Chapter 142: The Real and Fake Daughters Who Were Switched at Birth – 1

This time, there were two targets in the mission: one was the biological daughter, a prickly little thing full of thorns, and the other was the adopted daughter, not related by blood but raised by the mission host for over a decade.

Had there been no switch at birth, it wouldn’t have been hard for the two girls to get along peacefully.

When Xie Hui arrived in the new world and opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a bench outside a hospital. The Entruster wasn’t married; the daughter had been born to his ex-girlfriend.

The two had broken up due to irreconcilable differences. After the breakup, the woman returned to her hometown. Not long ago, she called the Entruster to tell him she was pregnant.

Her health made it risky to terminate the pregnancy, but she didn’t have the energy or means to raise a child. So, she decided to leave the baby with the Entruster to raise.

Even while pregnant, she never once considered getting back together with him. After giving birth and recovering, she returned to her hometown and cut off all contact.

This time, when the baby was brought out of the operating room, Xie Hui didn’t just ignore her like the original host had. Instead, he reached out and took the child into his arms.

The little girl looked quite sturdy. A nurse nearby mentioned she weighed six and a half pounds and hadn’t cried much after birth. Wrapped in a pink blanket, if you listened closely, you could hear her soft little grunts.

After taking the baby, Xie Hui instructed the Entruster’s assistant to stay and wait for the ex-girlfriend to come out. He also told another secretary to prepare a bank card with two million yuan.

The Entruster had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, but his pride wouldn’t let him admit he still cared. However, she had truly moved on and had no feelings left for him.

In the original timeline, after taking the baby, the Entruster left her behind without a second thought.

Xie Hui felt she deserved some form of compensation. Before heading to the hospital room, he also had the assistant find a professional postpartum nanny to take care of her.

The adopted daughter was also born today. That child was delivered in a pre-booked luxury suite, while her mother was crammed into a cramped, standard hospital room.

Holding the baby, Xie Hui stood by the window and could faintly hear shouting from below. It sounded like an old woman and a man, repeating the same few complaints—mostly about how disappointed they were that the baby was a girl.

The baby wasn’t staying in the same room as her mother. A nanny would bring her over only during feeding times.

Newborns change by the day. The wrinkled, reddish little thing began to look much fairer after a week. Wrapped in her blanket, she opened her big, dark eyes and looked around curiously—eyes like glistening grapes.

Though only a week old, her eyelashes were long and curled. Every time she blinked, the nanny couldn’t help but gush that she had never seen such an adorable baby.

The Entruster’s company kept him busy, and since Xie Hui had just taken over, he could only manage to visit the little one once a day and hold her for a while.

At first, when her eyes were still closed, everything was fine. But once she opened them, she would wail heartbreakingly every time Xie Hui held her. He started to feel something wasn’t right.

Typically, if a mother recovers well, she can be discharged in three or four days. Xie Hui arranged for the Entruster’s ex to stay at a professional postpartum care center for a month of proper recovery.

One day, when Xie Hui came to the hospital, he checked on his daughter, confirmed she was sleeping soundly in her cradle, and then headed to the general ward.

The Entruster had very few memories of the adopted daughter’s mother. But Xie Hui had overheard the shouting earlier—blaming her for spending so much money on a C-section only to give birth to a girl.

Blaming a woman so harshly while she was still weak from childbirth—Xie Hui doubted that kind of family would let her stay in the hospital for long.

After searching and asking the nurses, he found the room by pretending to be a friend of the patient.

It wouldn’t have been so easy to locate otherwise, but since he mentioned the family that had been causing a ruckus over having a girl, the nurses immediately knew which one he meant.

Xie Hui walked to the door and knocked gently. Only when a weak female voice responded did he push the door open and step inside.

“Sir, you are…?”

Yuan Huan had thought it was a nurse. She was surprised to see a man in a suit walk in and began to wonder if he had the wrong room.

“Hello. My daughter was also born in this hospital. I had a fortune-teller do a reading, and he said she’s destined to be connected with another girl born on the same day. I asked around and found that your daughter was the only other girl born here that day.”

Unable to come up with a better excuse, Xie Hui simply made up a story about a fortune-teller.

In the Entruster’s social circle, people were indeed quite superstitious.

“May I ask, madam, do you currently have a job? If not, would you be interested in working as a nanny at my home? You can bring your daughter with you. It would be nice for the two girls to grow up together.”

By this point, Yuan Huan was starting to suspect he was a scammer.

Who just walks in offering a dream job like that? What he was saying sounded too good to be true.

“My daughter will be staying here for another three days. There’s no rush. You have plenty of time to think about it and can give me your answer later.”

