Rebirth of the Genius Bride – Chapter 5: Contract of Fate

 

🌸 Rebirth of the Genius Bride 🌸

Chapter 5: Contract of Fate

The day’s sunlight was fading when Lianhua returned home. The small apartment was quiet, but the silence wasn’t peaceful—it was suffocating.

Her so-called “family” sat in the living room, their eyes sharp, their words like knives.

“Lianhua,” her stepmother said coldly, tapping her manicured nails against the armrest. “You’ve caused quite a stir at school today. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Her stepsister sneered from the side. “She humiliated Young Master Xuan in front of everyone! Who do you think you are, Lianhua? You’ll drag all of us down with your stupidity!”

Her stepmother’s lips curved in mockery. “Don’t forget, our family survives because of the Youngs’ favor. If you offend them, you’ll be the one to pay the price.”

Lianhua’s small fists clenched at her side. In her past life, she had cowered. She had bowed her head, apologized, begged—only to be betrayed deeper each time.

Not this time.

“I didn’t humiliate him,” she said evenly, her voice steady as ice. “He was wrong. I corrected him. If the Youngs want to punish me for being right, then so be it.”

Her words silenced the room for a heartbeat. But then her stepmother’s eyes gleamed with cruelty.

“Then so be it?” she repeated with a laugh. “Very well. Since you’re so bold, you won’t mind if we make arrangements for you.”

Lianhua’s gut tightened. She recognized that tone. In her past life, it was always the prelude to disaster.

And sure enough—

Her father, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. His voice was heavy, almost resigned. “Lianhua… the Youngs have proposed a contract. They want you to marry into their family.”

Lianhua froze. Marry?

Her stepmother’s smirk deepened. “It’s an honor, isn’t it? Young Master Xuan himself may not want you, but the Young family is generous enough to offer you a place. It’s not about love—it’s about duty. Our family’s future depends on this.”

The words echoed like a cruel déjà vu.
This was it—the path that had led her straight to her ruin before.

In her past life, she had signed the papers, entered the Young family as a bride in name only, and endured years of humiliation until her death in flames.

And now, fate was throwing the same chain at her feet.

Her heart pounded, her mind racing. She could refuse. She could run. But then she saw it clearly: refusing now would make her enemies crush her family completely. Accepting, however, would give her the perfect weapon.

If the Young family thinks they can use me again… they will learn that this time, the bride they forced into their home is no lamb. She is a wolf reborn.

“I accept,” Lianhua said suddenly.

Her stepmother blinked, startled by the lack of resistance. Her stepsister scoffed. “Ha! She thinks this will save her. What a fool.”

But Lianhua lowered her gaze, hiding the spark in her eyes. She wasn’t the fool anymore.

This contract of fate was the door she had been waiting for.
A door that would lead her straight into the lion’s den… where her revenge would truly begin.

—

Later that night, as she lay awake staring at the ceiling, the moonlight bathed her in silver. Her thoughts burned with determination.

She whispered into the silence, her voice carrying a deadly promise:

“Xuan Hao… Young family… every one of you who laughed when I burned—I will return the favor. And when I’m done, you’ll beg for the mercy you never gave me.”

The shadows seemed to stir around her, as though her vow had awakened something beyond mortal will.

And far away, in the Young family estate, Xuan Hao himself stirred, as though he had felt a shift in the winds of fate. His lips curved into a cold smile.

“Interesting,” he murmured into the night. “Very interesting.”

The game had begun.

—

✨ End of Chapter 5
📖 Next: Chapter 6 – The First Strike

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