Reborn as His Deadliest Enemy

The First Decision

BLACKSTONE HOLDINGS.

Lin Wan stared at the name.

Ten years ago, she had never heard of Blackstone.

At least, not in any way that mattered.

Back then, Blackstone had been nothing more than a distant investment group that occasionally appeared behind acquisitions, mergers, and financing deals.

She had never paid attention.

Why would she?

At twenty-two, she had believed that the world was simple.

Companies had owners.

Contracts had signatures.

People had loyalties.

And the man she loved would never betray her.

She had been wrong about all four.

Lin Wan slowly leaned back in her chair.

"Send me everything."

The investigator hesitated.

"Everything?"

"Everything you can find."

She looked at the file on her desk.

"Corporate registration. Shareholders. Directors. Beneficial owners. Lawyers. Accounting firms. Investment records. Related companies. Acquisition history."

Her voice became colder.

"And anyone who has done business with them."

There was a pause.

"That could take some time."

"I don't care."

Lin Wan ended the call.

The room became quiet again.

Outside the window, the city was still moving.

People were going to work.

Students were rushing across campus.

Cars were stopping at intersections.

Nobody knew that somewhere in the city, a twenty-two-year-old woman was sitting alone with information that could change the next ten years.

Lin Wan closed her eyes.

In her first life, she had made countless decisions.

Most of them had seemed insignificant at the time.

A business meeting she attended.

A contract she signed.

An investment she approved.

A friend she trusted.

A man she married.

One decision had led to another.

Then another.

And eventually, they had all led her to that warehouse.

To the gunshot.

To Gu Yanshen holding her dying body.

To the words—

Because I failed you once.

Her fingers tightened around the pen.

This time, she would not wait until the consequences appeared.

She would stop them at the beginning.

The first decision.

That was what mattered.

Not changing everything.

Not trying to control every event.

Just making the first decision differently.

And letting everything else follow.

Lin Wan opened her eyes.

She picked up her phone and called her father.

"Where are you?"

Her father's warm voice came through immediately.

"Still at the office. Why?"

"I want to talk to you."

"About Phoenix?"

"Yes."

There was a short silence.

Her father laughed.

"You've only been interested in that company for two days, and now you're treating it like the most important investment in the world."

Lin Wan looked at the file.

"It might be."

Her father's tone became more serious.

"Come over."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

She hung up.

Then she looked at the clock.

There was still one more person she needed to speak to.

Gu Yanshen.

She hesitated.

Not because she was afraid of him.

Because she didn't know what he wanted.

In her first life, she had spent ten years believing that Gu Yanshen hated her.

She had remembered every cold look.

Every confrontation.

Every time their companies competed.

Every time he seemed to deliberately block her path.

But now she knew something she hadn't known before.

He had been trying to protect her.

Or at least, he claimed he had.

The problem was that she still didn't know why.

And she wasn't ready to trust a man simply because he had saved her once.

Lin Wan stood up.

She took the Blackstone file and put it into her bag.

Then she walked out.

Her father's office was on the twenty-third floor of Lin Group.

The moment she entered, her father looked up from a document.

"You came quickly."

"You said you wanted to talk."

"I didn't say I wanted to talk about business."

Lin Wan paused.

Her father smiled.

"Sit."

She sat across from him.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then her father pushed a cup of tea toward her.

"You've been different lately."

Lin Wan's heart tightened.

She forced herself to remain calm.

"Different how?"

"More serious."

He studied her.

"More careful."

Lin Wan smiled faintly.

"Is that bad?"

"No."

Her father leaned back.

"I actually think it's good."

Then his expression softened.

"You're twenty-two. You don't have to carry the company on your shoulders yet."

Lin Wan looked at him.

For a moment, the image of his funeral flashed through her mind.

White flowers.

Black clothes.

Her mother's trembling hands.

The endless stream of people offering condolences.

And her own disbelief.

She had stood beside his coffin thinking that the world had made a mistake.

Her father was supposed to live.

He was supposed to watch her get married.

He was supposed to see her build her own company.

He was supposed to grow old.

But he hadn't.

Lin Wan lowered her eyes.

"I just want to learn more."

Her father smiled.

"Then learn."

He pointed toward the documents on his desk.

"Phoenix Technology."

Lin Wan looked up.

"I've been reviewing it."

"I know."

Her father sighed.

"It's a good company, but it's still too small for us to take seriously."

"That's exactly why I want it."

Her father raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because everyone else thinks it's too small."

He laughed.

"That's not an investment strategy."

"No."

Lin Wan met his eyes.

"It's an opportunity strategy."

Her father became quiet.

Lin Wan continued.

"Phoenix has technology, a strong founder, and a product line that hasn't reached its full market yet. Their current valuation is low because they haven't proven themselves."

"That's the obvious part."

"But there's another problem."

