Chapter 2

The car gradually drove away from the small town, crossing the river bridge and smoothly getting onto the highway.

Uncle Zheng kept his eyes on the road, always attentive to the traffic, but his peripheral vision occasionally caught the girl sitting in the passenger seat.

She asked in a tone that was both curious and uncertain, “Is just going to school enough?”

Mr. and Mrs. Yan discovered three years ago that Miss Yan Wan, who was living in the main house, was not their biological daughter. They had been searching for Yan Ning ever since.

With the Yan family’s connections and financial resources, it still took them three years to find her.

Once they confirmed Yan Ning’s identity, Mr. Yan instructed him to investigate her life over the past seventeen years.

The information he gathered revealed that she had grown up in Xinghua Village until she was twelve. She disappeared during the summer of her twelfth year, and after that, there was no word from her for five years.

Half a month ago, she suddenly reappeared in B City.

Although they didn’t know where she had been for those five years, or how she had returned to Xinghua Village, it was easy to imagine that those five years of wandering, especially for a twelve-year-old child, could hardly have been filled with pleasant memories.

Last night, while dining in the town after leaving Xinghua Village, he overheard a conversation about Yan Ning. It was mentioned that the elderly members of the Yan family wanted to send her back to school, but the school’s teachers were unwilling to accept her.

Going to school must be a special thing for Miss Yan Ning.

Thinking of this, Uncle Zheng’s voice softened a bit, “Going to school is all that’s needed.”

“Well, that sounds easy,” Yan Ning said.

—

The car arrived in B City at 6 PM. After entering the city and driving for another hour, they finally reached the Yan family’s main residence.

The gate, about the same width as the gate to the high school Yan Ning had visited a few days ago, opened into the driveway. The car continued for another five minutes before reaching the standalone villa that resembled a small castle.

Uncle Zheng parked the car in the garage, grabbed Yan Ning’s luggage, and led her inside.

The house was empty—Yan Zhengjun and Tang Minrou were attending a business banquet, the high school and middle school students were still at school, and only the housekeeper was busy with household chores.

Uncle Zheng took Yan Ning’s things upstairs to her room, showed her around the room, and then allowed her to go downstairs for dinner.

After dinner, as Yan Ning was about to head upstairs, she heard a noise at the entrance. She walked over.

“Who are you?” A boy, in the middle of changing his shoes, looked up upon hearing the sound. His gaze swept over her face, pausing for a moment in surprise, then furrowing his brow with a look of impatience.

He appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, with a round build and not very tall—he only reached about the level of Yan Ning’s ears. Slightly plump, he had a handsome face, and there was a clear resemblance to Yan Zhengjun in his features.

Yan Ning guessed this must be Yan Yu, her cheap younger brother.

During the drive, she had chatted with Uncle Zheng and learned a lot about the family situation. Now, she just needed to match those details to the people she was meeting.

“Hello, I’m Yan Ning.”

“A country bumpkin from the countryside?” Yan Yu’s expression changed upon hearing her words, and his eyes filled with undisguised disdain.

“Country bumpkin?” Yan Ning’s tone remained flat, her expression unchanged.

Yan Yu finished changing his shoes, walked up to her with an arrogant look on his face. “Since we’ve met, I’ll say this: In my heart, only Sister Lily is my real sister. Don’t think you can bully her just because you have Dad and Mom backing you.”

“Who is Sister Lily?” Yan Ning asked, her face puzzled. The name wasn’t one Uncle Zheng had mentioned.

“Hmph!” Yan Yu snorted, walked past her, and didn’t answer.

“It’s Miss Wan. She’s still at school and will be home around ten o’clock. You’ll be able to see her later,” Uncle Zheng said as he came downstairs, just in time to hear Yan Ning’s question, clearing up her confusion.

“Oh, okay. I’ll head upstairs first,” Yan Ning thought to herself, matching the names Yan Wan and Lily. It was the one who had been swapped with her and lived in the Yan family under her identity for the past seventeen years.

She was the one father Yan had found in a garbage bin. The family in Xinghua Village had no relation to Yan Wan. So, Yan Wan’s biological parents still hadn’t been found, and she had been living with the Yan family all along.

From now on, things might get a little awkward.

But, well, the awkwardness wasn’t her problem.

Uncle Zheng stood at the top of the stairs, his gaze following Yan Ning’s back as he spoke, “Please wait a moment.”

“Is there something else?”

“The items on the desk are all prepared for you. Take a look and let me know if anything is missing. Feel free to contact me at any time. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to school, so don’t stay up too late.”

“Got it.”

After Uncle Zheng finished his instructions, he turned and walked to the kitchen—he hadn’t had dinner yet.

Aunt Chen brought the dishes to the table and also served a bowl of soup. “You must be tired after the long drive, right?”

Uncle Zheng shook his head. “Miss Ning is very talkative, and we chatted all the way here, so it didn’t feel tiring.”

Speaking of Yan Ning, Aunt Chen expressed a lot of interest. “Miss Ning looks so much like Madam. When I first saw her, I thought I was looking at Madam when she was young. It gave me quite a shock.”

Uncle Zheng took a sip of the hot soup. “Miss Ning does resemble Madam.”

Aunt Chen hesitated a bit before quietly asking, “What’s Miss Ning like? Is she easy to get along with?”

She had just been observing Yan Ning in the kitchen. She’d heard that Yan Ning grew up in the countryside, and she had expected her to have some bad habits. Usually, you could tell from someone’s manner of eating.

But when Yan Ning ate, she was calm and composed, without the rough manners she’d expected. Her graceful and composed behavior was just as good as Miss Wan’s.

She didn’t seem overly impressed by the dishes Aunt Chen had carefully prepared, as if everything was quite ordinary.

