Chapter Forty: Fish Leaps Takes a Beating, While Fish Bath Welcomes Double Happiness

Three days later.

When Yu Zao opened her eyes in the single-occupancy hospital room, it was after yet another brush with death, the exact count of which she had lost.

There was no comforting fragrance of gardenias, nor was there a warm bowl of scallion noodles waiting by the bedside.

Even the window was tightly shut, suffocating the air, while a crushing weight pressed against her chest like a massive boulder, causing a profound sense of discomfort.

"Wuwuwu... Little Auntie, you're finally awake! It's all my fault, I was just being playful and let myself get lured away by some male model."

"I'm sorry! I truly know I was wrong. Please don't die! If you die, my parents will kill me!"

The little princess's face was a mess of tears and mucus.

Kneeling on the floor, she wrapped her arms tightly around Yu Zao's arm. Her pitiful appearance actually coaxed a faint smile out of Yu Zao.

"Alright, see? I'm fine. Get up off the floor, it's cold."

Over the past few days spent with Luya—
from initial wariness to the involuntary fondness she had developed for this "little niece" toward the end.

The feeling of having a family member by her side was truly immensely comforting and soothing.

Yet the DNA test results, which required repeated comparisons and confirmations, had not yet been released.

Yu Zao was afraid, terrified that fate would continue to play those heart-wrenching jokes on her.

Once they turned out not to be family at all, once Luya had mistaken her for someone else—

What about herself?

Would she be cast back onto the streets, back to the desolate starting point of having no one to rely on?

"Little Auntie, why are you crying?"

"Don't cry, I had the Golden Leopard burned down to ruins."

"And those detestable scumbags—I originally wanted to deal with them myself and throw them all into Africa as slaves."

"Though, strangely enough, by the time my people went looking for them, those rich second-generation heirs had all suddenly fallen gravely ill and died."

Luya muttered on.

Yu Zao didn't think much of it. She merely smiled and asked, "Who brought me to the hospital? Was it you?"

It was bizarre. No matter how hard she tried to rack her brain, her final memory remained frozen at the exact second Fu Shiyong shielded Yu Yue and walked away.

Everything after that was a complete blank!

"It wasn't me. It was Uncle Yang Chen."

As if on cue, Yang Chen walked in wearing a white lab coat to make his rounds.

Hearing the title "Uncle," he didn't refute it, simply offering a quiet smile.

There was an inherent, irresistible aura to a forty-year-old "mature man" looking deeply focused while at work.

"Heeheehee, Little Auntie, you have no idea."

"The moment Uncle found out you were in critical condition, he immediately mobilized all the specialist doctors in the city and performed the surgery himself. Talk about a hero saving the beauty."

The little princess eagerly tried to play matchmaker.

Yu Zao, however, remained subdued and explained, "Don't talk nonsense. Yang and I are just ordinary friends. He has a wife whom he loves very dearly, so don't give people the wrong idea."

"Ah? Uncle... Uncle Yang has a wife?!"

Luya's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Once the little princess stepped out to handle a sudden errand—

Yu Zao cut straight to the point. "My memory loss... does that mean the worst-case scenario we discussed earlier has finally happened?"

"..."

After a long silence.

Yang Chen sighed, and with the purest intentions of a friend, pulled her into an embrace.

"Don't be afraid. Even if that's truly the case, I am still here by your side. You are not alone—you never will be."

Outside the hospital room, in an unnoticed corner, a tall and noble figure flashed past and vanished.

Night fell.

Yu Zao stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

Looking at her own reflection, she muttered to herself, "Did you win? I still couldn't stop your emergence."

"No, no, no, Yu Zao, don't forget—I am also Yu Zao. We were always the same person."

That voice hovered around her ears, elusive and ethereal.

"In any case, don't treat me as an enemy. When you are suffering the most, only I can help you. Do you remember?"

A large handful of anti-dissociative personality pills, washed down with raw tap water, were swallowed hard.