Her father waited.

"Someone is trying to acquire them."

His expression changed slightly.

"Who?"

"Blackstone."

Silence.

It lasted only two seconds.

But Lin Wan noticed it.

Her father's fingers stopped moving.

Then he asked quietly,

"How did you hear that name?"

Lin Wan's heart skipped.

She had been watching him carefully.

Now she knew.

He knew Blackstone.

Maybe not everything.

But he knew the name.

"I found it during the investigation."

Her father stared at her.

"Who is investigating for you?"

"I hired someone."

"Without telling me?"

"Because I wanted to know what I was getting into."

Her father didn't answer.

Lin Wan leaned forward.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did your expression change when I mentioned Blackstone?"

Her father looked away.

For the first time since she had been reborn, she saw something she had never noticed before.

Fear.

Not much.

Only a trace.

But it was there.

Her father reached for his tea.

"I've heard the name."

"From where?"

"Business circles."

"Have you done business with them?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

Lin Wan said nothing.

Her father looked at her.

"Wan Wan."

His voice softened.

"Some things in business are more complicated than they appear."

She remembered those words.

In her first life, he had said something almost identical.

She had ignored it.

Now she wouldn't.

"What things?"

Her father hesitated.

Then he shook his head.

"You're not ready."

Lin Wan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then tell me when I am."

"When you understand that not every enemy needs to be fought."

She looked at him.

"Maybe."

She stood.

"But sometimes, if you don't fight the enemy early enough, you won't get another chance."

Her father stared at her.

Something flickered in his eyes.

Surprise.

Then concern.

"Where did you learn to speak like that?"

Lin Wan smiled.

"From you."

She turned toward the door.

Behind her, her father suddenly said,

"Wan Wan."

She stopped.

"If Blackstone contacts you..."

His voice was unusually serious.

"Don't sign anything."

Lin Wan slowly turned around.

"Why?"

Her father didn't answer.

He only said,

"Promise me."

Lin Wan stared at him.

Then she nodded.

"I promise."

But inside, she made another promise.

I won't sign anything.

I won't trust anyone.

And I will find out why you are afraid of Blackstone.

That evening, Lin Wan returned to her apartment.

She opened her laptop.

Three windows appeared on the screen.

Phoenix Technology.

Blackstone Holdings.

Gu Corporation.

She stared at them for a long time.

Then she opened a new document.

At the top, she typed:

SECOND-LIFE STRATEGY

Below it, she wrote four rules.

One. Never repeat a decision simply because it worked before.

Two. Never trust a person simply because they once loved me.

Three. Never assume an enemy is truly an enemy.

She paused.

Then added the fourth.

Four. Every advantage has a price.

She leaned back.

Her gaze settled on Gu Yanshen's name.

He was the biggest unknown.

In her previous life, she had considered him the enemy.

Now he was warning her about the same company that seemed connected to her father's death.

That couldn't be a coincidence.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

An unknown number.

Lin Wan answered.

"Hello?"

A man's voice came through.

"Miss Lin."

She didn't speak.

"You're investigating Blackstone."

Her eyes hardened.

"Who are you?"

"Someone giving you a warning."

"What warning?"

"Stop investing in Phoenix Technology."

Lin Wan smiled coldly.

"Why?"

"Because you're getting too close."

The call ended.

Lin Wan stared at the phone.

Then she laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because she had heard the same kind of warning before.

And she had learned something from her first life.

Warnings were rarely about protecting the person receiving them.

They were usually about protecting whoever sent them.

She saved the number.

Then she sent a message to her investigator.

Find out who owns this number.

A reply came almost immediately.

Understood.

Lin Wan closed the laptop.

She walked to the window.

The city lights reflected in the glass.

Ten years ago, she had been twenty-two.

She had believed her future was already waiting for her.

Marriage.

Family.

Success.

Happiness.

She had never understood that someone else had been quietly arranging the pieces.

This time, she would move the pieces herself.

Her phone vibrated again.

This time, it was a message from Gu Yanshen.

We need to talk.

Lin Wan stared at the screen.

A second message arrived.

About Phoenix.

She thought for several seconds.

Then typed:

Tomorrow.

Three dots appeared.

Then disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Finally, his reply came.

No. Tonight.

Lin Wan frowned.

She typed:

Why?

His answer arrived less than ten seconds later.

Because Blackstone just contacted me too.

Her expression changed.

For the first time, she understood.

This wasn't just her game.

It wasn't even just Gu Yanshen's game.

Someone had noticed both of them.

And they were moving faster than she expected.

Lin Wan picked up her coat.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

Twenty-two.

Alive.

Free.

This time, she wasn't walking toward the future she remembered.

She was walking toward a future no one had written yet.

And tonight, she was going to make her first real decision.

Trust Gu Yanshen.

Or walk away.

She opened the door.

And chose.