The searing agony that tore through her flesh resulted in spasms across her body.

The handsome, middle-aged man who carried a whip in his hand was her father, Su Yi.

The beautiful woman next to him with a cold expression and a pair of bloodshot eyes was her mother, Li Jingran

There was another young man with a charming face yet a dangerous gaze in his eyes. He was her second elder brother, Su Muyan

yes, Shen Xi had undergone a rebirth. After she had completed her mission of traveling through 66 astral planes, she returned to the place where it all began, back to the Su family that was bereft of love but filled with apathy and desolation

It was probably due to her prolonged suffering at the Su family’s hands that she remembered the events that transpired very clearly.

It happened on her seventeenth birthday. As the true heiress of the Su family, it was already the second year since she had been brought home to them and spent her first birthday there

Her birthday fell on the same day as Su Ruowan, the fake heiress of the Su family. The latter was five years older than her. The whole family had prepared for Su Ruowan’s birthday party a month in advance to give her a surprise

Yet, Shen Xi’s family members seemed to have forgotten about her presence.

Yesterday, her eldest brother, Su Muxuan, tossed her a teddy bear. It had a pretty pink color. She was overjoyed and assumed it was a birthday gift from her eldest brother. As such, she treated it with love and care. Unfortunately, this morning, Su Ruowan snatched her teddy bear away Shen Xi confronted her and wanted her teddy bear back. During the argument, Su Ruowan slipped and tumbled down the stairs. Su Ruowan cried and explained that it was a misunderstanding, and she had no intention of snatching her belonging away. The newly bought teddy bear was dirty and she only wanted to clean it before returning it to her sister

Shen Xi’s family pinned the blame on her and accused her of pushing Su Ruowan down the stairs. They condemned her for being evil and ungrateful. As if this was not enough, after coming home from the hospital, Su Yi struck her violently with a whip until she fell unconscious without saying another word.

This daughter who came from the village was not raised by her. Li Jingran had no love for her and found her to be a pain

Nobody noticed that Shen Xi, who was lying on the floor, opened her eyes without warning. Her gaze was chilly and determined, tinged with a blatant desire to mock those around her

All of a sudden, the unconscious Shen Xi got up and plucked the whip out of Su Yi’s hand

Then, using all of her strength, she cracked the whip at Su Muyan’s face.

As an idol and a singer, Su Muyan’s face was his prized possession. His face was insured for up to fifty million yuan!

The surrounding air cracked loudly as if she had torn through a hole in the atmosphere

Li Jingran was so furious that she felt her veins tightening. Her vision began to blacken and she lost her footing. Had someone not caught hold of her, she would have passed out on the spot.

When the Su family brought her back, they told outsiders that she was adopted. On the contrary, Su Ruowan was the real heiress of the family. They even wanted her to keep the secret to protect the marriage between the heirs of the Su and Gu families.

Shen Xi signed her name. After receiving fifty million yuan, she strode out of the house haughtily while the Su family stared at her scornfully. It was bright and sunny outside.

Unexpectedly, Su Ruowan’s voice appeared behind her. She sounded tender and meek.

Su Yi and Li Jingran remained quiet. Instead, they glared at Shen Xi viciously.

The other members of the Su family directed furious stares at Shen Xi when they heard this remark. Their gazes were like sharp knives that were launched at her continuously. They desperately wanted to shred her into pieces.

Shen Xi nearly threw up when she heard her sister’s words

“National Idol” was a talent show and Su Yi was its biggest investor. The whole family had everything laid out for Su Ruowan so that she could make her debut in the central role.

As soon as Shen Xi got wind of this, she went to Su Yi and pleaded that he put her on the show as well. However, he flatly denied her pleas and scolded her for being greedy.

Shen Xi noticed that Su Ruowan had come forward. The other members were obedient, too, and did not follow suit

Frankly, Su Ruowan was not a pretty girl. Although her heart-shaped face was the size of a palm, her features were not exactly attractive. Her brows were too thick; Her eyes were not big; Her nose was a bit flat and her lips were thin.

Nevertheless, she was good at makeup and the result was similar to that of plastic surgery. It covered all the flaws on her face, and it made her look beautiful.

SU Ruowan’s leg was wrapped in a plaster cast, and she was sitting in a wheelchair. When she heard her reply, her gaze hardened for one fleeting moment. Then, it softened, and she looked at Shen Xi meekly

Instead of engaging in the conversation...

