After Rebirth, I Became the Richest Woman - Chapter 1

At the edge of a cliff, a black car sat precariously on a slope; the person inside was inches away from death.

“You lunatic!”

Ye Xinuo managed to squeeze the words out of her throat with great difficulty. She had been injected with a nerve-paralyzing drug, and her body was no longer under her control.

“Little Ye, don’t blame your Uncle Tang. Who told you to be the final stumbling block in my takeover of Ye Sheng? I’ll send you to reunite with Brother Sheng now.”

The man in the passenger seat was in his fifties, dressed in a sharp suit and gold-rimmed glasses—looking every bit the refined gentleman.

“You… you will get what’s coming to you!” Ye Xinuo was filled with bitter regret. It was her own blindness, fueled by hatred, that allowed her to be used so easily. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman catches both.

“Hahahaha! Little Ye, you’re still so naive. There is no such thing as karma in this world. Look, you’re about to go find your dear old dad, while I get to live a perfectly fine life. Do you really still believe in retribution?” Tang Jie straightened his collar and stepped out of the car.

“Ye Xinuo, Chairwoman and CEO of Ye Sheng Group, committed suicide after failing to handle the company’s bankruptcy.” Having said his piece, he leaned down, released the handbrake, and stepped aside with a smile.

The black iron box slid forward slowly, eventually plunging into the surging sea.

Water poured in bit by bit. The person inside could only wait for the end until they were submerged by the freezing seawater.

Ye Xinuo hadn’t cried in a long time, but in the final moment of her life, a single tear escaped her eye. She had trusted the wrong person and sought revenge against the wrong person. By nurturing a tiger, she had invited her own ruin.

If there was an afterlife, Ye Xinuo really wanted to ask Qin Moyan: What did you and my father say to each other the day he died? Why didn’t you offer a single word of explanation, even though you knew I saw you as an enemy?

If only I could start over.

“Miss! Miss, how are you feeling?”

Hearing a voice that sounded both near and far, Ye Xinuo’s fingertips twitched, and she squinted her eyes open.

“Thank God!” A woman in black professional attire let out a sigh of relief.

From the television came a news anchor’s monotone voice: “This is the National Finance Channel. We are reporting a financial update: The passing of Mr. Ye Qisheng, former Chairman of the Ye Sheng Group, has had a massive impact on the stock market. Recently, Ye Sheng Group has been embroiled in a merger conflict with the Hessen Fund, and its stock price has dropped by 20% to date.”

After Ye Xinuo adjusted to the blinding light, she licked her dry lips and asked hoarsely, “Where am I?”

“Miss, you…” The woman grabbed Ye Xinuo’s shoulders and shook them firmly. “Miss, have you lost your memory?”

The speaker was Ye Xinuo’s special assistant, Yu Qing—a confidante personally groomed by Ye Qisheng.

“No, it’s just…” Ye Xinuo couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. Hadn’t she fallen into the sea? It seemed she wasn’t meant to die yet; she had been rescued.

“Who am I?” The woman let go and pointed to herself.

“Sister Yu Qing.” Ye Xinuo rubbed her head, then suddenly remembered something crucial. She grabbed Yu Qing’s hand in a panic. “Where is Tang Jie? Call the police! Fast!”

“Miss, what are you talking about?” Yu Qing felt Ye Xinuo’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Don’t scare me; you suddenly fainted, and now you’re talking nonsense.”

Ye Xinuo’s gaze drifted to the TV, her expression dazed.

“Miss, are you okay? Can you hold on? Hessen Fund has acquired 10% of our stock. Their China region head, Qin Moyan, passed the vote at the special shareholders’ meeting and will be joining the Board of Directors today.” Yu Qing checked her watch. “Today’s meeting is vital. We can’t miss it. We have to leave now.”

“Qin Moyan. Qin Moyan.” Ye Xinuo repeated the name twice.

Didn’t Qin Moyan die in a car accident? She had even attended the funeral.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What is the date today?”

Yu Qing tapped her phone screen. “Here, see for yourself.”

Ye Xinuo looked at the bright screen. It clearly displayed a date from five years ago.

Did I… return to five years ago?

