A few seconds later, Huo Zhenyang carried her down from the terrace.

Auntie Li had been waiting in the bedroom on the second floor, and hurried over as soon as she saw the young master carrying Miss Jiayi down.

Once in the bedroom, he placed Jiayi into the covers, straightened up with an expressionless face, his voice faint and indistinct of joy or anger, "Auntie Li, take good care of her."

Auntie Li said, "Yes, young master."

The man’s silhouette turned, and he left the girl’s bedroom.

With Auntie Li’s gentle comfort, Jiayi drank some milk and finally felt drowsy.

Auntie Li turned off the light and closed the door, leaving the room first.

In the dimly lit bedroom, there was a warm atmosphere.

Jiayi closed her eyes and gradually drifted into sleep.

Just then, the door made a slight "creak", and footsteps approached.

In her hazy consciousness, her eyelashes fluttered slightly.

She thought he had already gone back to his own room to rest, but she didn’t expect him to come over again.

She shifted slightly, "Why did you come over?"

She had assumed that after he had settled her, he would have gone to sleep.

In the darkness, he got close to her ear, countering, "Don’t you want me to come over?"

Under normal circumstances, she might reply that she didn’t want him to, and then push him away embarrassedly.

But today, she had to admit that she needed someone’s consolation.

Even if it was just silent company in the dark.

He understood, silence meant she had agreed.

A self-deprecating smile crept onto the man’s lips.

In the past, women had always schemed to get into his bed, when had he ever thought that he would be the one keeping company?

Seeing that he hadn’t spoken for a long time, she made small talk:

"...By the way, what did you go out for just now?"

In the darkness, Huo Zhenyang’s gloomy eyes flickered, he replied lightly, "Nothing much, just handled some business."

Saying this, he tentatively tried to embrace her.

In an instant, she envisioned the scene of Nie Yixiao and Chu Xinyu, intensely entangled, completely absorbed in each other!

"Yixiao...I love you..."

"Baby, me too..."

Feeling nauseous, as if her heart was also pulsating with pain, she curled up like a hedgehog, assuming a posture of self-defense!

He noticed her violent reaction, which seemed like a rejection of men.

His brows furrowed, he helped her sit up, gazing straight at her, "What’s wrong?"

Jiayi took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, "It’s nothing."

Seeing her like that, he had no more desire to pursue anything; his mood had disappeared too.

He had promised to treat her as an equal, to not confine her with the so-called contracts anymore, so he hadn’t forced her these days.

At this moment, he didn’t say much else and tucked her head into his chest, murmuring softly, "Go to sleep."

——*——

Two days later, the DNA test results came out.

Actually, even without looking at the report, Jiayi could have guessed the outcome.

The memories were too real, impossible to fake.

More genuine than the rapid advances of scientific identification.

The compatibility and similarity of her DNA with Chu Xinyu’s, proved that they shared a sisterly bond through their father.

The report laid open on the coffee table; Jiayi sat there, her pupils lifeless, as if she had lost focus.

Finally, a helpless and bitter smile spread across her lips.

It was now an irrefutable fact that she was indeed the daughter of the Chu Family from S Country.

But her experience wasn’t just as innocent as being the daughter of the Chu Family.

She could be the illegitimate daughter born from the family head of the Chu Family and a woman outside—the unwelcomed birth.

Illegitimate daughter, a term she had seen often in TV dramas and read about in newspapers.

But when it truly fell upon her, it was incredibly painful.

It signified that her birth was something shameful, unwelcome, even despised by others.

The shock of Chu Xinyu’s shrill voice in fragmentary memories from the previous night, calling her mother a vixen and her a wretched spawn, still echoed in her ears.

The black and white text of the DNA report seemed like a coldly sharp knife, and the moment her gaze fell upon it, Jiayi reflexively curled up on the sofa, covering her ears, as if someone was still pointing and scolding:

——You’re born of a vixen!

——Your mother is a cheap woman, and you are a little cheap woman!

——You should not have been born!

——Little wretch!

"Miss Jiayi..."

Lin Zixun, who had come to deliver the report, called out to her in concern when he noticed her distress.

She composed herself, but her complexion had already turned pale.

Heh, how ironic.

She had desperately sought her family, fantasized countless times about how warm and joyful her home would be, how loving and kind her parents...

Sometimes, she imagined her family or her parents would be like the Liang Family or Tang En’en.

Yet, reality dealt her a merciless slap!

Before finding her family, she desperately wanted to escape this place that wasn’t her own, to return to her family’s side.

But now that she had found them, she had no desire to go back at all.

Seeing her emotion stabilize a bit, Lin Zixun spoke softly:

"Miss Jiayi, the Boss said that although you and Chu Xinyu are indeed sisters, considering the current situation, it might not be a good choice for you to go back to the Chu Family to acknowledge your relations."

Her lips trembled slightly, it was an acerbic realization; would that family truly welcome her?