The Clone (Third Update)

Qin Yanan shook her head. She had noticed that Liu Chang'an really liked teasing Zhou Dongdong. The child was good-looking and cute, and even if he was a little silly, he could also be clever at times that made people smile.

Qin Yanan looked at Liu Chang'an carefully; he didn't seem like someone who could be a father.

A kind-hearted man always makes people like him more. Qin Yanan thought that if he had been teasing Zhou Dongdong when they first met, her first impression of him would probably have been better.

Of course, these are all just meaningless wild thoughts, but what woman doesn't let her mind wander and create countless "what ifs"?

"I went back and saw my great-grandfather. He wasn't in the Capital; he was still staying at the old house. He was in good health and spirits, and he listened to several chapters of fantasy novels every day. He just said that many young people nowadays are too aggressive, and that immortals shouldn't be like that. He said that immortals should be like this and that..." Qin Yanan spoke a little longer, giving people the feeling of telling a story in a gentle and clear tone, without any noise from saliva or mouth movements, making it very pleasant to listen to.

"That's good." Liu Chang'an nodded.

"But I could also tell that although my great-grandfather had some attachment to this world, he also seemed to be quietly awaiting his end. I don't quite understand the spirit and mentality of the elderly. Isn't it said that the older one gets, the more one wants to live a long life?" Qin Yanan said with a puzzlement.

"A person's psychological and mental state is, in most cases, determined by their physical condition. When a person is in long-term good health, with various hormone secretions at their peak, it's difficult for them to exhibit the signs of old age." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, "I really don't know the answer to that question, I've never been old... But your great-grandfather's generation of revolutionaries saw far too many deaths and perhaps many strange and unusual things, so they had no fear of death."

Liu Chang'an sent the calligraphy "An immortal strokes my head, granting me Longevity" to Qin Peng, hoping to extend Qin Peng's lifespan. This was a signal of their previous agreement. However, Qin Peng never mentioned it and continued to wait until his time was up before naturally passing away, just as he had said before. When he sent Qin Yanan over, Liu Chang'an naturally understood that Qin Peng was trying to fulfill the promise Liu Chang'an had made to Qin Yanan.

It's just that there are two different mindsets and states of being: to calmly await death when one doesn't know that life can be extended, and to know that life can be extended but still give up on extending it and wait for death.

"I asked him why Liu Chang'an, who already has a girlfriend, still wants me to stay in Junsha to take care of him. Liu Chang'an is someone who is used to living alone, and he is capable of living and taking care of himself. Why does he insist that I act like an older sister to look after him?" Qin Yanan frowned slightly. Although her life seemed quite ordinary before coming to Junsha, it turned out to be surprisingly interesting after she Junsha. However, the doubt remained, and it did not disappear because of the change in her perception.

"What did he say?" Liu Chang'an also felt that this was a problem.

A person like Qin Peng would almost never act recklessly, willfully, or impulsively. His actions are always well-thought-out and targeted.

From a young age, he was more serious, focused, and dedicated than his peers, Liu Chang'an believed were excellent qualities that a boy should possess as he grows up.

"He said that you and I were destined to be together in a past life." Qin Yanan's delicate lips became even redder from the hot pufferfish soup, while the blush on her cheeks was much milder, like the color of fallen petals on both banks of a spring river.

"He's starting to believe in reincarnation?" Liu Chang'an chuckled. "Even if you look more and more like Ye Sijin, I'd rather believe you're a clone than believe in reincarnation."

Qin Yanan's expression changed slightly, and her fingers trembled slightly as she held the chopsticks. "You suspect I'm a clone?"

Liu Chang'an chuckled, "You're not starting to doubt that you're a clone, are you?"

Don't I look remarkably like Ye Sijin today?

Qin Yanan was clearly getting anxious, and even started calling her great-grandmother by her name. She stood up, turned around, and was breathing heavily. She still habitually pressed her hand to her chest. The slit in the hem of her cheongsam wasn't high, but it was still like seeing a snow-white, wet ice cream in the desert under the scorching sun.