The sensation of suffocating in the seawater still lingered in her body. Was everything happening right now real? Or was it just a cruel, fleeting dream?

“Miss? Chairwoman? Nuo Nuo?” Yu Qing waved her hand in front of Ye Xinuo’s eyes.

After a long silence…

“You’re so talkative.” Ye Xinuo grabbed Yu Qing’s hand, her eyes curving into a smile despite being moist at the corners. “Regardless, it’s good to see you again, Sister Yu Qing.”

“You haven’t fallen for me, have you?” Yu Qing tightened her collar with her other hand. “I-I-I am a professional special assistant!”

Ye Xinuo burst out laughing. “You’re a grown woman, don’t be so childish!”

Yu Qing: “Alright, Madam Chairwoman. I’ll help you up. Clean yourself up; we need to head out.”

Ye Xinuo nodded and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

She looked at herself in the mirror—the youthful features, the skin full of collagen. It was indeed the face of a twenty-two or twenty-three-year-old.

“Did I really return to five years ago?” Ye Xinuo murmured. “Can a person really… be reborn?”

Ye Xinuo rested her hand on the faucet, slowly tightening her grip until the veins on her hand stood out.

If heaven really gave her a second chance, then in this life, she would never trust the wrong person again. She would not let the people around her die one by one.

She believed that in this world, there was such a thing as karma.

Ye Xinuo stared blankly at the woman who walked through the door. Even though she had treated Qin Moyan as an enemy in her past life, she had felt a faint sense of loss upon hearing of her death. Seeing her alive now brought a strange, indescribable joy.

Beside her, Tang Jie patted her shoulder and comforted her: “Nuo Nuo, don’t worry. With your Uncle Tang here, I won’t let someone like Qin Moyan threaten your position.”

“Thank you, Uncle Tang.” Ye Xinuo gave him a grateful smile, looking like an innocent, worldly-unwise young girl.

Qin Moyan was dressed in a perfectly tailored black-and-white striped high-end suit. Her dark hair reached her waist. She had the face of a lady from a prestigious family, yet she carried a powerful “do not approach” aura.

As soon as she sat down next to Ye Xinuo, the air around them seemed to drop a few degrees.

“Directors, I am Qin Moyan. I look forward to a pleasant cooperation.”

Ye Xinuo slightly raised her eyelids, glanced sideways at Tang Jie, and then glared at Qin Moyan, saying coldly: “I advise Hessen to give up on this idea. I won’t let my father’s life’s work fall into your hands!”

Qin Moyan’s gaze drifted lightly onto Ye Xinuo’s face. “Then let us wait and see.”

Ye Xinuo’s throat tightened. She thought to herself: It must be because I attended her funeral; seeing a living person staring at me is making my heart race.

“Personally, I don’t care who’s in charge of the company, as long as we make money. Wouldn’t you agree?” The speaker was Wei Gang, one of the directors.

“Exactly. We listen to whoever can make the company money,” another director chimed in.

Tang Jie cleared his throat. “You two shouldn’t say that. When Brother Sheng was alive, he made sure everyone’s pockets were full. Now that he’s gone, as her uncles, we should give Nuo Nuo a hand.”

Ye Xinuo sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she maintained the look of a submissive little white rabbit, whispering, “Thank you, Uncle Tang.”

At the same time, she blinked her watery eyes a few times, making some of the directors present lose their focus for a moment.

“I’ll ask the Chairwoman to get to the point of this meeting as soon as possible.” Qin Moyan looked at her watch. “I’m in a hurry. I have to be at the airport in half an hour.”

Ye Xinuo scoffed. This time, it wasn’t an act; she genuinely found Qin Moyan’s “robot-like” attitude annoying.

Qin Moyan tapped the table with her fingertip. “Did the elder Mr. Ye not teach Miss Ye that the Chairwoman of the Board should keep her emotions hidden? Even if you dislike me, you should keep it to yourself, shouldn’t you?”

“Director Qin must be joking. How could I possibly dislike you?” Ye Xinuo curled her lips into a smile and opened the folder in front of her.

