The next day, the estate was pretty much empty except for the servants. Shen Chengwei had gone to the company early in the morning. Shen Wanwan was at school, and Feng Xin had gone out after making plans with the wives of several wealthy families.
Shen Yelan, with nowhere to be and nothing on her schedule, decided to have a look around.
She pushed her wheelchair out of her room and headed toward the garden outside.
The moment she reached the entrance, a maid quickly stepped in front of her.
"You can't go in there. The garden is Madam's favourite place. Every plant in there was imported from overseas. Some of them are quite rare. If your wheelchair damages them, who's going to pay for it?"
The maid's eyes swept over Shen Yelan from head to toe. The meaning behind her words was obvious.
Someone like you can't afford even a single flower here.
Shen Yelan looked at her for a moment. Then she looked past her at the garden.
They were all winter flowers that had clearly just been planted recently. In the center of the garden was a beautiful Roman-style gazebo made of white marble and glass.
Because of the snowfall from last night, a thin layer of white covered the ground and rested gently on the flower petals. This made the entire scene looked soft and dreamlike, like something out of a fairytale.
Too bad she wouldn't get to enjoy it.
Shen Yelan stared at the garden for a few quiet seconds before slowly looking away.
"Alright," she said.
Then she turned her wheelchair and left.
The maid looked at her back and sneered.
"At least she knows her place," she muttered and went back to work like nothing had happened.
Shen Yelan wandered around the estate slowly.
Since there was no elevator and she was in a wheelchair, she could not go upstairs. So she simply moved around the first floor, looking around casually as if she were sightseeing.
Most of the servants ignored her completely.
In their eyes, she was nothing more than a country girl who had suddenly entered a wealthy family. Everything around her probably looked new and exciting. As long as she did not cause them any trouble, there was no need to waste time on her.
Of course, there were some who kept stealing glances at her. They couldn't help it. Shen Yelan was really beautiful. If you just looked at her face, you'd completely forget about the wheelchair.
The tour did not take long, and in no time, Shen Yelan returned to the living room from where she had started. There wasn't much else to see, so she decided to head back to her room.
Suddenly, she heard a woosh, and a round object flew towards her. She stopped her wheelchair, and the thing zoomed past her face, missing by barely an inch. Then it smashed into a vase on the table.
Crash!
The loud sound echoed through the room.
Shen Yelan looked at the broken vase, which clearly looked expensive, and then at the football rolling on the floor. Finally, she raised her eyes toward the culprit standing at the entrance.
A tall teenage boy stood frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights.
"No no no…" he muttered under his breath while staring at the broken vase in horror. "This isn't happening. I'm definitely hallucinating. The vase is still there. It's completely fine…"
Shen Yelan looked at him with slight amusement in her eyes.
This was Shen Yucheng, her thirteen year old half brother that was missing last night at dinner. Judging by the bags the servant behind him was carrying, he'd just gotten back from a trip.
Shen Yucheng was actually quite handsome, inheriting the best features from Shen Chengwei and Feng Xin. He was dressed in trendy branded clothes popular among boys his age and had his dark hair fall messily over his forehead.
Feeling her gaze, Shen Yucheng finally noticed the stranger in the room.
"You…why didn't you stop the ball?"
"How was I supposed to do that?" Shen Yelan asked.
"Of course you had to catch…" He stopped halfway through his sentence.
Finally, his brain caught up.
"Wait…who are you?" he asked, finally realizing she was someone he did not know.
"Who are you?" she returned.
"I live here,"
"So do I," she said.
"Huh?" he looked at her in bewilderment.
He had only left for three days. How did a stranger suddenly appear in his house? And why had nobody told him?
Butler Wang chose this moment to walk in.
"Young master, you're back."
"Butler Wang," Shen Yucheng said immediately, pointing at Shen Yelan. "Who is she?"
Butler Wang looked at Shen Yelan, then back at the boy. "This is Miss Shen Yelan, your eldest sister."
Shen Yucheng looked stunned.
"My what?"
"Your eldest sister."
There was a long pause.
"I have another sister?"
He turned to look at Butler Wang with genuine confusion on his face.
Shen Yucheng seriously began wondering if he had somehow entered the wrong house after returning from his trip.
What exactly happened while he was gone?
The corner of Shen Yelan's lips curved upward at his question, and she too looked at the old man with the same questioning gaze. It was quite obvious that she was asking why her own brother was unaware of her existence.
Though she was not surprised by this. When Shen Yelan went missing, this boy was only three years old. Back then, the original Shen Yelan was not favoured in the family. She rarely left her room and barely interacted with anyone in the family. Not to mention Feng Xin had never allowed Shen Yucheng to get close to her. So it made sense that he did not remember her.
But he should have at least known he had an eldest sister who was missing. Unless, ever since Shen Yelan's disappearance, she was never once mentioned in this house as if she did not exist at all. In this case, all the claims by Feng Xin that she was so worried about her and Shen Chegwei had hired someone to keep looking for her were all a lie.
Butler Wang instantly felt a headache seeing both siblings staring at him.
"You were very young when Miss disappeared. Master didn't want the incident to affect him negatively, so everyone in the house was told not to mention Miss Yelan."
"Oh," Shen Yucheng frowned. What he said made sense, yet somehow, something still felt strange but he could not put his finger on what.
Shen Yelan only sneered inwardly.
"What happened here?" Butler Wang asked, changing the subject. He was looking at the broken vase.
Shen Yucheng stiffened instantly.
"This… I…"
Of all things to break, it had to be this vase.
This was his father's favourite vase that he had bought from an auction at a high price. Though the vase was nothing special to look at, he had won the bid against his rival in business. Ever since then, Shen Chengwei proudly displayed it in the living room every day.
"I accidentally knocked the table," Shen Yelan said.
Both of them looked at her.
Shen Yelan was looking at Butler Wang innocently.
"I didn't mean to break it. My wheelchair is old, so I lost control for a second."
Shen Yucheng stared at her in complete disbelief. The way she said it sounded so natural and convincing that he almost believed her himself. If he was not the real culprit and hadn't seen what had actually happened, he probably would've accepted her explanation.
He snapped his head toward Butler Wang to see if the old man bought that nonsense. Her wheelchair was nowhere near the table!
Obviously, Butler Wang also knew the truth. The football was still lying nearby.
But after only a second of silence, he immediately understood Shen Yelan's intention. His expression became sternShe was taking the blame for Shen Yucheng.
In Butler Wang's eyes, this was probably her way of trying to improve her relationship with the young master of the family. Since she was willing to sacrifice herself, why would he stop her?
His expression became stern, "That was one of the master's favorite pieces. You should pray he doesn't punish you too severely."
Shen Yucheng frowned deeply.
"But she didn't-"
"Young Master," Butler Wang interrupted, "you just returned and must be tired. You should go upstairs and rest. I'll have the kitchen send something up."
Then he turned toward Shen Yelan.
"You should return to your room and wait for Master to come back."
Shen Yelan lowered her eyes obediently.
"Yes."
She slowly turned her wheelchair and left. None of them noticed the faint smile hidden at the corner of her lips, revealing a hint of dimples on her cheeks.
Behind her, Shen Yucheng stood there quietly watching her thin figure disappear down the hallway. For some reason, his chest suddenly felt uncomfortable. He did not know what this feeling was, but he clearly did not like it.