The gates opened without announcement.
They never needed one.
Ling stood at the top of the marble stairs, hands in her pockets, expression bored—like this was an inconvenience, not the return of the people who shaped her.
The sound of luggage wheels echoed first.
Then voices.
"Lingling—"
Before Victor Kwong could finish, an old cane hit the floor sharply.
"Move," Dadi snapped. "You block my view of my granddaughter."
Victor sighed automatically. Eliza rolled her eyes.
Ling didn't move fast enough.
Dadi did.
She crossed the room with surprising speed for her age and grabbed Ling's face in both hands, inspecting her like priceless art.
"Too thin," Dadi declared. "Too sharp. Are you eating or surviving on fear alone?"
Ling's lips twitched. "Missed you too, Dadi."
Dadi smacked her arm lightly. "Don't get clever."
Behind them, Rina burst in like controlled chaos—long hair loose, smile bright, energy everywhere.
"There she is!" Rina exclaimed. "The campus tyrant herself."
Ling finally smiled—small, real. "You're loud."
"And you love it," Rina shot back, bumping her shoulder. "I leave you alone for months and you start kidnapping freshmen?"
Victor cleared his throat. "Rina."
"What?" Rina shrugged. "Everyone knows."
Eliza stepped forward then, perfectly dressed, chin lifted with pride.
"She's a captain," Eliza said coolly. "Top of her class. Feared. Respected."
Victor glanced at Ling. "And drowning people in pools?"
The air shifted.
Ling's jaw tightened. "That wasn't—"
Victor raised a hand. "I know. But when you're wrong, Ling, you answer for it. Even if you own the place."
Eliza frowned. "Victor—"
"She answers," Victor repeated firmly.
Ling nodded once. "Fine."
Dadi snorted. "Let her breathe, both of you. She's still my child before she's your responsibility."
That settled it.
Rina grinned, slinging an arm around Ling's shoulders. "See? Dadi outranks you all."
Dadi leaned in conspiratorially. "And don't think I didn't hear about that girl."
Ling stiffened.
"What girl?" Victor asked sharply.
Dadi waved her cane. "The one making my Ling forget to blink."
Rina burst out laughing. "Ohhh, this just got interesting."
Ling groaned. "Dadi."
Eliza narrowed her eyes. "Explain."
Ling straightened, mask snapping back into place.
"There's nothing to explain," she said coldly. "She's irrelevant."
Dadi laughed—deep, knowing. "That's what you said about basketball before you fell in love with winning."
Ling met her grandmother's gaze.
Too sharp. Too familiar.
Dadi squeezed her hand gently. "Careful, my girl. The ones you call irrelevant are usually the ones who undo you."
Rina leaned closer, whispering loudly, "So… what's her name?"
Ling pulled away. "Good night."
She walked up the stairs without looking back.
Behind her, the house buzzed—love, chaos, judgment, pride.
The family that built her spine.
And somewhere far away, Rhea Nior existed like a quiet fault line beneath Ling's feet—unmentioned, unclaimed, and already dangerous.
Because for the first time since her family returned, Lingling Kwong wasn't afraid of rules.
She was afraid they wouldn't be enough.