Chapter 148: The Real and Fake Daughters Who Were Switched at Birth – 7…

Yuyu had spent more time with the nanny, and after both the nanny and her mother left, she was upset for a long time.

Xie Hui wanted to comfort her but didn’t know where to start. So he simply stopped worrying about the company and focused entirely on taking care of the two little ones.

Given Jinjin’s temper, he’d always assumed the only reason she tolerated Yuyu staying here was because Yuan Huan was around—and Yuyu was indeed a very well-behaved child.

But now, with Yuan Huan gone and Yuyu fussing and whining all day, the little girl didn’t seem to mind at all.

Sometimes, when Xie Hui was too busy to manage, Jinjin would even awkwardly reach out her tiny palm and gently pat Yuyu to soothe her.

The New Year at the villa was festive, thanks to the steward’s preparations before heading home.

Even the trees in the yard were decorated with bright red lanterns and colorful lights.

Though both of Entruster’s parents had passed away, his aunt living abroad had mailed over two sets of bright red cotton-padded jackets and two exquisitely made tiger-head hats.

Winters in this city brought snow, but it usually didn’t stick.

The two little ones, bundled up in increasingly thick layers, sometimes couldn’t even sit upright. Xie Hui would help them sit up, only for them to topple back down because their clothes were too bulky.

As the weather grew colder and New Year’s Day drew closer, Yuyu, without her mother around, became a bit clingy. Surprisingly, it was Jinjin who started taking the initiative to care for her.

Once, Xie Hui even saw Jinjin holding a toy that made a crisp sound when shaken, waving it in front of a sulking Yuyu to cheer her up.

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, Xie Hui bought a twin baby stroller.

On New Year’s Eve, he placed the two little ones in it and let them sit while he went about putting up red paper blessings and Spring Festival couplets on the windows and doors.

Seeing the two of them sitting there hand in hand, wearing their fluffy hats and watching him intently with those serious little faces, Xie Hui finished sticking one couplet, put down the decorations, and walked over to ruffle one of their heads.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

Jinjin frowned and pulled away in disgust. Silly little Yuyu, on the other hand, gave Xie Hui a clueless smile, revealing a few barely grown baby teeth.

Once the couplets were up, the chef began preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.

This time, Xie Hui put on an apron and joined in the kitchen, making baby-friendly dumplings.

Since it was the New Year, he added fruit juice to the dough and shaped the dumplings into little cartoon animals. They came out in all kinds of colors.

Once they had cooled, Xie Hui used tongs to place them on a plate and brought them over to the two little ones in the stroller.

Jinjin carefully touched one with her fingertip to make sure it wasn’t hot, then picked a red one and handed it to her sister.

Yuyu instinctively took it. Smelling the delicious aroma, she grabbed her sister’s clothes with one hand and grinned when their eyes met.

“Hehe, ya~”

Xie Hui swore he saw his daughter make a face of clear disdain.

But despite the disdain, she didn’t push Yuyu’s hand away and let her keep clutching her clothes.

As long as the two sisters weren’t fighting, Xie Hui didn’t interfere with how they got along. Trying to mediate would only stir up more trouble.

That New Year’s Day, they wore the bright red cotton jackets and delicate tiger-head hats their aunt had sent from abroad.

With their delicate features and soft, fair skin, the festive outfits made them look even more adorable and heartwarming.

During the New Year’s Eve dinner, Xie Hui invited the remaining staff to join them. He lifted the two little ones onto high chairs so everyone could sit together.

Since their digestion was still good, while the adults drank alcohol and soft drinks, Xie Hui had the chef prepare a small cup of freshly squeezed juice for each of them and placed it within reach.

When it was time to toast, the villa’s staff played along and each clinked glasses with the two little ones.

The adults had hotpot for dinner, steam rising and spicy aroma filling the air, making the two little brats’ noses turn red from the heat.

After dinner, while the staff cleaned up the living room, Xie Hui took the girls out to the backyard.

The city had a fireworks ban, so even on New Year’s Day, things were quiet. The trees and pavilion in the yard were strung with twinkling lights, creating a beautiful scene.

After playing with them for a while, considering how young they were, Xie Hui didn’t make them stay up late. He noticed Jinjin’s little hand was cold, so he took them upstairs.

In their room, two cribs were set up. Xie Hui sat with them on the carpet and handed each of them a thick red envelope he had prepared in advance.

Yuyu had no idea what it was. She stared at the cartoon tiger on the envelope for a long time, then opened her mouth wide and tried to bite it.

Thankfully, Xie Hui quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

Yuyu looked at the culprit holding her arm.

“Ah? Ya?”

Jinjin held her red envelope in one hand and was already using the other to try picking it open, seemingly curious about how much money was inside.

