Chapter 149: The Real and Fake Daughters Who Were Switched at Birth – 8…

Jinjin hadn’t expected her little sister to pin her down and stop her from moving, but now she didn’t want to see Yuan Huan scolding her sister either. Hugging Yuan Huan’s arm, she tried to explain on her sister’s behalf in a voice that wasn’t quite fluent yet.

“Me… Mimi duck.”

Yuan Huan, seeing Jinjin step in to block her, decided not to say anything more about her daughter.

But aside from the word “me,” Yuan Huan couldn’t understand a single thing Jinjin said.

Xie Hui, who had been watching the two sisters play, finally stepped in and picked up the innocent Yuyu, who had just been scolded.

“What Jinjin means is that she was the one who annoyed her sister first. She’s learning to walk and wanted her sister to learn with her. Yuyu got annoyed and pinned her down in return.”

“Dui oh~”

Jinjin, standing nearby, nodded seriously and gave her dad a big thumbs-up.

Life as a baby really does have a healing quality—eat, sleep, and the occasional tantrum that fades as quickly as it came. No one scolds you, and you fall asleep again once you’re tired of being mad.

From Xie Hui’s perspective, Jinjin now showed no signs of abnormality. She didn’t seem any different from a typical child.

Compared to the dark memories of the past, Xie Hui thought that if she could truly let go and start over, that would be a good thing.

Yuyu was slower when it came to learning how to talk. While Jinjin could already call out “Daddy,” Yuyu was still babbling incoherently.

Whenever they were left to play together, Jinjin would crawl over to wherever Yuyu was and lie down beside her.

“Yeye.”

“Duck duck?”

Xie Hui had been sitting on the sofa reviewing documents, but when he saw sunlight streaming through the large floor-to-ceiling windows and falling on the two little ones lying there, he couldn’t help but pause.

Jinjin, who couldn’t even speak clearly herself, was seriously trying to teach her sister how to talk.

She was bold enough to teach, and Yuyu was brave enough to learn.

Based on Xie Hui’s guess, Jinjin was probably trying to teach Yuyu to say “Jiejie” (big sister), but because her pronunciation wasn’t clear, it came out as “Yeye.” Then when Yuyu repeated it, it turned into “duck duck.”

Since they weren’t causing trouble, just playing around with words, Xie Hui didn’t feel the need to interrupt.

The living room had a warm atmosphere. The aroma of coffee drifted from the table, and the only sounds were the rustling of papers in Xie Hui’s hands and the soft babble of two childish voices.

“No, duck duck—it’s Yeye.”

Xie Hui couldn’t help but smile when he heard that. Turning his head, he saw Jinjin lying there, seriously and earnestly trying to teach Yuyu how to say “Yeye,” her little face stern with concentration. He actually laughed out loud.

His laughter disrupted the little sisters’ lesson.

Yuyu looked up in a daze and stared at Xie Hui, while Jinjin, annoyed, puffed up and muttered something unclear:

“Fai, bad fai!”

Xie Hui put down his documents and walked over, gently pinching her chubby cheeks.

“You should call me Daddy. And Daddy’s not bad.”

“Fai!”

Jinjin pulled her head back and repeated herself. Then Yuyu, who had been lying quietly, lifted her head.

“Yeye, Yeye fai.”

“Yeye not fai!”

These two little ones couldn’t speak clearly yet. Whenever they tried to say longer sentences, they’d start drooling, their words turning into incomprehensible babble.

Jinjin had a bit of pride. Once she realized that talking too much made her drool, she limited herself to saying no more than five words at a time.

Watching the two of them argue, Xie Hui shook his head helplessly. Thankfully, Yuyu hadn’t learned to walk yet. When she did, the whole villa might get turned upside down by these two little brats.

Judging by how fast they were learning to walk, that day wasn’t far off. Xie Hui figured it was time to move up the backyard renovation plans.

In the memories of the original Entruster, Xie Qianjin had been saddened by all the traces of Yuan Yu’s life in the villa.

Every time she saw the playground in the backyard, which had been built especially for Yuan Yu, she would bristle like a hedgehog.

But this time, Xie Hui didn’t plan to avoid the playground. Instead, he had someone bring over the design blueprints and printed out a bunch of potential play equipment for the backyard.

One day after work, he carried the two little ones to the sofa and opened the folder.

“Which ones do you like?”

Jinjin was clearly stunned when she saw the pictures of the playground equipment. Yuyu, on the other hand, wasn’t interested in the colorful images and kept shaking her rattle with all her might.

Eventually, Xie Hui picked Yuyu up and held her in his arms. Only then did she reluctantly glance at the pictures.

