“Alright, Auntie, be safe on the road.”
Jiang Leyi said sweetly before hanging up the phone.
Turning around, she faced Shen Ruxue’s intense gaze.
“How’d it go?”
“Auntie’s photo is definitely available, but my future stepmom’s isn’t certain.”
Jiang Leyi looked thoughtfully at her best friend, Shen Ruxue.
For some reason, Shen Ruxue seemed unusually interested in her family.
This interest wasn’t just a ripple effect of their friendship.
Shen Ruxue wanted to know everyone around Jiang Leyi.
Though vague, Jiang Leyi sensed Shen Ruxue’s affection for her loved ones matched or even surpassed her own.
Yet, she harbored a clear hostility toward the stunning stepmom.
Her gaze was fierce, as if she wanted to tear her apart.
The photo request came from Shen Ruxue’s curiosity.
Jiang Leyi thought it was mere interest, not such intense emotion.
In the half-year of knowing her, Jiang Leyi had never seen the aloof campus beauty so unhinged.
The thought of the stunningly cold school flower in her dad’s room, sniffing his clothes, was shocking.
Even worse, Jiang Leyi saw Shen Ruxue secretly pocket a pair of her dad’s underwear.
If not for the lingering pain, she’d think she was in a chaotic dream.
No matter what her friend was thinking, Jiang Leyi couldn’t let her act recklessly.
She had to divert her attention.
“I have some photos of my dad—home shots, work shots, all kinds.
Don’t you want to see them, Ruxue?”
Jiang Leyi had saved these photos, half-joking about selling her dad’s photobook if she ever needed pocket money.
Jiang Lai had never let her, his daughter, want for anything.
Despite being a single-parent family, they lacked nothing materially compared to others.
But Jiang Leyi lacked security, her mind always tinged with red alerts.
Even in happiness, she worried about the future.
She planned for the worst, fearing the day they’d run out of money.
If she saved enough, they wouldn’t end up penniless.
She had a secret stash, unknown to all but her aunt.
They’d agreed to care for Jiang Lai together, ensuring he didn’t overwork as before.
“Your… dad’s photos?”
Shen Ruxue’s cheeks flushed at the thought of Jiang Lai.
Her fingers nervously twisted her hair.
“Of course, I’d love to see them if possible.”
Shen Ruxue had no intention of hiding her feelings.
Learning her husband, Jiang Lai, had given her a “green hat” (betrayal), she wanted to reveal her identity.
Once exposed, she’d tie Jiang Lai to the bed, draining decades of pent-up energy.
That way, her troublesome husband wouldn’t think of others.
It was like before—Jiang Lai was too popular.
Shen Ruxue trusted him completely but not the crazed women outside.
Decades ago, when they first lived together as newlyweds, she shed her pure, shy demeanor.
It was as if she’d transformed, revealing her true self.
Back then, she didn’t spare him, not even in the mornings.
Only when he was utterly spent, in a sage-like state, did she let him go.
That way, even if other women tried, they’d face a drained Jiang Lai.
She could imagine the scene back then.
If not for such frequency, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant with their daughter so soon.
Shen Ruxue longed to relive that marrow-deep sensation.
But with less than a month until the New Year, Jiang Lai was on a business trip.
An indefinite one, no less.
The trip gave her a strange relief.
She was terrified that after so long, Jiang Lai’s heart no longer held her.
She feared the stepmom her daughter mentioned had claimed his love.
She was certain Jiang Lai once loved her to the bone.
If not for her dying wish—urging him to care for their daughter, sister, and parents—she believed he’d have followed her in death.
But so much time had passed.
Their daughter was grown, her sister no longer the girl needing protection.
Everything familiar had changed.
Shen Ruxue couldn’t be sure Jiang Lai still loved her deeply.
The thought brought a pang of pain to her heart.
If her husband loved another, she could understand.
She’d been gone for years, failing as his wife, Leyi’s mother, and her parents’ daughter.
After her rebirth, she yearned every moment to return to this city, to Jiang Lai and their daughter.
But reality struck her hard.
As a child in others’ eyes, what could she do despite her longing?
She could only wait, biding her time for the right moment.
In the years she couldn’t act, she planned meticulously.
But plans couldn’t keep up with changes.
Jiang Lai’s transformation threw her heart into chaos.
From their first meeting in her past life, her heart belonged to Jiang Lai alone.
Even after a decade in this life, her love never wavered.
He was her first love, her everything.
She knew her thoughts were selfish, even unreasonable.
But so what?
If Jiang Lai was hers for a day, he’d be hers forever.
Even if he loved another, she’d reclaim him by any means, no matter how low.
This time, even if she couldn’t see Jiang Lai, she decided to deal with the “other woman” first.
Whatever that woman desired, whether mutual love or not, Shen Ruxue would take her place.
Even if others saw her as the mistress, she didn’t care.
Stealing her husband, making her child call another “mom”—Shen Ruxue would never forgive anyone trying to claim her family.
Her wife is lowkey a yandere…