Chapter 4: Jade

Ji Yan had been softened by the child's gaze, but hearing her daughter's fiery thoughts, she snapped back to attention.

"That jade is the only keepsake the child's father gave her; please return it to me."

Ji Yan said this to Shui Wanhua.

"You stole my daughter; consider this as compensation!"

Shui Wanhua saw that her daughter really liked the jade and directly demanded it.

【What's going on? The police haven't even figured out the cause and effect, yet you assume my mom kidnapped your daughter? I haven't even said you kidnapped me—after all, I'm so adorable.】

Su Yu snatched the jade away in a flash. Seeing her biological daughter in tears, Shui Wanhua's face darkened instantly. Jiang Qiyu was also displeased, giving Su Yu a disapproving look.

"How can you be so ill-mannered? After teaching you for so long, you still haven't learned?"

Shui Wanhua was angry—no wonder this child can't be taught; if she's not biologically yours, she's not yours.

"My upbringing teaches: don't take what isn't yours. I didn't take her necklace, so she should return my jade to me!"

Su Yu spoke clearly; all the adults present except Shui Wanhua and Jiang Qiyu were stunned. At only three years old, she spoke coherently, didn't cry when scolded, and was aloof toward her birth parents—nothing like a typical three-year-old.

"If you want clothes, I can even take off mine and give them to her!"

Jiang Qiyu reacted quickly, "No need, we'll buy her new ones."

Shui Wanhua cooed to her daughter, "Sweetie, Mommy will take you to buy new clothes, okay? I'll buy you lots and lots of jade!"

The girl glanced at Su Yu's clothes and asked softly, "Are her clothes expensive?"

"You'll have them too."

Shui Wanhua soothed her gently.

"She said she'd return it—does that mean she'll pay me money?"

Ji Yan's vision went black and she staggered. She felt like a failure. She had raised her daughter for three years, yet the girl didn't even glance at her before accepting a new mother—and now she wanted her biological daughter to pay compensation?

"How much? I can pay it!"

Ji Yan spoke up. She still had some savings.

Su Yu refused, "The Jiang family raised me, but my birth mother also raised you. You look healthier than I do, so you must have spent a lot. If compensation is needed, we should calculate the expenses first."

Shui Wanhua nodded, "Fine, let's figure it out—raising you this ungrateful wretch was for nothing."

Su Yu retorted, "Even an ungrateful wretch wouldn't want your family's way of raising—who would?"

"Xiangxiang!"

Jiang Qiyu let out a harsh shout, using a stern gaze to stop the two from continuing their argument.

Ji Yan stood nearby, sensing something was off. Immediately after, she heard the soft, childish voice of her newly reclaimed biological daughter reach her ears.

【Alright, the system says my mom still has no support, so I can't utterly offend the Jiang family.】

The girl saw Jiang Qiyu shouting at Su Yu, pointed at Ji Yan, and said, "She doesn't have much work and hasn't spent much money raising me!"

Ji Yan was truly heartbroken! Who was she avoiding work for?

The female officer beside her patted Ji Yan's shoulder and said loudly, "The video has been found—family members can come over to take a look."

In the video, it was the infant room of the private hospital where Ji Yan and Shui Wanhua gave birth.

"Madam, this isn't your child; your child is number nineteen, this one is number twenty!"

Shui Wanhua refused to listen, taking the child out of the incubator to soothe her.

Jiang Qiyu and Shui Wanhua's faces both darkened.

In the video, a nurse seemed to have been called outside. Shui Wanhua quickly swapped the wristbands on the two children, then said with a grin, "This is my baby—Mommy's baby has to be the prettiest! Mommy's taking you home!"

Another nurse came outside, glanced at the infant room, then sat down to play on her phone.

The video ended.

Shui Wanhua's face flushed red. Jiang Qiyu gently explained, "At that time my wife suffered severe postpartum depression, possibly causing hallucinations."

Ji Yan: ……

【Hmph! Just now you were insisting my birth mother swapped the babies!】

Jiang Qiyu had just looked over Ji Yan's child-rearing records and expenses—they were no less than the Jiang family's.

"If you agree, we can give you ten million in compensation when we swap the children back."

"No need. Just return each other's children, and after that, let's never see each other again."

If they met again, she would feel like a failure. She had sacrificed her career and poured her heart into raising that child, who turned out to be an ungrateful wretch.

At the police station, Ji Yan and Jiang Qiyu on the spot produced their household registers to swap the children's names. Jiang Qiyu and Shui Wanhua named that girl Jiang Yuzhen, meaning "a precious treasure regained."

Su Yu was not willing to be left behind.

"Mommy, I don't want to be called Su Xiangxiang! I want 'jade' in my name too—I'm not your precious one?"

In the Jiang family, Su Yu was called Jiang Xiangxiang. Ji Yan had originally wanted to change her surname, but after hearing Ji Yan's conversation with the police officer, Su Yu refused to accept that name.

【Mommy, Mommy, give me the name Su Yu!】

Ji Yan, beside her, muttered and wrote characters related to jade: "Yu, Yu, Yu."

"I want Yu!"

【Yay! Mommy's awesome!】

Su Yu formally reclaimed her name, Su Yu!

After Ji Yan and Su Yu had changed their names, Jiang Qiyu and his group had already left. Ji Yan put on a mask, took her biological daughter's hand, and headed home.

"Mommy, aren't we taking a car?"

Su Yu belatedly realized she was too mature, so she acted cute toward her newly acquired mother.

【Reduplication—when I say it in my little voice, it's really adorable!】

"Our home is just nearby."

Su Yu glanced at the surrounding skyscrapers; this place was the city center.

Yo, our family situation is actually decent, but we've got a gambling addict after us—no amount of money is enough to lose. Ah! But I'm free now!

A gambling addict? Which gambling addict is targeting her? Her daughter shouldn't have known her before, so how does she know there's a gambling addict around her?

Ji Yan, waiting at the red light, fixed her doubtful almond-shaped eyes on her daughter. She spread her short arms, legs apart, like a standing big turtle, grinning widely with delight.

Woof!

A cheerful dog bark disrupted Ji Yan's train of thought.

She watched helplessly as a Samoyed came bursting over. Then her daughter also rushed forward, the dog circling around Su Yu, and Su Yu circling around the dog. The two were having quite a fun time.

Um, sorry, our Kele isn't very well-behaved!

A timid, soft voice spoke up. Ji Yan then noticed a girl wearing a black jumpsuit, with a hood, and also wearing a black mask.

It's fine, they're having a good time playing.

You, you're Ji Yan, right?

Ji Yan nodded.

May I ask who you are?

I'm your fan!

Hello!

Ji Yan smiled at the girl, a little surprised—she hadn't been very popular lately, yet she could still run into a fan on the street.

I, I, write novels, I...

Ji Yan watched as the girl grew so nervous she couldn't speak, and gently asked, 'Do you want me to help you get a recommendation?'

(End of chapter)