Her mouth tasted bitterly astringent.

The stifling oppression building in her chest felt ready to burst, forcing Yu Zao to press heavily against the wet porcelain sink, yet she still collapsed weakly onto the floor.

On the mirror-like tiled surface—

the local breaking news playing on the massive outdoor advertising screen across the street was reflected.

Under Fu Shiyong's watchful eye, Fu Yiyi, dressed in a festive little red outfit, knelt obediently before Yu Yue.

A family-recognition banquet designed at the cost of millions.

Lively, bustling, and filled with the rustle of fine silk and lingering perfume.

Yu Zao watched it all with her own eyes, watching the very son she had given birth to with such arduous hardship—

walking on his knees over to Yu Yue, before tenderly wiping the dust from the toes of "Mommy's" shoes.

His milky, childish voice transformed into the most lethal poisoned needles in a matter of seconds, piercing her body with thousands of holes, both ludicrous and tragic.

"Mommy, Daddy says starting today, you are the only Mommy Yiyi will ever have, and Yiyi will love you most in the world forever~"

As soon as the little fellow finished speaking, he eagerly crawled into his "real mommy's" arms and planted several kisses on her face.

The medication had not yet fully taken effect.

Yet its side effects caused Yu Zao to curl up on the floor like a dried shrimp, her internal organs writhing in sharp pain as she clutched herself tightly.

In her ears, that omnipresent voice sneered, "Hehehe, what a happy and blissful family of three. Yu Zao, we are dying. Before you die, are you really so eager to accommodate Yu Yue and let her comfortably snatch away everything that belongs to you?"

"Shut up! Stop talking, I told you to stop!"

She tried to cover her ears, but it was entirely futile.

She sprang to her feet, slamming her fist against the glass as fresh blood seeped into the dense, spiderweb-like cracks.

That stunningly gorgeous yet enchanting face in the mirror—

shattered piece by piece onto the floor, accompanied by the joy and blessings echoing from the family-recognition banquet.

The voice persisted, cold and crazed.

"Yu Zao, wait a little longer. Soon! Very soon, I will take your place and drag them all down to hell with us!!!"

That night, Yu Zao sank into an excruciating nightmare, tormented beyond endurance.

Meanwhile, inside the Fu family villa, which should have been overflowing with festive cheer—

Fu Shiyong checked his phone over and over again. There were no messages—not a single message from Yu Zao!

Irritated, he drained an entire bottle of whiskey.

Leaning against the antique grandfather clock, his dark, heavy gaze burned with such intensity that it felt as though he wanted to scorch a hole straight through the face of the hostess featured in their family portrait.

Utterly drunk!

He muttered to himself.

"Yu Zao, I used our son to back you into a corner, and still you refuse to bow your head to me?"

"Do you have any idea at all? As long as you show a little bit of softness to me—just once—I would be willing to give up everything for you."

"I am willing... to forgive you..."

One week later.

Yu Zao was discharged from the hospital.

Luya insisted on personally picking up the freshly printed DNA report from the testing center.

And there was another piece of good news...

"Really? Brother Yang? My artwork has been shortlisted?"

Back when she was working part-time at the Golden Leopard to earn extra money, she would also paint custom oil paintings for galleries.

As it happened, one of Yang Chen's childhood friends was in charge of the Asia-Pacific selection for the Global Multifold Art Exhibition.

Both of them had submitted a piece with a "nothing to lose by trying" mindset.

Never had they imagined it would actually be selected by such a high-caliber industry exhibition!

"Let's go. I'll drive you to sign the contract."

"Today just might be a day of double blessings."

"Our little Yu is transforming right before our eyes—simultaneously a European princess and a rapidly rising rookie artist in the art world!"

Yang Chen's car drove out through the hospital gates.

At the exact same moment.

At the Yu family villa—

Zhao Yueyao raised her hand and delivered a fierce slap across Yu Yue's face, not even holding back despite Fu Shiyong's presence.