Xia Qi Qi stared at An Nuan for a long time, her mind unable to comprehend what had gone wrong.
Inside the car at that moment, a familiar ringtone suddenly filled the air, continuing for a prolonged period. Xia Qi Qi couldn't stand it any longer. "An Nuan, it's your phone!" she reminded.
An Nuan lowered her gaze, struggling to control herself as she reluctantly answered in a suppressed voice, "Yan Sheng."
"Did you have fun today?" came the warm voice of Gu Yan Sheng from the other end.
An Nuan couldn't help but give a sarcastic laugh.
In a few days, Gu Yan Sheng would be participating in a highly influential Outstanding Youth selection, and An Nuan had come here specifically to pray for his success, hoping for his triumph.
An Nuan, who had once prioritized Gu Yan Sheng above all else, now realized she had the ability to stand at the pinnacle, yet she had given up everything for him.
"An Nuan?" Not receiving a response, his voice became warmer.
"I'm fine," An Nuan replied in a flat tone. "I went to pray for your career."
"Did you also happen to pray for an early blessed child?" he joked on the other end.
She did.
But now, looking at the blessing in front of her, she felt disgusted, as if she had swallowed a fly.
It was only in her final moments that she realized the reason she hadn't conceived in ten years was because Gu Yan Sheng had been secretly giving her contraceptives in her food and drink.
Ironically, she had endured years of disdain and humiliation from Gu's family because of it.
"Are you tired?" Gu Yan Sheng seemed to sense something different and quickly expressed concern.
"We came to the mountains early this morning, so I'm a bit tired. We're driving back now," An Nuan said with a detached tone.
"It's my fault that something came up today. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you go through all this trouble," he blamed himself.
An Nuan felt that even her current cold laughter was a waste of her facial expressions.
She used to foolishly believe that he was genuinely busy.
He was just busy... sleeping with other women.
"Drive safely," Gu Yan Sheng cautioned.
An Nuan hung up the phone directly.
Xia Qi Qi looked at An Nuan's cold expression, holding back the words that reached the tip of her tongue.
At this moment, An Nuan seemed like a different person.
She speculated that perhaps a good night's sleep would bring her back to normal tomorrow.
As the car returned to the city, An Nuan first dropped Xia Qi Qi off at the Xia family's villa.
"Qi Qi," An Nuan suddenly called out to her.
Xia Qi Qi turned around.
She looked at An Nuan with a somewhat peculiar expression.
An Nuan was simply confirming something.
She was alive.
And so was Qi Qi.
Xia Qi Qi found An Nuan's gaze unsettling. "Are you okay? I heard that Qingnan Mountain has strange feng shui and heavy yin energy. You're not being haunted by something, are you?"
Xia Qi Qi was still the same silly and innocent woman.
None of those earth-shattering events had happened to her.
An Nuan smiled at the corner of her mouth.
This was the first genuine smile she had since her rebirth.
She said, "I'm fine. You're not dead, after all."
"Definitely not normal!" Xia Qi Qi sighed, "My dad says that disasters like me live for a thousand years. So a small car accident won't kill us sisters!"
An Nuan, who used to believe that carefree and free-spirited Xia Qi Qi would never die so easily, especially not by suicide, was horrified when Xia Qi Qi jumped from the 28th floor, a sight too gruesome to bear.
That became a lifelong shadow and pain for An Nuan.
But now she felt fortunate.
She had returned to the present, and everything was just right.
Just right, as if nothing had happened, as if she could take revenge on everything!
She composed herself and changed the subject. "Don't mention today's events to anyone."
"What happened?"
"My agreement with Ye Jing Huai."
Xia Qi Qi rolled her eyes. "I won't say anything. Besides, you'll be back to normal tomorrow."
Tomorrow, she would be even more determined.
"I'm leaving."
"Drive safely," Xia Qi Qi said, concerned.
An Nuan nodded and drove back home.
Back to the An family villa from ten years ago.
Familiar yet unfamiliar.
Emotions flooded An Nuan's heart uncontrollably.
She entered the living room and, at the sight of her parents, her eyes welled up with tears.
If it weren't for her ill-fated encounter in her previous life, her parents wouldn't have died in a car accident. In that premeditated crash, her parents shielded her with their own bodies, and she narrowly escaped with her life.
She didn't want to recall those bloody images, that agonizing experience. She would never go through it again!
"Nuannuan, weren't you going to Qingnong Mountain to pray for Gu Yan Sheng? Why are you back so soon?" An Nuan's mother, Li Ya Ju, greeted her gently.
An Nuan suppressed her tears and smiled as she approached them.
From now on, everything would change.
From now on, only she would bring about Gu Yan Sheng's demise and destroy everything related to the Gu family. No one would dare to touch a hair on the An family's head!
"Why are your eyes red?" Li Ya Ju asked worriedly as An Nuan approached.
"My eyes are a bit dry. I rubbed them."
"Just now, Gu family called and wanted to discuss the details of your wedding with us..." Li Ya Ju said.
An Nuan took a deep breath. "Mom, I want to break off the engagement with Gu Yan Sheng."
"What?" Li Ya Ju's face was full of astonishment.
An Yan Yuan, sitting next to Li Ya Ju, shifted his attention from the newspaper. "Did you have a fight with Yan Sheng?"
"Gu Yan Sheng is not a good person. He married me only to take over our family's wealth and use our family as a stepping stone into high society." An Nuan felt her parents' disbelief and continued, "I don't have evidence to prove what I'm saying now, but give me some time, and I will make you believe!"
An Yan Yuan and Li Ya Ju were silent, taken aback by their daughter's sudden determination.
An Nuan had never been a child who worried them.
When she was little, her grandfather arranged a childhood betrothal for her, and she not only didn't refuse, but also remained faithful to it, never dating any male friends other than Gu Yan Sheng. She was completely devoted to him.
So how could she suddenly say such things now?!
"An Nuan could see their confusion," Dad, I have never done anything to make things difficult for you. I also understand very well how a marriage alliance between our families can bring us many benefits. But even so, I must stand by my decision."
"You are my daughter, and of course, I trust you," An Yan Yuan replied, seeing that An Nuan had spoken so firmly. "However, if we were to cancel the wedding now, it would not only deprive us of the advantages both families could gain but also bring about significant negative consequences for our family. How can the An family maintain its position in Qingcheng in the future?"
Emotions welled up within him nonetheless.
"No, it won't," An Nuan affirmed. "If the wedding is called off, it will be the Gu family who bears all the consequences!"
An Yan Yuan was taken aback.
He was stunned by the sudden aura his daughter exuded.
He couldn't help but feel that she was different from her usual gentle self.
"In the upcoming wedding next month, it will be the Gu family who will be humiliated!"
An Nuan's words were resolute.
