Chapter 3: Getting Away with It
“Little Yu?”
After taking a moment to gaze at the long-haired figure at the door, Xia Hong, Xia Yu’s father, asked incredulously.
Indeed, Xia Yu hadn’t had her hair trimmed for over half a year, so it was rather long—long enough for a boy, at least.
“Dad… I’m back.”
Seeing her dad after over a year, Xia Yu felt a bit excited, but she managed to suppress it.
“Did you eat already?”
“Nope~”
Upon hearing this, Xia Hong nodded and calmly said, “Good that you’re here. Since you didn’t eat yet, go get some food from the kitchen. Tell us how you came back.”
After a brief chat, Xia Yu went to the kitchen to get food then returned to the living room to have dinner with her family.
During the meal, Xia Yu was inevitably bombarded with questions from her relatives. She answered them one by one, but hid some details—like being part of a science experiment—since she didn’t want her family to think of her as a freak.
With relief, Xia Yu’s family congratulated her on her good luck at finding kind people who rescued her and safely sent her home.
In this household, Xia Yu’s status wasn’t high because she had an older brother, Xia Le, and a younger sister, Xia Ling, whom the grandparents favored more. Xia Le was the eldest son, and Xia Ling was their only daughter.
But because of her lower position in the family, Xia Yu could easily evade questions about her experiment.
After washing the dishes, Xia Yu went upstairs to her room to fetch some old clothes for a bath since her and her siblings’ rooms were on the second floor, while their parents’ room was on the third.
This house indicated that the Xia family wasn’t poor; they even had a bit of wealth. Xia Hong, Xia Yu’s father, worked as a manager at a company, so he could afford to build the house. However, he was still working hard to save for a car, which they didn’t have yet.
Why did Xia Yu take old clothes? Blame Grandma. The old lady didn’t like waste, so Xia Le’s cast-off clothes became Xia Yu’s. Xia Yu barely had any of her own clothes!
With an old outfit, Xia Yu headed to the bathroom. Six months had passed, but seeing her new organs made her feel shy each time.
After the bath, Xia Yu carefully packed her used patient clothes in a black plastic bag. She planned to throw away both the clothes and the unpleasant memories.
As the winter approached, the weather grew colder. Xia Yu had to drag out the quilts herself and make her bed, unlike Xia Le and Xia Ling who had their grandma helping.
After she set up her bed, Xia Yu noticed her twin sister, Xia Ling, come into her room.
“Little Ling, what’s up?” Xia Yu wondered, surprised. She thought Xia Ling should be watching TV or sleeping instead of coming to visit her.
Although Xia Le didn’t like Xia Yu, Xia Ling did. They were identical twins and enjoyed playing together. Isn’t it fun having someone exactly like yourself around?
