Black font, colorful images.
Newspapers, front page headlines.
"Today, a major traffic accident occurred in Shanghai, where a white Audi was sandwiched and struck by two large trucks. According to the police's preliminary determination, the Audi was traveling at a speed of 140KM/H. The two large trucks approached from behind and from a side road at the right, suddenly colliding at the intersection. The truck drivers were unharmed at the scene of the accident. Inside the Audi, a family of three was aghast and beyond recognition, dead on the spot. It is known that the three individuals inside the Audi belonged to the Huo Family, the current commercial legends ruling the Shanghai business world, including the husband and wife duo and their daughter Huo Xiaoxi, known in the business world as the 'miraculous lady'... Regarding this accident, the police have not yet announced the results of their thorough investigation, but many insiders have disclosed that it might be due to a vendetta. At present, Huo Xiaoxi's fiancé, Qi Lingfeng, has submitted a request for the police to establish a criminal case and conduct a specialized investigation..."
Qi, Ling, Feng...
A slender finger that could be deemed as nothing but sinewy, covered with calluses and even some bloody cracks, gripped the now half-a-month-old, outdated newspaper fiercely.
It seemed that every read stirred her memories of the past.
Memories of the past.
In her past life.
She was now Qiao Xiguan, a female prisoner currently serving time for manslaughter.
Qiao Xiguan was born into a noble family in Shanghai. Due to her father's love for gambling and neglect of the family business, their fortunes plummeted. When she was six, her mother, unable to bear her father's irresponsibility, chose to divorce and she lived with her father afterward. The following year, her father remarried, bringing home a stepsister two years her junior. From then on, the eldest daughter was replaced by the second daughter, and she was bullied by her stepmother and stepsister in secret. She was timid and frail, never daring to utter a word in her own defense.
She bore all until she was 19 years old when to curry favor with the Gu Family, a family with which they had business dealings, her father married her off to the eldest son of the wealthy Gu Family, Gu Zichen. As the eldest daughter-in-law of a wealthy family, she should have had status and dignity, but who would have known that the young master Gu Zichen was disabled, not only physically but also sexually impotent. The marriage itself had become a huge joke in high society. The bigger joke, however, was that in the second year after her marriage into the Gu Family, they had a son, leading to rampant rumors that the wife of the Gu Family's eldest son was promiscuous and had an affair.
One can imagine the treatment Qiao Xiguan received as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Gu Family.
At home, she was bullied by her parents and her sister; after getting married, she was bullied by her in-laws; entering prison, she was bullied by the wardens and fellow inmates.
It was as if her entire life was a constant struggle to please, to acquiesce, to compromise.
She didn't know whether the woman left the world at the moment of her deepest despair, but she knew that her soul had transversed, and heaven had given her another chance to live. She would not waste it; she would make her former "good man" suffer!
She was grateful.
Tomorrow was the day she would be released from prison.
A full three years, 1096 days.
She retained some of Qiao Xiguan's memories but was not too eager to recall the indescribably miserable days she had spent in jail. And it only took her half a month to get those who once bullied and beat Qiao Xiguan under her control.
She had no special skills here; she just understood one fact better than Qiao Xiguan: the living always fear the dead!
The sunshine of the following day arrived as promised.
After completing the relevant procedures, she held the yellowed file in her hand.
The iron gates opened with a clank.
The guard's indifferent voice said, "Make sure to be a good person after you get out!"
Be a good person?!
She sneered dispassionately.
The prison was a significant distance away from the Shanghai City area.
Now, walking on this road devoid of vehicles and pedestrians, there was another figure besides her—Fu Bowen, a popular figure in the prison.
She had always thought that she was the only one to suffer such unwelcome and dire straits, only to find that there was such a person of prominence as well.
She followed his footsteps, walking on and on.
After what felt like an eternity, they began to see traces of traffic.
Fu Bowen hailed a taxi.
She didn't think twice, quickly ran over, and sat down.
Fu Bowen looked at her, his face very cold.
"Take me to Ziyang Villa District, and afterwards, I will thank you," she promised earnestly, word by word.
Fu Bowen gave her a faint glance, "First to Ziyang Villa District."
As for the thanks, he was entirely uninterested.
It was simply that he did not wish to waste time on trivial matters.
The taxi drove for an hour, passing many familiar streets and roads, yet the inside of the car remained suffocatingly quiet. Upon reaching the destination, she got out and looked at the luxurious three-story villa in front of her.
The taxi had already left.
So-called thanks, those were mere offhand remarks.
Businesspeople were always like this, cunning.
She pursed her lips and walked toward the villa's gate.
"Gu Family Compound."
Four bold characters suddenly appeared.
She pressed the doorbell stealthily.
A servant ran to the gate, opened it, and said cheerfully, "Is the young Madam back?"
The young Madam?!
Such a strange title.
She nodded slightly and followed the servant into a detached villa with a garden.
Along the way, birds chirped and flowers bloomed.
Spring might be a season full of anticipation.
Her eyes tightened as she looked at the luxurious European decoration behind the glass door.
"Young Madam, please wait a moment, I will call the Madam to come down," the servant said, and then headed into the foyer.
She stood at the door, waiting indifferently.
Before long, a dignified middle-aged woman, Qi Huifen, elegantly descended step by step from the stairs of the hall, dressed in a sapphire blue cheongsam, adorned with a pearl necklace, her hair neatly bundled into a bun, wearing dignified makeup, and looking radiant.
Her steps were neither fast nor slow as she came to a stop at the door, her expression neither good nor bad, just very indifferent and cold as she said, "Don't come in yet; I've called a master to perform a ritual. Don't bring any bad luck into the house."
A cold smile crossed her lips.
Before long, a somewhat disheveled middle-aged man appeared in front of her, and unexpectedly, he sprayed her with water from his mouth, making her already sorry state seem even more ironic.
She just stood there quietly, watching with equanimity as the ritual master hopped around her chanting incessantly.
He had better indeed have the power to blow away ill fortune, otherwise...
As for the consequences, as grim as one's thoughts could be, they could become that grim.
For a full two hours, she did not move, her legs numbed.