Pain.
It started in her chest—sharp, searing, unbearable—then spread to her limbs, as the cold marble floor welcomed her dying body. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips. Her vision blurred, but she could still make out the shadows standing above her.
"You were always so easy to fool, Jie Jie," Lin Xue whispered, crouching down beside her. Her crimson lips curled into a smile that no longer pretended to be kind. "Did you really think he loved you?"
Zhao Jian stood behind Lin Xue, his expression void of remorse. "You were never meant to have any of it. The inheritance, the love, the life your grandmother left you. It was all wasted on you."
The last thing Lin Xiao saw was their hands intertwined as they walked away, leaving her to bleed out alone.
She died that night—unloved, betrayed, and discarded.
And then… she opened her eyes.
---
She jolted upright in her bed, gasping for air as if she had been drowning. Her body, whole and unharmed, trembled with the shock of the sudden awakening. Her room was just as she remembered it: the faded pink curtains fluttering gently in the early morning light, the cracked white dresser, and the lingering smell of rice porridge coming from the kitchen downstairs. Nothing had changed. Nothing except for her.
Her fingers flew to her face, the smoothness of her skin a reminder that the scars, the bruises, the blood that had marked her last moments were gone. She was sixteen again—soft, untouched by the betrayals of the past.
But it was impossible. She had died. Her life had been stolen from her by the people she had trusted the most. Lin Xue's lies. Zhao Jian's betrayal. The cruelty that had drained her of hope. They had taken everything from her—and now, she was back.
Memories flooded her like a wave crashing against the shore. The pain of being discarded, of being fooled, of the lies that had torn her apart. The cruel whisper of their plan. Her mother's pleading eyes, always urging patience. To endure.
Her chest tightened with the weight of it all. But beneath that weight, there was something else. A fire.
They killed me.
The rage simmered inside her. Not from fear. No, this was not fear. It was something darker, something fiercer.
This was revenge.
She had returned. But not as the naive, obedient daughter who had swallowed her tears. No, she was no longer that Lin Xiao.
She had risen from Hell itself. And it had forged her into something new.
Something terrifying.
---
Downstairs, the house was quiet, as always. The silence felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves held their breath, waiting for something to happen.
Her mother, Mei Hua, stood at the kitchen sink, her back slightly hunched under the weight of the years. She wore the same faded apron, the one that had become part of her like the wrinkles etched into her skin.
"Lin'er, you're up early," her mother said, her voice gentle, as always. "Are you feeling alright?"
Lin Xiao's throat tightened. It had been years since she had heard that voice, years since she had felt her mother's warmth. In her first life, she had never told her mother how much she loved her, how much she wished she could have protected her from everything. But now...
"Ma..." Her voice cracked as the words struggled to escape. The floodgates opened, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her tears fell.
Mei Hua turned in surprise. "Are you crying? What's wrong?"
Without thinking, Lin Xiao ran forward and wrapped her arms around her mother, pressing her face into the familiar fabric of her worn blouse. She had failed her mother in her past life. She hadn't protected her. But now… now she had a second chance.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I should have protected you."
Her mother froze for a moment before gently patting her back, thinking that her daughter had merely had a bad dream. "Don't be silly. You're my child. It's me who should protect you."
But Lin Xiao couldn't stop the tears that slipped from her eyes. This time, she would not fail. This time, she would be the one to protect her mother. And every single person who had hurt her would pay.
---
The day passed in a blur of routine, but Lin Xiao was acutely aware of every moment, every person who passed her by. Her half-sister, Lin Xue, sat in the living room, scrolling through her phone, pretending not to notice Lin Xiao's presence. The air between them was thick with unspoken words, but Xiao Lin could feel it—Lin Xue's unease. Something had shifted.
"You're finally up," Madame Wu sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. "Try not to embarrass our family at school today. You're lucky your father even lets you stay here."
Lin Xiao's lips curled into a slow smile, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you, Auntie Wu. I'll do my best to be worthy of such generosity."
Madame Wu didn't seem to notice the sarcasm, but Lin Xiao could feel the tension between them. The old, obedient Lin Xiao might have bowed her head and accepted the insults. But now… now she was different.
---
As she rode in the car to school, Lin Xiao stared out the window at the familiar streets, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts. There was a sense of power growing inside her—a power that came from knowing she would never be weak again.
She would play the long game.
She would pretend to be the same, quiet, obedient daughter that they had once known. She would smile. Nod. Speak when spoken to.
But behind every smile, she would be planting seeds.
Of suspicion. Of doubt. Of chaos.
And when the time came, when the game was ready to be won, she would tear their world apart—just as they had done to hers.
One by one, they would fall.
And in the ashes of the life they had stolen from her, she would build something unbreakable.