The rain continued to fall.
The lights from the Ruan family villa pierced through the damp Yese, carrying a warm, golden glow.
The front door was pushed open, and Ruan Yao stepped inside.
The warm light and the aroma of home-cooked food instantly enveloped her.
It was her favorite—her mother’s cooking.
“Yao Yao?” Su Wanqing peeked out from the kitchen, her face unable to conceal her surprise at seeing her daughter. “Why are you back so early? Is Tangtang’s birthday party over?”
Ruan Yao looked at her.
Her mother’s face showed no trace of illness or exhaustion. Her complexion was rosy, her eyes gentle—still the picture of a healthy, beautiful woman.
Not the frail, emaciated shadow she would later become, dependent on IV drips to survive.
Ruan Yao’s nose tingled with emotion. Unable to hold back any longer, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Su Wanqing.
“Mom.”
Her voice was muffled against her mother’s neck, her body trembling slightly from suppressed sobs.
Su Wanqing staggered slightly from the impact but quickly steadied herself, patting her daughter’s back with a mix of amusement and concern.
“You’re all grown up, yet you’re still acting like a baby. Charging in like a little cannonball.”
Even as she spoke, Su Wanqing held her tighter.
She caught a faint scent of rain and a hint of alcohol on Ruan Yao, and her brows immediately furrowed.
“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”
“What happened?”
Ruan Minghui’s voice came from the study on the second floor. He descended the stairs, and the stern expression on his face softened as he saw the mother and daughter embracing.
A crunching sound echoed from the stairs. Ruan Sheng, munching on a potato chip, leaned over the second-floor railing.
“Hey, what’s up with our little princess? Who upset you? Tell your brother, and I’ll go teach them a lesson.”
His gaze fell on the black long-handled umbrella beside Ruan Yao’s feet, and he whistled.
“You brought someone else’s stuff back? Whose is this?”
Her father’s concern, her brother’s teasing—each word struck a chord in Ruan Yao’s heart, making the reality of her Rebirth feel even more tangible.
In her previous life, after the Ruan family went bankrupt, her once-vain mother fell gravely ill from the betrayal of relatives.
Her once-sharp and capable father turned gray overnight, crushed by the betrayal of family and the collapse of his career, becoming silent and aged.
And her brother—when he went to confront Su Mingyuan, his legs were broken, and he never recovered.
But now, everything was still intact.
All the grievances and lingering fears from her past life transformed into overwhelming relief in this moment.
Ruan Yao took a deep breath, lifted her head from her mother’s embrace, and flashed a sweet smile.
“It’s nothing. I just had a little too much to drink at the bar earlier, and my stomach felt off, so I came home early.”
She sniffled and glanced toward the dining table, her voice returning to its usual tone, tinged with a hint of playful whining. “It smells so good. I can smell sweet and sour spare ribs.”
“You little glutton,” Su Wanqing chided her affectionately, taking her hand and leading her toward the dining room. “Go wash your hands. Dinner’s almost ready.”
At the dinner table, the family was filled with warmth and joy.
Ruan Minghui removed his glasses, wiping them carefully with a soft cloth as he asked her in detail about where she wanted to go for her graduation trip.
Ruan Sheng chimed in, stuffing a large bite of food into his mouth, suggesting a tropical island to see bikini-clad beauties—only to be lightly smacked on the head by Su Wanqing.
The warm glow of the lights, the laughter of her family, the crisp clinking of dishes, and the steaming aroma of the meal filled the air.
The warm atmosphere nearly brought tears to Ruan Yao's eyes.
She took small bites of her meal, feeling like someone who had been drowning in the deep sea and had finally returned to solid ground—every breath felt steady and precious.
She tried her best to play the part of the carefree Ruan family heiress from the past, savoring this hard-won happiness.
"Oh, we were just talking about this earlier," Su Wanqing suddenly remembered something and smiled, placing a piece of fish into Ruan Yao's bowl. "Your cousin has been working so hard at the company lately. Just a few days ago, he even took several rounds of drinks for your father and ended up vomiting when he got home. He's really grown up and knows how to care for others now."
Ruan Yao paused while picking up food with her chopsticks.
"Him?" Ruan Sheng scoffed. "He's just incompetent and knows how to flatter. Did he pester Dad for a promotion again? He mentioned wanting to be a deputy manager in the project department the other day, but he doesn’t even know his own limits."
"Just eat your meal," Ruan Minghui glared at his son.
Su Wanqing sighed, somewhat agreeing with her son's words.