It was all carried out perfectly in one swift movement.

The Su family glared at her in resentment while they surrounded Su Ruowan anxiously, coaxing and consoling her.

Shen Xi had just approached the doorstep when a handsome young man ran towards her, bearing a stern expression on his face

Gu Xiaohan was rather good-looking and had a snobbish, arrogant personality

The force sent Gu Xiaohan two meters away from her.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the road.

A car zoomed towards the entrance at an incredible speed, as if the driver had lost control of it. The car was directed at Gu Xiaohan, who was still lying on the floor

A sharp, piercing sound could be heard.

The car braked suddenly and stopped as soon as it was about to hit Gu Xiaohan. Obviously, the driver was skilled at maneuvering the car.

The car window was rolled down, partially revealing the charming face of a man.

He turned his head slightly to regard Shen Xi, who was standing at the entrance and looked a mess.

His voice was deep and hypnotic as he spoke,

Shen Xi's plans included starting an entertainment company and making it the biggest in China and, perhaps, in the whole world. She would get involved in everything, from movies, TV shows, variety shows, music to fashion. In short, she would monopolize the entire entertainment industry.

Yuan Yu regarded the girl with fascination while she sank into her own thoughts. An urge to smile showed up on his face

When Shen Xi reached the entrance to the villa once more and saw the multiflora roses creeping on the walls, her eyes reddened, and she was on the verge of tearing up.

In midwinter, all that was left of the roses were its vines. Through the metal gate, she could see that the door to the living room was ajar and that someone was inside.

Madam Yun was not used to the heat in the north. When the heat was supplied to her residence in the winter, she would often leave the door slightly ajar for some fresh air.

At this time, Old Shen was riddled with debt and the villa was about to be mortgaged by the bank

The woman’s voice on the other end was hostile and firm

The woman on the opposite end heard her sobs and could not help but weep

Shen Xi has just finished speaking and heard a dull thud on the other end of the call.

Next, the door opened.

A familiar figure stumbled out of the courtyard and ran towards her. The figure stood at the entrance and regarded Shen Xi.

Yun Jinping looked at her daughter who was in a total mess and covered in wounds. All of a sudden, she felt the urge to confront the Su family. She could not suppress her own emotions any longer, so she ran forward and hugged Shen Xi tightly

Yun Jinping took Shen Xi to the community hospital for treatment. After coming home, Yun Jinping grew sadder the longer she looked at Shen Xi and became angry

Shen Xi was sitting on the sofa and chowing down on her mother’s beef noodles

Most of the time, Madam Yun was patient and soft-spoken. She would only become enraged when it was something concerning her daughter

Shen Xi sank into a deep slumber. When she woke up, the evening had arrived, so she got up and took a ladder from the attic

Yun Jinping was preparing a dinner in the kitchen

Through the window, she saw her daughter straining to carry the ladder towards the wall

Yun Jinping ran out and told Shen Xi to stand aside while she adjusted the ladder.

Seventeen-year-old Shen Xi was as tender as a flower. She had a pair of ruddy cheeks and had on a red woolen coat. She was wearing a white beanie with a couple of little white balls stitched on.

She was worried that her face did not look presentable enough and it might scare the big boss. Thus, she applied light makeup, then checked herself in the mirror. She pinched her fleshy cheeks and walked out of the house pleasantly

The latter had a rope around her shoulder and a pot of kalanchoe plant in her arms

As a method to protect the owner’s privacy, the wall between the villa was two meters high. It was a solid stone wall, and one could not see what was on the other side.

Shen Xi carried the kalanchoe plant and climbed to the top of the ladder, discreetly showing part of her head. Indeed, she saw a man sitting in the courtyard.

The man was seated in a wheelchair and donned a black trench coat. There was a light, gray blanket on his lap.

The man’s side profile was facing Shen Xi. From her perspective, she could observe his prominent features that looked like the finest artisans in heaven had crafted it. He seemed reserved and unfriendly.

It was evening and the sky cast bright orange sun rays onto his body, resulting in the formation of a long shadow on the ground. The loneliness and sorrow he felt was indescribable.

Flashback

Li Yuan hugged her and told her

Then

Two days later, the SU family members either died or went mad

Flashback Ends

Shen Xi was contemplating when she sensed someone’s cold, hard gaze on her. She jolted in fright and made contact with the man’s penetrating yet emotionless stare.

