Chapter 106: Genetically Speaking, She Cannot Be Her Mother

"Miss Jiang, you must be starving. Please, eat."

Yin Ruyun had already scooped a bowl of rice for Jiang Ciyou and handed her a pair of chopsticks, along with a bottle of coconut juice.

Jiang Ciyou sat down without standing on ceremony. "It looks delicious."

She picked up a piece of braised pork belly and put it in her mouth. After chewing for a few moments, a look of genuine surprise and delight flashed in her eyes. "It's incredibly delicious. This is the best braised pork I've ever had."

It really was delicious—even better than what Bo Jinxiu made.

A warm smile spread across Yin Ruyun's face. "Xiaoxiao never liked my cooking. She used to say that no matter how good it looked, it always tasted like poverty." She sighed as she finished speaking.

But almost immediately, Yin Ruyun realized how inappropriate it was to say such a thing right now, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

Jiang Ciyou, however, didn't seem to mind. She smiled and said, "I've dined at almost all the high-end restaurants in Rong City, yet I've never tasted food better than yours."

A strange warmth welled up in Yin Ruyun's heart.

The two of them began to eat. Yin Ruyun was clearly walking on eggshells around Jiang Ciyou, not even daring to serve food onto her plate. She merely urged her to eat more from time to time.

Jiang Ciyou drank two bowls of chicken soup. Today, she had truly eaten her fill.

Setting down her chopsticks, Jiang Ciyou said, "Thank you. That was a very satisfying meal."

Yin Ruyun was visibly delighted. "I'm glad you liked it. If you ever crave it in the future, you're welcome to come over anytime."

Jiang Ciyou's expression shifted slightly. She looked at Yin Ruyun with calm, steady eyes.

Yin Ruyun thought she had said the wrong thing and quickly explained, "Or you don't have to come. I didn't mean to force a connection with you."

"May I ask you a question?"

Yin Ruyun looked at Jiang Ciyou. "Go ahead."

"Why did you swap Jiang Xiaoxiao and me? Why did you abandon me?"

Over the past three years, Jiang Ciyou had conducted a thorough investigation into Yin Ruyun. She had an excellent reputation among her neighbors, friends, and even the employers she had worked for as a nanny. In everyone's eyes, Yin Ruyun was an exceptionally kind, loving, and resilient woman who bore her hardships with grace and wisdom.

Why would a woman like her abandon her own child?

Was it truly because of a grudge from the older generation? Or was it Yin Ruyun's revenge against Yao Shulan? Or perhaps she wanted her own daughter to live a life of luxury in a wealthy family?

Jiang Ciyou had pondered many possible answers.

Yin Ruyun lowered her head and fell into a long silence, fighting hard to hold back her tears. Just when Jiang Ciyou thought she wouldn't get an answer, Yin Ruyun finally raised her head.

"You might not believe me, but I never intended to swap you and Xiaoxiao. I had absolutely no knowledge of the baby switch."

Hearing this, the heavy stone weighing on Jiang Ciyou's heart finally lifted. Yes, she had considered this possibility before.

There was another possibility.

Jiang Ciyou said, "It was Zhao Dacheng, wasn't it? Zhao Dacheng swapped us, and he never told you."

Yin Ruyun's eyes welled with tears. She had never spoken of this to anyone. Only Jiang Xiaoxiao knew. But Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't care about that; what she cared about was that her status as a wealthy heiress had been stolen. What she cared about was that her bright future and splendid life had been completely ruined by this couple.

So Jiang Xiaoxiao hated them fiercely. From the moment she found out she was the true daughter of the Jiang family, she wanted to sever all ties with them.

Yin Ruyun nodded. "You and Xiaoxiao were both born at the Hemei Maternity Center. It was a high-end private hospital. The only reason I was able to give birth there was because I worked there as a nurse's aide. The director was kind-hearted and let me give birth there free of charge.

"However, on the day you and Xiaoxiao were born, a lot of things happened. The high-end hospital fell into complete chaos, and many staff members were sent elsewhere. This gave Zhao Dacheng his opportunity.

"He was working as a security guard at the hospital back then and knew the layout inside out. He used his position to turn off all the security cameras. Because they were short-staffed that day, only one nurse was left in the newborn nursery. While she was busy bathing another baby, he swapped your wristband with Xiaoxiao's."

Hearing this, Jiang Ciyou understood everything. She asked, "So, when did you find out?"

Yin Ruyun replied, "Xiaoxiao went to a private high school in the Capital. She ended up offending some people and was kicked with a high heel, which ruptured her spleen. She was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Since she needed a blood transfusion, I looked at her medical chart. I discovered she had Type B blood. But both Zhao Dacheng and I are Type A. How could two Type A parents have a child with Type B blood?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ciyou's pupils dilated. A look of utter disbelief flashed in her eyes. "You and Zhao Dacheng are both Type A?"

Yin Ruyun nodded. "Yes. Zhao Dacheng and I actually grew up together as neighbors in our hometown. When we got married, we had premarital checkups, and the reports showed we were both Type A."

A tempest raged in Jiang Ciyou's heart. Her blood type was the rare Rh-negative AB. Genetically speaking, it was absolutely impossible for two Type A parents to have a child with her blood type.

Jiang Ciyou tried her best to calm herself down. She continued, "Which means you knew Xiaoxiao wasn't your child back when she was in high school?"

"At first, I thought it was just an accidental mix-up at the hospital. But then Zhao Dacheng confessed to me. He admitted he had intentionally swapped the Jiang family's daughter, aiming to switch them back when they grew up. That way, whether it was the child he raised or his biological child, he could extract benefits from both. He only wanted to use the two girls as cash machines.

"So, even after you learned the truth, you didn't tell Jiang Xiaoxiao, did you?"

Yin Ruyun let out a deep sigh. "I was deeply conflicted, so I didn't tell her right away. I felt that since more than a decade had passed and both of you were on your own paths, switching back might not be a good thing. Besides, knowing Xiaoxiao's personality, if she found out she was the daughter of a wealthy family, she would have left me without a backward glance. I had my own selfish reasons."

Yin Ruyun's eyes quickly dimmed. "But I received my retribution."

Jiang Ciyou knew that the retribution Yin Ruyun spoke of was the exposure of the truth. Jiang Xiaoxiao had indeed done exactly as Yin Ruyun feared, leaving for the Jiang family without looking back and sever all ties with her. At the very beginning, even though Xiaoxiao knew Yin Ruyun had acted in self-defense, she refused to testify in court, leading to Yin Ruyun being sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's heartlessness was her retribution.