:: 21 years young ::

September 2011, Andophia City

Lu Shengyi

What does it mean to be given a second chance at life?

I just laugh. Nobody knows who I am. It is pleasant to be back in my twenty-one-year-old body, without a care for the world. When the devil (or demon, who knows?) offered me the chance to give up my soul and my love to be reincarnated again, I seriously thought he had meant that I would have to live life all over again, starting from life as a baby up to my current day.

But what I didn't expect was that he would cheat by transmigrating my soul into my twenty-one-year-old self….only that it didn't feel like my original twenty-one-year-old self anymore.

Though I am Lu Shengyi, everything that revolves around my existence has changed. I am no longer the down-to-earth, middle-income daughter. The remarkable bit is that I have been left a fortune anonymously by a stranger. This is how I ended up becoming the twenty-one-year-old heiress Lu Shengyi, and this fortune is what enables me to start Shengyi Corporation all over again.

The deal with the devil was that I would be powerful enough to summon hordes to my defence, but he didn't mention that I would end up becoming rich as well. And nevertheless...fascinating. I end up enthralling others with just a look their way! 

He has endowed me with indescribable abilities and transformed me into a seductress that would provoke men and women to look upon me with awe! The downside is that my soul and love will be taken from me. That I willingly give up, to seek revenge on the person who hurt my feelings and left me alone to die. On second thought, maybe 'revenge' is just too big a word. I just want to get back at that person who drove me to the verge of committing suicide!

The mansion I reside in, thanks to Sir Anonymous, is vast, and it leaves me with a profound feeling that there is a secret hidden deep in it. I catwalk over to the tall body mirror in my room (I have no idea how he understands this is what every girl needs!) and take a long peek at my new body.

I now have a very narrow waist and like before, a petite frame, but well-defined curves unlike before. They don't call it a 'devil's figure' for nothing. This has to be the work of the devil. I flaunt my curves in the solitude of my room. With all the men in my university going crazy about my looks, I can't imagine the result if I were to don an outfit that would accentuate my already-curvy body. Just no thanks.

I end up putting on a long woollen sweater that ends above my knees and pull on a matching pair of leggings. Whether it was pursuing a journey in academics or my plans to rebuild my business empire, I want to achieve only the best. I remember that in my past life, I had no friends and Shan Hanyu was my only solace. This part has changed as well. I have too many girlfriends that I do not even know who I should ask out for lunch today.

My chauffeur Uncle Dou is in a cheery mode today as he tells me about the weather forecast. There will be a downpour, but to me, there's nothing special about rain. Although I would run to the devil in a heartbeat if he appears during the rain. When I first met the devil, it was pouring severely. But sadly, as much as I wish to remember him, something in my mind seems to inhibit me from recalling how he looks like. His appearance is now a blurry image in my head.

He drives the BMW through the gates of the university and drops me off at the faculty. I have months before university is over for me, and I can finally focus on running Shengyi Corporation. For now, I have my experts who will run Shengyi Corporation's day-to-day business, but bringing the information I know from my past life has helped me in this department. 

I can utilise this valuable knowledge to make brilliant choices that will impede me from making the wrong choice in my business. Well, such knowledge will be useful until the year 2017 when I ended my life. For now, there is still time. 

My new best friend, Xiaoxian, warmly tells me that there is a new transfer student who will join our class today. I hum a tune. 

"Guy or girl?" Honestly, I couldn't be bothered much by a new student, but I don't want to miss any juicy gossip from Xiaoxian. 

"A male. His name is Shan Hanyu."

Immediately, I feel pain slice through my heart. Why were the timelines changed so drastically, that he was now meeting me earlier than before? In the past, I did not meet him till a year later, after I was a budding white-collar employee. But now, I was doomed to meet him earlier and become classmates during our final year of university!

It didn't make sense at all!

I recalled why I had liked him in the first place. This time, would my emotions betray me again? I bite hard on my lower lip thinking of how I had fallen so easily into his trap. Thinking of the sweet and passionate times we have only brought me to feel disgusted for myself. This time, I will not allow him to get what he wants. I will push him away as far as I can until he regrets crossing me!

The girls sitting in the cafeteria all appear stunned. I realise I have just slammed my fist into the table, and the plastic area surrounding my hand has just sunken in, bearing the shape of my fist.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

I mumble an excuse, but my mind is already figuring out a plan on how to react to Shan Hanyu, once he makes his way into the university. I probably can ignore him and turn a deaf ear on him should he attempt to approach me, but I hope this time that I will not fall for him like before. Also, didn't the devil ask for me to give up on love as part of the deal?

I hear some girls making excited noises as they point towards someone sitting not far away. I know that this man has to be Hanyu. Only Hanyu has this effect on the young ladies. In my recollection, he has silky dark hair that is well-managed and he is a very earthy kind of person. He is not brilliant, nor is he super handsome. His attraction stems from his helpfulness and innocence, and a portion of young women nowadays do enjoy the company of such men.

He looks towards me, but neither of us says a word. I do not appreciate the fact I get to meet him earlier. I hope he can be gone and done with.

But now, it feels like it's still a long way for me. I desperately want to banish him from my existence, but there's hardly anything I can do right now. Other than keeping a safe distance.