A person’s memories can fade as they grow up. A person’s personality can soften due to tragedy. A person’s ideals can change with knowledge, and their habits can be altered by separation.
All of these things are possible.
But for them to happen all at once is impossible—a person cannot undergo such a massive transformation in a short period.
The simplest, most direct explanation, the one that didn’t involve self-deception, was this: this was no longer the same person.
Two months had been enough time for Qin Wan to see everything clearly.
Omegas were always much more sensitive than alphas, especially when it came to the child she had raised with her own hands.
Her child was selfish, cold, cowardly, and desperate to climb above others. She had disappointedly confirmed these traits through countless interactions. But because she loved her, she could turn a blind eye to her many flaws, deceiving herself that perhaps when she grew up and understood the complexities of the world, she wouldn’t be so extreme.
But when that day truly arrived, Qin Wan’s maternal intuition refused to believe in this beautiful dream.
This new, kind child would rather debase herself than belittle others. When she lied, she never dared to look people in the eye, whereas her real daughter could lie without batting an eyelid at the age of ten.
Qin Wan looked at this child. As expected, she immediately gave herself away. The moment the words left Qin Wan’s mouth, Yun Chuji lowered her head as if accepting a pre-announced punishment. She was probably crying; her voice certainly sounded wrong.
“I’m sorry.”
She offered no resistance or excuses.
Qin Wan closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were visibly glistening with tears.
After a moment, she asked with difficulty, “Where… where is Xiao Ji now?”
“I don’t know. She might be gone, might have been reincarnated, or might be living in my original body.”
“Reincarnated?”
“It means forgetting the memories of this life and being born anew into the world.”
“…It seems the world you lived in has certain religious beliefs. Or rather, just as I suspected, you are not from my world.” After deftly confirming Yun Chuji’s origins, Qin Wan paused, then continued, “In your world, then, can she live well?”
Yun Chuji thought of the fierce, lecherous bandits she had seen before her death and the life of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues she had lived. In this world, she was likely the only one who truly understood such a life. It would be easy for her to lie; no one could expose her. But facing this mother’s eyes, Yun Chuji swallowed to relieve a sudden dryness in her throat, then answered honestly, “For Miss Yun, that would not be a good world.”
A long silence followed.
Qin Wan forced a smile, her voice weary. “The matter of forcibly marking Miss Tang… Xiao Ji did that, didn’t she?”
Yun Chuji didn’t answer, nor did she deny it.
The mother fell silent for a moment before saying with a hint of bitterness, “After learning Miss Tang’s identity, I realized she was exactly the type of omega Xiao Ji used to hate the most. If you have Xiao Ji’s memories, you should know that she desperately wanted all omegas to devote themselves selflessly to alphas, to become tools for alphas to take as they please. She once secretly taught Chuwan to be that kind of omega. When I found out, I made Chuwan keep her distance. After that, she never contacted me on her own initiative again.”
Yun Chuji’s lips moved. She wanted to comfort her, but she didn’t know how.
In the end, all she could say was, “Miss Yun… passed away unexpectedly before the marking. She wasn’t able to forcibly mark Jianxi. I am the one who has wronged Jianxi.”
The implication was that the original Yun Chuji had not seen her evil deed through to the end and had already paid an exorbitant price.
Hearing this, Qin Wan gave a bitter smile. This child still didn’t understand this world well enough. To die during a marking meant that it must have provoked an intense revulsion from the omega. Otherwise, under the influence of a highly compatible alpha’s pheromones, an omega would find it very difficult to have any thought of resistance.
An act like that was equivalent to a forced marking.
This manner of death was more or less what she had guessed from her subtle probing earlier. So, should she avenge her daughter?
Qin Wan looked at the girl across from her, who was still too ashamed to lift her head, and thought, But what did she do wrong?
She, too, had entered a strange world, leaving her own parents and family behind.
Qin Wan’s eyes were slightly red. “Tell me about your world. How did you grow up?”
Yun Chuji looked lost. The question should have been easy to answer. She had received the strict upbringing of a well-bred lady, was versed in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was especially skilled at needlework, earning a reputation for her virtue. In her world, she was essentially a template for someone of her status. But was it a happy life?
For herself, there had been some happy moments within it.
But for the daughter of the mother before her, there would have been no possibility of finding happiness.
Yun Chuji described it as objectively as she could to make the mother feel a little better, even though she knew that if Miss Yun had truly entered her body, she would most likely have chosen to die before those bandits, just as she had.
When Yun Chuji mentioned that the parents in both worlds looked the same, Qin Wan interrupted her. “Then your sudden interest in Yun Xuan today is because…?”
“He looks just like my Elder Brother.”
Qin Wan frowned. “But he might not be your Elder Brother. It’s possible that, like us, it’s just a simple resemblance.”
Yun Chuji pressed her lips together tightly. Of course, she knew that. She just hoped her Elder Brother was here. At the same time, she was afraid he was here. If he was, then she would have real family in this world. But for her brother, becoming an omega would be cruel, and falling into the Third Princess’s hands would be a form of torture. She had to confirm this as soon as possible, which was why she was so agitated that even Yun Chuwan could see something was amiss.
