Chapter 2: So This Is the Great Lord Who Has Arrived

The rain cleared.

The morning sun shone into the room, landing on the face of the young girl lying on her side on the bed. Her skin was as delicate as porcelain, her eyelashes thick and curled, and her ink-wash-like brows carried a hint of the weariness of someone who had just woken up.

The corners of her eyes were tinged with red, carrying a hazy, damp look.

*Ding-dong.*

A push notification popped up at the top of her phone screen.

She picked it up and glanced at it casually.

"At 11:00 PM last night, on the Lianyun Expressway heading toward Yunzhou, a multi-vehicle pileup involving four cars occurred, resulting in two serious injuries and three minor injuries..."

She became more alert and tapped to scroll down a few times.

The time and location matched. However, compared to that accident in her previous life, the number of casualties had changed.

Without the Ye family’s Cayenne, the outcome seemed to be much better.

A knock sounded at the door.

She glanced at the time: 8:20 AM.

Ning Li raised an eyebrow, checked the contents of her backpack once more, and then rose unhurriedly to open the door.

Zou Hua stood outside, having knocked three times, his mood growing increasingly impatient.

Finally, just as he was thinking about simply barging in, the door opened.

A face that was completely bare of makeup, yet still incredibly beautiful, came into view.

Zou Hua was stunned for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he said

"Miss Ning, you are late."

The Madam had specified eight o'clock last night; it was now almost eight-thirty!

Did she have any sense of time at all?

"The Madam does not like people who are not punctual."

Ning Li smiled.

She had been punctual in her previous life, but she hadn't seen Su Yuan like her any more for it.

If one really wanted to talk about waiting, she had waited for eleven years, starting from the age of six.

In comparison, what was this little bit of time that Su Yuan had waited?

"Sorry, I really wasn't aware of that." After all, it had been many years since they last met.

Zou Hua felt a lump in his chest.

What kind of thing was that to say!?

Ning Li stepped out and turned to lock the door.

"Let's go."

Zou Hua glanced at her, his eyes widening slightly.

"Miss Ning, where is your luggage?"

She was just carrying a single shoulder bag.

"This is it," Ning Li said concisely.

Zou Hua: "..."

Wasn't this what you were carrying last night? And you said you hadn't finished packing—you spent all that time for just this pathetic bag?

Who are you playing for!?

Ning Li walked two steps toward the stairs, then turned back to look at him.

"Are we not going? It wouldn't be good to keep people waiting."

Zou Hua’s lips moved, but he had no choice but to follow.

This was destined to be an unpleasant morning.

Because of Ning Li's tardiness, Su Yuan was very dissatisfied.

Zou Hua drove, while Su Yuan and Ning Li sat in the back.

The temperature inside the car was extremely low, and the atmosphere was tense.

But Ning Li acted as if she hadn't noticed anything, sitting to one side, leaning against the back of the seat, and closing her eyes to rest.

Su Yuan glanced at her, wanting to lecture her, but thinking that this girl was even capable of skipping school, she figured saying anything would be useless.

There were still more important things that needed to be addressed.

"After we arrive in Yunzhou, you need to change these bad habits of yours. Xiao Ci is three months younger than you, and A-Sheng is ten this year. Once you go there, you are the older sister, so be more accommodating and take care of them, understand?"

Ning Li’s eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes. A layer of dark light, obscure and difficult to decipher, seemed to shroud the depths of her eyes.

After all these years, she was hearing this sentence again.

She was the older sister, so she had to forgive her younger brother when he made mistakes.

She was the older sister, so she had to give her younger sister whatever she wanted.

Having relied on her grandmother since she was small, her impression of her parents was very vague.

But when she found out she could return to live by her mother's side, she had still been filled with anticipation.

Along with that, she had held 120 percent tolerance for those so-called younger siblings.

The old her had truly hoped to have a home of her own.

Unfortunately...

Seeing her expression, Su Yuan thought she had taken it to heart and felt slightly relieved.

"Also, I plan to transfer your school records to Yunzhou No. 2 High School. The senior year classes there have already started—"

The corners of Ning Li’s lips curled.

Yunzhou No. 2 High School was the best high school in all of Yunzhou.

The Ye family had likely gone to great lengths to squeeze her in.

The old her had thought they were doing it for her own good, but later she realized it was just wishful thinking.

The truth was simply that Ye Ming was a man who cared deeply about his reputation.

Previously, when Ning Li lived in Lincheng, it was fine for both sides to mind their own business.

But now, Ning Li was being brought back to the Ye family, making her his stepdaughter in name.

He did this, firstly, to show off his own grace, and secondly, to display his connections and resources; it had nothing to do with Ning Li herself.

Su Yuan sighed.

She had inquired beforehand; Ning Li’s grades in Lincheng had always been mediocre, the type that was most easily overlooked in the middle tier.

If it were an ordinary high school, muddling through like that would be fine, but getting into Yunzhou No. 2 High School was quite difficult.

"The enrollment process still has to be followed, but your Uncle Ye has already put in a word, so you just need to take a test when the time comes. However, the competition at No. 2 High is fierce. Once you get in, try to study hard and improve your grades."

Ning Li was noncommittal.

Su Yuan continued to speak on her own, but seeing her always listless and cold demeanor, she felt it was boring and turned her head away, no longer looking at her.

An hour and a half later, the group returned to Yunzhou.

The black Cayenne drove all the way into the Jingyue Villa complex.

On the hillside, there were over a dozen detached villas.

This was the most expensive villa area in Yunzhou.

Those who lived here were the wealthiest families in Yunzhou.

Zou Hua drove the car to the front of one of the villas.

The carved nanmu wood gates slowly opened from both sides.

Ning Li glanced to the side and noticed that a car was already parked in the front yard.

She blinked; that wasn't the Yun family's car.

The window was half-open, and one could vaguely see a person sitting inside.

Looking from where she was, she could only see the person's high-bridged nose and a touch of cold, jade-white skin.

He seemed to be sleeping.

However...

This person was quite interesting; sitting in a car sleeping in someone else's yard for no reason?

The surroundings were quiet, and even the servants seemed to slow their pace when they came to greet them.

It was as if they were afraid of disturbing that person.

Su Yuan stared at the car several times, feeling that it looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it.

She lifted her chin.

"Do we have guests at home?"

Auntie Zhao’s face carried an unconcealable excitement as she lowered her voice

"Madam, you don't know, but today, Young Master Cheng came to deliver an invitation!"

In all of Yunzhou, there was only one Young Master Cheng—Cheng Xiyue.

Barely twenty-three, he had already taken over one-third of the Cheng family's businesses; he was the bona fide heir to the Cheng family.

But even if Cheng Xiyue came, it shouldn't be to this extent, right?

Moreover, she had met Cheng Xiyue, and the person sitting in the car—

As Ning Li was listening, that person suddenly sensed something and slowly opened his eyes.

As if by intuition, he sat up slightly and looked straight over.

Most of his face was hidden in the shadows of the car, making it unclear, yet even if only those cold, deep eyes were revealed, it was enough to surpass the magnificent scenery around them.

His posture was lazy and unrestrained, yet it exuded a cold, ascetic air from his very bones. Truly—high and unreachable.

Their eyes met.

Ning Li’s heart skipped a beat.

No wonder the Ye family was making such a big fuss; it turned out this lord had arrived.