“No,” Lin Yuxi said.
“Why? You don’t want to find them? Or… do you hate them for losing you back then?”
“I’ve never hated them. It was my adoptive parents who deliberately switched the children—they’re victims too.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to find them. I just… don’t dare.”
“Why?” Jiangnan couldn’t understand. If she found her biological parents, wouldn’t her life get better?
“If I went to them now, what do you think would happen?” Seeing his confusion, she continued:
“If I went and told them the truth, would they believe me? To them, I’m just a stranger, while that girl is the daughter they’ve doted on for fifteen years.”
“Even if they did believe me in the end—so what? Would they really be willing to drive that daughter away?”
“The most likely outcome is that they’d say, ‘The adults made the mistake, the children are innocent,’ and keep both of us.”
“And then I’d have to face every day the person who tried to sell me, who wanted to ruin me. Maybe I’d also have to deal with my parents’ favoritism.”
“Do you think that kind of life would be much better than what I have now? There’s also another possibility—they might love that child so much that they simply refuse to acknowledge me at all.”
“What would I do then? If they don’t want me there, and I can’t come back here either, I’d end up with nowhere to go.”
“I’m only fifteen, just a middle school student. I can’t support myself yet, so I don’t dare take that risk.”
Fifteen years old. Born at Jiangcheng County Hospital. A face strikingly similar to his mother’s…
A thought surfaced in Jiangnan’s mind—then he quickly suppressed it. Impossible. How could it be?
Looking at the girl in front of him, chin resting on her knees, her face full of sorrow, Jiangnan felt a mix of emotions. His heart ached for what she had been through.
After hesitating for a long time, he decided to test the waters. “Yuxi, do you remember your birthday?”
Lin Yuxi looked up, still a little dazed.
“My birthday is the 27th day of the fifth lunar month. I guess I’m the only one who remembers it—no one’s ever celebrated my birthday since I was little.”
Hearing this, Jiangnan’s heart jolted. His own younger sister’s birthday was also the 27th day of the fifth lunar month. How could it be such a coincidence? Could it be…?
But he still didn’t dare believe it. Taking a deep breath, he said slowly, “Yuxi, no matter what happens in the future, you must protect yourself.”
For now, he couldn’t say anything or do anything. But once he returned, he would investigate everything.
Even if Zhuyue wasn’t his biological sister, given how much his parents adored her, what choice would they make?
Perhaps just as Lin Yuxi said—they’d want to keep both daughters. But how cruel would that be to her? She would never accept it.
And yet, the sister he’d always thought gentle and sensible had such malicious intentions—just to prevent Lin Yuxi from ever returning to claim her place, she had tried to destroy her.
It seems that people change when faced with interests. But Zhuyue is only fifteen years old. Is her mind already so deep?
He didn’t doubt Lin Yuxi at all. She had no reason to lie—they were essentially strangers who might never meet again after tomorrow.
Lin Yuxi nodded thoughtfully. “I will. I’ll protect myself. When I’m older and can stand on my own, I’ll go find my biological parents and ask them for an answer.”
Looking at her, Jiangnan felt she didn’t seem like a fifteen-year-old at all. Perhaps it was all the hardships she had endured that made her think more deeply than many adults.
He silently made a decision: once he got back, he would uncover the truth as soon as possible. If she really was his sister, then even if his parents refused to acknowledge her—he would.
If she truly was his sister by blood, he would never let her suffer again. She had already suffered more than enough.
Once he found out the truth, he would come for her—and face everything together with her.
After crying and venting the pent-up emotions in her heart, Lin Yuxi felt much lighter. By now, it was completely dark outside—it seemed they would have to stay here for the night.
She took out some dumplings from her schoolbag—actually from her space—which Aunt Jiang had given her, and placed them on the doctor’s desk.
“Let’s eat something. My classmate’s mom gave these to me.” She handed Jiangnan a pair of chopsticks.
“You even carry chopsticks with you?” he asked in disbelief.
“My classmate gave them to me. I originally planned to finish eating before getting home—otherwise, if that family found out, I wouldn’t get a single bite.”
She said it lightly, but Jiangnan felt a pang in his chest.
By now, he was almost certain Lin Yuxi was his sister. Over the years, he and his younger sister Jiang Zhuyue had always been close.
But if she had known her true identity since she was ten, then over these past few years, how much of her affection for the family had been genuine?
The dumplings were delicious. There was still hot water in the doctor’s kettle in the clinic. With food and drink, the night wasn’t too bad.
Lin Yuxi slept on the small examination bed, while Jiangnan made do by sitting on a chair, resting his head on the table through the night.
The next morning, the doctor finally arrived. The same doctor who had seen them the day before was quite shocked to see them—he had completely forgotten about them.
He quickly apologized, explaining that his wife had gone into labor the previous day, and in his panic, he had forgotten.
Neither of them said much. It had already happened. Feeling guilty, the doctor had someone buy breakfast for them.
After eating, they left the clinic. Earlier, when Jiangnan had gone to the restroom, he had taken out the money in his pocket, leaving only enough for travel, and gathered the rest together.
Now he pulled it out and stuffed it directly into Lin Yuxi’s schoolbag, pressing it down to stop her from taking it out.
“Listen—protect yourself. Keep this money. If they don’t let you eat your fill, secretly buy something good for yourself.”
In his heart, he added: Wait for me to come get you.
Lin Yuxi watched his figure quickly disappear into the distance. She then took the money out of her bag and counted it.
Forty yuan.
She froze. She hadn’t expected it to be this much—it was more than a worker’s monthly wage.
She had only wanted to vent her emotions; she hadn’t been trying to get money. And she didn’t lack money right now.
But there was nothing she could do—he was already gone. If fate allowed them to meet again, she would return it to him.
As she walked home, she thought about how to explain her absence. She had stayed out all night—they wouldn’t possibly not ask.
Near the village entrance, she took out four meat buns. It looked like she’d have to “bleed” a little.
She wasn’t afraid of them—but if she didn’t appease them, they might spread rumors. After all, she hadn’t come home all night, and if they exaggerated things, it would damage her reputation.
When she got home, they were having breakfast. Farm work wasn’t busy now, so they didn’t have to get up before dawn anymore.
The moment Lin Yuxi stepped inside, her aunt began to sneer:
“Oh, look who’s back—the young lady herself. Where did you go? Gone the entire night, huh?”
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