Shen Ruxue held one of Jiang Lai’s coats, savoring its familiar scent.
Her usual composure wavered, her voice trembling with excitement.
She wished she’d brought a suitcase to take some clothes with her.
Even though these clothes carried Jiang Lai’s scent, they weren’t the best.
Shen Ruxue’s favorite was Jiang Lai’s clothes after exercise, soaked in sweat, rich and intense.
It had been so long since she’d smelled that…
Shen Ruxue smiled brightly.
She knew she was in a twisted state, but so what?
She’d been suppressing herself since birth, craving anything of Jiang Lai’s.
She even wanted to crawl into the wardrobe, letting his scent envelop her.
Despite the years, Jiang Lai’s essence still easily ignited her desire.
At school, even in the same dorm, Shen Ruxue was cold and aloof to everyone except Jiang Leyi.
Unless it was business or necessary, she kept others at a distance.
Shen Ruxue was like a snow lotus blooming on an iceberg, untouchable, a luxury to even speak with.
Beyond her near-divine beauty, she had an exceptional intellect.
As a child, she was a renowned prodigy, taking the college entrance exam after her first year of high school.
Her scores could’ve landed her in one of the top two universities in the country.
Even without grades, her family background could’ve secured her a spot at a prestigious foreign school.
Yet she rejected both—the nation’s top universities and arranged overseas programs.
She chose Jiang Leyi’s school and major instead.
Such an unusual decision surely had a hidden reason, unknown even to her parents.
Shen Ruxue could never share her deepest secret: she was reborn, carrying complete memories of her past life.
Though barely twenty, her soul was decades older.
When Jiang Leyi jokingly called her “mom,” it warmed Shen Ruxue’s heart, even if it was playful.
Because she was Jiang Lai’s wife, deceased for over a decade, and Jiang Leyi’s mother.
If she could, she’d love for her daughter to call her “mom.”
But who would believe her?
Shen Ruxue was younger than her daughter.
A mother younger than her child defied ethics.
Beyond reclaiming her role as a mother, she wanted to be with Jiang Lai again.
But doing so openly would ruin everything for him—gossip alone could drown him.
Her age was her biggest obstacle.
Her strict upbringing meant that, despite her mature soul, she was constrained as a child, unable to act freely.
She hadn’t had chances to travel far alone before.
Even knowing Jiang Lai’s situation through her sister, she could only hear secondhand accounts, unable to see for herself.
Everything changed after starting university, free from family restrictions.
Despite better options, she chose this city for the people she cherished most.
Going from best friend to mother wasn’t something anyone would accept.
More importantly, she’d secretly observed Jiang Lai, knowing he hadn’t sought anyone else in over a decade.
Her original plan was to connect with her daughter first, then slowly approach Jiang Lai.
She’d watch him from afar when she missed him, waiting for a chance to win him back, despite their age gap.
She was ready to reclaim her original identity.
In the past, Jiang Lai bore everything alone.
Moving forward, she’d take that burden.
Her plan was gradual, building affection over time until her family situation was fully resolved.
Then she could act freely.
But Jiang Leyi’s call about a stepmother threw Shen Ruxue into disarray.
She couldn’t accept Jiang Lai loving anyone else.
The thought of him no longer holding her as his one true love was unbearable.
Jiang Lai was more important than anything.
“Jiang Lai, you can’t love someone else…”
No matter what, she couldn’t accept it.
She couldn’t imagine Jiang Lai holding another.
The love of her life forgetting her made her gradual plan irrelevant.
Shen Ruxue didn’t want to pretend anymore.
She wanted to confess everything, but only after seeing Jiang Lai.
If he was truly marrying someone else, she’d tie him to the bed, draining him until he couldn’t think of others.
Burying herself in Jiang Lai’s clothes, Shen Ruxue shed all pretense.
Her eyes brimmed with charm, her beautiful gaze misty with desire.
She wanted to vacuum-pack all his clothes, so in lonely moments, she could open one, inhaling greedily as if Jiang Lai were there to soothe her aching heart.
The intense thrill of regaining what was lost drove her to near-mad obsession.
She forgot Jiang Leyi was in the house.
Jiang Leyi had prepared snacks, but emerging from the kitchen, she didn’t find her friend in the living room.
When she located her, she saw an unbelievable scene.
She froze, unable to speak.
Her friend, in her father’s bedroom, wore a crazed, almost repulsive expression.
Faced with this, Jiang Leyi’s mind was overloaded, unable to process.
How could her friend, with a face so divine it belonged on a pedestal, show such shameless obsession?