She Is Like a Breath of Spring - Chapter 1

It was high noon, and the morning’s final classes at Jinghe University had just ended. The campus was bustling as students swarmed toward the cafeteria. Since it was Friday, those without afternoon classes had already begun their pleasant weekends.

Jiang Yin walked in the opposite direction of the crowd with a backpack slung over one shoulder and head-mounted headphones playing a light, upbeat song.

“Jiang Yin! Jiang Yin!” Someone called from behind her twice, but the voices were swallowed by the noisy crowd. A girl ran a few steps to catch up and slapped a hand on Jiang Yin’s shoulder.

“I called you so many times!” The girl huffed, crossing her arms with a look of dissatisfaction.

Jiang Yin took off her headphones and looked helplessly at the person beside her, her roommate, Lin Shu.

“I was listening to music, I did not hear you.”

“Are you going back to the Jiang house?” Lin Shu asked, pointing toward the school gate.

“Yes, they want me to go back for a meal,” Jiang Yin said softly. “They said the Jiang family’s old matriarch specifically returned from abroad yesterday and wants to see me.”

“Sigh, the hand of fate is truly mysterious,” Lin Shu said, gazing toward the gate at the end of the tree-lined boulevard. “Not long ago, we were both penniless, but in the blink of an eye, you became the long-lost daughter of the wealthy Jiang family.”

She lowered her head and sighed, then patted Jiang Yin’s shoulder again with a look of firm expectation. “When you become rich, do not forget your old friends!”

Jiang Yin was amused. She swatted Lin Shu’s hand away with feigned disgust. “Fine, fine. When I come back next week, I will take you all to Yuanning Shopping Mall.”

“Great! Does the Eldest Young Lady need me to carry her things?” Lin Shu’s face brightened instantly. She immediately adopted a sycophantic expression and made a move to take Jiang Yin’s backpack.

“No need,” Jiang Yin asked with a smile. “Are you not going to eat yet?”

Lin Shu waved her phone. “I ordered takeout. I was just heading to the gate to pick it up.” She hooked her arm through Jiang Yin’s.

Jiang Yin nodded, and they walked toward the school gate together.

“How are you getting there? Is there a butler in a suit driving a luxury car to pick you up at the gate?” Lin Shu asked curiously.

“No,” Jiang Yin replied. “I am taking the bus myself. We agreed on dinner, so there is no rush.”

Lin Shu thought for a moment. “But the Jiang estate should be very far. It must take a long time to get there.”

She could probably guess why Jiang Yin did not want the Jiang family to pick her up. After glancing at Jiang Yin’s expression, Lin Shu swallowed the words she was about to say and offered comfort instead. “You will get used to each other eventually. It is only natural to feel like strangers since you have been apart for so long. If it were me, I would also take the bus myself.”

The person beside her did not speak. She simply turned and gave a look that said, “Do not worry.”

After the two parted at the school gate, Jiang Yin boarded a bus heading to the outskirts of the city. The Jiang family estate was located in a wealthy district on the outskirts of Jinghe City. She had to take a bus, transfer to the subway, and then take a taxi.

Although it was a hassle, Jiang Yin preferred wandering over like this rather than having the Jiang family send a dedicated car.

She rested her head against the bus window, watching the street scenery flash by. For a moment, she still felt a sense of unreality.

Just a week ago, she was a poor girl who needed bank loans to pay her tuition. Now, she had suddenly become the youngest daughter of the Jiang family, the most prominent clan in Jinghe City.

Nineteen years ago, a nanny employed by the Jiang family intended for her own daughter to enjoy wealth and prestige. She swapped her daughter with the three-month-old Jiang Yin. From then on, the nanny’s biological daughter became the wealthy heiress, while Jiang Yin was taken home by the nanny to live nineteen years of poverty.

The thought of this filled Jiang Yin with mixed emotions. Although Li Xiuning had swapped her, she had treated Jiang Yin as her own daughter for nineteen years. Despite their poverty, she had saved every penny to send her to school. Yet, if Li Xiuning had never harbored those evil thoughts, Jiang Yin would never have had to endure those hardships.

Her feelings toward Li Xiuning were complex, and she could not yet tell if it was love or hate. After a moment, Jiang Yin gave a self-mocking chuckle, turned up the volume on her headphones, and closed her eyes to rest.

