Chapter 11
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Ji Ning sensed that everyone was avoiding her.
Xiao Man Fu whispered with Uncle Fu, the butler conferred repeatedly with Ji Guoting, Lin Li—the senior secretary of Mingya Fu—came rushing over after work hours, and they all seemed desperate to send her away.
Moreover, every seemingly casual greeting from each member of the household carried a hidden meaning.
They were watching her.
Ji Ning suspected it was a secret.
To touch that secret meant to pierce through the four-year blank in her memory.
As Ji Guoting had said, time slips by every second, and the present moment is indeed what one should cherish most.
But no one had the right to erase her past or rewrite her life.
Ji Ning stepped out of the security checkpoint without looking back.
...
Enthusiastic forum moderator Xiao Zhou posted in the entertainment section of a forum that usually buzzed with fan quarrels, suddenly sharing a “Save Little Bitter Melon” charity post, which became a breath of fresh air in the group.
More and more netizens followed the thread eagerly, unwilling to miss any updates from the poster. The vast internet, with netizens everywhere, connected their scattered tidbits, increasing the thread’s popularity.
“I have a roommate from Yongrui Village. She said their village is very poor, with severe preference for boys over girls. A few years ago, after she got into college, she rarely contacted her family. After graduation, she found a good job. Whenever she received a call from her parents, before they could complain about poverty, she would start crying first, saying the landlord had kicked her out and begging for money to tide over.”
“What happened afterward, upstairs?”
“It’s been many years since we graduated from university and live in different cities, barely in touch. But from what I see on her social media, she’s doing well. I just checked—last New Year, she traveled alone with a backpack.”
“Given Zhu Zhu’s situation, her family probably wouldn’t want to pay for her schooling, let alone university.”
“Helping kids is good, but distant help can’t solve immediate troubles…”
Some didn’t know who “Little Bitter Melon” was and were searching for photos when the poster updated the main post.
The poster had finally arrived at Yongrui Village. The photos were taken from afar, inadvertently capturing Zhu Zhu’s younger brother as well. Compared to the younger brother, dressed like a little boss, Zhu Zhu looked as if she had been picked up off the street—her braids were messy, and it was an elderly village grandmother who called her over to fix her hair. Granny Song managed to find the most old-fashioned yellow rubber band and tied Zhu Zhu’s hair into a high ponytail, making her look like a little rustic treasure.
“Yaozu’s mom, spare us—no matter if you dress the kid in a dragon robe, she won’t look like a prince. She bullies her sister to death but now wants to bask in her light?”
“Honestly, Granny’s braid-tying energy reminds me exactly of my own grandma! She ties it so tight, our baby’s round eyes are turning long!”
The poster mostly narrated the situation in Yongrui Village in text form.
Apparently, recently, many opportunistic media came to Yongrui Village to ride the wave. Qin Meilan, having learned from the previous experience with the Sweet Donut incident, no longer gave anyone a sour face. Moreover, she acted quite smug; although her child wasn’t famous yet, she behaved like a manager, blocking outsiders and refusing photos.
“Poster: Report! We have successfully delivered the supplies to the little girl’s home.”
“Poster: Another update! The box of milk has been opened, and Yaozu is drinking it happily.”
Netizens: ?
...
Zhu Zhu, with her high ponytail, felt a slight headache.
Her eyes hurt too, as if being pulled.
One of the aunties who came with gifts couldn’t bear it and helped her redo her hair.
The little bundle heard them say how difficult it was for her to finally arrive here.
She had never watched TV or traveled far; her only contact with the outside world was when the program crew took her to record a show.
The kind uncles and aunties told Zhu Zhu they all came from the urban area of Nan City.
So, from Nan City to Yongrui Village was already a very long distance.
“Auntie, do you know where Beicheng is?” the little girl asked softly.
“We’re in South City. Beicheng is definitely farther, you’d have to take a plane to get there—it’s the distance between north and south.” After explaining, she kindly added, “Zhu Zhu might not understand now, but she’ll learn geography when she grows up.”
“Does Zhu Zhu want to go to Beicheng?”
The little girl nodded vigorously.
Her mother was in Beicheng.
“So you have to study hard. When you learn and gain knowledge, there will be a chance to leave these mountains.”