"Your cousin has good intentions and is ambitious, but he still lacks a bit of skill. He needs more experience. Still, we’re all family—we should help each other when we can."
Ruan Yao lowered her gaze, hiding all her emotions behind her long eyelashes. Her chopsticks unconsciously poked at the plump grains of rice in her bowl, and she said nothing.
After dinner, Ruan Yao excused herself, saying she was tired, and returned to her room.
The moment the door closed, it shut out the warm laughter and chatter from downstairs.
She sank into the soft princess bed, burying her face in the familiar, fragrant bedding, enveloped by the unique, comforting scent of this home.
Everything here was exactly as Ruan Yao remembered.
Clean, warm, and filled with traces of being loved.
Unlike later, when this place was sealed off, all its precious furniture sold off cheaply, leaving only a mess and a cold emptiness.
Ruan Yao closed her eyes, recalling the conversation at the dinner table.
Cousin, Su Mingyuan.
The one responsible for the Ruan family's bankruptcy.
In her past life, the Ruan family had developed a groundbreaking core technology with immense potential, which caught the attention of the Zhou family in the same industry.
After the Zhou family’s offer to acquire the Ruan family was rejected, they began a series of malicious maneuvers. However, because her father was cautious and steady, they couldn’t find an opening to strike.
And Su Mingyuan was the weak link they found.
In her past life, Su Mingyuan was lured into a casino by the Zhou family, step by step, until he developed a gambling addiction and accumulated an astronomical debt.
To repay it, he embezzled company funds and, under the Zhou family’s threats and inducements, used the company seal to sign a massive guarantee contract. This directly caused the Ruan family’s capital chain to break, forcing them into bankruptcy and saddling them with an enormous debt.
Every step was carefully planned, each move fatal.
The Ruan family’s company was hollowed out from within by this traitor.
And in her past life, her entire family had been completely deceived by Su Mingyuan’s smooth talk and feigned sincerity, leaving them utterly defenseless and leading to disaster.
Ruan Yao turned over, staring wide-eyed at the ornate crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
Should she rush downstairs now and expose Su Mingyuan to her parents?
No.
The thought was immediately dismissed as soon as it surfaced.
At this point, Su Mingyuan hadn’t yet fallen into gambling. In her parents’ eyes, he was just an average but sweet-talking relative.
Without any evidence, accusing her cousin of having ill intentions would only make things worse.
Moreover, Mom has always valued family ties. After her parents passed away, she often said that her brother's family was her only remaining blood relatives in this world.
Dad might become suspicious, but without evidence, he would at most reprimand Su Mingyuan a few times, which would only alert the enemy.
Ruan Yao sat up from the bed.
She couldn’t do this.
Even if she drove Su Mingyuan out of the company, it wouldn’t solve the root problem.
In her past life, Su Mingyuan had ended up where he did not only because of his own greed and foolishness but also due to the resentment he had accumulated over the years.
He wanted to climb higher, but her parents always felt he wasn’t capable enough, holding him back from promotions.
Her uncle’s family might not say it out loud, but deep down, they probably already believed the Ruan family looked down on them.
Once resentment takes root in a person’s heart, given the chance, it grows like wild grass, impossible to contain.
Most importantly, the Zhou family, the executioner behind the Ruan family’s bankruptcy, was the one to guard against most.
Since the Zhou family had set their sights on the Ruan family as a piece of fat meat, even without Su Mingyuan, they would find a Li Mingyuan or a Wang Mingyuan.
By then, she wouldn’t be able to predict the Zhou family’s moves and would only become more passive.
Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a hazy glow over Ruan Yao.
Holding her stuffed bear, her gaze fell on the black long-handled umbrella by the bedside table. Suddenly, Huo Yanzhi’s calm face appeared in her mind.
That man never made pointless defensive moves.
He always precisely identified the opponent’s weaknesses, setting up one interlocking trap after another, luring the prey to walk willingly into the snare before completely crushing them, leaving not even a trace of bone.
Calm, precise, ruthless.
At the time, she had only felt fear, but now, thinking back, it was a kind of reassuring strength.
By his side, she had observed and learned a few things.
Ruan Yao blinked, her moist eyes now clear and sharp.
Rather than guarding against thieves for a thousand days… why not let Su Mingyuan, like in her past life, become the knife in the Zhou family’s hands?
Only this time, the one holding the handle of the knife would have to be her.
If the Zhou family wanted to exploit Su Mingyuan’s greed, then let them suffer the consequences of their own actions.
More importantly, she wanted her parents to see Su Mingyuan’s true nature and completely eradicate the hidden danger of her uncle’s family by their side.