

At this thought, an involuntary surge of hatred welled up in Fang Junrong’s eyes, her teeth nearly biting her lip until it bled. Only the sharp pain brought her back to her senses. She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm the turmoil within.

She didn’t understand why, after closing her eyes, she had returned to a year earlier—before Jiang Yage had entered the Li family. Back then, their family of four was still seen as the picture-perfect household in the eyes of outsiders.

Her gaze instinctively fell on her wrist, where a jade bracelet rested against her fair skin. The bracelet was pure and translucent, dazzlingly beautiful under the light, its emerald hue faintly resembling the silhouette of distant mountains. This bracelet had been left to her by her grandmother before she passed away. Fang Junrong had always kept it carefully locked away in a safe, afraid of damaging it, and had never worn it before. In her past life, the bracelet had mysteriously vanished. Furious, she had searched everywhere, only for her son to later tell her that a part-time cleaner had stolen it.

At this point in time, the jade bracelet should have been sitting quietly in the safe. This subtle difference from her past life unsettled her.

Or was that past life just a nightmare?

No, no dream could be so vivid, so heart-wrenchingly real. Just the memory of it made Fang Junrong tremble with hatred.

“Mom, where’s my favorite dress? The one Aunt designed for me—which closet did you put it in?”

A bright, lively voice snapped Fang Junrong out of her anguish. She looked up to see a girl with slightly curled hair and youthful features, the ends of her hair dyed red, giving her a playful air—her precious daughter, Li Xinyun.

She stared greedily at her daughter’s innocent, sweet face, as if caught in a dream. How long had it been since she had seen her daughter so carefree? After the disfigurement, Xinyun had shut herself away, as though all life had drained from her.

“Mom.”

“Mom!”

The repeated calls brought her back to reality. Fang Junrong blinked away the faint mist in her eyes, forcing her voice to remain steady. “Which dress?”

“You dyed your hair?”

Li Xinyun guiltily touched the ends of her hair, then quickly justified herself, “I’ve already graduated high school. You said I could dye it after the college entrance exams. Mom, where’s the dress Aunt gave me? I can’t remember where I put it. I want to wear it for my birthday.”

During those years in the mental institution, the only thing that kept Fang Junrong going was her daughter, Xinyun. Every detail about Xinyun had been revisited in her mind countless times, every little memory etched vividly in her mind.

“It’s in my room. You were afraid you might lose it, so you asked me to keep it safe for you.”

“Oh right, I forgot!” Li Xinyun stuck out her tongue, her expression sheepish, then clung to her mother’s arm affectionately. “Mom’s the best. Oh, and Mom, can I invite my friends to my birthday party?”

Whenever Xinyun looked at her with those pleading eyes, Fang Junrong could never refuse. Now, having returned to this time, the mere thought of the suffering her daughter had endured made it impossible for her to let any shadow fall over that smile.

“Of course. You can invite as many as you want.”

“I knew Mom loves me the most.” Li Xinyun chattered away about her own affairs. Fang Junrong gazed at her smile but couldn’t help recalling something. The anniversary of Jiang Yage’s parents’ death happened to fall on Xinyun’s birthday. In her past life, Xinyun had been so looking forward to her birthday and had personally arranged everything, only for her husband Li Wangjin to cancel it outright with the excuse that “it would make Yage sad.” Even their son had taken his side. Xinyun was his daughter, yet no matter what she did, she always had to make way for Jiang Yage. It was because of this small incident that Xinyun began to resent Jiang Yage, and as their conflicts accumulated over time, things became irreparable.

Though Xinyun had a bit of a temper, she wasn’t a petty person. If those two hadn’t constantly prioritized Jiang Yage above all else, she wouldn’t have grown to detest her so much.

This time, no matter what, she wouldn’t let her daughter suffer even the slightest grievance. The man—she didn’t want him anymore. As for her son, she might as well have raised an afterbirth. She owed them nothing! Whatever affection she had for her son had long been extinguished after he sent her to a mental hospital. The only problem was that the timing of her rebirth wasn’t ideal—at this point in time, she still trusted her husband deeply and had handed over most of the company’s affairs to him. If she divorced him now, she would be the one at a disadvantage.

