"Yan Yan Jie, if we get caught, Father will surely punish us," Yu Ting whispered as she followed her sister into their father's special room, "You're not the type to disobey him, why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
Yu Yan jumped in through the window into her father's study before turning to face her sister so she could read her lips, "It’s won’t be fair if he is wrongly accused because of me."
"He? Jie, when did you start caring about other people?" Yu Ting asked in a hushed voice, "For a random boy you're wronging Father?!"
"I'm already tainted with sins and wrong doings so this won't make a difference." Yu Yan tutted quietly in order to locate objects in the room using the reflected sound waves from her tutting.

"But Jie, you can steal money from anyone but not Father! He'll kill us if he finds out!" Yu Ting replied anxiously, "I don't want to do this!"
"Then leave, I don't need you Yu Ting," Yu Yan spat, irritated, "Father won't ever harm me to that point because he needs me so much. I'm too valuable for his plan, he won't risk damaging me."
"So you want to risk me? Because I'm not as important as you are? Because I'm a failed product and will be discarded anyway?" Yu Ting retorted, feeling hurt, "Don't forget that you're still somewhat a failed product too, if Father produces a better one of us then you'll be discarded with the rest of us."
"I don't care about that, we will all be discarded in the end after we fulfil our duty. Our lives belong to Father so of course we have to give back to him." Yu Yan replied as she used her yi neng to bust open a lock on her Father's draw, "My purpose in this life is to be useful to Father. I don't care about anything else."

Yu Ting frowned at her sister's complete devotion to their Father, she didn't seem to care about herself or others except him. She had no beliefs of her own, no desires, and no personal emotions. Jiang Yu Yan was like a shell filled to the brim with her Father's ideology and desires. She didn't think for herself. Well, she knew she could but didn't want to have any thoughts that went against her Father's even though no one had seen his face or knew his identity. Yu Ting was loyal to her father, but not as much as her older sister. She wanted to have some freedom, she longed for it even though she had more freedom than her sister. She should have been grateful for the freedom she was granted because she wasn't as valuable as Yu Yan so her Father treated her with more flexibility. Yu Yan on the other hand was controlled and restricted; everything was planned out for her with no room for negotiation. Yu Yan was an important piece; an important tool so no mistakes could be made with her.

Yu Ting sighed, she should have been happy that her sister was doing something for herself but this was wrong, completely wrong. Her sister wanted to free someone from prison after he was found guilty and locked up for who knows how long. They knew the police system was corrupt so if presented with the right amount of money, the officers would be easily bribed and let him go. She didn't have any problems with the plan, she was happy to help but it was the source of money that bothered her. They could have stolen from a bank but no, they were stealing from their beloved father.

Yu Yan picked up a couple handfuls of wads of money and stuffed them into her bag, making sure to leave some space around a stripy paper bag that was deep inside. Yu Yan may have seemed as though she was brave, but deep down she was scared about her actions. She knew how much trouble she would get in and she knew that it wouldn't be long before her father found out. But she was doing it anyway. Her father's money was created using yi neng and would double every so often so it was easy to replace. It was the quickest source to money. She gulped as she exited her father's room.
 

~*~*~

Yu Ting slammed down the bag of money on the desk in front of the chief police officer. Her black hood was pulled over her head and a black mask covered her face. "Release Ding Xiao Yu," she spat. The officer looked through the back of money, counting the notes and smiling greedily before nodding.
"Will do in the morning." he replied, hiding the bag under the counter.
"Give me the key," Yu Ting demanded, slamming her hand down on the desk, "Now or I'll set this place on fire." Yu Ting was a smiley and playful girl but violence was sewed into her skin and ran through her veins, it was how she got what she wanted.
The officer nodded and handed her the key with a shaky hand.

Yu Yan waited outside of Xiao Yu's cell, in similar clothing to her sister. She held his blazer that she had stolen back and held onto a stripy paper bag in the other hand. She waited for her sister to arrive and open the cell gate before she rushed in. She walked up to Xiao Yu who was fast asleep in the bed. Hearing faint shivers in his breathing, she threw his blazer over him and placed the paper bag down beside him.

Yu Ting watched closely, noticing her sister's odd actions and confused as to why she treated this boy well. Who was this boy that softened her sister's heart enough to make her want to help him and go against her most beloved father? "Yan Yan Jie... what is he to you?" she asked slowly.
"Let's go." she responded, leaving the cell, ignoring her sister’s question.

 

~*~*~
 

"JIANG YU YAN! JIANG YU TING!" an angry voice yelled, "Where have you been this whole night?" he boomed.

~*~*~

Xiao Yu woke up the next morning to feel something slide off his body as he sat up. He looked over to see his blazer covering him and a green and white stripy paper bag sitting beside his bed. Curious, he picked it up and looked inside to see a plain bread bagel. "Yu Yan..." he muttered with a small smile before a police officer walked in.
"Ding Xiao Yu, you are now released after being found innocent."
 

~*~*~

When Xiao Yu walked into Zhong Ji Yi Ban that same morning, his classmates cried out in surprise. Da Dong and Ya Se rushed to him in joy. "Eh, Xiao Yu?! How come you're out of prison? They said you were going to be locked up for atleast three months!" Da Dong exclaimed.
Xiao Yu smiled, "I was found innocent."
"Really? That's really good to hear!" Ya Se grinned.
Xiao Yu nodded and walked to his seat, looking around the classroom, "Is Yu Yan here yet?" he asked, hoping she would be present today.
"Yu Yan?" Da Dong repeated, "No, she hasn't come in yet."
"Why do you want to see her?" Sha Jie asked, "She was the one that put you in prison!"

Xiao Yu only looked at Sha Jie before sitting down at his desk.

For the rest of the day, Xiao Yu awaited Yu Yan's arrival to thank her, knowing that she had a part to play in his release. He wanted to thank her but also ask her why she did what she did. Knowing that she wasn't the type of person to help anyone but herself, he felt touched because that meant she saw him differently to everyone else. He didn't know why, but it made him happy. Staring down at the uneaten bread bagel in his hand, he smiled to himself before biting down on it. A part of him couldn't wait to see her.

But despite how well things turned out for Xiao Yu in the end, Yu Ting watched her sister cough up blood as she was beaten by their father. The complete blame for the theft of money was put onto Yu Yan's shoulder especially because she had interfered with her father's plans for Ding Xiao Yu without knowing it. However, her punishment wasn't seen as a punishment. Whenever Yu Yan or any of her sisters, for she had four, were punished, it was in the form of a dual against their father. They would have to fight against their father with everything they had whilst their father would put in half his strength.

Although it felt like punishment, Yu Yan didn't see it like this. Despite the pain she endured, she saw it as an opportunity to harden herself and become stronger so took these opportunities with her father as training. But it was harsh and unfair 'training' because it ended with her struggling to stand up with bruises and cuts all over her body.

Yu Yan was on all fours, trying to catch her breath as a crimson liquid poured out of her nose and mouth. Her body screamed out in pain, but she bit her lip in attempt to endure it all. "I...surrender..." she spluttered out with her face wet with tears.

"The next time you do something like that again, my dear girl, I will break your bones. I'm warning you." Her father threatened before walking over to her and patting her head, "You've done well however, your skills have improved. I'm proud." He looked down at his daughter who showed him a weak smile before collapsing onto the ground.

He then turned to his 14 year old daughter who watched from the sidelines with a lollipop in , "Yu Ting, take your sister to the lab. I'm going to make some modifications."