Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 1
Spring rain drizzled steadily, pooling beneath the eaves. Reflected in the shallow water was Ji Shihuan’s face.
Ji Shihuan was beautiful.
Graceful brows, misty eyes, a delicately upturned nose, and thin lips. Her exceptional bone structure gave perfect definition to her features, making her a beauty one in ten thousand. It was no wonder that the mourners forgot themselves, sneaking glances at her out of the corners of their eyes even as they paid their respects.
The peaceful silence did not last long.
Someone arrived through the rain, glossy high heels splashing through the puddles.
“Zhang Boshi?!”
A woman’s shrill voice shattered the funeral hall’s stillness.
Ignoring her disheveled appearance, she rushed toward a man standing among the guests.
“You killed Shiqin! How dare you show your face here? Get out! Get out of here!”
The guests hurried to restrain her, but the woman only became more frantic, nearly clawing at the man’s face.
Zhang Boshi’s eyes were swollen red.
“Miss Shu… please accept my condolences. I… none of us wanted this to happen…”
Unable to control himself, he choked back a sob.
“President Ji’s unexpected passing… I…”
His words did nothing to calm her.
“Shut up!”
She glared at him, her voice as vicious as a curse.
“You and everyone in the Jiang family—all of you are murderers! Murderers!”
The scene descended into chaos.
In the end, security had no choice but to escort Zhang Boshi away.
Throughout the entire commotion, Ji Shihuan, standing at the center of the crowd, remained completely expressionless, as though none of it concerned her.
Some guests whispered among themselves.
“The young Miss Ji… she’s not up to the task.”
Her companion replied,
“Pretty face, but she didn’t inherit even a fraction of her brother’s courage.”
“The Ji family from now on…”
“Tsk.”
Once Shu Ni had calmed down, she wiped away her tears and slowly approached Ji Shihuan.
“Ahuan…”
Only then did Ji Shihuan seem to notice her. She raised her eyes and met Shu Ni’s gaze.
“I lost my composure just now… I didn’t scare you, did I?”
Ji Shihuan turned her head slightly.
Shu Ni thought she would at least ask about Zhang Boshi.
Instead, Ji Shihuan asked,
“Weren’t you resting inside?”
“I heard someone say Zhang Boshi had come, so I immediately…”
“Who told you?”
Shu Ni froze.
“Huh?”
“Who told you?”
Ji Shihuan’s gaze swept across the guests before finally settling on the security guards maintaining order.
Her voice was calm, though exhaustion lingered beneath it.
Even so, Shu Ni felt herself momentarily intimidated.
“Th-that’s not important.”
Recovering herself, she brushed the question aside. Blinking innocently, she grabbed Ji Shihuan’s arm to stop her from looking around further.
“What’s wrong with you? You look so absent-minded.”
“Mhm.”
Ji Shihuan lowered her eyes and quietly withdrew her arm.
“You’re not feeling well. You should be resting.”
Hearing that, Shu Ni secretly relaxed.
She shook her head, sorrow filling her face.
“I’m fine… I’m just heartbroken…”
Ji Shihuan turned toward the black-and-white portrait of her older brother, Ji Shiqin, displayed at the altar.
Following her gaze, Shu Ni gently covered her lower abdomen with one hand.
She leaned against Ji Shihuan’s shoulder and whispered,
“Ahuan… Sister-in-law only has you now…”
Later that day, Ji Shihuan saw Shu Ni off.
The black sedan disappeared down the road.
Reaching into her pocket for her phone, she unexpectedly pulled out a white handkerchief instead.
She remembered now.
Earlier in the funeral hall, one of the guests had offered it to comfort her.
She hadn’t shed a single tear, casually stuffing it into her pocket without thinking.
Now, holding it in her hand, she discovered it carried the cloying scent of cheap rose perfume.
High society was like this.
The more polished and glamorous the exterior, the filthier the inside.
Frowning in disgust, Ji Shihuan tossed the handkerchief into a trash bin.
Just as she opened her umbrella to head back, she heard movement behind her.
Turning around, she saw a Rolls-Royce glide through the rain before stopping nearby.
A woman in a fitted black dress stepped out, removed her sunglasses, and looked at Ji Shihuan through the curtain of rain.
The driver held an umbrella over her as they silently approached.
“Miss Ji.”
Ji Shihuan raised an eyebrow.
