Xiao Yu sat with Yu Yan in his kitchen as he prepared some food for the two of them. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.
She sighed, "Tired... better than before though," she muttered.
Xiao Yu looked at her face and then smiled. But then the visions of the dream of their wedding flashed in his mind and his smile fell. She too had a dull face. "You must have questions right...?" she mumbled quietly.
Xiao Yu slid her a plate of food, "I told you, I won't ask them as long as you don't leave again."
Yu Yan didn't reply and instead dug into Xiao Yu's homemade food, "I've missed your cooking," she admitted in a mumble to spark a conversation.
Xiao Yu smiled, "I've missed you eating my food."
"This whole time that clone was eating your food," she continued, a little annoyed.
"She avoided me a lot so she probably only ate it once or twice," Xiao Yu replied as he began eating too.
"But you kissed her-"
 

As soon as she said that, Xiao Yu choked on his food. "You deserve that," she huffed, "How could you kiss that girl?!"
Xiao Yu gulped down on his glass of water and looked at Yu Yan's annoyed face, "H-How did you know??" he stuttered.
Yu Yan put her spoon down and she scoffed, "So you really did kiss her?" she asked.
"No, I mean yes but I was under a spell!" Xiao Yu retorted in his defence.
Yu Yan kissed her teeth, "But you still kissed her."
"Yu Yan, I thought she was you-"
"So you like me?" Yu Yan questioned, making Xiao Yu to stutter even more. Her heart pounded, awaiting his answer.
"No! I was just under the spell, if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have even thought of doing such a thing!" He lied quickly.
Yu Yan frowned and drank her water.
"Are... Are you... jealous?" Xiao Yu asked slowly, noticing her change in facial expression.
Yu Yan snorted and stood up abruptly, "You must be crazy," she spat at him, "I'm just annoyed that she got to eat better food than me!" She then walked off and walked out of the apartment. So you have no feelings for me, Little Fish? she thought sadly, Then why do you treat me so well? Stop doing that if you won't walk down my future with me!

Da Dong ran up the stairs to Xiao Yu's apartment, looking for Yu Yan. As he ran up the stairs, he saw Yu Yan coming down. "Yu Yan!" he called, stopping.
"Da Dong?" she spoke.
"Come with me, I need to talk to you," he said sternly. He grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her outside.
"Hey Wang Da Dong! Where are you taking me!" she yelled at him.

The two stood in the park about 2 metres away from each other. "Why did you call me out Golden Monkey?!" Yu Yan spat.
Da Dong took in a deep breath before exhaling, "Who really are you?"
Yu Yan's face fell, "What?" she asked in confusion.
Da Dong took a step towards her, "Why did you come to Zhong Ji Yi Ban? Just what is your motive?" he questioned in a hostile tone.
Yu Yan's eyes widened, "To study obviously... why are you asking me such a thing?" she asked, nervously.
Da Dong looked at her seriously, "I'm not asking as Wang Da Dong - your friend and your brother who trusts and believes in you, who will always be there for you and protect you from harm - I’m asking as Wang Da Dong, the leader of Zhong Ji Yi Ban who has the duty to protect his friends and classmates from all enemies."

He knows, Yu Yan thought before she sighed, Looks like it's time to spill the truth. A small smile formed on her lips and she crossed her arms, "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Da Dong replied seriously.
Yu Yan laughed, "That's pretty vague. Why don't you tell me everything you already know so I don't waste time repeating things?"
"You're with them aren't you? The enemies." Da Dong said, "Your mission was to infiltrate Zhong Ji Yi Ban and make us trust you so you can easily steal our battle points right?"
Yu Yan clapped slowly, impressed, "Wow, I didn't think someone as stupid as you would figure it out."
Da Dong clenched his teeth, "You’ve always been suspicious since the moment you stepped foot in Zhong Ji Yi Ban," he replied, "But I've always believed in you whenever the evidence pointed at you and I still don't want to believe that you became our friend with an ulterior motive. But what I saw yesterday in that laboratory suggests otherwise."
Yu Yan smiled at him, "Don't act like you didn't befriend me with ulterior motive either."
"You're right; I did have other motives," Da Dong confessed, "Narcissist and Xiao Yu too."
Yu Yan's smile turned to a straight line, "Then what's the problem? Why do you still act like we are friends? If both sides had other intentions then nothing between us was real right? There should be no hard feelings," she spat.
"You're wrong," Da Dong exclaimed, "It might have started like that but we treated you with sincerity. Everything was real. You're important to all of us."
Yu Yan snorted, "You know I'm an enemy but still trust me? You're so stubborn."
"Because I believe in you," Da Dong answered, "Don't you feel the same way? Can't you turn to our side?"

