Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 1

The spring rain drizzled, collecting in puddles beneath the eaves, where Ji Shihuan’s reflection shimmered.

Ji Shihuan was exceptionally beautiful—with misty mountain brows, upturned nose, and thin lips. Her superior bone structure supported her features, making her a rare beauty. It was no wonder the guests forgot the solemn occasion, stealing glances at her from the corners of their eyes while offering condolences.

The uneasy tranquility didn’t last long. Someone rushed through the rain, their glossy high heels crushing the standing water.

“Zhang Bosh—!!”

A woman’s sharp voice cut through the deathly silence of the memorial hall. Ignoring her drenched appearance, she charged toward a man in the line of guests.

“You killed Shiqin! How dare you show your face here? Get out! Get out of here right now!”

Everyone rushed to restrain her, but the woman grew more frantic, wanting nothing more than to leap up and scratch the man’s face.

Zhang Bosh’s eyes were red and swollen: “Miss Shu, please accept my condolences. I, none of us, wanted this to happen…” He choked back a sob: “Chairman Ji’s sudden passing… my heart…”

His words offered no comfort. The woman shrieked hysterically: “Shut up!”

Her eyes wide, her words were chilling, like a curse.

“You and those people from the Jiang family—every last one of you is a murderer! MUR—DER—ER—S—!!”

The scene was chaotic, and the security staff eventually had to escort Zhang Bosh away.

Throughout the entire process, Ji Shihuan, standing at the center of the crowd, showed no reaction, maintaining a cold detachment as if she were an outsider.

A guest murmured in secret: “This Miss Ji… she’s useless.”

Her companion responded: “She only has a pretty face; she hasn’t learned an ounce of her brother’s courage.”

“The Ji family’s future…”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Shu Ni calmed down, wiped her tears, and slowly walked over to Ji Shihuan. “Ah Huan…”

Ji Shihuan seemed to only just notice her presence and raised her eyes to meet her gaze.

“I lost my composure just now… I hope I didn’t frighten you?”

Ji Shihuan turned her head.

Shu Ni thought she would at least ask about Zhang Bosh, but instead, she asked: “Weren’t you resting inside?”

“I heard someone say Zhang Bosh was here, and I immediately…”

“Who told you?”

Shu Ni paused: “Huh?”

“Who told you?” Ji Shihuan’s gaze swept over the guests and finally landed on the security personnel maintaining order.

Despite the hidden fatigue in her clear, cool voice, Shu Ni was momentarily stunned and suppressed.

“That… that’s not important.” Recovering, she glossed over the question, blinked, and grabbed Ji Shihuan’s arm to stop her observation. “Why do you look so distracted?”

“Mm.” Ji Shihuan lowered her eyes, subtly pulling her hand back. “You’re not well. You should rest properly.”

Hearing her say this, Shu Ni secretly lowered her guard.

She shook her head, looking mournful: “I’m fine. I’m just so sad…”

Ji Shihuan turned her head and looked at the black-and-white photo of her elder brother, Ji Shiqin, above the altar.

Shu Ni followed her gaze, one hand covering her lower abdomen.

She leaned onto Ji Shihuan’s shoulder, whispering: “Ah Huan… I only have you left, Sis…”

Later that day, Ji Shihuan saw Shu Ni off.

As the black sedan disappeared down the road, she reached into her pocket, intending to find her phone, but accidentally pulled out a white handkerchief.

She recalled that a guest had kindly offered the cloth to comfort her in the memorial hall.

Ji Shihuan hadn’t actually shed any tears and had carelessly shoved it into her pocket. Now, as she took it out, she noticed a cheap rose scent clinging to the fabric.

The upper-class circle was like this: the more outwardly polished, the more inwardly filthy and depraved.

Ji Shihuan frowned, tossing the handkerchief into a trash can in disgust.

The next moment, she opened her umbrella, ready to go back inside. After two steps, she heard a sound behind her. She turned and saw a Rolls-Royce pierce the rain curtain and stop nearby.

A woman in a black pencil dress stepped out, removed her sunglasses, and looked at her through the rain.

Her driver held an umbrella for her, and the two walked silently toward Ji Shihuan.

“Miss Ji.”

Ji Shihuan raised an eyebrow, looking at the person who had been her defeated rival in her previous life.

The woman had no intention of making small talk, getting straight to the point: “I’ve come to pay my respects to Mr. Ji. Is that alright?”

