Uwaa...
An Yonghui suddenly jolted from the table she was resting her head on. The sudden recall of her wicked past made her shudder and proceed to pinch herself to make sure the present she was in wasn't a dream. After confirming, she sighed in relief and massaged her head.
If the An family hadn't adopted her that day, she wouldn't have been able to see today and be where she was now. The love this family had for her was genuine because even during the criticism from other people how she wasn't like them and didn't fit in, the An family including her three elder brothers, parents and grandmother still defended her.
It's not like she was the only black person in the whole of China especially in their city that everyone seemed to despise her. It's because she was the adopted daughter of the prestigious An family. Wealth can skyrocket even the most rejected person's status and so, people still had their conflict but it was not like she cared. As long as she is able to repay the An family for what they've done for her, nothing else mattered.
And that included becoming part of the prodigies of the An family like her family. She looks down at the books sprawled out on her table. She packs all of them and stands carrying them to place back on the shelf. This study belongs to her, a gift from her second brother, An Lianhua, a scholar of the literature both traditional and modern, not to mention his gift for painting. He is a well known artist and is highly praised for his talent. This was what she wanted, to be a prodigy and contribute to the status of the An family and make it unforgettable.
That is why in this study, each shelf contains a different subject related to the different talents the An family members possess.
Her father is a business tycoon, good in finances who can make companies bankrupt and his double in billions. Her mother is a professor who has taught different subjects even if they were something she didn't learn. Her brain was a mastermind in grabbing things so fast. An Lianhua got his mother's quick brain.
Her first elder brother, An Zhenyu, is the owner of a leading entertainment company. Not only that, he was good in performing arts; music playing, singing, dancing and acting. An Mingde, her third elder brother , is a famous surgeon and pharmacist. A god in medicine. Her grandmother who she called Grandma An is a sophisticated lady who is well versed in martial arts and traditional medicine. You could say she was the traditional form of An Mingde, after all, he is her favorite grandchild.
And then the last though he is dead was Grandpa An, though she never met him before. He was a master in antiques and historical objects. He could sense whether one was fake or real. He was also a historian.
These are the talents of the An family who An Yonghui admire and look up to. Even though she couldn't be all, she still studied each talent so she knew her own share of things. Blood dropped on the floor and she found the cause of it to be her nose. Getting a tissue, she wiped it. This was nothing, if she wanted to succeed, she needs to be strong.
After she was done putting away all the books, she moved out of the study. Checking the time, she saw there was time to get the materials she needed.
The An family's mansion, two stories, was a beautiful one, almost like a castle. An Yonghui stood on the first floor and saw Lin Shen downstairs. He looks up and smiles waving at her. Dressed in a casual getup, he looked really handsome, even An Yonghui agreed but it was nothing more than admiration because he was the one who saved her from the bullies of her past.
Lin Shen is An Zhenyu's best friend and the An family's children's childhood friend including herself. He is an actor/model under Zhenyu's company. His hair was slightly tousled and his deep dark eyes looked tired showing hints that he was just coming from work.
An Yonghui, dressed in a lavender knee length dress.The fabric was satin — smooth, with a soft sheen that caught the light with every move. The dress featured an off-shoulder neckline, highlighting her collarbones and giving her a graceful, confident look. She paired it with black sandals.
Her natural curls were gathered into a loose, low bun that sat just above the nape of her neck, allowing the volume and texture of her curls to shine. A few defined ringlets were left out at the front and sides, cascading down to frame her face with soft, romantic charm. A small gold delicate jeweled hairpin tucked into the side.
She was a beautiful girl in her own prime. As she descended the stairs, she caught sight of her brothers coming in through the door with their grandmother. They smile when they see her.
"Sister." An Lianhua called out when he spotted her. She walks over to them and he embraces her. "Let me recharge a little bit."
"Brother, You're smoldering me." An Yonghui says as she feels his hug getting tighter.
"Okay. Sorry I got carried away." He says letting go.
An Zhenyu approaches and pats her head. "Where are you going?"
"I need to get some materials from the library." She replies.
"I don't have it?" An Lianhua asks.
"You may be a scholar but you can't have every book. You're not the emperor." She says heading towards the door.
