Chapter 2
Chapter 2
T he grand Li Mansion came alive once again with the sound of engines and footsteps as the Li family returned from their weekend picnic. Bags of expensive gifts, snacks, and souvenirs filled the hands of the five brothers and their beloved adopted sister, Lin Yue.
Xiaoran stood quietly near the staircase, eyes hopeful. Maybe someone remembered. Maybe…
But her heart sank when she saw Lin Yue holding a delicate bracelet and chirping, “Mama, look! This one’s so pretty. Buy this for me next time too?”
Mrs. Li smiled gently, “Of course, sweetheart.”
Lin Yue then turned to Xiaoran, voice sweet but sharp underneath.
“Oh, Xiaoran, you can take this one. It’s too simple for me anyway.”
But before Xiaoran could even respond, Mr. Li frowned.
“If you want something, Xiaoran, I’ll give you money. Don’t take things from Lin Yue.”
Mrs. Li added, without even a glance, “We’re tired from the picnic. Don’t trouble us now.”
The words hit like stones. And just like that, they walked past her, laughter and warmth still reserved only for Lin Yue.
Lin Yue turned back one last time and smirked.
That evening, with silent steps and a heavy heart, Xiaoran wandered outside the mansion. The nearby park was quiet, golden sunlight washing the world in soft sorrow.
She sat on a swing, eyes blank, her little hands clutching the corner of her dress. That’s when she heard footsteps—soft, confident.
A boy, perhaps a year or two older than her, stood before her. Neatly dressed in a blue jacket, his eyes were sharp yet kind.
“Why are you crying?” he asked gently.
Xiaoran wiped her tears but didn’t hide her pain.
“Why do people say they love you forever... but then change? No one wished me happy birthday. I didn’t even want gifts. Just a wish...”
The boy’s expression softened. He sat on the swing next to her.
“Maybe... the people who hurt you weren’t meant to love you forever. But someone will. Someone will love you truly, without conditions. You just have to wait for your time.”
Suddenly, a voice called from a distance, “Young Master, your parents are waiting.”
The boy stood up, but before leaving, he took something out of his pocket—a small silver ring. He gently took the pendant Xiaoran was wearing and slid his ring onto the chain.
“Happy Birthday,” he whispered with a soft smile.
“This is my gift to you.”
And then, just like that, he ran off toward the waiting car, leaving behind only the echo of kindness.
Xiaoran held the pendant close to her chest, the cool metal warming with her heartbeat. In that moment, something inside her changed.
A tiny hope sparked in the ashes of disappointment.
The next morning, sunshine filtered through the large windows of the Li Mansion. Breakfast was served in the elegant dining hall, where the long table was filled with fresh fruit, warm buns, and imported juices.
Xiaoran walked in quietly, her pendant still carrying the weight of last night’s moment. She sat in her usual corner seat, unnoticed.
Across the table, Lin Yue giggled as she poured orange juice for Li Wei.
“Gege, you said you like strawberry jam, so I asked the maid to make it for you.”
Li Wei smiled warmly, “Aww, thanks Xiao Yue, you’re the best.”
Li Rui added, laughing, “She’s like our lucky charm. Always knows what we want!”
Xiaoran opened her mouth to say something—maybe offer jam too—but before a word escaped, Lin Yue turned to her sweetly.
“Xiaoran jiejie, did you want something? Oh wait... you weren’t at the picnic, so you wouldn’t know our favorite foods.”
She said it innocently. But her smile lingered just a little too long.
Mrs. Li turned sharply, “Xiaoran, don’t just sit there staring. If you want to be helpful, learn to pay attention to your brothers.”
Xiaoran lowered her eyes.
Later that day, the brothers gathered in the living room, watching a movie Lin Yue had chosen. Xiaoran approached with two bowls of snacks.
“I made these—”
But before she could finish, Li Zhen waved her off.
“Not now, Xiaoran. Don’t interrupt. Yue chose this movie for us.”
Xiaoran stood frozen, her bowl untouched.
Lin Yue leaned close to Li Han and whispered just loud enough, “Sometimes I feel like Xiaoran jiejie doesn’t want to be part of the family fun... maybe she just doesn’t care.”
