After being reborn, I became the big boss's darling.

In the park's long hall, Ci sat quietly, the coffee in his hand steaming.

Her face appeared calm, but a fine sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Miss Ji, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." A low voice sounded, and Ji Nianci subconsciously clenched the object in her hand.

The person who came was Shen Yanzhi.

He was still dressed in long sleeves and trousers, slender and handsome, but his face was pale. I had only caught a fleeting glimpse of him that day, but now, looking closely, he did indeed bear a resemblance to Shen Ceyan.

Ji Nianci smiled slightly and handed him the packaged coffee that was placed to the side: "No. I guess Mr. Shen doesn't like places with lots of people coming and going, so he chose this location. I don't know if it's suitable."

“Suitable.” Shen Yanzhi reached out and took it.

From this angle, Ji Nianci could see Shen Yanzhi's wrist, which was heavily wrapped in gauze, beneath his sleeve.

She once again confirmed her own thoughts.

"It's not reasonable for a dignified CEO like Mr. Ji to come to a small client like me for feedback, is it?" Shen Yanzhi took the coffee but didn't drink it.

“Of course it doesn’t make sense.” Ji Nianci suddenly dropped all the gentleness on her face, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of her mouth:

"I just came to see how pathetic my husband's defeated rival is now."

"Shen Yanzhi, living on the run must be tough."

Shen Yanzhi's expression stiffened, and his hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly: "You know me?"

Ji Nianci stood up, raised her eyes and said in a low voice, "I not only know you, I also despise you."

Shen Yanzhi chuckled: "You look down on me? What gives you the right to look down on me?"

"I despise you for being an illegitimate child, for trying to fight a losing battle when you are clearly incapable, and for using despicable means to achieve your goals."

"Thank goodness, you didn't succeed."

"I didn't expect that you knew everything." Shen Yanzhi murmured, then suddenly slammed the coffee in his hand to the ground. The scalding coffee splashed onto his body and legs, but he seemed completely oblivious.

"Who do you think you are? A piece of trash who only got to where you are today by relying on men, you dare to challenge me? I should have just killed you back then, so you wouldn't even have the chance to leave the country."

"It's better than you. You couldn't even rely on Shen Chengzhi's backing, and you ruined yourself step by step."

Ji Nianci didn't refute Shen Yanzhi's words; instead, she kept poking at his sore spots.

She pursed her lips and glanced casually at the inconspicuous security camera under the streetlight above her head.

"Shen Yanzhi, you really are quite pitiful. Your mother can't support you, your father refuses to acknowledge you, and no one in the entire Shen family recognizes you. Many of them don't even know you exist. But what about Shen Ceyan? He was born a prodigy, surrounded by countless abundant resources from childhood. He's intelligent, capable, and good-looking. Now he's a powerful figure in the business world. If such a large company like Shen's were handed over to him, he would only make it better. But what about you? What do you have?"

Shen Yanzhi's breathing gradually became rapid, his lips began to tremble, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and began to dig unconsciously, his five fingers soon covered in blood.

Ji Nianci knew that he had started to fall ill.

She continued, "After lying low for more than ten years, he thought he could give Shen Ceyan a good beating, but he was defeated miserably and ended up with nothing. Shen Yanzhi, you could make up a story about your experience and perform it as a stand-up comedy routine."

"Remember Ci!" Shen Yanzhi clenched his blood-stained hand into a fist, the bones cracking. "Do you think I wouldn't dare to touch you? If I hadn't misjudged back then, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me like this?"

"If I can't outmaneuver Shen Ceyan, surely I can outmaneuver you?"

“You’re right. I have nothing left now, so there’s nothing left to worry about.”

Shen Yanzhi was almost in a state of madness. He was already unwilling, and Ji Nianci's words had stirred up all the anger in his heart.

But it's not enough, not enough.

"Do you know the difference between you and Shen Ceyan? He would never lose his composure like this. He is smart and rational; he would never push himself to such a point. Shen Yanzhi and Shen Ceyan will only get better and better, while you will only rot in the mud and never get up again."

"Shut up!" Shen Yanzhi's face flushed red, and he trembled uncontrollably, as if he was about to be consumed by anger and shame.

"Jinian Ci, you forced me to do this." Shen Yanzhi suddenly drew the knife hidden behind his back.

In memory of the moment when a kind eyelash trembled.

She was right.

"Back then, Shen Ceyan went to great lengths to get you away from him, wasn't it just to prevent me from targeting you? It seems that what he truly cares about is you. What do you think he would do if I got rid of you now?"

"Won't they regret it to the core?"

Just thinking about that scene filled Shen Yanzhi with joy from the bottom of his heart.

Commemorating Ci, however, smiled.

"Look at you, using the same trick again."

Her face was full of disdain: "You only know how to use women as bargaining chips, Shen Yanzhi. Don't you have any decent tricks up your sleeve?"

"What do you care about my tricks! As long as I can kill you!" Beneath the throbbing veins on Shen Yanzhi's forehead, his eyes were bloodshot and his jaw was clenched so tightly that it made a grinding sound. The corners of his mouth were twisted into a strange arc due to excessive force.

He was nearing his limit. In memory of Cixiang.

"No wonder Grandpa Shen doesn't acknowledge you. If I were him, I wouldn't even give you a second glance. Tell me, you have the same father, so how can there be such a big difference?"

Shen Yanzhi's mind was buzzing.

He recalled the ridicule from classmates, the mockery from teachers, his mother's helplessness, and his father's inaction from childhood to adulthood. The secrets he kept hidden as an adult, the fear of being seen by others. Fear, anger, and the resentment in his heart gradually twisted. He began to suffer, feel helpless, contemplate suicide, and begin to struggle in a sea of ​​despair.

Why is it me who's the illegitimate child, and not him? He wondered.

If one day I become better than him, will everyone acknowledge him?

That's what he thought, and that's what he did.

But he failed, completely failed, and lost everything.

Shen Yanzhi's vision blurred, his ears were ringing, he couldn't think or hear anything. Only one thought occupied his mind: to kill the person in front of him.

That way, he can turn the tide.

Shen Yanzhi gripped the knife hilt tightly and charged forward.

Ci Nian could have dodged, but she didn't. She simply shifted her body slightly to prevent the knife tip from piercing her vital areas.

In the instant a cold glint appeared, a tall figure suddenly pulled her close. The man's hot breath sprayed onto her head, his fingers gripping her scalp tightly.

All that could be seen before Ci was darkness, but she could smell a familiar woody scent.

The blade pierced her flesh, but she felt no pain.