C22

FLASHBACK

14 years ago-

After leaving the ancestral house, the trio checked into a hotel to discuss their future plans.

When Han Kai heard about what had happened, he rushed to the hotel to ask how they were doing and if they needed any help.

At that point in time, HanXi law firm was still a new firm. It had only been established for about 5 years. The Han family was neither very rich nor very powerful. But Kai assured Yang Li and his family any kind of assistance they needed.

Li accepted his gesture but refused his help. He had been planning for this day since he was 12. For the past three years, he had hacked various accounts belonging to the mafia, drug traders, and other criminals. He siphoned off all the illegal money. A part of it was used to buy physical assets and small cash businesses. The rest was laundered using multiple shell companies which were set up by him.

He had also set up 3 legitimate accounts for himself, his sister, and his mother. The money in these accounts came from those legitimate businesses.

He gave one card each to his mother and sister. His mother had not been allowed to work regularly in the past few years, therefore she did not have a steady income. However, she still had some savings from her consulting work. Initially, she refused but later Yang Li persuaded her to accept the money.

When he told them that each card had half a million dollars in it, they were stunned. His sister gaped at him with her mouth open.

Next, he had to resolve their living situation. Although he had bought many assets, none of them were close by or suitable to live.

While he was thinking about their living situation, his mother said, "In another 2 months you will be going to college and you will live on campus. Your sister has also applied to the same university, so she will also live on campus. Therefore, there is no need to buy a new house right now. I will also look for work and then find a house near my workplace. In the meantime, we can continue living in this hotel."

Yang Li also agreed with her and said, "As you wish mother.", then he looked at his sister in a surprised manner.

He asked her, "Which course did you opt for? Are you not going to continue playing the violin?"

Mei replied with a smile, "I have opted to study medicine. I am going to become a doctor. I will continue to play the violin but not professionally. I was always interested in medicine and wanted to join Yang Global Hospitals. But now I am going to open my own hospital."

She jokingly said, "In the meantime, you have to take care of me, little brother."

A rare smile could be seen on Yang Li's face. He said, "Sure, I will take care of you not only before but also after you become a doctor."

"Make sure to become an amazing doctor as you will be responsible for all my future health."

Looking at her children quibbling happily, Yu Rumeng felt relief and happiness. Being disowned by your family at such a young age would surely leave a scar but they seem to be coping well. Her son was the most mature amongst them. He acted like a parent rather than a child. At the same time, she felt a little sad that her youngest had matured so early. She vowed to protect them from here onwards.

Two months later both the siblings started their college lives.

Kai followed Yang Li and also became good friends with Yang Mei. He was going to study law in the same university.

GVSU was ranked 1st nationally and 2nd globally. However, it was famous for its 3 institutions-College of engineering, Law school, and MBA College. As far as medicine was concerned, it ranked amongst the top 10 in the country. Stephens Medical College (ranked 3rd globally) was the top medical college in the country.

Over the years many children from elite families had studied at GVSU. Apart from Li and Mei, no one else from the Yang family was enrolled in GVSU. And because they had been disowned, they didn't receive any special attention and nobody recognized them.

However, some of the heirs of the elite families were studying at GVSU. Both Song Liu and Xi Fan were enrolled in the MBA Course.

Their respective colleges started and all of them became busy.

Time passed quickly and after a year the siblings and Kai were happy with their performances.

Kai was as usual a social butterfly and almost everyone knew him or knew of him. He was the top law student in 1st year making him more popular especially amongst the girls.

Similarly, Yang Mei was the top student of the medical college and was the Campus Belle. Even the teachers in her department liked her.

A lot of boys approached her but she remained taciturn and distant. A lot of girls were jealous of her and initially created rumors about her online. However, as soon as a rumor was posted it vanished mysteriously. The accounts that posted such rumors suffered from vicious counterattacks- they were hacked, their private information was leaked and sometimes their own devices were attacked by ransomware.

One such incident led to the expulsion of a student because of the data leaked by the mysterious hacker. The students understood that someone was protecting her. After the expulsion incident, all such activities stopped as they were terrified of the revenge of the person protecting her. Mei of course knew that it was the work of her dear brother.

Finally, Yang Li was the top student in the College of Engineering. He was studying Computer Science.

However, nobody was familiar with the top student as he rarely attended classes.

Also, he rearranged his four-year course into three years after he got permission from, the College. In exchange, he upgraded the security protocols of the college network free of charge.

Of course, he continued to practice his martial arts. He also joined an underground club to keep his skills sharp. He started creating a private overlay network, which worked in a manner similar to darknet but for his personal use.

He also continued to siphon money from the underground and invest it in many global companies. At the age of 16, he had already become a millionaire.

Finally, his interactions with Kai, his sister, and his mother improved and his state of mind also became better. However, he did not interact with anyone else.

His mother found a job in a research facility. Although it was small, it was a good facility. She was given housing in the facility itself so she did not rent a house.

Li knew that the Yang family was behind his mother not being able to secure a job in any of the top research facilities. This was because given her mother's reputation and previous achievements all top facilities would welcome her unless they were being pressured.

However, he didn't act out impulsively. The Yang family was one of the great families with deep foundations. Acting recklessly without careful planning would harm not only him but also his mother and sister.

His priority now was to focus on college and continue to build his strength. He wanted to set up a top research facility for his mother. She would then be free to do her own research. He had talked to his mother about this. Although she was currently working in a small research facility, she was quite happy as she was able to choose her own projects. She told Li to focus on college for now.

In this manner, two more years passed and Li completed his graduation in Computer Science. Mei completed her third year. Same for Kai. All of them were top students in their respective courses. Yang Li decided to opt for a Post Graduate course in Artificial Intelligence.

For the past two years, he had been regular in his martial arts practice. He even fought in many underground tournaments, some of them had fighters from across the globe. He won in every tournament he participated in. He also made progress in developing his private network. By his estimate, it would take him about 2 more years to complete it.

He had continued his laundering activities. He continued to invest in various industries across the globe. According to his estimate in the next 2 years, he would be able to set up a state-of-the-art research center for his mother. He would also be able to aid his sister to start her own hospital.

He became taller in these two years. At the age of 18, he stood at 184cm.