“Yes.” Ji Shihuan turned back inside, leading the way for her.

All unrelated persons had already left, and the courtyard was quiet. In the gentle rustle of the rain, Ji Shihuan silently counted the woman’s footsteps behind her. They were steady and unhurried, carrying a strangely reassuring rhythm.

After the woman finished her bow, Ji Shihuan managed to clear her thoughts from the damp drizzle.

She spoke: “I didn’t expect you to come.”

The woman was slender and stood tall like a bamboo shoot.

“Mr. Ji was a respectable opponent. We simply had different positions. Regarding this accident… I also feel regret and sorrow.”

Ji Shihuan gave a slight, unsparing scoff: “The rumors outside say the Jiang family orchestrated this car accident.”

The woman firmly shook her head: “No.”

Her eyes were clear and untainted, and her tone carried the proud aloofness of someone “innocent until proven guilty.”

Ji Shihuan suspected she must have been out of her mind in her previous life to so easily believe Shu Ni’s provocations.

Seeing that Ji Shihuan remained silent, the woman didn’t bother to explain further.

She nodded at Ji Shihuan as a farewell and turned to walk toward the driver waiting under the eaves.

“Jiang Boyan.”

Ji Shihuan called out to her at the last moment.

The woman turned back.

“Just because you aren’t involved, doesn’t mean the people around you are clean.” Ji Shihuan made no attempt to hide her scrutiny.

She took a business card adorned with a sunflower from inside her clothing, offering it with what she considered a sincere invitation: “CEO Jiang, interested in discussing a business deal?”

Jiang Boyan’s eyes scanned the card, frowning slightly.

The small card was beautifully designed. The white-to-orange gradient was like gradually ignited hope. The three characters of “Ji Shihuan” were encircled by sunflowers, crowding into her vision like stars around the moon—

Everything about it was nice, except that it didn’t align with the usual steady and reserved tone of their business circle.

Ji Shihuan also realized the issue. She swept her thumb across the card.

“The new ones aren’t ready yet. Please excuse the temporary one.”

Jiang Boyan’s response was the sound of her footsteps retreating once again.

The black umbrella shielded her from the drizzle and concealed her elegant figure. The woman came and went like a traceless breeze—uncontrollable, yet strangely blowing away a hint of the inner anxiety from Ji Shihuan’s heart.

The card wasn’t accepted, but she wasn’t discouraged. She put it back in her pocket and turned, stepping into the curtain of rain.

It was late spring. The grass and trees along the flagstone path were lush, washed even greener by the rain. Ji Shihuan stepped over scattered petals on her way to the front of the courtyard, the bottom of her trousers soaked.

Nie Zheng, Ji Shiqin’s most trusted assistant, was waiting at the door and walked toward her when she appeared.

“Miss.”

“Did you find the person?”

“Yes.” Nie Zheng helped her open the door. “Zhang Bosh is inside.”

Ji Shihuan nodded.

Her conversation with Zhang Bosh yielded little new information; what he said was essentially consistent with what she had learned in her previous life.

The only thing that moved her was Zhang Bosh’s tearful, frantic denial, swearing on his life that he had never leaked any company secrets.

“That recording is fake! I was framed!” The man, over forty years old, covered his face helplessly. “Someone wanted to make Chairman Ji and me fall out. Chairman Ji didn’t believe me… he didn’t believe me…”

Ji Shihuan asked, “Then who do you think wanted to frame you?”

“The Jiang family!” Zhang Bosh blurted out without hesitation. “It must be the Jiang family!”

He sniffed. “I was in charge of the sales project in the North China region. I… I used some questionable methods… they hold a grudge against me!”

Ji Shihuan tapped her index finger on the armrest, the “thump-thump” sound echoing in her heart.

“Even if the Jiang family framed you, those leaked documents couldn’t have been obtained by them.”

“This, this…” Zhang Bosh’s face was pale.

Ji Shihuan: “So, that final bidding proposal—besides my brother and you—was there a third person who saw it?”

All the strength drained from Zhang Bosh’s body; his soul seemed to briefly leave him.

He shook his head, his gaze unfocused: “I… I don’t know… I truly don’t know…”

Nie Zheng, standing nearby, couldn’t help but interject: “Chairman Ji didn’t trust anyone during that period. He didn’t even dare to leave the documents at the company; he carried them on him at all times.”