Aunt Chen had been working for the Yan family for over ten years, and her cooking was well-regarded. New guests rarely failed to compliment her culinary skills, but Miss Ning’s indifferent response made her feel uneasy.

Uncle Zheng put down the porcelain soup bowl and spoke softly, “Treating Miss Ning the same way as Young Master Yu will not lead to any mistakes.”

—

She went upstairs and turned left into the third room, which was Yan Ning’s room. She pushed open the door and entered.

She had glanced at the room briefly when she placed her luggage earlier. The room’s color scheme was pink—everything from the walls to the curtains to the bedding was in varying shades of pink, giving it a very feminine feel.

Yan Ning didn’t have much to say about the room’s decoration or design, to her, it was simply a place to rest.

Originally, that’s how she had thought of it.

Upon entering the room, to the left, against the door, was the bed, and next to the bed was a desk.

On the right side of the desk was a large bay window that jutted out, with a small balcony-like sitting area.

Yan Ning especially liked this design. She imagined covering it with a blanket, adding a small wooden table and large, soft cushions, and filling it with snacks and drinks. It would become an ideal spot to relax.

Beside the bay window was the bathroom, which had both a shower and a bathtub, and was fairly spacious.

Straight ahead from the door, there was a small door on the next wall. Pushing it open revealed a walk-in closet.

The left wall was lined with shoes, while the right wall was full of clothes, with the price tags still attached. The wall opposite the small door was covered in bags, watches, and other accessories.

Yan Ning picked up a shoe and placed it on the floor, trying it on. It fit perfectly. She also held up a piece of clothing in front of the full-length mirror, and it was her size as well.

After stepping out of the closet, Yan Ning saw the items Uncle Zheng had mentioned on the desk—a set of books and a white box.

The books all had the words “Compulsory Education Textbooks, Seventh Grade, Volume 2” written on them, but each was for a different subject.

She flipped through two of the books and then opened the nearby box.

Inside the box was a mobile phone. She tapped the screen, and it lit up—it hadn’t been set with a password.

The contact list had one name—Zheng Yun, which was probably Uncle Zheng’s name.

Yan Ning took out another phone from her pocket. It was the same brand and model as the one Uncle Zheng had given her, just in a different color.

She had bought the black one, while Uncle Zheng had brought her the pink one.

The black phone had two contacts: the person who introduced her when she was selling things in B City and her grandfather’s number.

She saved her grandfather’s phone number in the pink phone, then deleted all the information from the black phone, leaving only the contact for the person who had introduced her.

Yan Ning tidied up her things, took a shower, and then went to bed to rest.

She wasn’t familiar with the bed, but even though she wasn’t tired, she quickly fell asleep.

Resting as much as possible when she had the chance was a habit she had developed over the years.

—

“Good morning.”

Yan Ning was sitting at the table, eating breakfast. When she saw Uncle Zheng coming out of the room, she greeted him.

Uncle Zheng had tears in the corners of his eyes and looked like he hadn’t fully woken up: “Morning.”

He sat down and then asked, “Why are you up so early?”

“I was excited about going to school, so I couldn’t sleep.”

Aunt Chen brought over another breakfast and placed it in front of Uncle Zheng.

They finished breakfast by seven, and at Yan Ning’s request, Uncle Zheng took her to school early.

Ten minutes after they left, Yan Wan and Yan Yu came downstairs one after the other.

The two sat in the dining room, and Aunt Chen brought them breakfast.

“Sis, what are you looking for?” Yan Yu asked when he saw Yan Wan distracted, glancing at the stairs every now and then.

“Oh, nothing. Why hasn’t Ningning come down yet? Did she sleep in? Mom called yesterday and said she would take her to school today,” Yan Wan said with a gentle smile, her voice soft and considerate.

Aunt Chen replied, “Miss Ning has already left.”

Yan Wan froze for a moment.

Yan Yu furrowed his brow and said, “Why do you care about her? Sis, if she doesn’t cause trouble for you, don’t bother with her. If she dares to start something, tell me, I’ll teach her a lesson.”

A trace of helplessness appeared on Yan Wan’s face. “Ningning is also your sister. Don’t say things like that. I think we can get along well. I’m confident.”

“Sis, you’re just too easy going. I don’t think she’s someone easy to get along with. Forget it, I’ll handle everything.”

“Have you seen her?” Yan Wan paused, her hand still holding the chopsticks.

When she returned last night, Yan Ning was already asleep, and they didn’t meet. This morning, they missed each other again.

“Yes, I saw her last night.”

“How is she? Is she pretty?”

“She looks a lot like Mom.”

Yan Wan tightened her grip on the chopsticks and gave a faint smile. “Then she must be very pretty.”

“She’s not as good-looking as you, and that girl has a strong village vibe, totally rustic.”

“How could someone who looks like Mom be rustic?” Yan Wan shook her head with a smile. “Forget it, let’s hurry. It’s Ningning’s first day at school, and she must be unfamiliar with everything. I need to help her.”

“Tch, there’s no need to bother with her.”

After breakfast, the siblings were driven to school by Driver Chen.

—

Minghua Middle School, Junior High Department.

Grade 7, Class 5.

Shi Lei rushed into the classroom, barely having time to put down his backpack. Eager to show off the news he had just learned, he excitedly told his classmates, “I just saw the new transfer student.”

“Transfer student? How come there’s a transfer student now?”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Are you sure they’re in our class?”

Seeing that he had everyone’s attention, Shi Lei swallowed and continued, “I’m sure they’re in our class. I saw the homeroom teacher helping them with the paperwork. The person is pretty tall, skinny, with short hair. I didn’t see their faces clearly, so I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

After hearing his description, most of the boys lost interest. The girls were more reserved but exchanged looks with each other secretly.

Could the new transfer student be handsome?