"They look alike, you could even say they're exactly the same, um... I mean, the photos." Liu Chang'an carefully examined Qin Yanan. Looking at beautiful women, regardless of any romantic involvement or matters between men and women, is always pleasing to the eye.

"Isn't it normal for me to suspect that I'm a clone?" Qin Yanan sat down anxiously.

"You were born in 1992. To many people born in the 2000s and 2010s, you're already considered an auntie or grandma. Even those born in the mid-1990s think you're old... But you were born in 1992! To clone you, we would have to start the relevant research and experiments much earlier." Liu Chang'an waved his hand confidently. "As far as I know, back then our country didn't have the capability to just casually help someone, even if it was a leader doing such a thing."

Qin Yanan's anxiety eased slightly, but her doubts remained. She said somewhat awkwardly, "Maybe my age is fake too. Maybe I'm only eighteen?"

"What do you think?" The woman was fantasizing about her youth, and this fantasy seemed to have a very strong effect on her conviction. Liu Chang'an continued eating his dumplings. "If you were only eighteen, then you and Zhu Juntang would be the same age, but don't you have any memories of being a child who was clearly older than Zhu Juntang?"

Qin Yanan thought about it and realized that Zhu Juntang, this little fairy, was really the standard by which she proved she was getting old, which was quite annoying.

"Not a clone... but I look so much like my great-grandmother. Is this some kind of effect of skipped-generation inheritance?" Qin Yanan gave up on her eighteen-year-old fantasies.

"Then just think of yourself as Ye Sijin reincarnated. It's a kind of sentiment for the old man. Let him have his way. Why do you have to expose his obsession?" Liu Chang'an shook his head and moved the dumplings towards Zhou Dongdong.

The food that was right in front of her made Zhou Dongdong temporarily open the barrier, and she found the food and began to eat dumplings.

"But I'm not reconciled. I am who I am. Why should I bear such a strong label from someone else? Even if she is my great-grandmother, I should still be a completely independent person." Qin Yanan had lost her appetite.

"Are you afraid that one day you'll really become like Ye Sijin?" Liu Chang'an saw the fear in Qin Yanan's eyes.

Qin Yanan stared blankly at Liu Chang'an, her eyes moistening with tears that misted over her usually cool gaze. Undoubtedly, Liu Chang'an's direct question had struck a nerve with her inner demons during this period.

"Let me analyze this. Your sleepwalking is actually quite severe, and the situation is very bizarre. It's definitely not what you explained. Even after watching the video, you felt that it wasn't you, but Ye Sijin." Liu Chang'an calmly looked at Qin Yanan. "Your great-grandfather's incomprehensible obsession has made you involuntarily connect yourself with Ye Sijin. Even after you consciously or unconsciously imitated Ye Sijin's words and actions, you became increasingly fearful... The more fearful you are, the more you try to find the differences between yourself and Ye Sijin in the process of observation and imitation, but you are also trying to imitate her more and more in a self-destructive way... This psychological state is very common, like hypochondria. The more you fear being sick, the more you try to prove that you are sick through your own physical symptoms."

"Your fear, this self-destructive behavior, ultimately exacerbated your sleepwalking. I guess during your time away, besides asking your great-grandfather, you did a lot of other things... like seeing a psychologist? Getting a mental health checkup?"

Qin Yanan stared blankly at Liu Chang'an. What he said was all true. How could he know so much? Could the man who kept appearing in her dreams also be him?

The person I saw in my dream had no face, but the way the man in the dream spoke and his tone of voice were very similar to Liu Chang'an's.

Thank you to the three new patrons today, Zhou Dongdong's fan club for their generous support, and to all the readers for their generous donations. This is a third update as a token of appreciation. Also, most of the patrons for this book are in the reader group: 741825442. This group is very active, so feel free to join!