Soon Yu Yan could hear soft footsteps from outside the study and waited with bated breath to take a look at Yu Yue. She didn't want to miss even a single second of the oncoming happenings.
The door opened to reveal a girl in the prime of her life brimming with casual confidence. Yu Yan hadn't expected this new girl to be so effortlessly beautiful. She already hated her but this fox-like appearance caused her to want to destroy her looks.
The girl merely glanced at her as if she was not a person but some insignificant object. It was as if she was high above looking down on her but then giving it a moment's thought she realised that the reason she was ignored wasn't that Yu Yue didn't put her in her eyes but simply that Yu Yue must have thought her to be a new member of the household staff.
While walking from her room to the study she had seen a few maids dressed in simple dresses while going about their jobs. She herself hadn't taken much notice of her attire being somewhat similar to their's but now she regretted not wearing something more conspicuous.
This infuriated her to no end and she was angered to the point of wanting to lash out at this pampered girl but she somehow controlled herself all the while clutching her hands so as to not give away her innermost thoughts and emotions.
Taking a quick peek at her father she couldn't see him berating Yu Yue on her behalf or even expressing his disapproval. This silence once again showed her how all the love and care she was showered within the last few days was just superfluous.
It didn't amount to much in front of the deep feelings her father shared with the daughter he had brought up at his lap. She realised that he felt more guilt than love towards her.
Though guilt could make a person bend over backwards for the person they felt guilty towards, so it could never surpass the heartfelt emotions they had towards someone they considered the closest to their heart.
If one day she stood at crossroads with Yu Yue she didn't have the absolute confidence that this person would have her back. He might just fight against her instead of standing with her. She would need to give it further thought to make plans for her future if things didn't go the way she wanted them to.
While Yu Yan was busy in her thoughts her sister was given shares of the company.
Why was it that though they were both daughters she could only get things which were mere trinkets in front of this lavish birthday gift?
Anyways somehow the topic was wrestled back to the main point. Listening to her father explaining the ins and outs of everything so patiently as if afraid to rile his beloved firstborn daughter she felt as if this was all too unreal. Soon it was as if all the blood had drained out of Yu Yue and her eyes were filled with tears which she was valiantly trying to suppress.
This brought her a modicum of equanimity but in the spirit of being truthful to herself, she wasn't satisfied with this small reaction. She had wanted Yu Yue to create a scene at this point.
Yu Yan wanted her to curse and rage at their father, smash things, vent her feelings on the new girl standing in front of her. After all, she should seem like easy pickings for a girl who had everything go her way since childhood but she was met with disappointment.
All that Yu Yue did was look at her father in a disappointing way and then the moronic girl said some absurd words about how she needed some time to come to terms with the facts and until then to let her be by herself instead of saying or doing the logical thing. Afterwards, she ran away as if the very hounds of hell were dogging her footsteps.
If Yu Yue had gone the expected route it would have have helped her to portray herself as someone who was blameless but still had given way to her sister to help her vent her feelings which would have increased the guilty feeling her father had towards her all the while making Yu Yue be someone unreasonable to serve as her foil but once again her plan didn't work out.
For a moment she had to think whether the circuits of Yu Yue's brain were wired somehow in a different way than to the standard conventions.
Anyways even if she didn't show an extreme reaction to the news, her heart must be hurting as if a thousand needles poking it at the same time. Also, she herself had another chance to turn the tables at the party.
Looking at her father mournfully she asked, "Father will elder sister ever forgive me for the sin of being born from a different mother? If she doesn't feel well at heart because of me I could live somewhere else. I'll just come here to see you every few weeks."
Her father immediately replied, " No, it's nothing like that. She just needs some time to come to terms with things. After some time everything will be fine."
He patted her head lovingly and continued, "You don't need to worry and I never want to hear you talking about living outside ever again. Already you have spent enough time out there. Give me a chance to correct my mistake and give your sister some time to reconcile with the facts and she'll be the best elder sister you could ever ask for."
Even though he was trying to appease and placate her, all she could hear was him trying to take sides with Yu Yue every few words which further ruffled her feathers.
Subsequently, after some further small talk, he called a young boy into the study. He introduced him as Xun Zixi who was a prominent member of the household staff. Yu Yan was informed that he and his twin sister were trained as Yu Yue's immediate subordinates and shadows.
Since her arrival was a surprise albeit a pleasant one they didn't have anybody at hand who could be given the post of her right hand immediately. Since Zixi hadn't still accepted the job he was taught for and hadn't had any contact with Yu Yue, it was decided that temporarily he would help her intricate herself into this new social-economic world she found herself in.
