CH 3.1

The car door opened and a young boy got off.

He was around twelve to thirteen years old. His hair is pitch-black and his eyes shined like black jade. His eyebrows are delicate, giving off a warm and noble aura.

“What’s the matter, Qinghe?” The driver got out of the car and asked him curiously.

Ye Qinghe didn’t respond. He kept staring at Yeya who was sleeping on the chair.

Their surroundings were too dark to see clearly, so he squatted in front of Yeya and leaned a little closer.

The young girl was panting and her face was flushed. Her body trembled from time to time as she slept. It was not clear whether it was because it was too cold or because she was feeling frightened.

Ye Qinghe’s gaze moved downward and froze when he saw the teardrop mole under her left eye.

“Yeya…” Ye Qinghe murmured under his breath. He subconsciously reached out to touch her face.

“Qinghe?”

The driver’s voice brought him back to his senses. Ye Qinghe remained silent as he bent down and gently carried the little dumpling into the car. He looked up and said to the driver who was still in a daze due to his action, “Uncle Zhao, let’s head back.”

As an employee, he shouldn’t question his employer’s actions. He merely nodded before getting back in the car to drive.

Yeya was having a fever. She was so drowsy that she didn’t even realize that someone had carried her into a car.

The car headed towards their destination. Inside the car, Ye Qinghe couldn’t help but stare at Yeya.

She looks very similar.

Even the teardrop-shaped mole under her eye is in the same exact position as that person.

His younger sister had died a month after she was born.

After the death of his younger sister, her mother fell into despair. His mother forcibly used his younger sister’s gene to clone another child, despite his father’s adamant opposition. She even named the clone Yeya.

Ye Qinghe remembered that ever since the cloned version of his sister came to live with them, the relationship between his parents soured. However, that didn’t bother his mother at all. Instead, she focused all her attention on Yeya, the clone.

But his mother’s happiness did not last.

Within a few months, the clone of his sister displayed above-average intelligence. Whether it was walking, talking, preschool math, his younger sister excelled at it all. There was almost nothing that she didn’t understand. But because of her intelligence, she didn’t develop emotions that normal children should have. She didn’t cry or throw tantrums. She was quiet most of the time, just like a machine.

Ye Qinghe remembered his mother telling him, “Even if she looks the same, in the end, she isn’t my daughter.”

“Qinghe, your younger sister is dead. Mom is going to go find her now…”

The day after she said that his mother passed away due to an illness.

Not long after that incident, his father sent the clone Yeya, who was one year old at the time, away. His father explained to him that he was sending Yeya abroad, but Ye Qinghe found a clone destruction contract in his father’s study. His father had signed and inked his fingerprint on the contract.

Ye Qinghe was still young, so he didn’t understand the complications of an adult world. The only thing he remembered was that he was extremely sad that his younger sister had to leave. He didn’t understand why Yeya, who should have been destroyed, suddenly appeared again. But what he does know is that he is very very very happy about this.

When they were about to arrive at the Ye Family’s villa, Ye Qinghe asked the driver, “Uncle Zhao, dad will come back in a little over a month’s time, right?”

“The master said that if he finishes work early, he might come back in half a month’s time.”

Ye Qinghe pondered for a while before he said, “Before my father returns, can you not tell him about this?”

The matter he’s referring to is about Yeya.

The driver nodded his head and said, “I will pretend as if I don’t know anything.”

When they returned to the Ye Family house, Ye Qinghe asked the nanny to take care of Yeya. He waited anxiously outside the room until the nanny finished giving Yeya a bath and dressed her in clean clothes.

The young girl was sleeping on the soft bed. She has naturally curly short hair that frames her small face. Her long black eyelashes trembled slightly like a butterfly’s wings.

In all, her appearance is extremely adorable.

Ye Qinghe sat on the bed beside her as he gently caressed her cheeks.

“Does Yaya have a fever?” Ye Qinghe’s eyes were locked on Yeya. His eyes displayed genuine concern for her wellbeing.

The nanny clenched her fists and said hesitantly, “We can cure fever, but…”

“But what?”

The nanny didn’t respond. Instead, she glanced at Yeya.

Ye Qinghe realized that something was wrong and immediately lifted the blanket and Yeya’s clothes.

The young child’s skin was pale and dry. There were many small circular needle marks and strange red scars all over her belly, arms, chest, and thighs.

The scars were gut-wrenching to look at.

Ye Qinghe’s heart clenched and he held back tears as he tidied her clothes carefully.

“Dr Li will come tomorrow to check up on your brother. Why don’t you let him have a look at her too? It shouldn’t be too much of a problem, so don’t be too upset over it.” The nanny continued to appease him, “It’s getting quite late. Why don’t you head to bed first? I’ll keep an eye on her tonight.”

Ye Qinghe nodded his head and reluctantly left.

After he left to sleep, the nanny attended to Yeya dutifully. She visited Yeya’s room every once in a while to see if she had wet the bed or kicked the blanket away.