To the Li family, money mattered more than blood! Li Yimei was three years older than Sam but was still too young to get engaged, atleast in Irene"s opinion. She herself had been the same age when a fellow graduate student had fallen in love with her and proposed. She had accepted, quit her studies and followed him blindly. Till date that remained her biggest woe.
But, the circ.u.mstances were vastly different between the two of them. That was whirlwind love while this seemed like a pre-approved, planned a.s.sociation.
"How long would we have to stay there? I have my preparatory exams starting in a month," Sam"s sulking voice broke her reverie.
"Just for a week, my love. Unless, you change your mind and fall in love with China," her mother teased her gently.
Rolling her eyes at the near impossibility of such an event, she braced herself for what awaited her.
Sam"s heart had pre-decided to hate, not just her father, but also his wife, who she a.s.sumed would be a shrew and the daughter who would be a conniving witch as well. As soon as they got off at the huge wrought iron gates outside the Li manor, Sam gave a pained look to her mother. Their tiny flat in Sutton was a far cry from this palatial property.
"It seems as if we are Father"s step family," she muttered under her breath before being ushered in by the security.
"Come here under the light. Let me look at you properly," Grandpa Li spoke authoritatively.
He was a severe looking man with bushy white eyebrows and a stern mouth. But right now, his features didn"t look so harsh.
Sam obliged and moved ahead to stand directly under the ma.s.sive chandelier which hung in the double storeyed living room. Tipping her face up, he gave her a thorough look.
"Hmmmph, not so bad. There is enough Li blood flowing through your veins," he said after a couple of minutes.
"Oh! Are you a Chinese doctor or maybe a sage?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.
She meant to imply that he couldn"t have figured that out simply by looking at her face.
Her father scowled at her and then at Irene, for not coaching the child properly. This was not the way to address one"s elders.
But much to everyone"s surprise, Grandpa Li cracked a smile.
"I am not a doctor but I hear that you plan to become one," he said, not unkindly.
Sam shot him a surprised look. She hadn"t expected anyone here to know about her future plans or be interested in them.
"Hi Samantha, I am Yimei. Nice to meet you," a musical voice spoke from behind her.
Sam had met almost everyone in the house except her step sister, or whatever her relation was, with this girl.
Angelic features on a heart shaped face, Yimei was a far cry from the evil witch Sam had envisioned her to be. But then, like she had told her grandfather right now, looks weren"t the true reflection of a person"s nature or DNA.
Acknowledging the other girl"s polite greeting, Sam stood awkwardly, feeling like a goldfish in the bowl. Everyone from staff to master seemed to be gawking at her.
Actually, what she didn"t realise was that she truly had inherited the genes of the Li family. The portraits which hung in the long hallway were a testimony to the same. All these years, everyone had a.s.sumed that she would be a blonde cherubic child instead of this black haired, angular faced Asian girl. Even her manner of speaking and expressions were identical to that of Li Yichen, her father.
Sensing the room"s atmosphere, Yimei pulled Sam"s hand and said, "let me take you to your room."
"Please forgive everyone"s behaviour just not. I guess they were expecting to see a foreigner instead of a native," Yimei"s laughter held a tinkling note.
"Uh… that is, congratulations on your engagement," Sam belatedly remembered the reason for this visit.
"Thanks," Yimei blushed and replied.
Though she was older than Sam by a few years, it seemed as if she was the naïve one here.
"Don"t be fooled by her innocent act. She is not one of your young colts," Sam reminded herself severely.
That night at the dinner table, everyone seemed to be casting surrept.i.tious glances at Sam as she ate her dinner.
"Do you like the crab salad, Li Sam?" her grandmother asked, having decided that Samantha was too foreign a name for her granddaughter.
"Yes, it is delicious," Sam replied politely.
"I understand that the food here maybe very different from what you are used to eating. If there is anything particular that you wish to eat, please inform the staff and the kitchen will prepare it for you," this time it was her step mother who spoke.