Echoes of the Past

Chapter 1: Ruyi 🌸

I slowly opened my eyes, groggily taking in my surroundings. The flickering candlelight cast long, dancing shadows across the room, illuminating the dust motes swirling in the air. I coughed, the acrid smell of smoke stinging my nostrils. My head throbbed, a dull ache pounding behind my eyes.

Where was I? The last thing I remembered was... The crimson blade. A wave of nausea washed over me, the memory flooding back in a suffocating torrent. The icy blade slicing through the air, the horrified gasp of my best friend, the blood staining the pristine white carpet, my own blood pooling around me, the cold, suffocating darkness that followed.

Panic clawed at my throat as I tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through my body, forcing me back down. I was trapped in a sea of confusion, with fragmented memories and a sense of desperation.

My name... Ruyi. Lu Ruyi. The memories came flooding back, like shattered glass piercing through the fog. My husband. My best friend. They had betrayed me. They had taken everything from me.

He Ming, her husband, the man she had foolishly trusted with her heart, the man who had orchestrated her downfall. Mo Jian, her dearest friend, the one who had pretended to be her confidante, the one who had stood by her side, all the while plotting her demise.

Tears streamed down her face, hot and angry. Rage, a burning, consuming fire, raged within her. She would not let them win. She would not let them get away with it. She would find them. She would make them pay. This time, she would not be defeated. This time, justice would be served.

Ruyi clenched her fists, her knuckles white. She would remember every detail, every betrayal, every cruel act. She would use this second chance to unravel the truth, to expose their treachery, to bring them to their knees. This was not just about revenge. It was about justice. It was about reclaiming the life that had been stolen from her. It was about making sure that He Ming and Mo Jian would never hurt anyone ever again.

Ruyi clenched her fists, her knuckles white. She would not let them win. She would not let them get away with it. She would find them. She would make them pay.

This time, she would not be defeated. This time, justice would be served.

But revenge was not enough. She would protect her family, her beloved family, from the clutches of He Ming and Mo Jian. Her father, Lingfeng, with his kind eyes and gentle smile. Her mother, Weiwei, whose love was a constant source of warmth and comfort. And her brother, Xuan, his laughter echoing through the halls of their home.

She would protect them all.

The Lu family business, a legacy built on generations of hard work and integrity, had been the target of He Ming's ambition. Ruyi, in her past life, had been too naive, too trusting, to see the danger. This time, she would be vigilant. She would learn the intricacies of the family business, she would study the market, she would outmaneuver her enemies.

She would inherit the family business, not as a symbol of wealth and privilege, but as a weapon against those who had sought to destroy her and her family.

This time, she would not let them succeed.

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