The gates of the Qin residence stood tall and silent, casting a long shadow across the courtyard.
Xi Jiayi crossed the threshold without hesitation. No servants stepped forward, no words of welcome greeted her. Heads lowered, eyes slid away—as though her presence was something to be avoided.
So… nothing had changed.
A heartbeat later, the silence shattered.
Crash!
Porcelain fragments scattered across the polished floor, sharp edges glinting beneath the lantern light. The vase had smashed just before her feet, yet Xi Jiayi did not so much as blink.
At the far end of the hall stood Qin Yichen, her second elder brother. His expression was dark with contempt.
"Why are you here?" he demanded. "You should never have come back."
Xi Jiayi's gaze lowered calmly. Her grandmaster had once told her—patience and restraint are the shield of a wise heart. But there was nothing to restrain. Nothing here had the power to stir her anger anymore.
"Yichen!" Song Huifei's sharp voice cut through the hall. Rising from her seat, her eyes blazed with frustration. "Do you think this house will stand if you throw vases at your own sister?"
The word 'sister' tasted strange even to Xi Jiayi's ears. It was a name Song Huifei, her stepmother, had never once used for her in the past.
From the side, another voice sounded, sharp and impatient.
"Mother, why bring her back at all?" Qin Jiahao, the youngest son, tugged at his mother's sleeve, his face twisted in open displeasure.
Song Huifei shot him a look but did not rebuke him. Instead, her calculating gaze slid back to Xi Jiayi —sharp, assessing, as though weighing her for some hidden purpose.
Xi Jiayi remained silent, her fingers brushing lightly against her sleeve. Her grandmaster's voice echoed once more in her mind.
---
Flashback
The mountain hall was quiet save for the sound of tea being poured. Xi Jiayi knelt on the cold stone floor, holding the porcelain cup in both hands. She bowed deeply before presenting it.
"Master," her voice was steady though her heart was heavy.
Grandmaster Wang accepted the cup, her hands aged yet unwavering. She drank slowly, then set the cup aside, her gaze piercing into Xi Jiayi's very soul.
"It is time," she said, her voice gentle yet carrying a weight that brooked no argument.
Xi Jiayi's eyes widened faintly. "Must I return, Master? That house cast me away once. They despise me still. Why must I go back?"
The old woman's lips pressed together, her expression softening though her tone remained firm. "Xiao Yi, the mountains have sheltered you long enough. You cannot remain hidden here forever."
Xi Jiayi's hands trembled slightly against her knees. "But—"
"Xi Jiayi." Grandmaster Wang's voice cut across her protest like a blade. Her gaze was sharp, unyielding. "You are my last disciple. You carry not only my training, but my will. Remember—patience and restraint will guard you. But your path is no longer here in the mountains. You must return."
The firmness of her master's words left no room for refusal.
Xi Jiayi's resistance crumbled. Her forehead touched the stone floor as she kowtowed, voice low and hoarse with obedience.
"Disciple obeys."
*End of Flashback*
---
The memory faded, replaced by the cold air of the Qin residence.
She had not wanted to return. But for her master's final command, she would never have stepped foot here again.
And yet—summoned not by her father, nor by her siblings, but by the very woman who had once schemed to cast her out—she now stood in the heart of the Qin residence once more.
Song Huifei's eyes lingered on her, calculating and sharp.
Xi Jiayi's own gaze lowered, her expression calm, unreadable.
What game are you playing this time… Stepmother?