"Eh? Don't you need a lift?" Zhenyu calls out.
"You're just coming back from work, right? Go rest." She waves him off.
Lin Shen approaches, putting his hand on Zhenyu's shoulder. " Don't worry, I'll take her." He says assuring Zhenyu.
An Yonghui looks at them and smiles. An Mingde goes over to her and watches her. He strokes his chin. "Sister, don't push yourself too much okay?" He says smiling. " You always study like there's no tomorrow. It can take a toll on your health, physically and mentally. So slow down." He pats her shoulder.
An Yonghui nods. She knows she has to be careful because a toll would make her lag behind when she's barely trying to catch up. Looking at her brother's face, she knows that worrying the people who she owes will not do.
"Yes, brother." She reassures him.
Spinning his car key, Lin Shen gestures for the car. "Well, let's go."
As they begin to move, her grandma stops her, holding her wrist, she slides a lavender jade bracelet on her wrist. " Good girl. You truly live up to the name of an An. " She pats her hand.
An Yonghui blushes. " Grandma." She says softly. " You shouldn't rush things!." She exclaims taking off.
The boys look puzzled. Grandma An looks at Lin Shen. "Get going." He bows and leaves.
As they head towards the car, Lin Shen playfully hits An Yonghui. "You really love knowledge huhn"
"It is power. The key to success." She says about to reach the door.
"Too much of something is bad. You're still young so go easy on yourself....."
For some reason, Lin Shen's voice was cut off. An Yonghui didn't worry about that because what she saw in front of her shocked her even more. There was a girl standing in front of her, watching her. Yonghui rubbed her eyes. An hallucination ?
She looked again but still saw the lady.
The lady was dressed in a traditional Hanfu. A beautiful combination of red and gold that truly brought out her beauty. But the weird thing was that the lady looked exactly her. A black woman in a Hanfu?, maybe in this time but something feels too traditional but then again, it may be a hallucination.
"I understand." The lady opened her mouth and her voice was exactly like An Yonghui's. " I know how it feels to push yourself so much to the extent of bleeding yet it's all in vain. I am in pain everyday and I can't do anything about it that's why I'm tired. Even though I love him, even though I'm loyal to her, it's all an act to make me feel better because I know I'll die in sadness." The girl cries.
An Yonghui was shocked at the crying girl. This was an hallucination but it felt so real that she could just go forward and touch her to try and console her but An Yonghui stayed where she stood.
"Sorry. I don't know what you're going through but I think you should keep living. Instead of dying and being forgotten by them, make an impact so strong they'll seek you anywhere they are. Besides, you should forget that man and live for yourself, after all, many successful women are single, needing no man to back them. My grandma wants me to also get married but I won't. I'll live my life the way I want so you should too. So get up."
The girl looked at An Yonghui with admiration and smiled. Taking the hand An Yonghui put out, she laughs softly.
"You are a strong person. You are the perfect person to help me."
"Help you?" An Yonghui asks but is cut off by the murmuring she hears from the girl.
Lin Shen calls out An Yonghui's name multiple times because she just stood there not moving. He snaps his finger in front of her face and like some miracle, she responds.
" Yonghui, you spaced out. What's wrong?".
Yonghui opens her mouth but no words come out. She flinches, her eyes turn white and she collapses like a plank. Lifeless and still.
"Shit. Yonghui. Yonghui!!!!. "
The others inside runs out hearing the commotion.
"Yonghui!!!."
In a black abyss, where nothing is moving, Yonghui opens her eyes. She looks around but there's nothing, she was just floating.
"Where...am I?" Suddenly, as if gravity just came on, she began falling.
"Aaaahh!!!!"
She screams as she falls. Around her, images appear and she hears voices.
This looks like memories but they're not mine....
From one of the images, she sees the same mysterious girl in red and gold Hanfu. Then from that image, the girl comes out and before Yonghui could react, a bright glow appears behind the mysterious girl and blinds her.
....
The sounds of people murmuring and speaking disturbed An Yonghui's peace. She tries to ignore it but they were so loud. She gets up and screams. "Shut up.!!"
Everyone that were present were shocked and began trembling calling Yonghui a ghost.
She looks around and was shocked herself.
"What the... What the....?!!!"