"Mom! Dad!"
"Uncle, Aunt!"
"Uncle Yin, Aunt Gu!"
"Godfather, Godmother!"
"Chairman Yin, Madam!"
......
Cecilia Grant looked at the hopeful eyes of these children, sighed deeply, and said, "Sit down, let's talk slowly. This is a long story, and I have to start from the beginning."
Charles Yin said, "You talk to the kids. I'll go to the study for a bit."
"Alright." Cecilia Grant squeezed Charles Yin's hand and said, "Talk to him properly and see if there's still a chance."
"Got it." Charles Yin hugged Cecilia Grant, then turned and went upstairs.
Cecilia Gu turned to face the children, took a sip of the tea Cherry Miller brought her, and finally began, "Charles and I went to South America this time to visit Yina Yin and Ethan's grandmother. We thought it would be a simple trip, but our absence gave certain people an opportunity. While we were away, they tricked Miles Gu into going to the UK. By the time we realized something was wrong, it was too late—they'd already succeeded."
"It was Miles Gu's biological father, Earl Field, who told us what happened. So I know some of the inside story," Cecilia Gu continued. "To explain, I have to start with the Field Family. Hundreds of years ago, the Field Family was already a famous aristocratic clan in their region. You might've heard about their obsession with pure bloodlines—they always married within the family, which meant a lot of close relatives marrying each other. Naturally, that led to a string of consequences. The current Duke Field has three sons. The eldest has been bedridden for years and is said to be near death. The second son is eccentric and unpredictable, not fit to inherit. The third son, Miles Gu's biological father, is healthy but... he's a free spirit and hates being tied down."
There are other possible heirs in the Field Family, but the Duke insists that only a direct descendant can inherit. That's why, from a young age, Miles Gu was named the future Duke—the next head of the family.
Cherry Miller and the others all nodded.
They all knew this much already.
"That's the public story. But the Field Family has secrets—secrets that explain why Miles Gu became like this." Cecilia Gu continued, "Earl Field told us that everyone in the Field Family carries a mysterious power in their genes, called the Second Persona. Basically, anyone from the Field Family could have this Second Persona awakened. In their history, hundreds have experienced it. But the Second Persona is dangerous—it's a hidden personality, buried deep in the soul, often the complete opposite of the first. For example: Miles Gu used to be gentle, kind, and calm. Now, he's irritable, cold, and indifferent, with no regard for the past. It's like he's a totally different person."
"Normally, when someone awakens the Second Persona, they keep their First Persona's memories. But something went wrong with Miles Gu—he lost most of those memories. Now, everything he remembers is what he himself 'set up' in his mind. In other words, he rewrote his own past, turning it into a completely different story."
"In his new version of the story, Yina Yin isn't his childhood sweetheart anymore. Instead, he thinks I forced him to marry her out of gratitude for saving him. So he's totally against the engagement. On top of that, someone told him his real fiancée is another woman—Elisa Field. Now he firmly believes the one he loves is Elisa, not Yina."
"I asked Earl Field if there was ever a case where the Second Persona left and the First Persona came back. He said yes, but the price was terrible—the First Persona returned, but the person went mad." Cecilia Gu sighed. "Earl Field said this inheritance is rooted in their genes. It's almost impossible to avoid or remove."
"This personality is extremely unstable. That's why, over a hundred years ago, the old Duke ordered that no one in the Field Family should ever awaken the Second Persona again. As time passed, people gradually forgot about it. That's why Earl Field didn't consider the possibility." Cecilia Gu looked at her son. "Ethan, you grew up with Miles Gu. You two have the closest bond. With Miles like this, you must be the one hurting most—besides Yina."
"Mom, you're the one who's hurting the most. You've always treated him like your own son," Ethan Yin said.
"No matter what Miles Gu becomes, he's still my son," Cecilia Gu said. "Even if he broke off the engagement with Yina, I could never hate or blame him. This isn't his fault. It's the work of those lunatics in the Field Family."