Yu Yan almost laughed, "I have a mission Wang Da Dong and I will fulfil it."
"What's so special about our battle points? You've stolen so much yi neng but still want more?" Da Dong questioned in disbelief.
"I have another mission," Yu Yan replied in a quieter voice, "I'm an important piece for a larger puzzle."
Da Dong stared at her, "And what's that?" he asked.
She sighed, "As you know, I have many clones. My sisters are all clones, but I'm a clone too. We're all clones of our mother, Jiang Yu Er."
"Jiang Yu Er?!" Da Dong repeated in shock.
"My father and Yu Er were a young married couple but she died young, a year into their marriage. My father has always wanted her back so looked for ways to bring her back to life," Yu Yan explained, slowly turning her back to him.
"Don't tell me he found a way..." Da Dong muttered.
"He looked through the dark yi neng archives and found lost martial arts that used to be practiced several thousand years ago. A dead person can be revived if someone with almost identical DNA performs the spell on them through a life force transfer. But in the end that person will die as a result," she explained, "And because Yu Er didn't have a twin, my father decided to create clones and I'm the closest to Yu Er in terms of DNA." She stuffed her hands into her pockets and faced up towards the sky, “My father was always changing my DNA to suit his needs but yesterday he returned all my original DNA to prepare for the transfer.”

Da Dong's mouth parted in shock and horror, "I... I don't understand..." he stammered, "Then why are you stealing battle points?"
"You need over a million battle points to even be able to do the life force transfer," Yu Yan explained, "So that's why my father moved to the gold dimension from the carbon dimension. The battle between good and evil ended in the carbon dimension and the good side lost so all that was left were demons."
"Your father's a monster," Da Dong spat, "How could he tamper with nature like that?! Who does he think he is?!"
"Shut your mouth," Yu Yan hissed, "Don't insult him."
"What he's doing is wrong!" Da Dong yelled at her, "How can you be following him?! Death is part of life, how can he be selfish and take the lives of others for his own desires? Jiang Yu Yan, wake up!"
"I will always be loyal to him so be quiet!" Yu Yan yelled back.
"He's using you! He doesn't give a damn about you!" Da Dong barked, "How can you give up your life so easily?!"
"I don't care if he's using me! I'm a tool and tools are meant to be used! This life isn't mine and belongs to him so it's my duty to serve him! He's given me so much how can I not repay him!?" she exclaimed.

"Then tell me what makes him so worthy to follow?! Does he mean more to you than us? Than me? Than Narcissist? Than Xiao Yu?!" Da Dong questioned.
"He does," Yu Yan snapped, "He saved my life! When I was created I was kidnapped and had an accident which made me lose my eyes. My life was hell! But then he found me again and raised me! He's helped me so much so of course I would choose him over anyone!"
"So what if he raised you?! If you can't tell the difference between right and wrong then what was the point in him going through all that trouble?! If he has the heart to value Yu Er's life over yours then who cares if he raised you?! He raised you for his own interests!" Da Dong argued.

Yu Yan pushed down the fire in her stomach and faced down, "Like you my values have been set into my skin. You can’t change my beliefs no matter how hard you try,” she spoke in a low voice.
"What about Xiao Yu?! What if he gets hurt because of you?! Don't you care about him?!" Da Dong asked, "You mean so much to him, how do you think he'd feel if I told him the truth about you?!"
"Of course I care about him!" Yu Yan exclaimed, frustrated, "I don’t want it to have to come to me hurting you all," she spat angrily, turning to face him. "I don't have free will Wang Da Dong. If I had the power to spare you all then I would," she shouted.