Jiang Yin still needed time to adapt to this earth-shattering change. From a poor girl who split every cent into eight parts, she was now a wealthy young lady with an eight-figure bank balance. She truly did not know how to face the parents and siblings she had not seen in nineteen years, or the person who had taken her place and enjoyed nineteen years as her substitute.

But ultimately, she could not blame Jiang Zhen. When her mother made the switch, she had not asked for Jiang Zhen’s consent. The woman simply believed the Jiang family could give her daughter a better future, never considering how Jiang Zhen would face the family if the truth ever came out.

As she was thinking, the bus slowly stopped at her transfer station. As soon as she got off, she was immediately struck by a giant advertisement on the platform. A glamorous female star held a bottle of juice, her lips curved into a sweet and charming smile that made passersby look twice.

Jiang Yin’s gaze swept across the billboard and landed on the small line of text: “The sole spokesperson for Ruilin Juice: Jiang Zhen.”

Indeed, that Jiang Zhen was a somewhat famous celebrity, and she currently had a television drama on the air. As for the news that she was a fake heiress, it was being tightly suppressed by the current chairman of the Jiang Group, Jiang Yin’s biological father, Jiang Yunian, to avoid damaging the family’s reputation or giving competitors an opportunity to strike.

Jiang Yunian and his wife, Qin Zhu, had raised Jiang Zhen for nineteen years. Even without a blood relation, they had developed a deep, inseparable bond. Moreover, this “civet cat for a prince” drama had nothing to do with Jiang Zhen herself, so they continued to treat her as a daughter and did not kick her out.

Thinking of her biological parents, Jiang Yin suddenly felt a bit nervous. She did not enjoy dealing with strangers, even if they were her biological parents. However, due to the influence of blood and genes, she also felt a faint sense of anticipation.

After lingering at the platform for a moment, Jiang Yin withdrew her gaze from the advertisement and walked into the subway station.

About two hours later, Jiang Yin finally arrived.

This suburban area housed about a dozen estates where the top elites of Jinghe City resided. Taxis were not allowed inside and could only stop at the outer entrance. Fortunately, Jiang Yin had asked for the house number beforehand, so she prepared to get out and find the house herself.

However, to her surprise, as soon as she opened the car door, she saw several people waiting by the roadside. A car was parked behind them. Jiang Yin did not recognize the brand, but she knew it was incredibly expensive.

The middle-aged couple leading the group looked expectant and nervous. Behind them stood a young man and woman, both smiling and looking at Jiang Yin with gentle gazes. These four were her biological parents and her older siblings.

Indescribable and complex emotions surged in Jiang Yin’s heart. She opened her mouth to speak but did not know what to say.

Fortunately, her sister, Jiang Ling, was meticulous and considerate. She stepped forward to greet her first, breaking the frozen atmosphere. “You must be Xiao Yin. Come, let us take you home.”

Jiang Yin pulled at the corners of her mouth unnaturally. She first greeted Jiang Ling and Jiang Yanzhi with a “Hello, Brother and Sister,” before turning her gaze toward Jiang Yunian and Qin Zhu.

The two looked at her with hope, seemingly waiting for something. Jiang Yin did not quite dare to meet their intense gazes. She looked away slightly and called out “Mom and Dad” in a small, slightly awkward voice.

In an instant, the tears in Qin Zhu’s eyes could no longer be contained. They fell like a broken string of pearls. She stepped forward and pulled Jiang Yin into her arms, sobbing, “Good child, good child, you are finally back.”

Affected by Qin Zhu’s emotions, Jiang Yunian’s eyes also turned red. He managed to restrain himself and patted his wife’s shoulder with a hoarse voice. “We can talk after we get back. Xiao Yin must be hungry after the long trip. Mother is still waiting at home to eat with her.”

“Mom,” Jiang Ling handed over a tissue and comforted her softly. “There is plenty of time in the future.”

Qin Zhu released her hold on Jiang Yin. “Yes, yes. Let us go home first. We prepared many dishes today, all of which are your favorites.”

Jiang Yin nodded and allowed Qin Zhu to lead her into the car.

