Rain lashed against the windows of the black Rolls-Royce, streaming like veins across the tinted glass.
It had been raining for hours, just like her mother said it did the day she was born.
Yu Zhi sat in the backseat, her legs crossed, phone in her hand as her fingers flew on the screen full o0f unknown codes, in her midnight blue school uniform, looking nothing like a student. Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her-calm, unreadable.
She looked like her father. That was the problem.
"We're here, Miss Yu," the driver said quietly.
The car slowed to a stop before the towering iron gates of the Yu estate, which swung open without a sound. Beyond them, a mansion stretched like a palace carved from cold marble.
The driver stepped out and opened the door for her.
Yu Zhi stepped out, black patent shoes kissing the wet stone. Umbrella or not, the rain still found her shoulders as she walked towards the door.
Three male figures stood at the top of the staircase like royal tribunal.
Her half-brothers.
Yu Rui, the firstborn heir. Twenty-four. Quiet, ruthless or so they say. Already managing their father's empire. His gaze was icy-not like she cared though.
Yu Jian, the second son, he was already an established lawyer, at only twenty two years of age. Always smiling, but never with his eyes.
Yu Ming, the youngest male in the house, seventeen. He was a hotheaded fool, yes that's what she thought of him. He would be studying in the same school as her and were to be in the same class. The way he looked at her looked like he wanted to punch the rain, or maybe it was her he wanted to punch.
Their expressions screamed the same thing.
She sure was not welcomed.
Yu Zhi raised her chin, straightened her blazer, looking suave she made her way up the staircase.
"Nice to see you too brothers," she walked in with a smirk.
She did not wait for anyone to answer and made her way inside.
Inside the mansion was pristine. Crystal chandeliers, velvet runners, servants in pressed black and white.
Everything gleamed. It did not have the touch of home. It made her miss their cozy little home.
Her Mother, Ms. Chen, still called that after all these months of staying at the mansion, waited at the foot of the curved staircase. Her silk cheongsam was lavender, looking elegant.
"Zhi'er," she said, voice shaking. "Just try to get along, okay?"
Her mother has always been like this. All trembling and seeming afraid of her whenever she had to communicate with her. She has never really understood why? Maybe it was the guilt, or maybe she always knew that she blamed her, or maybe it was because she knew she could not control her.
Yu Zhi didn't flinch.
"Don't worry, Mother," she said. "I never expected to be liked."
Her room was arranged to be at the far end of the east wing. Exactly how she wanted it.
The vanity was stocked with designer skincare. Her walk-in closet had all types of wears, from uniforms, casual, official to gowns meant for galas and big attendance, all designer. But none of it was really hers.
The blooding running through her veins, the mansion, the name the clothes, the fancy bags, none of it was hers to begin with. All was something that was thrust upon her just because.
On the vanity lay a jade hairpin-her mother's.
Was it a peace offering?
She left it untouched.
Instead, she went to the far end of the closet, reached behind rows of Chanel and Dior, and pulled out a plain black duffel bag.
Inside were a heavy old black laptop, gloves. A helmet. A license plate that said nothing, and keys to a black Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.
She wasn't just the mistress's daughter. She was much more than that , but the world were still in dark about it.
Anyone in the racing world, who saw the Panigale R Finale Edition, would only think of one person.
Shadow Phoenix-underground racing Queen. Never defeated even once.