âIt was my fault, Lu Yi,â said He Yibin. He didnât know how to tell Lu Yi.
Lu Yiâs eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the baby girl. She was so small it made his heart ache.
Suddenly, he took a step forward, his eyes darkening. âDonât tell me sheâs my daughter?â
Old Master Lu and Lu Jinâs eyes widened.
The smile on He Yibinâs face was wistful, and a little hideous.
âGood deduction. As expected of the analytical Prosecutor Lu.â
âSheâs my granddaughter?â gasped Lu Jin, pointing at the pitiful baby girl. Wasnât it twins? Why were there three?
âSheâs my great-granddaughter?â Old Master Luâs head buzzed. He would have fallen to the ground had Lu Jin not caught him in time. Tears welled up in his eyes. This was his great-granddaughter! The only girl in the Lu bloodline in a century!
âYes,â He Yibin nodded. âThe shy girl had been hiding behind her brothers, and none of us had noticed her until now. She has intrauterine growth restriction, and the boys had been taking most of the nutrients. With Yan Huanâs health, it was hard for her to survive in the first place.â
Lu Yi placed his hand on the glass of the incubator and took a good look at his daughterâtheir daughterâfor the first time. She was so small. At times, she coughed, and every cough nearly stopped her breathing.
Lu Yiâs eyes reddened. He couldnât stop the tears.
âYibin, you have to save my great-granddaughter,â pleaded Old Master Lu, grabbing a corner of He Yibinâs clothes. âOur family hasnât seen a girl in 150 years! This girl, you have to save her! Please, I beg you!â
Old Master Luâs heart wrenched at the sight of the translucent child that was his great-granddaughter. He had waited forever for this great-granddaughter. Why must she be sentenced to death right after birth?
âRest assured, Old Master Lu. We will save her,â He Yibin consoled the old man, though he wasnât the least bit confident to back up his words.
Promises donât save lives!
How can a baby this light survive?
Putting the doctorsâ abilities aside, the survival of the child very much depended on its own will to live.
Yan Huan opened her eyes. She wasnât entirely sure where she was, or what had happened. The sharp pain from her belly drove her to the brink of tears.
Her eyes were dull and unfocused.
Something stirred in her vision. Someone was standing before her. She blinked hard. Her vision cleared up, but her heart remained empty and painful.
A man was standing before her.
She wondered what he would say to her.
Serves you right, probably.
Where had she heard this line before? She stared at him, and he stared back at her, unblinking.
He approached her, a step at a time, and reached out. Was he an angel, or a devil?
Was he here to kill her?
She said nothing. To her surprise, she realized she wasnât afraid.
Her thoughts and her soul seemed to be telling her that the man wouldnât hurt her.
Lu Yi...
Lu Yi?
What a familiar name.
Why was her mind so fuzzy?
âAwake?â A hand touched her face. âAre you hurting anywhere? Iâll get the doctor.â
âLu Yi...â croaked Yan Huan with a tinge of uncertainty. She paused. She could almost hear the thumping of her beating heart.
Thump, thump...
Her memories were returning...
She was Yan Huan, who had died and been reborn...
âWhatâs wrong?â Lu Yi hunkered down to eye level. âYou have been asleep for a day and a night straight.â
He stroked Yan Huanâs face. âYou just went through an operation, so you canât eat yet. On the bright side, youâll be able to eat whatever you want later on.â
Yan Huan suddenly sniffed and put his large hand on her face. âI had a dream.â
âWhat kind of dream?â asked Lu Yi, his eyes aglitter with amusement, behind which he hid wounds only he knew.
Yan Huanâs eyelashes drooped. She looked up and smiled.
âI dreamt that I was the me in my previous life, where no one loved or cherished me.â
âThat life is over, no?â Lu Yi pressed his large hand against her forehead. âLook at how everyoneâs lives have changed! Yours, mine, and Dadâs.â
âI know,â said Yan Huan, closing her eyes. The pain in her belly persisted, but it was more tolerable than before.
She didnât remember much about the operation, except for the familiar exclaim uttered by the doctor: âSheâs losing too much blood!â
He was always the one to give her blood, whether in the previous or current life.
The difference was she was alive, and he was there beside her.
âHow are the babies doing?â Yan Huan had regained her senses and deduced that she had already given birth from the flatness of her belly.
âYes, both of the boys are doing well,â said Lu Yi, sitting down and telling Yan Huan about the babies. He consciously made no mention about their feather-light daughter.
According to He Yibin, she was too small to have a chance at survival. For Yan Huan who had just undergone an operation, this would no doubt be too heavy to bear.
Their elder son was 3.9 grams, and the second son 4.6 grams. They were light by normal standards, but considered normal for twins. Despite being underweight, the two babies ate heartily, slept soundly, and were healthy in every other aspect.