Twins

"Vacation?"

In the school infirmary, An Shiyu looked slightly surprised when Ye Shuang invited her on a trip. "Uncle, are we really that close now? Skipping dating and marriage to go straight to a honeymoon?"

"How cruel, reaping the rewards without putting in the effort."

Ye Shuang tapped her back with a pen, causing the girl to flinch like a startled fish.

"What was that for?"

"Who said it’s just the two of us?"

"Tsk… you’re planning to bring another girl too? Ouch."

As the two bantered, Ye Shuang’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen—it was Fugui calling.

"Hey, Fugui?"

"Ohoho, Little Shuangshuang~ Yuyou told me she ranked eighth in the exam!" Aunt Li’s voice chirped from the other end.

"Yeah, she’s improved a lot." Ye Shuang nodded. Even he hadn’t expected such results. This was a crucial exam, equivalent to college entrance tests, where every third-year student had poured their all into it.

Leaving aside anomalies like An Shiyu, Bai Yuyou’s remarkable progress spoke volumes about her dedication.

"Aren’t you going to reward her?" Aunt Li teased.

"I’ll cook a feast tonight. As for the reward—" Ye Shuang paused briefly. "I’ll ask her myself. By the way, did Chen Qin mention the vacation to you?"

"She did! I could use a nice tan~"

"Great. Drop by tonight if you’re free." After a short chat, he hung up.

Turning back to An Shiyu, he continued, "About the trip—"

"Not going."

"Wouldn’t it be nice to get away for a bit?" Ye Shuang smiled.

"Besides, Yuyou would want you there. You’re good friends, after all."

"Good friends?" An Shiyu seemed to find the term strange. She fell silent, gazing out the window, her fingers unusually still on the game controller. After a moment, she suddenly asked,

"What do you think friends are?"

"People who share your joys and sorrows."

"Maybe." An Shiyu murmured. "But I don’t like bringing sadness to others."

"Why would you bring sadness?" Ye Shuang chuckled.

An Shiyu didn’t answer. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, her bangs shadowing calm eyes.

"You already know, don’t you?"

"Staying happy is important. And…" Ye Shuang was well aware of An Shiyu’s congenital heart condition.

"With your grandfather’s resources, can’t he find a suitable donor?" he asked.

For ordinary people, a heart transplant was nearly impossible. But for someone like An Shiyu’s grandfather, it shouldn’t be an issue—even if a "perfect match" had to conveniently appear.

For once, An Shiyu didn’t joke. She replied flatly, "My body rejects transplants aggressively. Even if a hundred donors lined up, putting one in me would be suicide."

"Unless—"

She trailed off, then shook her head. "Well, doesn’t matter anymore."

Curling up on the sofa, she hugged her knees, looking small and fragile.

Ye Shuang: "..."

The atmosphere suddenly grew awkward. Ye Shuang glanced at the girl and decided to change the subject.

"Coming over for dinner tonight?"

"What a hassle… don’t feel like it," the other replied lazily.

"I can make something you like," Ye Shuang said.

"Why the sudden kindness?" An Shiyu tilted her head slightly, as if raising an eyebrow. "If it’s pity, save it. I don’t need anyone’s sympathy."

"No, I just want Bai Yuyou to make more friends. With your difficult personality, she can learn how to deal with troublesome people," Ye Shuang said with a smile.

"Tch." An Shiyu turned back to the screen, where her in-game character had already died, idly standing by a bonfire. The girl muttered,

"Add more dishes."

"Fine."

As An Shiyu kept playing, she noticed Ye Shuang’s gaze lingering on her. She turned her head with a strange expression.

"What are you staring at? Finally unable to hold back your wolfish desires?"

"No, I have a question for you." Ye Shuang’s expression turned serious.

"What?"

"Do you have a twin sister?"

An Shiyu’s fingers paused briefly before resuming the game, not even turning her head. "Why do you ask?"

"It just feels off. Like when you jumped out the window and reappeared behind me seconds later… and then there’s Keke’s situation. Even if you flew a plane there, there’s no way you could’ve found her so precisely."

Ye Shuang recalled past events, growing increasingly convinced that An Shiyu’s abilities were beyond normal. The only plausible explanation was that she had a twin sister.

"No matter how I think about it, it’s too strange. The only logical answer is that you have a twin."

"Ah, you’ve figured it out." An Shiyu sighed dramatically. "But you only got half of it right. It’s actually the An family’s forbidden secret technique—the Advanced Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Even the renowned Five-Star General Mc Naruto used this move to dominate the ninja world for years…"

Ye Shuang: "..."

Could you make it any more ridiculous?

"Fine, fine. It’s actually a clone. Call it the Misaka Shiyu Clone Project, designed to help my ninjutsu break through to the legendary Level 6… Ow!" A karate chop landed on her head, and An Shiyu clutched it, glaring.

"Hit me again, and I’ll hang you from that crooked tree at school!"

"Whatever. If you don’t want to say, I’ll just assume it’s true." Ye Shuang decided not to press further—it was her privacy, after all. But then—

[Character: An Shiyu

Congenital heart disease patient. Seems to harbor some strange feelings toward you…]

The information in the window had changed slightly after their conversation. Even the upper right corner now displayed an inverted purple clock, starkly different from the usual design.

Did this mean he could see events from a specific point in An Shiyu’s past?

Ye Shuang slowly averted his gaze. He didn’t have enough saved time to access it anyway.

This young girl before him likely held countless secrets in her past, but he had no right to pry into them.

So, it was better to leave the time to Yu You.