She haltingly explained her thoughts. “In our world, there is no ABO, only women give birth. There are no pheromones. But women, just as many alpha supremacists advocate, spend their entire lives centered around men. My Elder Brother used to be a man. If he became an omega, his life would be very hard.”
“So I want to find Yun Xuan quickly and see if he is my Elder Brother.”
“And… I miss them very much.”
After she said this, the conversation stalled for a while. Qin Wan sighed and said, “It must be lonely, coming here all by yourself.”
“It’s alright. Jianxi is with me.”
“What about family?”
“…”
Yun Chuji finally lifted her head, revealing her reddened eyes and the still-wet tear tracks on her face. “I know. You are Miss Yun’s family. You are very good people, but you are her family. I can impersonate Miss Yun, but I cannot accept the love you have for her in her place.”
Qin Wan quietly looked at this flustered soul, then said, “Have you tried?”
Yun Chuji said, “Huh?”
“Have you tried to accept our love for you in her place?”
Before Yun Chuji could answer, Qin Wan said, “You haven’t. You’ve only been giving, caring for us, accommodating us. When we show you concern, you always shy away so quickly. Yun Cheng said you’ve grown up and want to handle your own affairs, but in reality, it’s because you feel guilty, right?”
“I imagine you’ve already calculated the money we’ve given you, planning to pay us back in the future, haven’t you?”
Yun Chuji lowered her head again.
Qin Wan moved around the coffee table and sat beside Yun Chuji. She reached out and drew that lowered head into her embrace, saying gently, “You are a good child. You’re good to us, good to Chuwan, and a very good alpha.”
“…What happened to Xiao Ji wasn’t your fault. If you are willing to accept us as your family, we can be your family.”
“But…” Yun Chuji started, but couldn’t finish. She turned her head on Qin Wan’s thin shoulder, her voice choked with sobs. “Can I really?”
“You’ve already done so well.”
That was why, after so much hesitation, she had chosen to accept Yun Chuji. There were too many inconsistencies with Yun Chuji; she had even forgotten the contents of her own gene report, and her memory of many everyday things was hazy, often needing reminders to recall them. Qin Wan had struggled, had considered exposing Yun Chuji’s identity, but when she saw this child treating omegas so gently and telling her so happily that she was getting married, Qin Wan thought, Forget it. There’s no need to create a second tragedy.
But today, Yun Chuji had seemed so out of place with the rest of the Yun family. To be precise, this feeling of not belonging had been going on for a long time. This identity was more of a burden than a joy for her, yet she still conscientiously fulfilled its duties while trying her best to refuse the privileges it afforded her.
At the banquet, when relatives whispered mockingly that Yun Chuji had thrown away an alpha’s dignity just to curry favor with the Tang family’s young lady, Qin Wan thought of the manuscript she had seen on Yun Chuji’s desk. The words on it were warmer and nobler than any of this baseless gossip. And so, Qin Wan decided that this child deserved better.
And she was determined to give this child those things as much as she could.
As for the pain, the separation, and the guilt, she would bear it all herself. After all, it was because she hadn’t taught her own daughter well that she had gone astray and ultimately suffered the consequences.
Qin Wan gently stroked the back of Yun Chuji’s head, her soft omega voice filled with a mother’s love. “You can openly enjoy our love for you, because you have given us an equal amount of love in return.”
Yun Chuji gave a low hum of assent, still crying.
It wasn’t until Tang Jianxi called that Yun Chuji finally snapped out of her long daze.
She said, “Jianxi, I think I’m going to have a family here.”
Hearing this, Tang Jianxi’s expression shifted. She hummed softly, her eyes curving into a smile. “What’s this? Has our little antique finally come around?”
Yun Chuji’s cheeks flushed, and she said awkwardly, “It was Mother… um, Mom. She said she knows I’m not the original Miss Yun, but she wants me to be part of their family.”
Tang Jianxi smiled gently. “It seems Xiao Ji has met good people again.”
Yun Chuji hummed in a low voice, then changed the subject, embarrassed that she sounded like a child who had just been given candy.
“I suspect my Elder Brother has also come here,” Yun Chuji said. “I’m not very sure, but he looks exactly like my Elder Brother, and his parents don’t resemble my parents. It’s just a gut feeling.”
Tang Jianxi raised an eyebrow. Her slender white hand rested lazily on her jaw as she recalled the folk history of the Great Liang Dynasty. A wave of sympathy washed over her. “If your Elder Brother is here, he’s in for a rough time.”
Yun Chuji nodded, then relayed the information she had gathered, including what Qin Wan had just told her. At the banquet, Qin Wan had spoken to Yun Xuan’s mother and learned about his situation. He rarely contacted his mothers; they only heard about his whereabouts from that princess’s subordinates. And that mysterious princess, as the Yun family called her—
“Is the Third Princess.”
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