He showed no pity for the weeping Zhang Bosh, his eyes flashing with anger: “Who else could it have been but you?!”

Zhang Bosh lay on the floor, weeping uncontrollably, nearly breaking down.

Ji Shihuan felt a headache coming on. Too tired to listen further, she left the man and returned to her room.

She took off her black suit, grabbed her pajamas, and entered the bathroom. Only when the warm water flowed over her eyelids did she finally feel the genuine reality of being alive again.

Yes.

Alive again.

Ji Shihuan was a re-born person.

In her previous life, after Ji Shiqin’s death, she took over his position and began managing the company.

She fully believed the information her sister-in-law, Shu Ni, told her, and to avenge her brother, she retaliated against Zhang Bosh and the Jiang family with all her might.

Ultimately, she sent Zhang Bosh to prison, and the head of the Jiang family, Jiang Boyan, lost all her power, was abandoned by her family, and sent abroad for rehabilitation.

Ji Shihuan hadn’t enjoyed the taste of successful revenge for long before the person she trusted the most suddenly showed her true colors.

Shu Ni, whom she had explicitly rejected many times, turned around and sued her, accusing her of assaulting her sister-in-law and attempting to seize all the family assets.

Ji’s stock plummeted as a result. Ji Shihuan herself was unable to defend herself, was sentenced to ten years in prison in court, and the vast family business was nearly wiped out overnight.

On the way to be transported to prison, the prisoner transport vehicle unexpectedly rolled off a cliff. Knowing that she would most likely die at that moment, a strong sense of resentment surged in Ji Shihuan’s heart—

She had only just begun to guess at the truth from Shu Ni’s exposed face and realized that her years of revenge had been a total farce, but there was no longer any possibility of overturning the case.

She closed her eyes, filled with immense grief and indignation. When she opened them again, she found herself back three years ago, around the time her brother had just passed away.

Ji Shihuan complained about why time couldn’t have rewound a little earlier, giving her a chance to save her closest relative, but the resentment was quickly swept away. She seized the hard-won opportunity, starting to make decisions entirely different from her previous life.

She still needed revenge, but she absolutely could not be led by the nose by her real enemy again.

Coming out of the bathroom, steam clinging to her skin, the vibrating phone on the table just stopped.

She walked over. The screen showed the missed call was from an unfamiliar number.

Ji Shihuan thoughtfully pressed the “redial” button, toweling her hair as she walked to the bed.

The phone ‘beeped’ twice before being answered. The person on the other end spoke: “Hello.”

Ji Shihuan was slightly surprised.

“Jiang Boyan?”

“Mm.”

Ji Shihuan guessed her intention.

“Changed your mind?”

“You don’t have the qualifications to talk about a business deal with me right now.” Jiang Boyan’s voice was low, as inscrutable as she was, sending a shiver of warmth through Ji Shihuan’s ear.

“Then why did CEO Jiang save my number?”

Ji Shihuan leaned against the headboard, stretching her limbs lazily.

“Compared to jackals like Dong Zheng, I’d still prefer to see ‘Huan Ji’ fall into your hands.” In her study, Jiang Boyan turned her chair, looking up at the oil painting on the wall.

She said slowly: “If you can become the new CEO of ‘Huan Ji’, I’ll spare half an hour to meet with you.”

“Half an hour? How stingy.” Ji Shihuan complained aloud, but secretly curled her lips.

She felt as if she had returned to the most stressful yet most ambitious period of her previous life, sparring with Jiang Boyan—winning or losing was always exhilarating.

“Don’t worry, CEO Jiang. ‘Huan Ji’ can only remain in the hands of the Ji family.”

The rain hadn’t stopped, and water stains crisscrossed the glass window.

The Forsythia covering the canvas enveloped Jiang Boyan. She was slightly lost in thought: “…I knew someone else who was this naive. They’ve already been sent to a mental hospital.”

Her tone was very gentle. This was the first time Ji Shihuan remembered them having such a calm conversation.

With her mood relaxed, her tendency for sharp remarks couldn’t be contained.

“Don’t worry.” Ji Shihuan chuckled, her tone lilting. “To save CEO Jiang the trouble of visiting me, I’ll make sure to win.”

She didn’t get a response from Jiang Boyan. The phone was met with a “beep-beep” hang-up tone.

Ji Shihuan tossed the phone onto the nightstand, muttering something before getting up to blow-dry her hair.

—”A repressed tease.”