“Who would’ve thought? Ningning usually dresses so plainly. I never realized that with just a little effort…”
Lin Jiabao spoke meaningfully, though it was impossible to tell whether he was complimenting her or implying something else.
Almost instantly, Jiang Wan’ning sensed a greasy, sinister gaze fixed on her. Goosebumps rose all over her arms, every warning bell in her mind ringing at once.
“What are you talking about?”
Bai Qingqing unhappily pinched her husband’s arm. She glared jealously at the delicate-looking Jiang Wan’ning. She really disliked her husband’s cousin.
“Auntie, Uncle, I’ll go back to my room and pack my things first. Cousin said she’s taking me home this afternoon, so I’ll excuse myself.”
Pretending not to notice the subtle tension in the room, Jiang Wan’ning politely informed her elders before slipping into the storage room and closing the door behind her, cutting off that thick, sticky gaze.
Ugh. Disgusting.
Her older male cousin had secretly coveted her even before he got married two years ago.
That was why, afterward, whenever her aunt invited her to stay at their house during summer vacation, she always found a polite excuse to refuse.
If it weren’t for the fact that the college entrance examination was approaching, and her parents had told her that her aunt had called home and asked her to come over to pick up her cousin’s study materials, she never would have risked walking straight into the tiger’s den.
Unfortunately, in her previous life, her aunt’s entire family had schemed against her until there was practically nothing left of her.
She had missed the college entrance examination and never attended the university she had dreamed of.
After that, her entire life had been ruined beyond recognition.
And the very people who had caused it all had stood on the moral high ground, using the blood and suffering of her family as stepping stones while accusing them of being ungrateful and of exploiting their kindness…
Heaven must have taken pity on her and given her another chance at life.
This time, Jiang Wan’ning absolutely refused to remain a soft target for everyone to manipulate!
After calming herself down, she had no interest in listening to her aunt’s family plotting against her in the living room.
She had something important to do.
After locking the door and securing the latch, she quickly walked over to the folding bed and opened her luggage bag.
She pulled down the zipper and rummaged through a corner until she took out a jade Buddha pendant.
It was a family heirloom passed down from her grandmother to her mother—the only valuable possession their family owned.
Her parents were honest, simple country folk. They had never thought of coveting anything from her aunt’s family.
Every time her aunt invited her to stay, her parents would prepare dried vegetables, dried fish, dried sweet potatoes, and other homemade goods for her to bring along, worried that her uncle might look down on them.
This time, when her aunt had asked Jiang Wan’ning to come pick up her cousin’s study materials, her parents had felt indebted and grateful for her aunt’s help.
So they had given Jiang Wan’ning their ancestral jade Buddha and asked her to bring it as a gift for her cousin, in exchange for the study materials.
But in her previous life, before she had even gotten the chance to give the jade Buddha to her cousin, she accidentally overheard a conversation between her aunt and cousin—
“Jiajia, the matchmaker got back to me. That young master Lu has taken a liking to you! The wedding will be in a month. You’ve really made your mother proud!”
“Mom, since I’ve already found my future husband, you should put some effort into finding one for my cousin, too.”
“Why would you worry about that? I’ve already found someone. It’s the Liu family in the eastern part of the city. They have a son who’s turning twenty-eight. He’s mentally disabled, but his family doesn’t care that you’re from a rural household. They’re willing to marry into your uncle’s family.”
“What? He’s mentally disabled? And he’s already twenty-eight?”
At the time, Jiang Wan’ning had still held onto a tiny bit of hope for her cousin.
She had hoped her cousin would refuse the arrangement for her.
She had hoped her cousin would stand up for her.
But the very next second, that hope was shattered.
“Hahaha! Ten years older? Good, good! An older man knows how to dote on his wife. Once Ningning marries him, won’t she be spoiled rotten?”
“Exactly.”
The mother and daughter spoke with sarcasm and schadenfreude.
There was not the slightest trace of affection between them.
Jiang Wan’ning clenched the jade Buddha in her palm so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, drawing blood.
She didn’t even feel the pain.
That was when she finally realized that her aunt and cousin had never liked her.
All the warmth and affection they had shown her had been nothing but an act!
By the time she tried to turn around and run, it was already too late.
Someone struck her hard on the back of the neck.
As she collapsed unconscious, the last thing she saw was her older cousin’s sinister face.
When she woke again, she was bound tightly and locked inside an unfamiliar room.
Red wedding characters were plastered everywhere.
It looked like a bridal chamber.
Then an unfamiliar man wearing a huge red flower was shoved into the room.
He looked foolish, drooling as he repeatedly called her, “Wife! Wife!”
Jiang Wan’ning was terrified.
Something had been stuffed into her mouth, so she couldn’t make a sound. All she could do was curl up in the corner of the bed, trembling.
Perhaps her crying had been too pitiful, because the strange man tilted his head and stared at her for a while.
Then, from somewhere, he found a pair of scissors and cut the ropes around her injured feet.
“Wife, don’t be scared. Be a good wife. My name is Liu Dabao. Everyone calls me Fool. But I’m not stupid! I’m really smart!”
Jiang Wan’ning spat out the cloth and finally found her voice.
“I’m not your wife! You’ve got the wrong person. Where is this? How did I get here?”
“You’re my wife! My parents said they gave your aunt a thousand yuan. They bought you for me. You’ll be my little wife from now on. You’ll have babies with me and play with me…”
The man had the height and appearance of an adult male, but his intelligence was clearly…
Thinking back to the sinister expression on her cousin’s face before she lost consciousness, and combining it with the conversation she had overheard between her aunt and cousin, Jiang Wan’ning finally understood.
Her own aunt had sold her!
Sold her to a mentally disabled man as his wife!
If he hadn’t been so easy to deceive, she might already have lost her innocence.
After the man fell asleep, she tried to sneak away.
Only to discover that the doors and windows had been welded shut.
There was no way out.
She couldn’t understand why her aunt had sold her.
What had she ever done to offend her?
Suddenly, the jade pendant against her chest grew scorching hot.
Before she could resist, she was sucked into a black vortex.
She landed in a pitch-black room, on a bed with an extraordinarily strange texture.
That night was a nightmare.
A faceless man tangled with her, his arms like iron walls, holding her firmly in place. Shame and involuntary physical reactions left her helpless. Every attempt to resist was futile.
Everything felt like a horrifying nightmare…
When she woke again, the dream was over.
She lay on the bed with her clothes disheveled.
Beside her, sprawled out in every direction, was the foolish man who had claimed to be her husband the night before.
Later, a sharp-looking middle-aged woman entered without knocking.
When she saw the scene, she nodded in satisfaction…
Everything had happened too suddenly.
For a long time afterward, Jiang Wan’ning couldn’t figure it out.
Had the jade pendant really become hot, or had she imagined it?
And could a fool really… do that?
One time was apparently enough.
She even ended up having twins.
And as those children grew up, they turned out to be extraordinarily remarkable…
Coming back to herself, Jiang Wan’ning shook her head, clearing away the chaotic memories crowding her mind.
Calmly, she slipped the jade Buddha around her neck and tucked it beneath her collar.
This jade Buddha? Cousin, you don’t deserve it.
This time, armed with the memories of her previous life, Jiang Wan’ning had been prepared from the very moment she was reborn.
Dear Cousin, you were reborn too, weren’t you?
This time, I’ll give you exactly what you want.
And everything I want, I’ll reclaim with my own hands, piece by piece.
Lu Xiaolin.
The man who had stood at the very top in her previous life.
This time, I’ll make him the blade in my hand.
And I’ll make him wield it at my command.