It was a ten-minute drive from the entrance to the Jiang estate. Fearing the silence, Jiang Ling asked gently, “Xiao Yin, what year are you in? What is your major?”

“Sophomore, Finance,” Jiang Yin added an extra bit of information as if feeling her tone was too stiff. “I will be a junior when school starts.”

Jiang Ling nodded and asked a few more questions about the food and housing at school, which eased Jiang Yin’s nervous mood. What she did not know was that Jiang Ling had actually graduated from Jinghe University only three years ago.

The Jiang estate was much larger than Jiang Yin had imagined. She had only seen descriptions of such estates in CEO novels, but standing in one, she realized that fiction was like child’s play compared to reality.

She found it difficult to describe the luxury she was seeing. She stared blankly for a moment before belatedly pulling her gaze back.

“This place is too far from your school,” Qin Zhu said, holding her hand. “Your father and I are planning to buy another apartment for you near the university. If you ever do not feel like staying in the dormitory, you can go home and rest there.”

“The dormitory is fine.” Meeting Qin Zhu’s gaze filled with motherly love and pity, Jiang Yin silently swallowed her refusal and said instead, “Thank you, Mom.” She was still not used to calling a stranger she had not seen in nineteen years by that name, but fearing she would hurt Qin Zhu’s feelings, she forced herself to say it.

Refusing right now would be a mood killer. She decided to discuss the apartment with them later.

Before they even entered the house, an elderly woman was helped out by a servant, tears hanging in her eyes. She saw Jiang Yin at once and asked with a mix of sobbing and joy, “Is it, is it my Zhenzhen who has returned?”

Jiang Zhen, the name that originally belonged to Jiang Yin, now belonged to someone else.

Jiang Yunian stepped forward quickly to support the elderly woman and said in a low voice, “Mom, this is Xiao Yin. Zhenzhen is not back yet.”

“Oh, oh, Xiao Yin,” Xue Hua wiped her tears and beckoned to Jiang Yin. “Look at me, I am getting senile. Xiao Yin, come here and let Grandma look at you.”

Jiang Yin stepped forward, took Xue Hua’s arm, and obediently called out, “Grandma.”

Like Qin Zhu, Xue Hua burst into tears at the sound of that long-lost title. It took the comfort of everyone present to gradually stop her crying.

After entering the house, while waiting for the servants to set the table, Xue Hua turned to Qin Zhu and asked, “Where is Zhenzhen?”

“She said she is filming out of town today and really could not make it back,” Qin Zhu said, looking at Jiang Yin with a slight air of apology. “When Zhenzhen returns tomorrow, I will definitely have her apologize to Xiao Yin.”

“There is no need,” Jiang Yin waved her hands hurriedly. “There is no need for an apology. Sister, she should just focus on her work.”

Jiang Zhen was only one month older than her. Since Jiang Yin was also just a newborn at the time, babies mostly looked similar, which was why Li Xiuning was able to swap them so easily.

Hearing her call Jiang Zhen “Sister,” everyone around them seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Xue Hua nodded and said, “Zhenzhen is busy with work, so let her be.”

During the conversation, the family nanny, Mother Xu, came over and invited everyone to the dining room for dinner.

After a dinner that seemed harmonious on the surface, Jiang Yin felt pressured into staying the night after the enthusiastic invitations of Qin Zhu and Jiang Ling.

A room had clearly been prepared for her in advance. This single bedroom was larger than the entire one-bedroom apartment where Li Xiuning and Jiang Yin had lived. It was no exaggeration to say that Jiang Yin could invite Lin Shu over to play badminton in the bedroom.

Even though her family had prepared everything and shown her meticulous care, Jiang Yin still could not find a sense of belonging here. She lay on her back on the bed, trying to convince herself to accept the current situation.

After tossing and turning for a long time, Jiang Yin found it difficult to sleep. Fortunately, tomorrow was the weekend and she did not need to wake up early. She gave a long sigh and sat up, planning to go down to the garden for some fresh air.

Jiang Yin pushed the door open and walked lightly toward the stairs. Just as she was about to go down, she suddenly realized someone was coming up.

In the darkness, the secretly returning Jiang Zhen, aided by the dim moonlight, locked eyes with Jiang Yin.

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