A second chance with my billionaire husband

The wooden door was kicked open with a single blow, and every heavy footstep that landed on the ground easily made her heart skip a beat.

A smell like barbecue reached the tip of her nose, her stomach growled uncontrollably, and a man’s scornful, icy voice came from beside her. As if by instinct, she flinched.

"Stop pretending. If you don’t want to starve to death, then crawl up."

Liang Wenrou slowly opened her eyes and saw a disheveled man standing in front of her. Only his pair of eyes were muddy and cold; being stared at by them felt like being thrown into Hell.

That terrifying feeling came back again. She wrapped her arms around her knees and shrank into the foot of the bed, earning only a derisive cold snort from the man. A long stick skewering some unknown meat was thrown at her feet. She was starving, and the smell really was fragrant. She grabbed it and couldn’t wait to open her mouth and bite down.

The meat tasted quite fresh and delicious, just a bit tough, with a strange, indescribable flavor. She had eaten so many delicacies from the mountains and seas, but whether it was because she was too hungry or not, she actually felt this was the best thing she’d ever eaten in her life.

The man took out a black object that looked like a brick, with a long antenna at the upper right corner. His fingers fiddled with it a few times, and the screen lit up.

It was a satellite phone. She’d used such a prop in a film crew before.

Chewing the meat, she couldn’t help asking, "What kind of meat is this?"

Without even raising his head, the man said, "Snake meat."

Liang Wenrou’s face instantly went pale. She suddenly threw away the half-eaten skewer in her hand.

"Ugh—" She leaned over the side of the bed, scratching at her throat as she dry-heaved.

Snake meat... it was disgusting as hell.

"How could you give me something like that to eat?" Even at a time like this, she still couldn’t shake her Princess sickness, but there was no longer a mother here who tolerated all her willfulness.

In fact, the moment the words left her mouth she regretted it. Her teeth bit into her lower lip as she looked at the man with grievance and fear.

The man completely ignored her. Maybe he’d heard, but he couldn’t be bothered to respond.

At this, she couldn’t help but be stunned.

The man was slovenly and unkempt, his face covered in stubble. At first glance he looked like some homeless old guy, but if you looked closely you could see his features were actually very striking. Although his face was full of hardship, it wasn’t hard to imagine that in his youth he must have been extremely handsome. And in his every movement there was a natural nobility that no vagabond who slept under the sky and on the ground could possess.

Those eyes were etched with malice, the slightly upturned outer corners full of rakish charm. Amid his downfall, there was a unique allure that hooked at people’s souls.

She had thought Ruan Songxi resembled Zhuang Fanxing, but now it turned out he looked very much like this man, especially those seductive, soul-stealing peach blossom eyes—almost identical.

The man suddenly lifted his gaze. Liang Wenrou instinctively shrank back, badly frightened by the empty, bottomless darkness in his eyes.

"Are you... Ruan Wencheng?" Liang Wenrou asked tentatively.

At a time like this, crying didn’t work anymore.

The man narrowed his eyes.

Liang Wenrou hurriedly said, "I didn’t mean anything else. I know you were driven out of the house by that mother and son. I actually really sympathize with you. Clearly you’re the one who should have been in charge of the Ruan Family. And my sister—my dad was strongly against her marrying Ruan Songxi back then, but she insisted on having her own way and almost drove my dad to his grave..."

At the mention of Ruan Songxi’s name, Ruan Wencheng’s expression turned vicious. His fists clenched so tight they crackled.

"I understand you very well. Actually I’m just like you. My sister is so outstanding that wherever she is, I can only ever be a foil. Even our parents only doted on her. I’m just a little maid by the Princess’s side, that’s all." Her tone was full of grievance. Who knew what sad memory she’d thought of; tears fell like strings of beads, making her look all the more pitiful.

The man sat there motionless, as if he hadn’t heard a word. Liang Wenrou bit her lower lip and cast a cautious glance at him.

She couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

Then all at once she jolted in shock, realizing what she’d just been thinking, her face suddenly draining of color.

How could she be like this... Liang Wenrou, you really are hopeless...

Suddenly, noises came from outside. Ruan Songxi’s eyes turned cold. He drew a sharp dagger from his boot and strode over to Liang Wenrou’s side, pressing the blade against her neck, hiding himself entirely behind her as he forced her toward the window.

He knew those people would come sooner or later. Fine. He’d had enough of this life of hiding and running. It was time to put an end to it.

The wooden door crashed open with a bang from a powerful kick. The old, rotten door could finally no longer hold and teetered.

With a thud it crashed to the floor, sending dust flying.

Ruan Wencheng tightened his hold on Liang Wenrou. The dagger pressed against the artery in her neck. Just the slightest pressure and Liang Wenrou would immediately go meet the King of Hell.

Liang Wenrou let out a pained groan, her gaze fixed anxiously on the doorway.

A man strode in, tall and strikingly handsome. The instant he saw that face clearly, Ruan Wencheng’s pupils suddenly contracted. The dagger pressed hard against Liang Wenrou as he abruptly burst into laughter. "My good son, you’ve finally come."

Ruan Songxi’s gaze swept indifferently over Liang Wenrou and settled coldly on Ruan Wencheng. His thin lips tightened slightly. "Let her go."

"What right do you have to talk to me like that?" Ruan Wencheng suddenly threw his head back in mad laughter. Liang Wenrou’s face went deathly white.

Ruan Songxi’s fists were clenched tight.

"Ruan Songxi, my good son, I’ve always underestimated you, and that’s why I lost. Ruan’s will only get better in your hands, I believe that. But that bitch of a mother of yours—I will never let her go."

A flash of icy ferocity sliced through Ruan Songxi’s eyes. His thin lips were pressed into a hard line.

"I’ll say it again. Let her go." With that, he took a step toward him.

The blade drew a red line across Liang Wenrou’s fair neck, the bright blood glaringly stark.

"Stop right there, or I’ll kill her right now."

Liang Wenrou silently shed tears, shaking her head slightly, murmuring under her breath, "Don’t come any closer..."

In fact, the person she hated most at this moment was the man in front of her. If not for his relationship with Liang Wenwan, how would she have been dragged into this? The reason she’d become what she was now was all because of him.

Ruan Songxi stopped, looking at him coldly.

"What exactly do you want?"

"What do I want? You’ll find out soon enough." A strange smile hooked at the corner of Ruan Songxi’s mouth.

An ominous premonition suddenly rose in Ruan Songxi’s heart.

——

The bedroom door opened. Xiao Hong saw the eldest young lady come out and quickly walked toward her.

"Eldest Miss?"

Her head drooped, hair in disarray, all her former radiance gone. Her whole being was steeped in a kind of despair that made one’s heart tremble.

The woman lifted her face—pale, numb, rigid, like a walking corpse that had lost its soul.

Xiao Hong turned pale with fright. "Eldest Miss, what’s wrong with you?"

Liang Wenwan brushed her hand away lightly, her eyes moving indifferently as she opened her mouth. Her voice was dry and hoarse. "Nothing."

With that, she turned and went back to her room. Her tall figure at this moment looked so cold and lonely.

Twenty minutes later, a sedan drove away from the Liang Family villa.

"You’d better not lie to me, or I’ll make you die a terrible death. Including your precious daughter—I’ll let her know what it truly means to live a life worse than death." The woman’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel as she threaded through the sea of cars. Her icy voice drifted out slowly, and in the silence of the car it sent a sudden chill of cold sweat down one’s back.

The woman sitting in the back seat curled her lips in disdain at these words, her gaze falling on the phone screen, her eyes growing darker and darker.