Li Han nodded without even looking her way.
Later that evening, Xiaoran passed by her parents’ room and overheard Lin Yue’s soft voice.
“I think Xiaoran jiejie is upset lately. She looks at me strangely sometimes… it makes me uncomfortable.”
Mrs. Li’s voice followed.
“She always had a jealous streak. I’ll talk to her.”
That night, Xiaoran was called to the study.
Mr. Li didn’t even look up from his files.
“Is it true you’ve been giving Yue trouble? Don’t let your insecurities turn into resentment.”
Mrs. Li added, “You should be more mature. She’s your younger sister. Don’t make her feel unsafe.”
Xiaoran’s lips trembled, but she said nothing.
The next morning, her art supplies were gone from the shared playroom.
“I moved them,” Lin Yue said, brushing her doll’s hair.
“Your drawings were making the room messy. I asked the maid to keep it tidy.”
Day by day, piece by piece, Xiaoran’s presence was erased.
Her voice became softer.
Her place at the table less acknowledged.
Her smiles rarer.
And Lin Yue—always sweet, always polite in front of others—tightened her grip with invisible threads.
The sky was grey with the promise of rain as Xiaoran walked through the corridor toward her room. That’s when she heard Lin Yue’s voice from the staircase above.
She turned.
Lin Yue was standing halfway down the marble stairs, her expression unreadable.
“Jiejie…” she called sweetly.
“Can I ask you something?”
Xiaoran stopped.
Lin Yue tilted her head, a shadow playing behind her innocent smile.
“If we both fell from here… do you want to know who your parents will worry about?”
“And who will your brothers stand for?”
Xiaoran eyes widened.
“What are you saying?”
Lin Yue took a step forward.
And then—
They both fell.
A loud thud echoed through the mansion, followed by sharp gasps and the clatter of footsteps.
“Miss Lin Yue!”
“Call Madam and Sir! Hurry!”
Servants rushed in first, followed by the entire Li family.
Xiaoran, bruised and shocked, looked up from the cold marble floor, her knee scraped, blood slowly dripping.
But all her eyes searched for… was someone who’d call her name.
Someone who’d hold her. Just once.
Instead, Mrs. Li screamed, running straight to Lin Yue who lay softly whimpering nearby.
“Yue’er! My baby! Are you alright?”
Li Qiang picked Lin Yue up in his arms.
Li Han shouted at the servant , “Why didn’t you watch them properly? Call the doctor!”
Mr. Li turned his cold gaze toward Xiaoran.
“What kind of monster are you? She’s your sister! What did she ever do to you?”
Xiaoran froze.
Her lips trembled.
She wanted to scream, "She planned this!"
But no one would believe her.
They never had.
The car engine roared as the Li family rushed Lin Yue to the hospital, their backs turned, their love gone where it had always belonged—from the start—to someone else.
A servant quietly tended to Xiaoran’s bleeding knee, wrapping a cloth around the wound.
“Child… I know you didn’t push her,” she whispered.
But sympathy was not the same as love.
That evening rain poured over the Li Mansion.
Xiaoran stood outside the heavy oak doors, her clothes drenched, her arms wrapped around herself. Her knee throbbed with pain, but her heart ached more.
The front door opened.
Mr. and Mrs. Li stepped out with stern faces.
“Stay here until you understand what you've done,” Mrs. Li ordered.
“We won’t tolerate such cruelty in this house.”
The door slammed shut.
Thunder cracked above.
Xiaoran, barely seven years old, stood alone in the storm—soaked, bruised, shaking not from the cold, but from something deeper.
Betrayal.
She looked at the pendant still around her neck, now hidden beneath her wet clothes. The boy’s ring still nestled there.
Her eyes, wide with pain, began to dry.
Not from comfort.
But from decision.
That night, something inside Xiaoran died.
Not her body.
But her hope.
She whispered to herself, “I don’t want anything from this family anymore.w hen I turn nineteen, I’ll leave this place. I’ll live far away. In peace.”
Sometimes life doesn’t wait for you to grow.
Sometimes, it forces you to grow before your time.
Just like it did with Xiaoran.