Chapter 32

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The photograph had been taken at the orphanage. The girl stood beside a window, sunlight dancing around her and spilling a faint golden radiance over her slender, delicate frame, wrapping her in a hazy halo.

The simple white dress only accentuated her pure and noble air, making her look almost like an angel descended to earth with blessings in her wake.

The sheer force of her beauty was overwhelming. Even Jin Yuchuan, who had seen countless beautiful women, felt his heart give an involuntary start.

Nansheng noticed something was wrong and asked in confusion, “Sir Jin, what is it?”

Jin Yuchuan barely managed to collect himself. His attention had been caught by the girl’s eyes.

They were bright and lively, like the eyes of a fawn—adorable beyond words.

And so remarkably similar to Madam Mu’s.

Jin Yuchuan marveled inwardly, yet he was equally perplexed.

When the Mu family’s daughter had vanished all those years ago, they had mobilized nearly every available resource in an attempt to find her, but all efforts had ended in failure. Many had guessed that the young heiress had met with some misfortune long ago.

The blow had been too much for Madam Mu. She had lost her mind, sinking into melancholy day after day until she developed depression.

Now that the girl had suddenly been found, the circumstances already seemed unreasonable enough. Why, then, had they entrusted such an important young lady to an outsider like him?

If Mu Yiheng had deliberately found someone to comfort Madam Mu’s longing for her daughter, that explanation was far too contrived.

So much time had passed. Madam Mu’s emotions had long since eased, and this girl was so strikingly similar to her…

Jin Yuchuan pondered for a long while, but still could not make sense of it.

Yet since Mu Yiheng did not seem particularly concerned, there was no need for him to dwell on the matter.

…

Inside the hospital room, the person on the bed sat up.

Ye Chunxi had one long leg drawn up, her elbow resting casually on her knee. A strip of fair, delicate skin showed above her lower back, impossible to ignore.

The wound on her head irritated her nerves, drawing her willow brows into a slight frown.

The moment Jin Yuchuan entered, he saw her unruly posture, and his expression shifted faintly.

She looked utterly different from the sweet, charming girl in the photograph.

Up close, one could catch traces of an unmistakable defiance beneath the beautiful, expressionless face.

Jin Yuchuan raised a brow and called softly, “Ye Chunxi.”

His voice was as cool and distant as ever, rich and restrained, carrying a touch of crystalline clarity.

Ye Chunxi’s curled fingers clenched tightly, trembling ever so slightly as though she were enduring something.

The sudden sound had caused a faint strain on her nerves.

Then, without warning, a crisp scent of pine drifted into her nose. Bitter and cool, yet touched with a hint of sweetness, it unexpectedly calmed her.

Only then did Ye Chunxi raise her head and look toward the tall figure beside her.

He stood straight and elegant, his refined suit accentuating his aloof air.

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Slowly, she tilted her head back. Before her was a face flawless to the point of perfection.

A pair of narrow-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his straight nose.

The frames cast slender shadows on either side of his nose. Beneath the lenses, his eyes were deep-set and faintly weary, his dark pupils lowered ever so slightly, their sharpness restrained.

His cool, pale complexion matched the innate nobility and reserve that seemed to lie in his very bones. A chill clung to him. In the stuffy surroundings, it made people want to draw near, yet the forbidding aura of an untouchable alpine flower compelled them to retreat in silence.

Ye Chunxi stared at him, momentarily dazed.

Jin Yuchuan merely glanced at her before looking away again.

After hesitating for a long time, he asked with measured restraint, “How do you feel?”

Ye Chunxi did not answer. She simply gazed at him in silence.

A faint shimmer of tears stirred in her round, bright, fawnlike eyes.

“Big brother…”

Her red lips pressed together lightly. Those two simple words carried an emotion too difficult to describe.

Jin Yuchuan froze for a moment as he studied her, an indescribable sense of strangeness rising within him.

According to the attending physician, her memories of personal relationships were confused. She did not know who her parents were and could not say whether she had any friends.

So why had she suddenly called him her brother?

The doctor had also been surprised when he heard about it. Yet no matter how many times they asked Ye Chunxi, she insisted that Jin Yuchuan was her brother.

An eerie silence settled over the hospital room.

Who was Jin Yuchuan?

He was the all-powerful magnate of Jincheng, a man who could cover the sky with one hand.

Who would not want to build a connection with him?

But the young girl had lost her memory. She might not recognize him—but matters involving the wealthy and powerful were never so easy to judge.

As the doctor considered this, a magnetic voice came from behind him, carrying a faint chill.

“You said earlier that she knows nothing about her family?”

The doctor felt a little uneasy, but quickly composed himself.

“She may have suffered some kind of shock before the brain injury, causing her to mistake you for her brother. Once the subconscious accepts something as fact, the mind naturally treats it as reality.”

A shock?

Jin Yuchuan frowned, recalling the scene of the accident.

No one from the Mu family remained in Jincheng, and the road happened to lead toward the highway.

Yanjing was not far from Jincheng. She must have been on her way back to the Mu family.

And when he had gone over to investigate, Ye Chunxi had not been completely unconscious…

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The pieces of the situation were gradually beginning to fit together.

The doctor advised, “The patient is extremely fragile at the moment. If you overturn what she has already accepted as fact, it may cause her memories to become confused again. Her understanding will have to be corrected gradually.”

Jin Yuchuan gave a slight nod. “I understand.”

Yet inside, he was unusually conflicted.

His fingers tightened around his phone. He was about to leave.

But just as he turned, he suddenly heard a lively voice, anxious and flustered.

“Big brother, I want to go home.”

Jin Yuchuan stopped and looked at her again.

Because of her identity, he did not respond to her directly.

“You’ve just had surgery. Stay in the hospital and rest properly.”

The words were flat and devoid of emotion, yet they sent Ye Chunxi’s heart plunging into icy depths.

…

The moment he left the hospital room, Jin Yuchuan called Mu Yiheng. There was no answer.

He sent a message instead:

This concerns your sister. Call me back immediately.

Nansheng glanced around warily. Seeing no one nearby, he moved closer and asked in a low voice, “Sir Jin, the Crow has confirmed Miss Mu’s identity. But given the situation now…”

Jin Yuchuan’s voice was low. “It’s only temporary amnesia. There’s still a chance she’ll recover.”

Nansheng understood, but looked troubled. “Then what about the Mu family…”

“They know where they stand.”

If they truly cared about their daughter, they would not forcefully take her back.

Jin Yuchuan had spent so many years searching for her. With hope so scarce, there was no way he could let go.

The current director of the orphanage was the former director’s younger son.

When the old director was still alive, Ye Chunxi had met him several times.

Once, she happened to overhear a conversation between the two men.

The current director was facing financial difficulties and wanted his father to help resolve them.

But the orphanage was a charitable institution, and it could continue operating only through public donations.

The old director devoted himself to caring for the children in the orphanage during the day. At night, he even made time to boil tea eggs himself.

Aside from the fixed number he kept for the children, he would rise early each morning, braving the cold and the gray light before dawn to set up a stall and sell the rest. He did everything he could to secure a little more money for the orphanage, no matter how small the contribution.