“Let’s begin today’s agenda. Currently, our group’s most important project is capturing the mobile payment market. As everyone knows, our social platform already covers 80% of young users…”

After the meeting ended, Tang Jie patted Ye Xinuo’s shoulder. “Don’t take the uncles’ difficult behavior to heart. Rest assured, Uncle Tang is always on your side.”

“I’m so glad I have Uncle Tang!” Ye Xinuo said, pressing her hands together over her chest.

Watching Tang Jie leave, Ye Xinuo’s eyes turned dark. She then jogged a few steps to catch up with Qin Moyan, blocking her path. Pretending to be arrogant and difficult, she said, “Is Director Qin in such a rush to catch a flight?”

“Not a rush.” Qin Moyan brushed past her. “I just didn’t want to waste time earlier.”

Ye Xinuo didn’t get angry; instead, she laughed—a bright, trembling laugh.

Qin Moyan frowned slightly. This Miss Ye seemed to have something wrong with her head.

After laughing her fill, Ye Xinuo patted Qin Moyan’s shoulder and walked past her.

Everything was exactly as it was in her previous life, even this person’s lies. She really had been reborn to five years ago.

In this life, those who owed her, and those she owed, would all be settled.

“Miss, slow down!” Yu Qing, in high heels and dragging a suitcase, struggled to keep up with the sprinting Ye Xinuo.

That old fox Qin Moyan! Working for Ye Sheng while her heart was with the enemy—she was a director here but still tried to steal business from under them. Fortunately, Ye Xinuo had suffered once in her past life; this time, she was going to intercept her.

Ye Xinuo panted as she slammed into the VIP check-in counter, slapping her ID on the desk. “Seat… seat selection!”

“Lucheng Airlines is happy to serve you. How can I—”

“8L!” Ye Xinuo gasped for air. “No, the seat right next to 8L!”

The ground staff member in the red uniform twitched her eye, wondering what treasure was hidden under that seat for everyone to want it.

She smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, the passenger for that seat has already checked in. May I choose another seat for you?”

“Then the window seat behind it.” Ye Xinuo felt indignant. Despite her rush, she was still a step too late. In an era where you couldn’t select seats on a phone, it really tested one’s physical stamina.

The staff member tapped the screen and smiled. “Here is your ticket. Have a pleasant flight!”

At that moment, Yu Qing finally caught up, looking half-dead. “Miss, I watched you grow up… how did I not know you trained in track and field?!”

“You’re not that much older than me!” Ye Xinuo made a face at Yu Qing. “I’m heading in. I’ll leave the company to you for the next two days.”

“Go on,” Yu Qing said, her gaze softening. “Don’t worry.”

Ye Xinuo said “bye-bye” and pulled her suitcase into the security line.

Just after passing security, she heard the airport broadcast: “Passenger Ye Xinuo traveling on flight KN9696, your flight is about to depart. Please proceed to Gate 32 immediately.”

Ye Xinuo took a deep breath and sprinted again in her high heels, barely making it onto the plane.

Qin Moyan, who was already on the plane chatting with a gentleman next to her, raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw the person appear at the cabin door.

Ye Xinuo’s chest heaved as she caught her breath. Handing her suitcase to a flight attendant, she walked straight to Qin Moyan. With a bashful, reproachful look, she said: “A-Mo, how could you get on the plane without waiting for me? We just had one little fight last night. As the saying goes, ‘a fight at the head of the bed is settled at the foot of the bed.’ Don’t be mad at me anymore, okay?”

Qin Moyan frowned, wondering what kind of game Ye Xinuo was playing.

Ye Xinuo turned to the refined gentleman on Qin Moyan’s right, pressing her hands together in a plea: “Sir, could I please swap seats with you? I had a fight with my girlfriend yesterday, and she’s still ignoring me!”

Girlfriend?

Qin Moyan’s usually quick mind suddenly hit a snag.

The man by the window looked at Qin Moyan, then at Ye Xinuo, and replied readily, “No problem.”

Ye Xinuo sat down by the window and looked out, her lips curving into a smirk. Hmph, try to fight me? If I let you steal my business, I’ll take your last name!

“I heard… that I’m your girlfriend?”

Qin Moyan’s voice suddenly sounded right behind her ear. Startled, Ye Xinuo jerked her head back, slamming it right into the other woman’s nose.