With that, Xie Hui handed her a business card. Seeing her trembling hand as she took it, he gave her a small smile.

“If you decide to accept, you can call the number on the card to reach my assistant.”

Then, Xie Hui turned and left. The biological daughter, after being returned to the Entruster, had once mentioned how much her mother had suffered. Every time her father tried to hit her, it was her mother who stepped in to shield her.

Xie Hui believed that for someone like Yuan Huan, if a different path were laid before her, she wouldn’t willingly stay in that household, slaving away like a beast of burden.

The next evening, after finishing work, Xie Hui went to the hospital to see his little girl. As he entered the elevator, his assistant answered a call.

“Mr. Xie, a woman called asking if you’re still looking for a nanny.”

The assistant was polite on the phone but puzzled afterward. Since when was Mr. Xie hiring a nanny? Wasn’t that something the villa steward usually handled?

Just then, they arrived at the hospital room. Xie Hui pushed the door open. The nanny was holding the baby, burping her with practiced ease.

The little one let out a soft “ya” when she saw Xie Hui, then turned her head away.

Xie Hui didn’t go over to make her cry again. For some reason, this baby just didn’t seem to like him.

She was fine being held while asleep, but once awake, she acted like he was covered in thorns.

“Mr. Xie, should I handle the matter with the woman who said her name is Yuan Huan now?”

Just then, the little girl who had been avoiding Xie Hui turned her head back, pouted, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She looked absolutely pitiful.

As soon as she started crying, the nanny hurried to soothe her. Since she usually cried after seeing Mr. Xie, the nanny assumed that was the cause again and tried to carry her away.

But after just a few steps, the baby’s cries grew even louder.

Worried she might strain her throat, Xie Hui walked over and reached out to hold her.

This time, the little one seemed to realize it was someone different. She sniffed him curiously, then—surprisingly—not only didn’t cry, but gave a hiccup and grinned, revealing her toothless gums.

“Did the doctor say she can be taken outside yet?”

The nanny nodded gently. “The doctor said it’s okay, but she shouldn’t be exposed to bright light—it could harm her eyes.”

Hearing that, Xie Hui felt reassured. Looking at the baby in his arms, her eyes still wet with tears but already smiling again, his suspicions deepened.

Though it was May and the weather was mild, Xie Hui still asked the nanny to wrap the baby up warmly before heading out.

They arrived at the ward he remembered. The assistant knocked, and after getting permission, they pushed the door open.

Inside, the room was a mess, with shattered items scattered across the floor.

Yuan Huan sat on the bed, holding her baby tightly, her eyes red and swollen.

“Sir, does your offer still stand?”

As soon as she spoke, the little one wrapped in the blanket—her face completely covered—started squirming, trying to push the blanket off with her tiny hands, fussing anxiously.

Xie Hui ignored the chaotic room and didn’t offer to help clean up.

The doubts that had lingered in his mind suddenly found an answer.

Looking at Yuan Huan’s disheveled hair and the way she clutched the baby protectively, Xie Hui nodded.

“Of course it does.”

“Will there be a labor contract?”

Yuan Huan had always been the quiet, submissive type. No matter how her husband or mother-in-law scolded her, she endured it all, thinking if she just held on a little longer, things would eventually get better.

But this afternoon, her husband actually came over and said he wanted to give their child away—after all, it was just a worthless little girl.

This child was flesh of her flesh. How could she possibly bear to let her go? Whether boy or girl, in her heart, this baby was her treasure.

That was the last straw for Yuan Huan.

She stayed in the hospital room that afternoon, holding back tears as she sought out free legal aid. In cases like hers, if she wanted a divorce, custody of a child under two typically went to the mother.

But someone like her—with no job, no income, and no means to support a child—might still lose custody to the father.

By the time Xie Hui heard all this, he already understood her intentions. He gave a slight nod and replied softly, “Of course there will be.”

Yuan Huan let out a long breath of relief, clutching her daughter tightly in her arms. Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded.

She had just given birth, her parents had passed away long ago, and she had no siblings to help her care for the baby. With a child this young, it was nearly impossible to find work. She had no education, no standout skills.

To her, this was like grabbing onto a lifeline after nearly drowning. No matter how bad things got, they couldn’t be worse than now.

“Okay, okay. Sir, whenever you need me to start work, I—I’m ready anytime.”

Xie Hui glanced down at the tiny blanket covering the baby’s face. It was wriggling nonstop—this little one must be exhausted. He reached out and gently touched the blanket, and sure enough, the baby quieted instantly.

But the peace didn’t last long. Soon she started squirming again, even more vigorously than before.

He couldn’t help but wonder—if she weren’t all wrapped up, would this little rascal be throwing punches and kicks inside the blanket?