But she had plenty of time to plan carefully. Everything that belonged to her—she would take it all back!

Listening to her daughter’s playful whining, the gloom that had clung to her gradually dissipated.

“Xinyun, why are you still acting like a child who doesn’t know any better, clinging to your mom all day?”

Fang Junrong, who had been smiling faintly, felt her expression cool at the sound of her husband Li Wangjin’s voice. This man, who should have grown old with her, was also one of those who had hurt her the most.

“Even when Xinyun grows up, she’ll always be a child in my heart. I like it when she clings to me,” she retorted evenly, suppressing with all her will the urge to claw that face of his to shreds.

Outwardly, Li Wangjin was in his forties, but thanks to good maintenance, he looked no older than a man in his thirties. Combined with his considerable wealth, it wasn’t as if there weren’t women who tried to get close to him, but he had rejected them all, earning him a reputation as a good man. She had once been proud of this, never imagining that this so-called good husband could coldly watch his own daughter suffer and his wife be sent to a mental hospital to endure torment.

When outsiders questioned Jiang Yage’s lack of filial piety, it was also he who publicly declared that Fang Junrong had mental issues—that she was volatile and had abused Jiang Yage in various ways, shifting all blame onto her.

At the thought, bitter hatred surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her. Even at the end of her life, Fang Junrong had never understood why he treated Jiang Yage better than his own daughter, why he had been so heartless toward both her and their child.

Li Wangjin wore an expression of helpless indulgence. “You two always stick together. I can’t win against you.”

Li Xinyun said smugly, “Mom loves me the most.”

Li Wangjin replied, “Then, Xinyun, could you lend me your mom for a few minutes? There’s something I need to discuss with her.”

Li Xinyun wasn’t unreasonable. Misinterpreting something, she blinked playfully at Fang Junrong, let go of her, and skipped away cheerfully. From a distance, her laughter carried back, “I won’t eavesdrop on you grown-ups’ secrets!”

Fang Junrong knew exactly what Li Wangjin wanted to discuss with her—it was undoubtedly about bringing Jiang Yage over. The timing was about right.

After their daughter left, Li Wangjin sighed and put on a melancholic expression. “Junrong, do you still remember that child, Yage?”

How could she ever forget?

Fang Junrong sneered inwardly, her tone calm. “Her parents died in a car accident last year, didn’t they?”

“Yes, that’s her.” Pain flashed in Li Wangjin’s eyes. “I thought that even though her parents were gone, they’d left her some money, so her life shouldn’t be too hard. But who knew her relatives were heartless? They colluded with her grandmother and took all the money and the house under the guise of being elders.”

“They didn’t even leave her enough for university tuition and even tried to arrange a marriage for her with some old man from the countryside. Her father was my roommate—how could I stand by and watch her suffer like this? So I want to bring her here.”

These words were identical to those from her past life.

The events of that life were indeed no dream.

Fang Junrong’s nails nearly dug into her palms. Back then, she had also been acquainted with Jiang Yage’s father. Upon hearing of her plight, she had pitied the girl and agreed without hesitation. But this time…

“Junrong, what do you think?”

Perhaps her silence had lasted too long, as Li Wangjin’s usually composed voice carried a rare urgency.

Fang Junrong looked up, her expression flawless, her brows slightly furrowed as if sharing his concern. “That child is indeed pitiful.”

She paused before continuing, “But if she stays here without any formal status, outsiders will see her as living under someone else’s roof. Who knows how much gossip she’ll have to endure?”

At these words, Li Wangjin hesitated, just as she expected.

Fang Junrong pressed on, “Why don’t we give her a proper status? Let’s make her our daughter. That way, no one will look down on her.”

Li Wangjin was overjoyed. “Junrong, you truly are the kindest and most understanding person.”

Fang Junrong found it bitterly ironic. Anyone unaware would think Jiang Yage was his biological daughter—he had never shown this much concern for Xinjun. Since he treated her like his own, she would gladly oblige. After all, by then, they would already be divorced, and it wouldn’t be her assets being divided.

She couldn’t wait to see whether her precious son would still develop a passionate romance with Jiang Yage once they were legally recognized as siblings.