There were slides, mini mazes, swings, and more. Xie Hui had originally considered adding a swimming pool to the yard, but with so many servants in the villa and the girls being so young, it didn’t seem appropriate.

So he decided to turn the entire backyard into a playground, giving the two little brats a place to fully enjoy their childhood.

As for learning to swim, that could wait until they were older. He could enroll them in a class or buy another house with a private pool.

Although Jinjin didn’t seem too excited, she still picked out a few items in the end. After she made her choices, Xie Hui sent the list to the designer and asked them to base the backyard layout on those selections.

Since the project would take time, it would be ready just in time for when the girls could run and play.

Even if Yuyu was lazy, having a diligent sister constantly pushing her meant she learned to walk around the same time.

Yuyu, cautious and afraid of falling, walked slowly but steadily. Jinjin, in her eagerness, was unsteady on her feet but already trying to run—falling every few steps.

During their last check-up, the doctor had advised Xie Hui to talk to the girls more if he had time, to help improve their speech.

But Xie Hui didn’t think he needed to worry about that at all.

Ever since Jinjin started learning to talk, she’d been holding Yuyu’s hand and chattering nonstop every day—more than a professional news anchor.

Even Yuan Huan, who adored Jinjin, sometimes found it hard to keep up with her constant babble.

This little one had a strong need for attention. After talking, she demanded a response, seemingly never getting tired.

Only Yuyu had the patience for her. Even when Jinjin chattered at her for half an hour straight, and she was so sleepy her eyes were closing, she’d still respond with a soft babble once Jinjin finished.

The clearer Jinjin’s speech became, the more she talked.

Sometimes she said such strange things that even Xie Hui couldn’t understand what she meant.

That’s when Xie Hui truly understood what it meant when people said, “You must’ve owed her in a past life, so now she won’t leave you alone.”

That phrase fit Yuyu to a T.

According to tradition, a child’s first birthday should be celebrated in a big way. Xie Hui had the steward handle the preparations. Relatives from back home and business partners were all invited. Even the aunt who had been living abroad for medical treatment had already boarded a flight back.

This aunt had heard Xie Hui mention the nanny’s daughter who was being raised alongside Jinjin.

She hadn’t thought much of it at first, but once she heard what the fortune-teller had said, she couldn’t help becoming a bit superstitious.

She brought back gifts—two of everything.

Not that she truly believed the fortune-teller’s words, but she wanted to bring good luck nonetheless.

Seeing the expensive gold bracelet her daughter received, Yuan Huan felt a bit uneasy.

She had originally been hired as a nanny. Being allowed to bring her daughter along was already more than she could ask for—let alone receiving such a fine and clearly costly bracelet.

Aunt Xie was a woman of elegance, refined down to the last strand of hair. Though older, she still exuded charm, her grace seemingly etched into her very bones.

“No need to feel awkward. I wanted to buy them something earlier, but they were too young and might’ve chewed on it. Now that they’re a year old, it’s the perfect time. It’s just for good luck.”

At the birthday grab ritual, both little girls wore bright red outfits—festive and cheerful.

Yuyu had thick hair, so hers was braided into little pigtails. Jinjin, still mostly bald, had two tiny tufts tied up by Yuan Huan.

They wore red dresses in different styles—one elegant, the other delicate.

Some people disapproved of Xie Hui raising the nanny’s daughter alongside his own, but no one brought it up on such an important day.

Jinjin grabbed a small abacus. Yuyu, after a long pause, finally picked up a pretty hair clip.

Aunt Xie, who was standing nearby, saw what happened and clapped for Jinjin with a smile.

“There’s nothing placed here that doesn’t have a good meaning.”

“Jinjin actually picked the abacus—looks like she’s destined to take over the company one day.”

After saying that, Aunt Xie crouched down and gently shook the little one’s hand.

The rest of the first birthday banquet didn’t have much to do with them. Just before the meal, Xie Hui took a piece of cake and dabbed a bit on both of their noses.

Since there would be drinking at the banquet later, Yuan Huan took the two of them home early.

By then, the weather was already starting to get warm. As the host, Xie Hui had had a few drinks himself.

On the way back, he loosened his tie and rolled down the window, letting the cool air rush in and clear his head a bit.

“Hm? Don’t you think… I’m kind of shortchanging Yuyu?”

Entruster had rarely spoken since the mission began, but when Xie Hui was watching the others’ surprised and curious glances during the birthday ritual, the thought suddenly hit him.

The little princess who used to be doted on by Entruster was now just the daughter of a nanny. He was a bit worried that Entruster might not be happy seeing that.

Even though Xie Hui felt he hadn’t done anything wrong, this was still a mission.

And the top priority—the most important thing—was making sure the one who issued the mission, Entruster, was satisfied.