He had beautiful eyes. They were narrow and had a subtle, upward curve that made him look unusually charming and enigmatic

However, what laid beneath his icy, hostile gaze was a bottomless chasm devoid of life and light. It was as still as an uninhabited pool of water, where nothing could stir up ripples on its surface

By staring into his eyes, Shen Xi felt as if she had tumbled into a vast abyss and her body turned stiff and frozen.

Those intense feelings of angst and hatred towards humanity and the world struck a chord with her. Instead of experiencing terror, she felt sorry for him.

As if, nothing in this world could ignite the spark within him anymore.

He was alive but spent his living days like a dead man.

After a while

The rays of sunset illuminated the girl’s body with a warm, orange glow.

She wore a red outfit and carried a pot with a red flower in it.

At this very moment, he felt his heart leap. He had not felt anything like this for a long time.

Li Yuan’s expression remained unchanged. It was like the surface of a lake that was frozen for a million years, where no ripples could form

Instead of waiting for his response, Shen Xi placed the pot down in an upright manner and carefully lowered it with the rope.

Li Yuan realized that the girl had made up her mind and passed him the pot. Hence,

When Kun Lun entered the courtyard with a lunchbox in his hands, he got a shock. He stood still, not knowing whether to head over or to leave

Shen Xi was the first to spot the man standing at the entrance.

The man was clothed in a finely tailored suit. He was tall and attractive and had a fancy lunchbox in his hands

Li Yuan seemed unmoved by her words and did not respond to her.

Noticing that the man was about to leave, she cried

The only replies she got were the whoosh of the northern breeze and the creaking sound of the wheelchair as it moved about on the ground. The man had drawn boundaries with the whole world with his inhospitable mannerisms

Soon, Old Shen’s car arrived at the entrance to her home. He carried several large sacks with him.

Her ladder was placed behind a loquat tree that shielded her from view. Therefore, Old Shen did not see her when he stepped into the courtyard.

The flowers in the courtyard were planted by Old Shen and Madam Yun.

Madam Yun loved planting flowers and her attic was filled with different species of flowers, especially rare ones.

The loquat trees in the courtyard were shipped here painstakingly by Old Shen from his old residence. There were a total of eight trees here.

Eight is Shen Xi's lucky number. No matter what Madam Yun and Old Shen did, they wanted the number “eight” to be represented.

At the turn of the seasons, she would feel uncomfortable. She often itched and coughed.

In the summer, Madam Yun would prepare and stock up some loquat syrup for her. She asserted that her homemade remedy was of better quality than the ones sold on the market, and safer for consumption as well.

Old Shen had begun speaking before he even entered the house. His voice was particularly loud, too

Shen Zhangqing entered the house, changed his shoes and took out the cake

Before Shen Xi had a chance to step inside the house to surprise her father, tears began streaming down her cheeks.

Shen Xi’s face was covered in tears and snot. Her vision was blurry and her voice was hoarse

Normally, Shen Zhangqing was a mild-mannered man, but whenever there was an issue concerning Shen Xi, he would become agitated. He wanted to confront the Su family and kill Su Yi

It took Shen Xi and her mother, Yun Jinping, some time convincing Shen Zhangqing before he put down the knives sulkily.

His age had taken its toll on him and he was fat. After the whole ordeal, he panted as he sat on the sofa

Yun Jinping watched as father and daughter engaged in a dialogue, where one barked and the other replied as if they were in a crosstalk

Shen Zhangqing wheezed and his face was tinged bright red

The emotional outburst caused Old Shen to perspire and gasp for air. If he continued to gain weight, he was bound to get sick. Once upon a time, Old Shen was a good-looking and energetic young man.

However, the years of doing business and drinking with his clients had taken a toll on his health. His weight had increased along with his tolerance for alcohol

After the incident, the family finally settled down for dinner.

Shen Xi was not hungry, for she already had something to eat when she came home. She was eating a slice of cake

Li Yuan was nowhere to be seen when Shen Xi climbed up the wall. She waited for a while in the cold wind before Kun Lun came out

He pronounced the words “girl”, “next door” and “flower” with great emphasis.

It was very quiet in the study. All he heard was the flipping sound of documents.

Kun Lun waited for two minutes but there was no response.

Finally, a masculine yet somewhat raspy voice appeared from the study.