The city was loud and alive, but inside the quiet orphanage, Yining sat in her usual corner, flipping through a worn-out book. The orphanage had been her home for as long as she could remember. It wasn't warm, it wasn't loving, but it had given her shelter. She had never known the feeling of family, nor had she expected to.
Her life had always been simple: study, read, avoid unnecessary attention, and when necessary, disappear.
Because in a world where she had no family, no background, and no support, all she could rely on was herself.
Then, one day, everything changed.
"Yining!"
The orphanage director's urgent voice interrupted her reading. The woman rushed in, holding a phone, her usually stern expression full of hesitation.
"There's a call for you," she said. "It's… a family matter."
Yining blinked. Family? That word had nothing to do with her.
But the director didn't give her a choice. "Take it," she insisted, shoving the phone into her hand.
Confused, Yining hesitated before answering, "Hello?"
A deep, unfamiliar voice responded, gentle yet urgent.
"Yining?"
She frowned. "Who is this?"
The man on the other end took a shaky breath, as though he couldn't believe he was finally speaking to her. Then, he said the words that shattered her world.
"We are your family. Your real family. The Lu family."
Yining froze.
The Lu family? That name… It wasn't just famous. It was legendary. The Lu family was one of the most powerful and wealthiest families in the country. But what did they have to do with her?
"You must be mistaken," she said. "I don't have a family."
"You do," the voice insisted. "You are our daughter."
Something inside her snapped at those words. Their daughter? Ridiculous. She had spent fifteen years in this orphanage, waiting for a family that never came.
"You're lying," she said coldly. "My parents abandoned me."
A sharp inhale came from the other end. Then, the man's voice wavered, full of suppressed pain.
"No, Yining," he whispered. "We never abandoned you. We thought you were dead."
Her heart pounded. Dead? What kind of nonsense was that?
Another voice came through—this one softer, a woman's voice, choked with tears.
"Yining, please, let us meet you. Just once."
Yining gripped the phone tightly, her knuckles turning white. Every instinct screamed at her to hang up. She had spent fifteen years believing she was unwanted. Now, these strangers wanted to claim her as their own?
But…
The desperation in their voices. The raw emotion.
What if…?
She swallowed hard. "…Fine."
One meeting.
She would hear them out. But she wouldn't believe a single word.
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