Yan Xiaoran rubbed her temples and let out a deep sigh.

Now that she became the president to the Femperial Group, her daily life has been quite preoccupied and a lot of things in her life changed. Her life has been a messed ever since she was young and now with her third chance in living the life of independence and freedom, she could say that she was glad that she accepted Alina's help and Madam Giselle's mentorship.

Throwing her Hermes bag to the couch, Yan Xiaoran walked to the floor to ceiling glass of condominium that separates her from the rest of the world. Her eyes fell on the lucid sky that has countless bright stars.

The stars looked so close but in truth, they were miles away from each other and looked lonely.

She playfully traced the stars with her finger when the familiar tune of her phone played in the background. Stepping across the room, she answered the phone listlessly.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded soft and like a whisper inside her spacious penthouse that was filled with expensive furniture to match the luxury features of the condominium.

"Daarliing!!! Are you still awake?" Madam Giselle's voice rang out from the other side of the phone.

She glanced at the wall clock and that it was past 9 pm, "No, I'm sleeptalking."

"Touche." Madam Giselle chuckled and went to grab a bottle of alcohol from the refrigerator, "How are you fairing lately? I hope you're not going back to how you were two years ago and crying yourself to sleep."

"Don't worry, I'm not." Yan Xiaoran sat comfortably on the couch.

Today was the second anniversary of her release from prison. She could still remember last year, after the training that Madam Giselle who became her mentor put her through. That night, she cried till there were no more tears falling from her eyes, and till it became red and puffy the next morning.

The tremors she felt whenever she remembered the times she confronted the Zhao family and the time she spent inside the prison was finally gone after undergoing treatments.

Being reminded of her past self, Yan Xiaoran couldn't help but feel frustrated. The things of her past were truly horrible and she was the one who turned her back to herself, not allowing her from growing stronger.

"Then… Are you ready to go back to China?" Madam Giselle suddenly asked her. He heard an impregnable silence from the other side of the phone along with the ice-cold aura that rendered him speechless.

Two years ago, whenever he mentioned going back to China or even meeting the Zhao family, her face would pale like she couldn't stomach the thought of meeting them or even standing before them but after two years, it seems that he didn't need to worry about her any longer.

The Phoenix has awoken and it was time for her to rise.

Peals of soft laughter were heard and broke the silence. Her eyes turned crescent and glinted with danger as she smirked.

"Giselle… Why would I go back there where those scums are living and multiplying by a lot? I have my own life here now…" she said with her voice dripping with sweetness and maliciousness.

"But don't you want to clear your name?" Madam Giselle asked in turn. All this time, he has been wondering why even after taking the position as President of Femperial Group and accepting the money and titles from Alina, Yan Xiaoran didn't pursue to get her revenge on the Zhao family nor did she attempt to clear her name.

He was worried that the more she rises, the more people will turn greedy and try to destroy her. With that name chained still chained up to her past, it would be no wonder if someone were to use it to harm her.

"Clear my name?" She sounded confused before smiling, "For now… there is no need to do that. After all, people's true nature will always come out when they think they're cleaner and far more superior than an ex-convict."

That's right. Whenever someone hears the word ex-convict or heard that someone committed a sin, the first people who will look at them with judgemental eyes were the same people who think their souls were pure and innocent of sins.

Also, the reason why she didn't clear her name wasn't that she was unable to. It was because she didn't want to and because there's no need to clear her name when she intended to put more frightening stories under her name.

She wasn't afraid of the judgments she will get once people know that she was an ex-convict. No matter if she was accused of murder or not, she still stayed inside the same grounds with people who committed a crime and savages that normal people will have a look of fear in their faces when they hear of them.

Just the thought of seeing their faces paling and contorting between fear and disgust…

Yan Xiaoran licked her lips in excitement.

In any case, people will be unable to hide their insidious hearts from her.

Taking the picture that laid on the coffee table that has two women in it, Yan Xiaoran smirked.

One could see that the photographer who took the photo intentionally didn't let the other people who were sitting at one table along with the two women in the photo as per Yan Xiaoran's instructions.

When Yan Xiaoran rose from the ashes of her past, she began to calculate things and made some spies follow her targets. Her mother and Zhao Shuxin were among them and they sat on the top of her list.

And when she heard that they're coming to London, she thought there was no need for her to come back to China when the worms were crawling its way back to her.

Yan Xiaoran stood up and pulled the blinds that covered one of the four walls of her living room. The rustling sound of cloth made a soft in the air and revealed what was concealed from people's prying eyes.

A large map was on the wall and pictures of different individuals were pinned randomly across it. Red strings connected each one of them and beside the pictures, cut-out magazines and newspapers were also there.

["The Zhao young heiress successfully sealed the deal with the Louis corporation!"]

["Pop singer Zhao Liuyin is finally tying the knot with her fiance, Liam Harrington! And everyone can't wait to see the couple in their wedding outfits!"]

Several other articles and news that were related to the Zhao family and her mother were pinned across the wall.

No one, not even Madam Giselle knew of the existence of this wall nor did he knew that Yan Xiaoran has been following and stalking every move of her enemies.

And she planned to keep it from him.

Staring at the faces of these people, she couldn't wait to see the fear and shock in their faces when they see her again.