Chapter 8
Half an hour was too short a time, and it was not enough for Zhang Yang to express her thoughts and dreams about the future.
She promised Ke Yu that she would take him home and find a new place to live. Maybe it would be a bit far away, but the house would be newer, and they could decorate it together and experience the happiness of building a home. Perhaps they could even get a cat or a dog in the future.
There were many things that she didn’t have time to say, things that Ke Yu might not understand even if she did. For example, she wanted to slowly teach Ke Yu how to be an adult and how to integrate into society, starting with elementary school knowledge. But Ke Yu learned quickly, and once everything stabilized, they would get married and have children when they had enough resources. They would work hard, make money, and eventually own their own house again.
The future may have many obstacles, but Zhang Yang had a stable job, and even if they lived a bit frugally, they wouldn’t have to worry about food and drink. All difficulties could be overcome.
She knew that she had made the most significant decision of her life in such a short time. After her brain cooled down, she might regret it, but she also knew that she really couldn’t abandon Ke Yu, knowing that he might fall into a tragic fate without her.
If she didn’t take Ke Yu with her, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Because she was sure she wouldn’t find anyone better looking, more faithful, or more fond of her than Ke Yu.
She no longer had parents, but Ke Yu would become her close family member and lover who would never leave her side. This was priceless and much more valuable than houses or money, so she was willing to trade.
Ke Yu was extremely excited. “Both cats and dogs are good and very cute. We will be very happy. Every day with you is happy, and every day in the future will be happy too.”
“Yeah, we will be happy for sure.” Zhang Yang smiled dreamily, “Wait for me a few days, okay? I’ll handle things and come to get you as soon as possible.” Her house was always easy to sell, especially near the start of the school season. Maybe selling it quickly wouldn’t bring in a high price, but it should be around five or six million. The remaining money should be enough to cushion them for a while, and then they could start their new life.
Ke Yu asked disappointedly, “Can’t we go today?”
“I also want to taKe Yao home quickly, but I need money to do that.” Zhang Yang sighed, trying to soothe him gently.
“Why?”
“I need money to taKe Yao home.”
After bidding farewell with reluctance, Zhang Yang and Xu Jing returned to the conference room where they started.
Xu Jing asked, “Miss Zhang, are you satisfied with the customized product?”
“I am satisfied.”
“Do you not need to see other samples or have an exclusive customization? Why did you choose this finished product?”
Zhang Yang was disgusted with Xu Jing’s tone of treating Ke Yu like an object, so her tone was also cold and impatient. “I already said from the beginning that I came for him.”
Xu Jing smiled slightly. “Okay. Do you know the purchase and rental prices for Ke Yu?”
“Five million. What is the difference between purchasing and leasing in terms of service, besides free and paid maintenance?”
“Free and paid maintenance is a very big difference. After purchasing, you will receive our lifelong free maintenance, such as the reset I mentioned earlier, non-human damage and diseases that you cannot handle yourself.”
“Diseases…” Zhang Yang was stunned for a moment. Ke Yu was a person, of course, he would get sick. “How do you define the scope of diseases?”
“If you think of it as a commodity, it’s easy to understand. For example, with a mobile phone, if you cause damage like water damage or a broken screen, it is not covered by the warranty, right?”
“…”
“If it’s a small illness like a cold or fever, I believe you don’t need our intervention. But if it’s a disease that you can’t handle on your own, we will be responsible for reducing your losses.”
“How do you reduce losses?”
“Our after-sales service lasts for thirty years. Within thirty years, except for damages or deaths caused by you, we will replace it for free once and provide unlimited repairs and treatments. We have comprehensive contracts to define the scope of responsibility. When you come to us, we will conduct a medical evaluation.”
Zhang Yang felt uneasy and said, “If he gets a serious illness, how would you define responsibility? It’s impossible to determine, considering that their birth and upbringing were not normal, violating natural laws. Who knows if there are any hidden dangers?”
“Yes, there may be risks,” Xu Jing smiled and said, “Also, the lifespan of cloned humans is slightly shorter than that of normal people because the customized cell age is the same as that of the Donor. For example, if Sheng Shi is 27 years old this year, the cloned human’s body age is already 27 years old at birth. Everyone is inevitably subject to illness and accidents in life, which are force majeure and risks that you must bear. In fact, we all bear the risk of being alive.”
Zhang Yang felt uncomfortable in his heart.
“Before you decide to buy, we will maKe Yao aware of all the risks and help you make the final decision. If you think the risks of buying are too high and the cost-effectiveness is too low, we actually recommend renting instead.”
“I, I want to buy, but I need some time,” Zhang Yang clenched his fist.
“Of course, everything is up to your wishes.”
Zhang Yang remembered something and asked, “If I buy, will he have a legal identity?”
“Yes, after purchasing, we will make him a normal person who can enter the social system, and he will have a legal identity.”
Zhang Yang felt relieved. That means Ke Yu will have an ID card, passport, and one day he can work, they can marry and have children legally. As for sickness and death, Xu Jing was right, it’s a risk that everyone must bear, there’s no need to worry unnecessarily.
“Then, I’ll make a reservation first,” Zhang Yang said hesitantly, “I may need some time, I have some financial problems, but I will try to settle it within this month.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Zhang, reservation is part of the customization process, and we do not accept reservations or installment payments for in-stock items.”
“But what if someone else wants to buy him during this period?”
“The number of people who can enter our membership system is very few, so our trading volume is also very low. However, Sheng Shi is currently the most popular male star, and I cannot guarantee.”
“What can I do then?” Zhang Yang anxiously asked, “Since I’ve decided to buy, I will definitely buy. I just need… two weeks, two weeks to make a reservation and ensure he will not be bought by others.”