"They idolize the Second Persona and complain that the Duke and Earl Field are too soft, that the Field Family is being suppressed by others and can't hold their heads up. So they joined forces with the Duke's Head Housekeeper, tricked Miles Gu into going to the UK, hid it from the Duke and Earl, and forcibly took Miles away to awaken his Second Persona."
"Miles Gu's First Persona was too strong, so they had to use extreme measures. That's why he lost all his First Persona memories," Cecilia Gu continued. "Now the Duke and Earl Field are back in the UK, but the Head Housekeeper—the mastermind—has disappeared. Those people have gone underground, and it's almost impossible to find them now."
"Mom, about that historical case where the First Persona came back..." Ethan Yin frowned. "How did they do it?"
"They used hypnosis," Cecilia Gu replied. "The Second Persona failed, got tired of its own life, so it let someone hypnotize it. The Second Persona left willingly, and the First Persona returned. But maybe the hypnosis was botched, or the Second Persona's influence was too strong—the First Persona came back, but with a split mind."
"That's not the Second Persona backing down! That's just hypocrisy! It says it doesn't want to appear, but it's still fighting the First Persona for control," Ethan Yin scowled. "If it really wanted to disappear, there'd be no resistance—the First Persona would have full control over the body and mind."
"You make a good point," Cecilia Gu nodded. "To address this, Charles and I reached out to Captain Hans. He said he's heard of cases like this and suggested another solution."
Cecilia Gu turned to Yina Yin. "His idea is to let Miles Gu's Second Persona fall in love with you again. Maybe, under the power of love, the First and Second Personas could merge, and avoid a split mind."
Yina Yin forced a bitter smile. "Mom, if Miles Gu really falls for another woman, I won't cling to him. I'm the heiress of the Yin Family—I won't lose my dignity over a man."
Cecilia Gu saw the pain in her daughter's eyes and felt a stab of heartache.
But on one hand, there's Miles Gu—the son she raised. On the other, her daughter, born after so much hardship.
Both are flesh and blood—giving up either would hurt.
Cherry Miller suddenly spoke up, "Ethan, doesn't Miles Gu's situation remind you of something else we've seen before?"
"Something else? You mean..." Ethan Yin's eyes lit up, then his face turned furious. "How could they dare!"
"What's going on? Ethan, explain!" Yuzhen Yin couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, Ethan, do you know something?" Jing Shaohuai chimed in.
Even Cecilia Gu turned to look at Ethan Yin.
Ethan Yin said in a deep voice, "At this point, there's no need to hide anything. Recently, a mysterious organization has appeared overseas, targeting heirs from noble families and encouraging them to 'explore their past lives.' But 'exploring past lives' is really just hypnosis. Cherry's right—these two things have a lot in common."
Cherry Miller added, "Those heirs who 'explore past lives' are really just awakening other personas through hypnosis, right? But they're ordinary people, not like the Field Family with their inherited bloodline, so some succeed and some fail. The ones who succeed often have underlying mental issues, maybe some latent split personality, so they see these so-called past lives. The ones who fail are mentally stable, so hypnosis doesn't work. But for Miles Gu, his willpower is strong, yet because of his bloodline, he was forcibly awakened into a Second Persona."
"Exactly, there's a lot of overlap between the two," Ethan Yin agreed. "I'll have someone investigate. If The Order really did this to Miles Gu, I'll make them regret ever coming into this world!"
Jing Shaohuai was horrified. "There's actually stuff like this? Holy crap! A few days ago, some of my dumb friends even invited me to try it! Good thing I was busy farming and didn't go!"
"Ethan was worried you guys would get tricked, but couldn't explain, so he made up the excuse to have you all come to Sunset Manor and help with the farm," Cherry Miller explained. "This organization is super secretive, and Ethan didn't have solid proof. If he told you, you probably wouldn't believe him, so he did it this way."
Jing Shaohuai was so moved he nearly cried. "Ethan really is the best brother ever."
Cecilia Gu listened to Cherry Miller and Ethan Yin, then said, "I can't believe this is happening! It's outrageous! They're ruining these kids' lives!"
After she finished, Cecilia Gu turned to Wendy. "Did you get all that? Start investigating The Order right away."