New World Formation

Hearing the timid call, the stoic-looking, middle-aged man turned and swept his cold eyes over her. Seeing her bowed head, for a split second, an imperceptible frown appeared on his cold face that mirrored his eyes. Then wordlessly, he turned and proceeded to the dining hall.

"Come. It's dinner time." His voice was cold, devoid of all emotion.

Qing Yue wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she took a deep breath and braced herself for another meal in tense silence.

Then she gracefully descended the last steps and walked into the hall.

The dining hall of the Li Mansion was huge. Diamond chandeliers hung from tall ceilings that stretched as high as the second floor, and mosaics of the era before the New World Formation adorned the glass walls.

Bright, creamy moon rays streamed through the one-way grey glasses and illuminated the green vase with white-red lilies sitting on the only glass table in the center of the spacious hall.

Qing Yue walked to the table and a female servant immediately stepped up to pull out her chair.

"Thank you, sister Chu." Qing Yue smiled and proceeded to her seat.

"No need for thanks, Mistress. It's my job." Bowing slightly, the servant stepped back and stood to the side, her face impassive as she looked straight with her hands clasped.

The moment she claimed her seat, her muscles tensed and she nervously glanced at her Dad. The man sat with a cold face, a teacup in one hand and a digital pen in another, highlighting and marking on his BioCom.

Her Dad, Li Chen, was a cold man that barely exchanged with her more than three sentences a meal.

When she was young, Qing Yue felt baffled by his behavior. At times, she had even wondered if he sensed she was no longer his baby girl.

But on the celebration of his 45th birthday, Qing Yue came to know the real reason.

It was a December evening proceeded by a cold night, the air tinged with a hint of ice.

Ten-year-old Qing Yue in pink slippers and a pink dress, a butterfly hairpin in her hair, held a birthday gift in her hand as she fervently searched the mansion for her Dad.

Even though she recovered her previous memories, she accepted and considered the man whose blood flew in her veins as her Dad, the only relative she could trust and rely on in this strange new world.

And for her only relative, even if the man was cold and hard to communicate with, she wished for nothing but his happiness.

With a happy smile and bright eyes, she skipped through the hall and arrived before his study door.

Straightening her dress, she fixed her posture and straightened her hair, wanting to be in her best appearance when she wished him. Stretching her hand, she reached to turn the golden knob when a familiar voice entered her ears.

"Brother Li, I noticed you're a little distant from your daughter. Do you still blame her for Sister-in-law's death?"

Qing Yue's hand froze as if she had been electrocuted. She blinked and frowned in confusion. The voice sounded familiar, so it was probably someone she knew.

But the only person of the older generation she knew was...the close friend of her Dad, Long Hongwu...

"Uncle Long?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes widening in shock as she recalled his words.

"Brother Long, I don't mean to blame her. I know she's not at fault. Of course, I know this clearly. It's just...whenever I see her face, I remember Su'er. I can't help thinking if it weren't for her...if it weren't for her...then Su'er..."

As she heard her Dad sob loudly, the ten-year-old Qing Yue felt her heart turn cold.

It was her.

It was her that harmed her Mom.

It's because of her that her Dad never smiled.

It's all because of her.

Woodenly, the girl's hand dropped from the doorknob and shakily stepped back. Clutching the gift tightly to her chest, with quacking shoulders and red eyes, she turned and walked away.

Under the winter breeze that blew through the open windows, her tiny figure appeared frail and lonely as she walked through the wide halls.

The frosty air, tinged with the hint of ice, raised goosebumps on one's skin.

But at that moment, the ten-year-old Qing Yue did not feel the cold.

Because her heart was colder than the chilly air.

"Qing Qing, I made your favorite lotus porridge today. Have a taste and let me know if you like it."

Qing Yue blinked and raised her head as a line of servants, headed by Aunt Li, streamed into the dining hall, each rolling a cart littered with various dishes.

From delicacies, soups, sliced fruits, to vegetable dishes and seafood; everything was there, and more.

"Thank you, Aunt Li."

"No problem, dear. I just want you to eat well." Rubbing her head, Aunt Li proceeded to direct the servants in setting the food on the glass table and personally went to set down her Dad's dishes.

Qing Yue wasn't really fond of Lotus porridge. She just felt too nervous to eat anything else in her Dad's presence.

Whenever she picked up a tray a little far from her reach, her hands would tremble and she would create a mess.

Ever since that evening 8 years ago, Qing Yue couldn't look at her Dad without fidgeting.

Every time she saw his face, a deep sense of guilt would weigh down on her heart, making it difficult for her to meet his gaze.

This was the reason why she kept long hair.

With her long hair covering her face, her Dad wouldn't see her face and think of her Mom.

He wouldn't be forced to recall the pain of his loss.

And maybe with a little bit of time, his pain would lessen...and she would stop feeling so wretched.

Sighing despondently, she grabbed her spoon and ate her Lotus Porridge in peaceful silence.

Silence descended as the glass table of the Li Mansion's large, sprawling Dining Hall was occupied by only her and her Dad.

The magnificent Li Mansion that overlooked thousands of acres of land was also inhabited by only her, her Dad, and a few servants.

It wasn't that the entire Li family only comprised of the two of them.

On the contrary, it was the opposite.

As one of the leading forces in the business industry, before the New World Formation, the Li Family Patriarch had amorous affairs with various celebrities and heiresses, and from each affair, he sired a daughter or a son.

Qing Yue's Dad, Li Chen was only one of the many sons the Li Patriarch had sired out of wedlock.

As the third in a line of seven sons, Qing Yue's Dad neither got the attention the eldest heir received nor the love the youngest enjoyed.

To top it off, he was the son of a waitress the Li Patriarch took a fancy to.

A one-night stand scenario occurred and he was conceived.

And just as it happened with all sons of low-born women, he was scorned and despised by his brothers and siblings, bullied and tortured by his stepmother, and scoffed and disdained by the rich young masters.

At least, that's what she heard from her Aunt Li.

Qing Yue did try to research her Dad's history, going through the WebComs and TeleSearch...

A rather awkward and sad way to learn about the man who gave her life.

But with their awkward and static relationship, she saw no other way.

...and what she found stunned her.