If she returned to the past, did it mean the events that led to her death were still the same? Feng Suyin stared at her reflection in the mirror. There was no way what she experienced was just a figment of her imagination. The excruciating pain when her entire body burned in the lab explosion. Her sister killing her to snatch not only her man but also the research study she had dedicated her entire life to.
The thought of reliving those traumatic moments was unbearable. Feng Suyin found herself wondering if there was a chance to change her fate and rewrite history. Going back in time would carry consequences. The possibility of altering the events leading up to her death was too tempting to ignore.
What was the point of her return if nothing could be changed?
If she could alter the past, she could prevent her sister from committing such a heinous act. She had spent years on that research. Years of long nights, failed trials, data she had memorized line by line. Saving it would be a small victory against everything that had been taken from her.
She took a deep breath. Her mind was made up. No matter the risks, she would rewrite her fate.
Someone had given her a free pass to return to the past and change her fate. She wasn't stupid enough not to take advantage of it. Now that she knew what the Feng family and Ji Hanjun thought of her, Feng Suyin decided not to be swayed by their sweet words anymore.
A snake can shed its skin, but it remains a snake at its core.
Feng Suyin knew that no matter how charming or convincing they might appear, the Feng family and Ji Hanjun were responsible for her tragic demise. They had stolen everything from her—her love, her work, and her life.
Being reborn, returning to the past, things like that only happened in movies and novels. Here she was, living it. Compared to the main characters of those stories—who were able to return many years before their deaths—Feng Suyin was only given three months to change her destiny.
Three months. An impossibly short window. Feng Suyin was determined to make every moment count.
She couldn't change what had already happened. She could alter what came next. The events leading to her death were still fresh in her mind. She might not be as beautiful as Feng Yilan or a prodigy like Ji Yuzhe. Feng Suyin had a sharp mind. She could remember details with astonishing clarity — conversations, dates, the exact order of events. She intended to use every one of them.
Feng Suyin looked at her bridal dress. It was the same dress she had worn on her wedding day, the same dress that was burned and damaged during the explosion in her lab. The style was outdated. Puffy sleeves and a corset-style bodice that did not fit her figure well. After giving it a good look, she found the dress hideous.
She had thought Feng Yilan was being thoughtful by helping her choose such a dress. Now it was clear, just another way for her sister to assert her dominance and superiority. Feng Yilan hated being compared to anyone. Hated being outshone. She deliberately chose this dress to humiliate Feng Suyin on her wedding day.
Feng Suyin couldn't understand why Feng Yilan felt threatened by her presence. They had moved past their old insecurities, or so she had thought. Not only was Feng Suyin overweight and plain-looking — she had always been overshadowed by her sister's beauty since they were younger. Feng Yilan had made it her life's mission to make Feng Suyin feel small and insignificant.
She took off the hideous dress and put on her regular clothes. A long black pencil skirt and white blouse. Outside the hospital and her lab, she knew she looked like an average Jane. Easily overlooked in a crowd. She wasn't as stunning as Feng Yilan, who commanded attention wherever she went.
Feng Suyin used to be envious of her younger sister. Eventually she understood that Feng Yilan was a true socialite, unlike her. From an early age, Feng Suyin knew she was adopted. She knew she didn't have the same elegance and poise that came naturally to Feng Yilan. She had always felt like the odd one out in their family. An outsider looking in. The Feng family never let her forget that she was nothing without them, and that she shouldn't ask for more.
It was a pill Feng Suyin found hard to swallow.
Every moment of her life, she dedicated herself to pleasing the Feng family. When Feng Yilan took her things, she could only bite her tongue and try to make peace with it. When Feng Yilan was hurt in her presence, she had to face the brunt of their mother's anger, even if she had done nothing wrong. She had spent years tiptoeing around her sister, trying to keep the peace and avoid any confrontation. No matter how hard she tried, Feng Yilan always found a way to make her feel inferior.
Feng Suyin had always been the one getting the shorter end of the stick. The one putting on a brave face.
Now, standing in front of the mirror, an ember of anger ignited in her chest.
Done. She was done being the doormat, the one who had to constantly prove herself to a family that never accepted her. She deserved better than this, better than a life filled with resentment and pain. Going back in time was her only chance at rewriting her fate, and she would take it.
Thinking about it, Feng Suyin remembered Feng Yilan's words. Her sister had been making out with Ji Hanjun in the other dressing room while Feng Suyin was here alone, stressing over a wedding dress.
Her mind ran over it again. So, while Feng Suyin had been struggling with the hideous dress alone, her sister had been cozying up to Ji Hanjun.
Her eyes darkened.
She had been oblivious in the past. Not anymore.
She would ruin those two for what they had done to her. She couldn't forgive Feng Yilan for betraying her, stealing her love and her research, and ultimately causing her death. As for Ji Hanjun, the man she once thought she could trust—he was nothing more than a snake in disguise.