3 Lei Yinying's place

She glanced over at the clock hanging on her wall and calculated the time difference between China and Finland. It wouldn't be until late into the night that she would receive a call.

It wasn't often that she allowed them to intrude on her mind, but it was mainly because she wasn't a fit person to be part of their lives. At least, she wasn't six years ago.

In a few days' time, she would receive her acceptance letter to Nan Jing University, one of the most prestigious universities in her province. It was this new chapter of her life that made her desire to bring them back over. To have them at her side. She was at an age where people were less likely to shame her or them for her status.

"Yingying?" The sharp sound of Mr Lian's voice intruded on her thoughts and caused the young woman to jump in her seat.

"Yes?" She asked, her voice a pitch higher as she settled back into her seat. She cleared her throat and gave him a more natural smile, "Were you trying to tell me something?"

"I called your name several times, but you didn't respond," Mr Lian grumbled and took a contemplative sip.

"I have a phone call to a foreign friend…they won't be available until tonight," she explained and looked at her tea pot. "I wonder if they've drunk any of the tea I've sent them."

Mr Lian had a strange expression on his face as he observed her. There was a slight furrow between her brows and she carried on about her concerns far more than usual. "Relax, it's not like this friend is your child or something."

Lei Yinying immediately stopped her ramblings and blinked rapidly at his words. "Hmm…" she hummed and turned back to the present. "Are you going to invite the kid over?"

Mr Lian sighed. "It's less like he's a kid, but more that he is a young man. A fragile one it would appear."

"Fragile?" She questioned.

"He shows…none of the usual traits a boy of his line usually does. It concerns his grandfather," he explained with an amused twitch of his lips.

"And which line does he belong to?" She asked, curiosity flashing through her serene gaze.

In her province there were a number of famous families, but even within that designation there were families which seemed to exist in another world. One where large sums of money moved through their fingers like coins.

That was a world that had intimidated Lei Yinying in the past. One where, by accident, shehad touched the fringes and her entire life ruined. But such a fate wouldn't happen in this incarnation.

"One which only a select few know about. They are in the top 10% of the 1%," Mr Lian explained, pouring himself another cup.

A sharpness entered her gaze before it dispersed under the steam of her cup. "I see…"

"And they're an old clan with ties to one of the great dynasties. The Lei family," he explained and considered her for a moment.

"A different Lei, I would presume," she countered with a smile. "Such a powerful…" She tried to explain.

"Such a powerful family would have equally powerful foes," Mr Lian countered.

Lei Yinying brow furrowed a fraction as she closed her eyes. "Well…it's not like they're missing a child. There has been no talk of such. With what little funds I have, I haven't heard anything of the sort about a daughter missing from an influential family."

They both fell into silence. She looked up towards a clock and noted the time was only nearing 6:00 pm. She still needed to wait another two hours. She tried to recall her schedule and she let out a long sigh. She had played around at the nearby high school for nearly a year since she "dropped" out five years ago. She could use the results from that school in order to get into a nearby college, but that wasn't good enough for her.

Nan Jing University wouldn't accept someone from a third tier high school, but a graduate from an accredited high school from a school overseas would be acceptable. But she hadn't disclosed this to anyone. When Lei Yinying and her people officially re-entered the world of that 1%, she would do it without shame.

The concept that she might be some long lost child of the Lei family was too unreal to her. There was nothing to support his claim besides the contemplative look of his. Lei Yinying wouldn't give herself any false hopes. It was her brazen and foolish desire to be someone more than her adoptive mother decided she could be that led to a miserable end in her first life. An end where a naive child was smothered under the weight of reality. A child who was mistakenly given the responsibility of others to shoulder. Or, perhaps, it was all on purpose in order to fully ruin her.

"It was merely...speculation," Mr Lian conceded and returned to enjoying his cup of tea. "It's for the best that you aren't part of that world."

Lei Yinying frowned at his words and her eyes narrowed on him. The lukewarm waters of her gaze freezing over. "What does that mean?" She usually wouldn't care for the remarks he gave given his bias against his own class, but she had dwelled one moment too long on her past. She had worked tirelessly in order to build a platform for her to stand on. One where she would be above those who sought to pull her down. And, she wouldn't allow for anyone to make her question the stability of her platform.

Mr Lian blinked his tired eyes at her reaction and felt a hint of amusement unfurl in his chest.

One must know that the Lei Yinying he had come to know was an unaffected woman. Someone one might imagine living in isolation in the mountains during ancient times. Unconcerned about the problems of those around her. Mr Lian had always imagined her as someone who would be sullied if pulled into the storm that existed beyond those mountains.

That wasn't the woman who was looking back at him. She was a woman who had weathered storms unique to her mountain hence she didn't display a concern to those outside of it. She wouldn't be defiled if people beyond the mountains dragged her away. The Lei Yinying before him would be capable of overthrowing those existing storms easily.

"Perhaps, it is only now that I've seen the real you," he admitted with a smirk.

The cold that coated her gaze thawed immediately as she took in his features. "Will you visit with your nephew?" She asked, her tone forceful.

Mr Lian's smirk faded into a grin, "I will. I will even return to the Lian family, but I want you to come with me."

"In what capacity?" She looked down at her empty tea cup.

"As my honorary granddaughter," he declared with a huge grin. "You have something in you. Something that reminds me of Old Madam Lei. The reclusive hag hasn't been spotted outside of her little fortress in years."

Lei Yinying felt the serious mode between them break with his words. "Reclusive hag?" She questioned and poured herself another cup.

"Ah! You're not allowed to say that! I can say it because she and I belong to the same generation," Mr Lian argued and gestured for her to pour him another as well.

She nodded in agreement to his words, not bothering to question them. "Alright, alright," she began in a doting tone. "This granddaughter won't argue with this grandfather."

Mr Lian beamed at her. "Good," he nodded and looked at his empty cup. "Hurry pour me some more before it cools."