C28

When Xue was a year old her father had gone to a business party. The party was at a five-star hotel. Her mother was busy so she couldn't accompany him. He got drunk at the party and was drugged by someone. He was directed to a room. A woman was already present in that room. After he reached the room, he blacked out. The next day when he woke up, he was alone. He left the hotel and forgot about the incident.

A week after Xue's 5th birthday a woman turned up with a 4-year-old at her father's office. She was Wang Bier. Wang Bier worked as a model. Though she was not very popular, she was very beautiful. She confronted Bing Jian and reminded him of the incident 4 years back.

Initially, Bing Jian didn't believe her and drove her away from the office. She continued to pester him. So, he had a DNA test done. The 4-year-old was indeed his daughter. He had to accept it and so he made arrangements for them in secret.

However, Wang Bier was a very shrewd and intelligent woman. Although, she had fallen victim to the scheming of others and the child was a mistake, she had still kept it. After the incident, she had found out about Jian's real identity. Bing Jian was handsome and the CEO of a very successful corporation. So, she decided to seduce him and win him over. However, she waited for the right opportunity. Four years later the relationship between Bing Jian and Tong Li deteriorated and they started drifting apart. The opportunity Wang Bier was looking for had arrived. It was during this time she approached Bing Jian.

She saw this opportunity and started to behave like an obedient housewife and showered him with love and care. During this period the company was not doing well and Bing Jian was under high stress. He needed support and care, which he received from Wang Bier. They became close.

One night he stayed over at Wang Bier's place. This time they had sex and both of them were fully sober. It was the first time Bing Jian cheated consciously.

As the fights between Bing Jian and Tong Li increased, the distance between Bing Jian and Wang Bier decreased. For weeks he would stay with Wang Bier.

Soon Wang Bier became pregnant with their second child. When he found out that it was a boy, he was very excited. After the birth of his son, the little emotional connection he had with Tong Li also ended.

Since the passing of her mother Xue's personality had changed. She had become cold and reserved. Although she had become better with therapy, her personality didn't change. She went to a private school where only children of elite families studied. She had no friends and after her step-siblings joined her school, it was more so. Although Xue was the most beautiful girl in the school, she had an extremely cold and hostile aura. Girls avoided her and despite her beauty, boys kept their distance.

On the other hand, her step-sister, Bing Lan was popular from the day she was enrolled in the school. She was beautiful. Except for Xue nobody could match her looks. She was confident and was a social butterfly. Due to this, she was always surrounded by the most popular girls and boys.

When Xue turned 14, she decided to change schools. She wanted to switch to a public school. With the help of her aunt, she enrolled in a public school. The student there all belonged to commoner families. It was very rare to find someone from an elite family.

Therefore, when Xue transferred to this school, everyone was surprised and intrigued. Initially, when Xue transferred to her new school, she found it to be noisier and rowdier than her previous school. She quickly adjusted to the new atmosphere. However, initially, the students didn't approach her and kept their distance. She was cold, beautiful, and belonged to an elite family. These factors intimidated most of the students.

Six months later, Xue finally made a friend. She was the first real friend Xue had in her life. She was a year junior to Xue. Her name was Qin Ran and she was from the Qin family. Xue had later found out that they were cousins. Although Xue's interaction with her classmates improved and she became more cordial, she would only hang out with Qin Ran.

================================================================

Four years later Bing Xue was 17. In the past 4 years her life had improved, so had her personality. Although she was still cold and distant to outsiders, she was much more approachable. This was probably due to Qin Ran. Her cheery personality had rubbed off on Xue, and she had become more open.

Her family had completely ignored her in the past 4 years. Her father had already distanced himself from her after her mother's death. But now they would only talk at family gatherings.

Wang Bier was the happiest with Xue's decision to switch schools. This further degraded Xue's position in the family. Wang Bier was very protective of her son and daughter. She knew that Xue was Bing Lan's greatest obstacle. Despite everything, Xue was still Bing Jian's eldest daughter. So, she would use every opportunity to diminish her and create rifts between father and daughter.

The siblings had limited interactions with Xue when they came to the Bing household. With the change of schools, the interactions were further reduced.

Although Bing Lan and Bing Xue were not hostile towards each other, they were not harmonious either. They simply ignored each other.

In a week Bing Xue would complete her high school. She had decided to pursue medicine. Since she was young she had wanted to become a doctor. In 3 months, she would sit for her exams. She wanted to go to Stephen Medical College. SMC was the best medical school in the country.

Qin Ran was 16. She had one more year of high school left. Qin Ran had been in a bad mood in the past few days.

Xue noticed this and asked, "What happened? Why have you been scowling for the past ten minutes?"

Ran said, "It's because I'm feeling angry and irritated ##@@!"

Xue asked puzzled, "Why??"

Ran snorted and said, "What will I do next year? You will be gone and I will be all alone. Who will I hang out with?"

Pulling at her hair she screeched, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I am so pissed right now~!"

Ran smiled and said, "Don't worry I will keep in touch. You know I have no friends except you@@"

Xue then asked her, "So you will apply to GVSU after high school? Have you made up your mind?"

Qin Ran replied, "Yes. GVSU has the best engineering and AI program in the entire country. Where else can I apply?!"

"You know I want to work in the field of AI. Presently companies like Nexus International are exploring this field. There are some foreign companies as well. If I want to work in these companies, I need to go to GVSU."

"Still, I am feeling irritated today…~!!"

Qin Ran had always been brilliant with computers. She had taken an interest in this field since she was young. It was her brother who introduced her to computers. In fact, her brother was a hacker. Her brother was a year older than her and he would apply to GVSU as well.

Xue was also well versed in computers. This was all thanks to Qin Ran. Bing Xue had an IQ of 143. So, it was easy for her to pick up things, she took an interest in. In these 4 years whatever Qin Ran taught her, she learned all of it. She was fairly proficient in coding. She even knew a few hacks that were taught to her by Qin Ran.

Bing Xue nudged her and said, "Come on!! Cheer up. We will just be 4 hours away, whether you are here or in GVSU."

Their banter continued for another half an hour. After which they went to their homes.

END OF FLASHBACK

============================================

'Knock!! Knock!!'

The knock on the door interrupted Bing Xue.

Yang Li looked at the door and said, "Come in."

A man came in and asked, "Sir, shall I bring your dinner here, or will you go to the cafeteria?"

Both Xue and Li decided to stretch their legs and went to the cafeteria. While eating Bing Xue told Li about her unpleasant encounter when she was 17. She told him all the details of that encounter and the subsequent result.

After the meal, they took a walk around the workshop. Yang Li gave her a guided tour. He also showed her the dungeon from outside. However, he did not talk about it in detail.

Xue knew that he was not ready to tell her about it right now, so she didn't ask. After the walk, they went back to the third floor.