When they arrived back at the house, they all had brunch together. Lena quickly ate and excused herself to her room. She said she needed to review some research before Henry comes and pick her up tomorrow.
Henry was at a different area of the farm, evaluating the situation. He let Lena stay with her grandparents a day before picking her up.
Lena entered her room, changed to something more comfortable and went to her desk. She pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down everything that the granny told her. After writing the last few words that she could recall, Lena put down her pen and stared at the paper.
Lena continued to read the paper a few times until it was embedded in her head.
"If you defy your fate, you will suffer the consequences." Lena silently read it out loud.
She put her hands between the pressure points on her sides of her head and massaged them. She recounted what bad things had happened to her since she arrived. First, it was the Li Group banning the Shen Industry. Then it was the kidnapping and now it was the diseases with the vineyard. These had all happened consecutively after each other.
"Die and be reborn, only then will your true soul be fully merged with the body." Lena read the next part. 'Die and reborn.' Lena pounded her head on the desk slightly.
'Is this like a movie where I have to kill myself by injection, then have someone resuscitate me back to life? Is this meant by that die and reborn phrase?' Lena pondered. She did not want that to happen.
'That's it! Like a movie. I have to think differently.'
Lena cleared her desk and pulled out another sheet of paper.
'Andy is the male lead and Eva is the female lead. I am the female villain. The second lead is..' Lena paused and thought a bit about it. Then she wrote down a name. 'Ming Zhao.'
'What is the fate of a typical villainess? I have to bully the female lead. Make sure they don't get engaged or married. Sleep with Andy and get a pregnant or fake a pregnancy? Definitely not going to do that.'
Lena paused and relaxed a bit. 'Most villains have a bad ending though. They either die, go to jail, something bad happens to them, go insane, marries an ugly or mean guy...'
She shook her head to not think about that. Lena wrote down another name and circled it a few times. 'Gary.'
"Those who are meant to hate you, will forever hate you. And those who are meant to love you, will forever love you. They can't break the cycle." Lena recited it from the top of her head.
'Is this why even when Lena had changed so much from the original Lena, Gary still liked her?'
Lena stopped and placed her head on down on the desk again. She sighed loudly and closed her eyes.
What was she thinking? Was she going to believe what a random granny said? Lena knew internally that she WAS believing everything that the granny said.
Lena had spent her time looking for anything that could possibly explain her situation and whatever this granny told her makes the most sense. Didn't she at one time, was fully ready to die? Why does she feel indifferent now? Is it because now she knows she needed to die now? But what if she died? And what does reborn mean? Is it going back to her real world?
A soft knock at the door alerted Lena. She folded her two pieces of paper and stuffed them into her bag.
"Who is it?"
"It is me, James."
Lena patted her cheeks and smiled a few times in the mirror before going to open the door.
"Hello." Lena replied.
"Old Madam Shen requested that you join her for some tea and music."
"Give me a few minutes. I will be right out." Lena closed the door. 'One problem at a time, Lena…' She told herself.
She grabbed a small box that she had prepared for her grandma. She forgot to give them to her yesterday when she arrived.
Lena opened the door and followed James to pavilion on the river. Grandma Shen was peacefully enjoying some tea waiting for Lena.
"Come here and play some music for me."
Lena sat down and held the Erhu. When Lena was young, she did not enjoy embroidery lessons from her grandma but she liked music. She was not as skillful in traditional instruments as modern instruments, but still enjoyed them regardless.
"It has been a long time since I played, I hope grandma won't be sad." Lena smiled and started playing a soft soothing melody. James who stood nearby also enjoyed the music. It was a change of scenery for him.
Lena played two songs then stopped. She placed the instrument down safely and drank the tea her grandma brewed. There was a long silence and both of them just listened to the water of the river flowing and the sounds of critters.
"Grandma, how much do you know about fates?" Lena asked.
"Fates?"
"If there is someone I love very much, but we are not fated together, we will not be happy?"
Grandma Shen assumed that Lena was referring to her and Andy. "You will only unhappy for a bit. Your true fated person will come."
"Is it possible not to be fated with anyone?"
"Everyone is fated to be with someone if they choose to."
"What if you are fated to be with two people?"
"Child. You do not need to worry. Let nature do its job. Just trust yourself and you will be fine." Grandma Shen assured Lena.