Xu Jing frowned in a dilemma and said, “In principle, we will try our best to meet customers’ needs, but we really do not have such a precedent. Please wait for a moment while I make a phone call to seek advice.”
“Okay.”
Zhang Yang waited nervously for a while, and then Xu Jing came back from outside. “Miss Mina is a valued client of ours, and she is your guarantor. My boss is willing to do everything possible to provide you with satisfactory service, so we can accept your reservation. How about using the 1 million yuan membership deposit saved in the co-management account as a deposit? As long as you do not cancel the co-management, the reservation will be valid. However, it can only be for two weeks.”
Zhang Yang nodded vigorously. “Okay, don’t worry, I will definitely come back within two weeks.”
Xu Jing still had the same smiley but not smiley expression.
“During this period, you have to treat Ke Yu well, don’t let him participate in any experiments, and I want him to be healthy. And absolutely do not reset him.”
“You can rest assured.”
Zhang Yang was escorted back home – with her eyes covered and ears plugged just like before.
Back at home, Zhang Yang’s legs were still weak, and she had no sense of reality about what had happened that afternoon.
She didn’t even eat dinner, just sat on the sofa thinking, wondering if she really should do this, wondering if she was crazy, wondering if it was worth it.
In the dark living room without turning on the lights, Zhang Yang mechanically took out her phone and looked at the photos and videos she had taken with Ke Yu, his bright smile and the happiness that seemed to jump out of the screen were so real and vivid, making her nose feel sour.
If she backed out, what would Ke Yu do?
Of course, she could back out. As long as she released the co-management account, she wouldn’t lose a penny, in fact, she wouldn’t lose anything at all. She could take her own money back and put the rest of the money back in its original position, and everything would be as if it never happened.
But what about Ke Yu? Ke Yu believed in her and had been waiting for her. Today, she made a solemn promise to bring someone home, a promise that if she backed out, how sad would Ke Yu be? Where would he be sent next time? To a normal person’s home like Mina’s or hers, or to a sadistic person who would abuse custom-made products?
She couldn’t bear to think about it.
She couldn’t back out. Ke Yu only had her, Ke Yu only had her!
It was just a house. There were so many people in the world who didn’t have a house, and everyone was living well. Besides, she had a job, a future, and hope. It was worth exchanging a dead object for a living person, a lover who would be with her for a lifetime.
Zhang Yang couldn’t afford to be hungry anymore, so she went downstairs. There was a national chain of real estate agencies in their community.
While selling her house, Zhang Yang also started looking for a new one. She calculated that based on the real estate agent’s estimate, the selling price of the house she wanted would not be less than 5.5 million yuan. After deducting various fees, taxes, and expenses, she would have about 5.3 million yuan left in hand. With this amount of money, she would have more than enough to rent a new place and cover her living expenses after bringing Ke Yu back home.
Things didn’t turn out as bad as she had imagined. Zhang Yang had made up her mind and wouldn’t allow herself to hesitate any longer. She focused on preparing to bring Ke Yu back home.
Looking for a new house was a time-consuming task, and Zhang Yang was also busy with the upcoming birthday celebration for Sheng Shi. She didn’t even have time to deal with the conflicts and disputes within her circle.
Mina called her once to ask about the progress. Zhang Yang lied and said that she was heartbroken but had given up. She knew that if she told the truth, Mina would definitely oppose her and remind her of her madness and irrationality. Maybe Mina never intended to humiliate her, but the sense of superiority of wealthy girls was deeply ingrained in their bones and flowed in their blood. Zhang Yang didn’t want to hear anything from her. She had made up her mind.
Mina was relieved and said that she still loved her brother and would contribute to Sheng Shi’s birthday when her mother returned her credit card.
Sheng Shi’s birthday was approaching, and various promotions had already begun on various platforms. Zhang Yang had chosen the same charity foundation as last year, which focused on education. The funds raised this time would be used to donate a Hope Primary School in Daliangshan. The preliminary negotiations went smoothly, and she would hand over the funds to the foundation in Sheng Shi’s name after the fundraising deadline.
During this period, Zhang Yang would post the fundraising progress on Weibo every few days. Since the amount raised had already exceeded 2 million yuan, and she only posted the total amount, no one noticed that 500,000 yuan was missing for the time being.
Some people have questioned why Zhang Yang did not disclose the fundraising information earlier, and why she did not disclose it every day. She used various excuses such as being busy with work, and when asked too much, her fans would turn around and accuse the other party of not trusting her.
Although these murmurs were not yet significant, Zhang Yang was still anxious. After selling the house, she planned to immediately put the money back because the fundraising deadline was approaching. If she suddenly had an extra 500,000 yuan at the last minute, it would be suspicious. She is an accountant, and misappropriating money that does not belong to her is too sensitive. Although she did not spend the money, she still felt guilty.
Fortunately, her house was very popular, and there were many people coming to see it. Zhang Yang was under a time limit of two weeks, including the payment and transfer time. She weighed the decisions between several buyers and had little time to make a decision. She felt a sense of urgency every day.
Several days later, Zhang Yang finally settled on a buyer and sold her house for 5.63 million yuan, the price of which she had lived in for 25 years.
Following this, there were a series of procedures, such as transfer of ownership and payment periods, that Zhang Yang had never experienced before. Any small problem could cause delays, so she hurriedly rushed through the process. By the time she actually received the money, it was the last day of the two-week deadline.
Zhang Yang didn’t have time to release the joint account, so she contacted Wang Wei immediately after work.
Welcoming her was Xu Jing, who had met her last time.
However, when she asked Xu Jing for help with finding someone with a mix of hope and anxiety and with the confidence to spend a lot of money, Xu Jing replied with a fake smile, “I’m sorry, Miss Zhang, Ke Yu has already been sold to other clients.”
