The Yang mansion appeared ahead as the car drove seamlessly through the large iron gates.
Large trees bent beneath the force of the cold wind on either side of the driveway. The white mansion was a beautiful testament to the Yang family's wealth and influence.
The car door opened with a soft click.
A familiar raspy and elderly, broke through Yang Lixue's hearing aids.
"Welcome back home, Young Miss."
The words of the old Butler were polite and respectful. But devoid of genuine warmth as usual.
Yang Lixue nodded back as a greeting, her attention fixed on the mansion in front of her heart pounding in her chest.
The air was thick with the scent of the earlier rain, wrapped in the cold bite of the evening.
Home.
The word felt hollow.
Because to her, this had never been home.
Each memory of her stay in this place made her heart grow numb.
She had never belonged here, nor did she allow herself to think of this cage as a home. In fact, if not that her parents had threatened to cut off her allowance if she didn't come home the day she arrived from New York, she would have followed Xu Lian back to their dormitory.
A silent sigh escaped her lips
"It's just for one night Yang Lixue, you'll be back at the dorms tomorrow and Xu Lian will make you delicious meat buns and Ramen like she promised," Yang Lixue reassured herself.
Taking in a deep breath, she walked into the mansion.
The house was quiet and cold, but it wasn't surprising to her. The walls of the Yang family's mansion had never welcomed her warmly.
Walking further into the luxurious living room, her eyes caught sight of the couple seated on the chair.
Her mother, Lady Yang sat on the right side couch, her long blond hair flowing down to her lap as she sat talking animatedly to her husband. From here, Yang Lixue was staring at an older replica of her twin sister. The blond locks, blue eyes, and elegant demeanor. Her eyes trailed to her father next.
One could say she got her flaming red hair from him, and the deep dimples on both cheeks. He smiled at what her mother showed him on the phone
They seemed to be discussing something important and she caught fragments of some words; Limei and some award night being mentioned.
Great they were discussing her lovely sister.
She dropped her bags on the floor to alert them of her presence, and immediately their head snapped up, the smiles on their faces instantly mellowed.
Yang Lixue bowed her head in a nod, a silent greeting to them
Her mother stood up first coming closer to pull her in for a hug that lasted a nanosecond.
"Welcome back my dear, you could have at least uttered a greeting with your mouth, I know for a fact that I at least gave birth to a partially deaf daughter, not a mute."
Her words were stern and laced with disapproval at Yang Lixue's quietness.
Great, she hadn't even gotten a chance to sit and her mother was already finding a fault.
Yang Lixue remained silent as her eyes drifted to her father's who kept a stern frown on his face.
The air was heavy, thick with their unsaid words. Their never-ending disappointment at her existence.
Yang Lixue didn't bother trying to get their approval by giving them what they wanted, this same situation had happened before and if she eventually greeted them by talking, they would either tell her she wasn't speaking loudly enough, or that her voice sounded broken.
There's never a way to please them, and she definitely wasn't planning to.
She's way past that need for validation.
"I'll be in my room" she typed out almost shoving the screen of her tablet in her parents' faces to show them.
Their annoyance grew with her actions and Yang Lixue at least found that amusing after the day she's been through.
She hasn't even spent twenty-four hours in this damned country and she was almost hit to death by a huge bus.
Pleasing her parents was the last thing on her mind tonight, all she needed was a warm bath and a good sleep.
She grabbed her bags and was about to leave when her father's stern voice rang.
" Leave the bags Lixue, the maids will bring them upstairs for you. You must be tired from your trip"
Yang Lixue paused, wondering if she had heard right, or if her hearing aids had reached the highest level of malfunctioning.
She took one look at him and managed to catch a glimpse of warmth in his eyes. It was subtle, but they were all the same.
She frowned in confusion.
In this moment, he looked exactly like the father she would have loved to recognize while she was growing up, but he felt so unfamiliar because the father she knew was cold and dismissive.
It seemed her mother noticed the abnormality too, because she also gave the man a double glance.
Throwing another nod his way, Yang Lixue's sneakers squeaked on the tiled floor as she dragged herself tiredly to her room.