She was looking at the woman who, in her previous life, had ultimately lost to her.
Without exchanging pleasantries, the woman got straight to the point.
“I’ve come to pay my respects to Mr. Ji. Would that be alright?”
Ji Shihuan nodded.
“This way.”
With the unrelated guests already gone, the courtyard was quiet.
Amid the soft patter of rain, Ji Shihuan silently counted the footsteps following behind her.
Neither hurried nor slow, they carried a strangely reassuring rhythm.
After the woman bowed before the memorial, Ji Shihuan finally sorted through the chaotic thoughts clouding her mind.
“I didn’t expect you to come.”
The woman stood as straight as a bamboo stalk.
“President Ji was a worthy opponent. We simply stood on different sides.”
“As for this accident… I feel just as saddened and regretful.”
Ji Shihuan let out a faint, humorless laugh.
“Everyone outside is saying the Jiang family orchestrated the car accident.”
The woman shook her head firmly.
“We didn’t.”
Her eyes were clear and unstained, carrying the quiet pride of someone who believed the innocent had nothing to fear.
Ji Shihuan couldn’t help wondering whether she’d been out of her mind in her previous life to believe every word Shu Ni had whispered.
Seeing that Ji Shihuan remained silent, the woman made no attempt to explain further.
She gave a slight nod in farewell and turned toward the driver waiting beneath the eaves.
“Jiang Boyan.”
Ji Shihuan called out just before she left.
The woman turned back.
“You may not have done it,” Ji Shihuan said evenly, openly studying her, “but that doesn’t mean everyone around you is clean.”
She pulled a business card decorated with a sunflower from inside her coat and offered it sincerely.
“President Jiang, interested in discussing a business deal?”
Jiang Boyan glanced at the card and frowned slightly.
It was beautifully designed.
A white-to-orange gradient resembled the first light of dawn.
The name Ji Shihuan sat in the center, surrounded by blooming sunflowers.
Everything about it was appealing…
Except it lacked the reserved, serious style expected in elite business circles.
Ji Shihuan realized the issue herself and brushed a thumb across the card.
“The new design isn’t ready yet. Please bear with this one.”
Jiang Boyan’s only response was the sound of footsteps.
The black umbrella concealed both the rain and her graceful figure.
She came and went like a passing breeze—impossible to keep, leaving no trace—yet somehow carried away a small portion of the restlessness weighing on Ji Shihuan’s heart.
The business card went unaccepted.
Still, Ji Shihuan wasn’t discouraged.
She tucked it back into her pocket and stepped once more into the rain.
It was late spring.
The trees lining the stone path were lush and vibrant after the rain.
Stepping over fallen blossoms, Ji Shihuan reached the front courtyard, her pant legs soaked halfway up.
Nie Zheng, the assistant her brother had trusted most during his lifetime, was already waiting at the entrance.
“Miss.”
“Did you find him?”
“Yes.”
Opening the door for her, Nie Zheng added,
“Zhang Boshi is inside.”
Ji Shihuan nodded.
Her conversation with Zhang Boshi yielded little.
Everything he said matched what she had learned in her previous life.
The only thing that moved her was seeing the forty-something-year-old man break down in tears, swearing to heaven that he had never leaked company secrets.
“That recording was fake! I was framed!”
Covering his face helplessly, he cried.
“Someone wanted President Ji and me to fall out. President Ji didn’t believe me… he didn’t believe me…”
Ji Shihuan asked calmly,
“Then who do you think framed you?”
“The Jiang family!”
Without hesitation, Zhang Boshi blurted it out.
“I handled the North China sales project… I… used some questionable methods. They held a grudge!”
Ji Shihuan tapped the armrest with one finger.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
“The Jiang family may have framed you.”
“But the confidential documents that were leaked weren’t something they could have obtained on their own.”
“Th-that…”
Zhang Boshi’s face turned deathly pale.
“So…”
Ji Shihuan looked directly at him.
“Besides my brother and you, was there a third person who ever saw the final bidding proposal?”
Every ounce of strength seemed to drain from Zhang Boshi’s body.
His soul itself appeared to leave him for a moment.
He shook his head blankly.
“I… I don’t know… I really don’t know…”
Unable to stay silent any longer, Nie Zheng interjected.
“Back then President Ji trusted no one.”
“He didn’t even dare leave the documents at the company. He carried them with him everywhere.”
