Chapter 1 – Previous Life (1)

The full-length mirror reflected a slender body. The woman in the mirror has light-colored skin. Her features weren’t as pretty as they were when she was young, but it has the attraction of an older woman. Her lips were curved slightly upward, and her temperament was elegant. The clothes on her might look simple, but all the designer’s uniqueness was hidden in all the details.

Fang JunRong couldn’t help but feel perplexed. Her hand touched her face reflexively, and the woman in the mirror did the same thing. When was the last time she looked at herself that way?

She was dressed elegantly and exhibiting a tenderness of her own. She didn’t appear unkempt, disheveled, and looked down by all.

As one of the wealthiest men in the country and having a net worth of over tens of billions, her husband has an extremely prestigious status. Not to mention their outstanding and eminent son and their lively and loving daughter. Fang JunRong was what people referred to as the winner of life; unfortunately, her life took a turn for the worse ever since the appearance of Jiang YaGe, her daughter-in-law.

Jiang YaGe was the daughter of her husband’s best friend from college. After her parents died in a car accident, her husband Li WangJin felt bad for her and took her in after considering the fact that her relatives were all plotting against her. Fang JunRong was quite nice to Jiang YaGe at the beginning as well, after all, Fang JunRong was also friends with Jiang YaGe’s father. Plus, Jiang YaGe was a pleasant and mature girl. This changed after the conflicts began between Jiang YaGe and Li XinYun, Fang JunRong’s daughter.

Let it be her husband, Li WangJin, or her son Li ShiZe, everybody sided with Jiang YaGe. They would always pick Jiang YaGe’s side and blame Fang JunRong’s XinYun whenever there was a conflict between the two. So how could Fang JunRong continue to be fond of Jiang YaGe given the situation? In the end, her son Li ShiZe further fell in love with Jiang YaGe and butted heads with his mother repeatedly while treating his cold sister coldly.

Jiang YaGe, on the other hand, was a drama queen. It was almost like she was blessed by some unseen power – no matter what happened, she would always be able to avoid anything bad happening to her, and it was always those who were around her who’d end up taking the brunt of it. XinYun, her precious daughter, was one of those people. Because of Jiang YaGe, Li XinYun ended up scarred on her face and became more and more reclusive.

By then, Fang JunRong hated Jiang YaGe’s guts and wanted to kick her out. Nevertheless, both her husband and her son unequivocally took Jiang YaGe’s side and criticized and loathed Fang JunRong.

“YaGe had suffered a lot too. How could you keep placing the blame on her? It wasn’t like she wanted it to happen. You are being so irrational right now. You are no longer that reasonable and loving wife that I have married.”

 “If my sister didn’t go out and befriended all these questionable people, this would have never happened. Once all this is settled, we will just  send her overseas to have a plastic surgery and all will be fine again.”

Their callous and estranged looks were burned into her memory, giving her a frigid feeling. Her family was wrecked. Fang JunRong wanted to take revenge, but Jiang YaGe was loved and protected by many bosses. Their interference foiled all of her plans, and she was finally sent to the mental institution by her own husband and son.

When she was locked up in the mental institution, everybody called her crazy. That she couldn’t appreciate such an amazing daughter-in-law and wanted to hurt her any chance that she got. They thought it was her own fault that all her loved ones had betrayed her. Finally, when she heard that news that her daughter Li XinYun had committed suicide, Fang JunRong took her last breath surrounded by dark iciness. At the same time, Li ShiZe, her wonderful son, was having a great time with her amazing daughter-in-law on their honeymoon.

Thinking of that, Fang JunRong couldn’t help but let deep hatred crawl into her eyes. Her teeth bit down so hard that her lips almost started to bleed. Finally, the pain helped her clear her mind. She let out a deep breath and did her best to calm the conflicting emotions within herself.

She had no idea why she went back to eight years ago after she closed her eyes. This was before Jiang YaGe had joined the Li’s, and her family was still the model family in everybody’s eyes.

She looked down reflexively at her wrist and saw a jade bracelet on her pale wrist. The bracelet was uniform throughout and almost translucent in color. It was dazzling under the light. There was a darker shade of green on it that looked like the silhouette of mountains. This bracelet was given to her when her grandmother passed away. Worried that she might inadvertently nick or chip it, she had always kept it stored safely inside the safe and had never worn it. In her previous life, the bracelet has gone missing. She was enraged at the time and looked all over for it. Finally, her son was the one who told her that it was stolen by a maid.

The bracelet should be lying quietly inside the safe right now. This was a peculiar discrepancy from her previous life.

Or was her previous life nothing but a nightmare?

No, that couldn’t be. No nightmare would have so many details and be so heartbreaking. Just recalling the past events was enough to make her body shiver from hatred.

“Mom, where is my favorite dress? The one that Aunty designed for me? Which closet is it in?” came a crisp and lively voice.

Fang JunRong, who was immersed in her own pain looked up abruptly. She saw a girl with slightly curly hair and still a little bit of childishness in her look. The tip of her hair was dyed a red color and made her look cute and playful. This was her precious daughter Li XinYun.

She looked at her daughter’s simple and cute look rapaciously, as though she was in a dream. When was the last time she saw her daughter so lively? Ever since she was defaced, her daughter had locked herself up and never left her room, as though she had lost all will to live.

“Mom.”

“Mom!”

A series of cries brought her back. Fang JunRong blinked and got rid of the moisture in her eyes.