Later on, she could either accept him permanently as a staff under her or could change it to someone else but it would have to wait for a few months. Then like a good little girl, she was given a pat on her head and told to march to her room to get ready for the party.
The guy followed her all the way back to her room and when she sat down to think through things she realised that he didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. He was standing like a statue right at the entrance of her room. Neither inside nor outside. She had some doubts about his usefulness and loyalty towards her.
After all, he must have been anticipating being the secret keeper of the next heir to the throne of this big business and here he was handed a new girl whom nobody had ever heard about but she wanted to win this person's absolute trust and loyalty. It would give her immense gratification to steal a person's heart especially if the said person was destined to be under her elder sister.
Therefore, deeming him to be the first pawn in her game she turned towards him with a smile and started asking him inconsequential questions. She sprinkled them with barbed words and questions pertaining to Yu Yue.
She wanted to, first of all, see the level of attachment this person had towards the assignment he thought would be given to him and secondly judge his thought process. If he answered the questions to her satisfaction she would try to win him over to her side otherwise, he would be discarded when the time came and she would not take him into her confidence.
Though he answered all her questions without fail, there was some hesitation when she asked probing questions regarding anything that was considered only for the family but it was all right. She could work with someone like this. If he had no scruples she would have either thought him to be without a shred of loyalty or completely brainless.
It seemed he had some of his own thoughts which would help her in using him to do some inconsequential tasks but anything more than that would require further consideration. After talking and inquiring for some time she told him to stand outside while she got ready.
She took her sweet time to dress in a way she felt would shed a positive light on her. Just a few minutes later her father asked her to accompany him downstairs to welcome the guests.
Observing the endless stream of guests, some of which she had only seen on magazines or television boggled her mind but she quickly composed herself. She never tried to stand out whenever these people came to greet her father.
All the while just standing quietly behind him as if she didn't understand a thing about the present scene. She would just shyly look up at a few people, taking care to look at both men and women every few minutes. She knew from her personal experience that this kind of shy and quiet maiden was liked by everyone.
Soon enough she could sense a few people standing at the fringes of the ballroom getting curious about her. Whenever her eyes would meet with a person's eyes seemingly accidentally she would immediately lower her head as if afraid to even look at unknown people. All was going according to her plan when she felt a subtle change in the surroundings.
Gauging that everyone's eyes were tilted towards the same location she knew it was time. Before coming downstairs Zixi had given her a detailed rundown of today's programme so she could surmise that Yu Yue must be standing on the top of stairs waiting to let everyone know of her presence and come down the stairs.
Unwillingly she turned towards the stairs and looked at Yu Yue. This one look made her feel that today she once again had not grasped the opportunity in the right way. When she had dressed she had felt like a fairy but now looking at Yu Yue she knew she fell short of the mark.
Additionally, she could see everyone looking at that girl as if waiting for an immortal to descend down from the heavens and grant them with her presence. Everyone was so focused on the pampered princess that all the attention she had gotten prior to this felt like a poor joke to her.
After the greeting ceremony was done by the father-daughter duo which she didn't pay much attention to since she was busy trying to take hold of her uncomfortable heart, then father introduced her to everyone present but the reaction she got wasn't the one she had expected.
Later on, listening to her father's words, she followed after Yu Yue to greet everyone present. She had a faint inkling that Yu Yue might try to discredit her in front of the guests or say hurtful words or something along the same lines but it was as if Yu Yue had no personal thoughts regarding this new sister and just introduced her to everyone with proper decorum without stepping a toe out of line.
Yu YYan herself had felt that the men would atleast try to chat her up or that there would be some slight ambiguous word passed around but it was nothing of the sort. All any of these seemingly robotic people did was give her pre-functionary nods and that was the end of it.
It was all well and proper but after some time, she could see the vibes of mockery for this new addition to the Yu household in their eyes. She didn't let it bother her and drew on all the things she knew from watching dramas or listening to snippets about these rich people from her memory and acted according to what she felt was the right way.
The worst part of the evening came when she followed Yu Yue to the women's area. She could feel a clear air of hostility from them and hated Yu Yue for not helping her in such a delicate situation which she was facing for the first time. She would mark this incident against her and give to her twofold what she received today.
Yu Yue was the reason everyone was present here today so she would have to pay her back for all the mockery, hostility and ridicule that was dumped on her head today. Yu Yan had also picked up on some of the allusions being made towards her identity and background.
She knew that they all felt as if she was in the wrong but in the days ahead she would get further chances to clear any misunderstandings these people had in regards to her. After all, she would need the help of some of these people to snatch away Yu Yue's position.
At last the party was over and at night before going to sleep she neglected the niggling thought that today had been an inexplicable failure for her though, she couldn't pinpoint where things had started going down the unintended path for her.