Unlike Zhang Boshi, Nie Zheng felt no sympathy.
His eyes burned with anger.
“If it wasn’t you, then who else could it have been?!”
Collapsed on the floor, Zhang Boshi burst into uncontrollable sobs.
A headache began pounding in Ji Shihuan’s temples.
She had heard enough.
Leaving the room, she headed upstairs.
She changed out of her black mourning clothes, grabbed a set of pajamas, and entered the bathroom.
As warm water streamed over her closed eyes, she finally felt the reality of it.
She was alive again.
Yes.
Alive again.
Ji Shihuan had been reborn.
After Ji Shiqin died in her previous life, she inherited his position and took over the company.
Believing every word Shu Ni told her, she devoted herself to avenging her brother, relentlessly targeting both Zhang Boshi and the Jiang family.
In the end, Zhang Boshi was sent to prison.
Jiang Boyan, head of the Jiang family, lost all her authority, was abandoned by her family, and sent overseas under the pretense of recuperation.
But before Ji Shihuan could savor her revenge for long, the person she trusted most revealed her true colors.
Shu Ni—the woman whose repeated confessions Ji Shihuan had firmly rejected—dragged her into court.
She accused Ji Shihuan of raping her own sister-in-law in an attempt to seize the Ji family’s fortune.
The Ji Corporation’s stock price plummeted overnight.
Unable to defend herself, Ji Shihuan was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The vast family empire collapsed almost instantly.
On the way to prison, the transport vehicle plunged off a mountainside.
Knowing death was almost certain, overwhelming unwillingness filled her heart.
Only then had Shu Ni’s true face finally become clear.
Only then did she realize that all her years of revenge had been built upon lies.
But by then…
It was too late.
She closed her eyes in grief and fury.
When she opened them again, she had returned three years into the past—
Back to the days immediately following her brother’s death.
She had once complained that fate hadn’t sent her back even earlier, giving her the chance to save her brother.
But those regrets quickly faded.
This second chance was precious.
This time, she would make completely different choices.
She still intended to take revenge.
But she would never again allow her true enemy to lead her by the nose.
Wrapped in the lingering warmth of her shower, Ji Shihuan stepped out of the bathroom just as the vibrating phone on the table fell silent.
Walking over, she saw a missed call from an unfamiliar number.
Thoughtfully, she pressed Call Back while toweling her hair dry and sat down on the bed.
The phone rang twice before someone answered.
“Hello.”
Ji Shihuan looked surprised.
“Jiang Boyan?”
“Mhm.”
Ji Shihuan immediately guessed why she was calling.
“Changed your mind?”
“You aren’t qualified to discuss business with me yet.”
Jiang Boyan’s voice was low and difficult to read, just like the woman herself. It sent a faint tingling sensation through Ji Shihuan’s ears.
“Then why did President Jiang memorize my phone number?”
Leaning comfortably against the headboard, Ji Shihuan stretched lazily.
“In comparison to wolves like Dong Zheng, I’d rather see Huanji Group end up in your hands.”
In her study, Jiang Boyan slowly spun her chair, looking up at the oil painting hanging on the wall.
“If you become Huanji’s next CEO…”
“I’ll spare thirty minutes to meet with you.”
“Only thirty minutes? How stingy.”
Though she complained aloud, Ji Shihuan secretly smiled.
For a fleeting moment, she felt as though she’d returned to the period in her previous life when the pressure had been greatest—but so had her fighting spirit.
Competing against Jiang Boyan had been exhilarating, whether she won or lost.
“Don’t worry, President Jiang.”
“Huanji will remain in the hands of the Ji family.”
Outside, the rain continued to fall, streaking across the windowpanes.
The painting of blooming winter jasmine bathed Jiang Boyan in soft yellow.
She stared at it absentmindedly.
“…The last person I knew who was as optimistic as you ended up in a psychiatric hospital.”
Her tone was gentle.
As far as Ji Shihuan could remember, this was the first truly peaceful conversation they had ever shared.
Relaxed, she couldn’t resist teasing.
“Don’t worry.”
Ji Shihuan laughed softly.
“So that President Jiang won’t have to make hospital visits, I’ll make sure I win.”
Instead of a reply, all she heard was the steady beep… beep… of the disconnected call.
She tossed her phone onto the bedside cabinet.
Before getting up to dry her hair, she muttered under her breath.
“…Closet flirt.”
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