Unexpectedly, Da Dong pulled her into a hug. He held her tightly, "Yu Yan, speak to me as Jiang Yu Yan my friend and my brother. Tell me everything in your heart and I promise that I will help you make everything work out," he whispered.
"Let me go," Yu Yan hissed, struggling in his embrace.
Da Dong hugged her tighter, "Yu Yan there's a soul inside you and it belongs to you! Your life belongs to you and only you and only you have the power to choose what to do! You deserve to be happy and no one can change that. The life you're living now is yours and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," he continued.
Yu Yan stopped struggling, "I have no reason to live apart from serving my father. Once I complete my mission, I will die with no regrets," she muttered.
"Live for Xiao Yu," Da Dong told her, "Make him the reason you turn against your father and live your own life. You're giving up your life for his love life but what about yours? You can't abandon your own emotions Yu Yan, you'll regret it."
"I won't have any regrets-"
"You won't have any regrets when you hurt us in the process?" Da Dong questioned, pulling away from her, "Please Yu Yan, rethink your decision. If you're scared that he'll come after you, don't be scared because you have us to protect you. We'll always be by your side. Just please have a change of heart. What that man is doing is wrong on so many levels, can't you see?"
Yu Yan scoffed, "I don't have eyes so maybe that’s why we can't see eye-to-eye," she faced away from him. "There's no point in me living anyway. What's life without sight?"

"Life is more than just seeing and looking at things!" Da Dong yelled, "You don't need to see to have friends! You don't need to see to love and be loved! Yu Yan, we don't care if you can't see because you still mean so much to us! The moment you experience the way life is supposed to be experienced, there won't be any more darkness!"
"You say it like you understand my struggles," Yu Yan spat, "I might be a strong yi neng xing zhe but that's because I worked hard every day on my echolocation. It's hard enough using my echolocation to live like a normal person every day because I was never a normal person but now you want me to continue living with this burden? Don't make me laugh Wang Da Dong."
"Why?" Da Dong asked with a deep exhale, "Why are you so insistent on all of this? Your hard work will always pay off! Because of your hard work you saved us countless times - you saved Xiao Yu on so many occasions and he's so grateful to you! Don't you see how impactful you are or were all those times just an act to make us trust you?! Was there really no sincerity behind your actions?!"

Yu Yan clenched her teeth, "Let's stop with this conversation. I have nothing else to say to you," she hissed through her teeth.
Da Dong inhaled deeply and released a deep sigh, "So do you want our friendship to end here?" he asked in a low and calm voice.
Yu Yan didn't reply.
"Do you want me to forget everything between you and Zhong Ji Yi Ban?" he asked.
She didn't reply.
"Do you want me to disregard you as a friend and treat you as an enemy?" he continued.
She didn't reply.
"Do you want me to tell Xiao Yu everything?" he questioned.
She replied: "Stop," she said in a low voice, "Don't tell him," she muttered quietly, "I don't want to hurt him," she said in almost a whisper.
Da Dong's face softened, "Then do you value our friendship?" he asked.
Yu Yan swallowed down her words but then she forced them back up : as much as she wanted to push him away in order to protect her friends, she didn't want to hurt herself. She wanted him to know that she knew that deep in her heart she loved them as much as they loved her. She didn't have the courage to admit it and she couldn't say it either. Her thoughts were all over the place and a war of confliction was going on in her heart and mind. She didn't know what to do or what side to stand on.

Her loyalty had always been deeply rooted for her father but after being exposed to the sunshine that was Zhong Ji Yi Ban, she wanted to turn to the sun like a flower. She was starting to grow naturally and learn from her environment instead of always taking in the fertiliser that was her father. She didn't stand on the same level in terms of views as she had always done in the past because now she had her own dreams and desires. Despite that, despite the petals that she was growing, despite the wings that were unfolding, despite the heart that she was freeing, there would be no point in the end. It didn't matter whether she chose to lose her friends or father, both or neither, her near death would take it all from her anyway. It was inevitable and was her shadow that followed her and reminded her of her fate. She hadn't the power to change what was written for her.

She swallowed down her true feelings again and sighed. Instead she said: "There will be a final battle between us in the end. Until that day comes you all will still be my friends in my heart." She smiled dimly at him with no emotions before walking away.
"Yu Yan wait," Da Dong called out to her.
She stopped, "Until that day comes, let's act as though this conversation never happened." She then continued to walk on, leaving Da Dong watching her figure shrink into the distance.