Her bedroom was the same way she left it. Pink, peaceful, clean, and all hers. She immediately ran herself a scented bath and soaked in the tub for about an hour.
After the much-needed bath, she put on her favorite cozy pyjama set and fell on the large princess bed.
Her eyes trailed over to the large mirror in the corner of the room, big blue eyes stared back at her, and her wet red hair curled down in wet waves.
She was too tired to dry them tonight and her hair was too long and stressful to consider trying.
As she stared longer, memories of the night she spent her time dressing in front of this same mirror suddenly popped up.
She could feel her heart squeeze at the memory.
And she was reminded of what had hurt her the most that night.
She could remember entering through that same door two years ago, meeting her parents in the living room as she came in soaked to the bones from the rain, with tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried with her aching heart.
But when her mother looked up to see her, only a look of disgust filled her eyes.
The disapproving look grew worse as she was asked what had happened and she narrated the events of the night.
And her cruel memory repeated the one word her mother had uttered that left Yang Lixue spiraling till she had to leave the country.
" You can't blame Yu Shen Lixue, all he wanted was better for himself."
Yes, all Yu Shen wanted was the better twin. Yang Lixue already knew that in her head, but when her own mother spoke those words to her, it felt like her whole world was collapsing.
Yang Lixue had always known her place since she was a little girl.
Her parents had never disguised their resentment. They had not made much of an effort to hide the bitterness in their eyes whenever they looked at her, the daughter with a disability, who had brought shame to the Yang family's tree.
Their disgust came through in every word they spoke, every dismissive look they threw her way when they thought she was too young to figure things out.
She had childhood memories of being kept hidden at home while they took Yang Limei to events and parties, and on rare occasions when she came along with them, the difference in the treatment she got was very clear.
Yet somehow, despite everything, she had wanted so badly to be seen by them.
To be loved by her own parents, even if it was an atom of the affection they showed her twin sister..
But their love had never been intended for her.
The memories unfolded inside her like an ancient movie, flickering in black and white images.
A small child with high hopes extending arms for solace, only to be pushed away. The taunt of rejection, time and time again, until the lesson became part of her.
She was never wanted, she disgraced the family by existing.
So she had learned to fade. To fade into the background where she wouldn't be noticed.
Solitude was her shelter, the sole haven where she could draw some breath without the burden of a world that judged her for her hearing impairment.
While other children, including her twin sister had laughed and were happily protected by their loving parents. Yang Lixue had existed as a shadow.
Quiet. Awkward. Painfully shy.
And then there was Yang Limei.
Yang Limei with a bubbly, loud, and charming personality.
All that Yang Lixue wanted to be but was not.
Her twin sister had been the sun — shining brightly, fulfilling their parents' golden standards. Their father's pride. Their mother's hope. The golden child with no faults.
And Yang Lixue?
She had been the one lost to history. The one who fell through the cracks, unseen and unloved.
But for a moment, however short, she had believed in Yang Limei's warmth. She'd convinced herself that, no matter what, her sister cared about her.
They were twins after all. No matter how unreasonable their parents were, they still had each other's backs.
But now, the fantasy was over, replaced only with the harsh, unforgiving reality.
Her sister had always seen her as less, not equal. The slight mean jokes weren't just jokes, and the condescending gleam in her eyes wasn't just a mistake.
Her sister had mocked her love, telling her to confess her feelings to the man she loved just to callously rip her heart into shreds by claiming his love for herself.
Yet again proving to Yang Lixue that she was always the chosen one. And the mocking smile she had thrown her way when Yu Shen wasn't looking… it was what actually broke her that night.
Yang Lixue swallowed hard, fighting against the tightness in her throat.
She was tired. So very, very tired.
This place made her weak, if only she could stay in New York forever.
Facing away from the mirror, Yang Lixue closed her eyes hoping to seek peace in her sleep.
And moments after her eyes closed, beautiful green eyes stared at her in her dreams, a warm body wrapping her in a hug, shielding her from the cold.
Her heart raced in something akin to excitement and a tiny smile unconsciously curled up her lips.
A single thought ran through her mind as she drifted off to dreamland.
Meeting Mr Li was definitely the only good thing about today.