After struggling with it for a while and getting nowhere, she stuffed it into her clothes. Noticing both Xie Hui and Yuyu staring at her, she widened her eyes.

Then she snapped out of it and started yelling fiercely at Xie Hui.

“Rawr!”

Next to her, Yuyu mimicked her sister and began calling out to Xie Hui in her soft baby voice.

“Wuuu~”

“Rawr—”

“Wuuu~”

Xie Hui listened as Jinjin finished her growl and Yuyu immediately followed up with a wail. He rubbed his temples helplessly.

These two were certainly lively, but when they got together, they could be an absolute handful.

After giving them a bath and changing them into pajamas, he laid them in their cribs. It didn’t take long before their breathing evened out and they drifted off to sleep.

On the first day of the New Year, there weren’t many people to visit, but a few business partners stopped by to deliver gifts and pay their respects.

Seeing the two little ones still dressed in their red jackets and tiger-head hats, everyone couldn’t help but praise them.

Festive and adorable, they could charm even the most stoic middle-aged uncles—and they ended up receiving a few red envelopes, too.

In the days spent at home, just keeping up with these two deceptively sweet but secretly chaotic little troublemakers drained most of Xie Hui’s energy.

While watching cartoons, Xie Hui sat on the sofa with one little one on each side, both initially sitting obediently.

But before long, they ended up flopping down, using Xie Hui’s arm as a pillow for their chins.

Xie Hui looked to his left, then to his right. Both of them seemed to think this was a great position.

Thankfully, the cartoon was only eight minutes long—specifically designed for babies this age—so he didn’t have to worry about his arms going numb.

On the thirteenth day of the New Year, Yuan Huan returned from her hometown, and the two little brats, who had gotten used to Xie Hui, immediately clung back to her.

If it had been just one of them suddenly not sticking to him anymore, Xie Hui might’ve felt a bit disappointed.

But with both of these noisy little devils off bothering someone else, Xie Hui let out a huge sigh of relief.

The company gradually returned to business as usual, and the villa became lively again.

Sometimes, at Xie Hui’s request, Yuan Huan would bring the two kids to the office. The tatami mat in Xie Hui’s office was already piled with toys.

The break room now had two cribs as well.

As the weather warmed, the kids—who had once looked like round little balls in their winter clothes—started wearing lighter outfits, making it easier for them to move around and also get into more mischief.

What gave Xie Hui a bit of a headache was the patchy hair on Jinjin’s head. It was always just those few tufts—her bald little head, though still cute with tiny pigtails, was still a cause for concern.

They’d gone to the hospital to check, and there was nothing wrong. She was just… bald.

As the weather got warm enough for them to go without hats, the contrast between her and other kids her age became stark.

Even Yuan Huan sometimes looked like she wanted to yank a handful of her own daughter’s hair and stick it on Jinjin’s head.

These days, Xie Hui’s favorite after-work activity was teaching Jinjin how to walk. With his hands under her armpits, she would instinctively start moving her legs.

Sometimes, when no one was helping her, she’d try to stand on her own, wobbling while holding onto the wall.

Not only was she determined to learn to walk herself, but she also kept urging Yuyu to start walking too.

Yuyu, however, was a bit lazy and quite content just sitting.

While Jinjin was fussing and demanding Yuan Huan help her practice walking, Yuyu would sit nearby, happily chewing on her beef jerky.

Sometimes, when Jinjin managed to walk a long way, Yuyu would even clap along enthusiastically.

That day, Xie Hui had just returned to the villa and set down his briefcase when he saw Jinjin in the living room, trying hard to pull Yuyu up from the carpet.

Yuyu, who had been sitting there quietly, babbled a couple of sounds, then simply lay down and refused to move—clearly saying no.

Xie Hui found the scene rather amusing and stood there watching.

Eventually, even the usually good-tempered Yuyu seemed to lose her patience. When Jinjin sat down to rest, Yuyu reached over, pushed her down, and climbed on top of her, pinning her so she couldn’t get up.

Jinjin clearly hadn’t expected her normally well-behaved little sister to do something like that. Her eyes went wide in surprise.

It wasn’t until Yuan Huan noticed what was happening that she stepped in and picked Yuyu up.

Seeing that her employer had returned as well, and recalling how her daughter had just bullied her sister, Yuan Huan’s expression turned stern.

“Yuyu, how could you just throw yourself on your sister like that? She’s barely wearing anything—what if you hurt her?”

Yuyu, startled by the sudden scolding, looked up at her mother in confusion.

“Ya?”

Just then, Jinjin came to her senses too. She grabbed onto something for support, stood up, and hugged the hand Yuan Huan had placed on Yuyu’s shoulder.

“Ee-ya, ya-wa.”