Ye Jin sat on the bed. He didn’t know what to do, and there was nothing he could do. With one leg missing, he couldn’t go anywhere.
More importantly, the invisible pain from the severed area constantly lingered in his heart, making his remaining thigh tremble involuntarily. The pain wasn’t fatal, but it was as uncomfortable as scratching at his heart and lungs. Sometimes it was intense, sometimes it disappeared.
That woman hadn’t appeared for a long time. Or rather, after putting him in this room, she had vanished. He didn’t know what she was doing.
He still couldn’t understand why he was here, who this woman was, where his mother and father had gone, where Elder Sister had gone. He couldn’t understand any of it. More importantly, why had he become like this—his throat hoarse, his leg broken, turned into a cripple…
Tears slid down silently. He felt terrible, not just physically, but emotionally. Just a moment ago in his memory, he had been playing happily at home, and the next moment, this had happened.
Creak!
The sudden sound startled Ye Jin. His body trembled involuntarily. An inexplicable fear lingered at the tip of his heart, making him swallow unconsciously!
The door was pushed open, and the woman walked in, holding a bag in her hand. She tossed the bag aside casually, then turned her gaze to the little thing.
“Hmm? You just recovered, why aren’t you lying in bed? What’s the meaning of sitting like this?”
Ye Jin bit his lip instinctively, wanting to speak, but suddenly remembered he couldn’t make a sound anymore. He lowered his head.
“Little thing, you really scared me. If something happened to you, I would have lost big time! After all, I spent 5 million to buy you.”
‘Bought for 5 million?!’ Ye Jin widened his eyes, looking at her in confusion.
“I know you have amnesia and don’t believe what I say, so I specially went to find evidence.” She took the bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out something that looked like a document. “This is your auction record. I really paid 5 million. Here are the invoice and payment record. You can take a look.”
Ye Jin took it with trembling fingers. ‘Had he really been sold? But why? What about Elder Sister? What about Mother and Father?’
“You must be curious now why you were sold? Actually, it’s very simple. Because you aren’t your parents’ biological son. You’re a fake, a Fake Young Master!”
Ye Jin looked up in shock. Gu Qingyuan calmly pulled out more evidence—some photos and documents. In the photos, there was an unfamiliar boy, snuggling next to Ye Jin’s parents.
“This boy is called Jiang Yu. He is the real True Young Master. After he was found, your family ignored you, and gradually your presence at home became weaker and weaker! Moreover, that Jiang Yu targeted you everywhere, framed you in various ways. Everyone thought you were hurting him. You couldn’t defend yourself, and in the end, everyone disliked you.”
Ignoring the little thing’s shocked and confused expression, Gu Qingyuan continued unhurriedly: “Speaking of which, you were foolish back then. You actually thought running away from home would get their attention, but ended up being caught by your Elder Sister. Your Elder Sister was ruthless enough. After she learned that you had bullied her real brother, to take revenge on you, she didn’t hesitate to cut off your leg, poison your throat, and throw you into the Young Slave Pavilion. I bought you from that place. At the time, I saw you were pitiful and looked decent, so I bought you.”
Gu Qingyuan didn’t blush or flinch; her tone was casual, as if she were talking about something completely ordinary. Ye Jin shook his head tremblingly. He didn’t believe what she said, but the photos in his hand were so real.
“I know you don’t believe me. Then take a look at this!” Gu Qingyuan pulled out another stack of photos. These were clearly from a funeral. They included people Ye Jin recognized—Elder Sister, Mother, Father, and even the so-called True Young Master Jiang Yu. And they were all standing in front of a tombstone, and the name engraved on it was his.
“That’s right. To cover up the fact that she sold you to the Young Slave Pavilion, your Elder Sister faked your death! Oh, right. You shouldn’t be called Ye Jin anymore. I’ve given you a new name: Su Ling. I went to great lengths to have someone register this new name. How does it sound? Good or not, I’ve been calling you that for a long time. Does it sound familiar?”
Su Ling was stunned. The moment the name was spoken, he instinctively responded, as if it really were his name. ‘Could everything she said be true? But… why would Elder Sister do this to him? Cut off his leg and destroy his voice? Why? She had been so gentle with him. Why…’
“Don’t be sad. Isn’t your Master here? Since I bought you, of course I’ll take responsibility for you. But you can’t run away. I paid a lot to buy you. If you run away, I’ll lose money!”
Gu Qingyuan reached out and tightly pulled the little thing into her arms. Su Ling smelled the pleasant scent on her and silently gave up the idea of resisting. Besides, he really was very sad right now and wanted someone to comfort him.
“I arranged a Hand Sign Teacher for you before, but now that you have amnesia, I’ll have to teach you sign language again. I also had your throat checked earlier. There’s already a good treatment plan. We’ll try treating it in a while. If it can be cured, that would be best. As for your leg, I really can’t do anything about that. Maybe later I can get you a prosthetic.”
Su Ling lowered his head. He didn’t know what to say. Why was this woman being so good to him? Just because she bought him? She called herself his master, which seemed correct, since she bought him. But deep down, he still felt some inexplicable resistance.
Suddenly, Su Ling felt something strange. The inside of his thigh felt itchy, as if something lightly brushed against it. He glanced sideways and saw a furry, tail-like thing. He couldn’t help reaching out to grab it, but the moment he grasped the tail, he was startled!
Two completely different sensations came from different places. One was the furry, soft feeling from his hand; the other came from the tail—a slight numbness where he held it.
“Don’t play with the tail. If you keep playing, you’ll go into heat again. Cats are prone to going into heat. You can’t rest easy even for a day.”
‘Cat?’ Su Ling looked at her in confusion, his small eyes full of unease.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Qingyuan seemed to be asking, but her hand was already on Su Ling’s cat ear. Su Ling’s body stiffened. The numbing sensation was even stronger than from the tail.
“Your Elder Sister did this to you too. She turned you into a half-beast. That’s also why a cripple like you could be sold for 5 million. Don’t move. Let me touch a little more.”
Su Ling stared at her blankly. He wanted to ask why Elder Sister had done this. But… she had already told him.
‘Elder Sister. A person who smiled at him tenderly appeared in Su Ling’s mind. No, Elder Sister wouldn’t do this to him. It must, it must be fake!’