“When you get to university, you can go to Beicheng.”
The little girl’s eyes flickered like a candle flame swayed by the wind, slowly dimming.
There were older siblings in the village who made it to university; they were very tall, like adults.
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Zhu Zhu was in a remote place, and her mother didn’t know where she was.
And her mother... Zhu Zhu knew she was in Beicheng, but she would have to wait a very long time until she grew up and was able to find her.
Birds chattered on the treetops, then suddenly took wing and flew away.
The little girl had no wings and hung her head in frustration.
But soon, she persuaded herself.
Her mother could join the “Swap Lives” program; just as originally planned, this time they would participate together.
“Hello?” Qin Meilan answered a call. “Speak louder, I can’t hear.”
It was Zhao Wu calling.
Perhaps due to poor signal, Qin Meilan struggled to hear, almost pressing the phone tightly to her ear while covering the other ear, hastily stepping outside.
The uncles and aunties who came to visit Zhu Zhu left many business cards.
They said every number on the cards was reachable and brought supplements for Grandma Zhao, kindly expressing willingness to sponsor the child’s education and basic living expenses for the next decade or so.
Though Grandma Zhao hadn’t seen much of the world, she knew the little girl was going on a show and was unimpressed by those meager offerings, curling her lips disdainfully.
The kind-hearted visitors forced smiles, but their faces stiffened. The tense silence lingered.
This family was clearly greedy and incompetent; no wonder the host a few days ago was angry enough to expose them.
Some kind-hearted people didn’t rely on the internet for income; they came purely for the child and now sighed inwardly for Zhu Zhu.
Meanwhile, the enthusiastic poster Xiao Zhou updated progress in the thread.
The thread was getting more attention, and netizens’ emotions ran higher.
“Ahhh, such an ungrateful family.”
“Is this a case of harsh environment breeding vicious people?”
“Netizens’ empathy is real…”
Zhu Zhu didn’t understand the silent battles among adults, nor that she had once again become the focus online.
She only watched Qin Meilan, who was outside taking the call.
“Why can’t I participate in the show anymore?”
“If it were Xiao Jie, I’d drum up all the support to send him.”
“We already promised the program crew; what do you want me to say?”
Qin Meilan was fiery, but only in front of outsiders; at home, everything, big or small, was decided by Zhao Wu.
On the other end, Zhao Wu strongly opposed Zhu Zhu going on the show. Qin Meilan was anxious and desperate, nearly at her wit’s end trying to reason with her husband.
Her mother-in-law didn’t know why her daughter-in-law was so upset, opening her mouth to chatter.
The little girl turned left, then right, back and forth several times.
Her little head was busy.
Qin Meilan rambled on, her brows so tightly furrowed they could crush a fly.
Zhao Xiao Jie sought his mother’s embrace, but she waved him off, telling him to play alone for a while.
Zhu Zhu’s ears pricked up like they had super hearing, listening intently, her small heart sinking, sinking...
Can’t go on the show anymore?
She had barely managed to survive, and was so close to seeing her mother.
Outside, Qin Meilan’s sharp voice grew dimmer, her defiance fading, her face full of displeasure.
“You owe me an explanation...”
“No justice! A wild bastard, and still can’t show her face?”
Harsh words echoed in Zhu Zhu’s ears.
Qin Meilan, caught up in emotion, didn’t control her volume; even the kind-hearted netizens inside could hear clearly.
The auntie who had just braided Zhu Zhu's hair frowned deeply.
This was too much—what kind of words were those?
Watching this, everyone’s hearts ached but they could do nothing.
Poster Xiao Zhou continued to narrate this little incident live, while forum netizens speculated that Zhu Zhu had indeed been chosen by the “Swap Lives” program, but now something had gone wrong, and the filming might be canceled.
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“What does 'wild bastard' mean?”
“That’s so cruel; how hurt must the child be hearing that…”
The little girl watched Qin Meilan’s mouth open and close.
She still held onto a tiny, last bit of hope to see her mother.
“If you don’t want to go, fine, I’ll call the program crew myself. Why are you so anxious?” Qin Meilan continued. “But even if you don’t go, you have to tell me why.”
Zhu Zhu anxiously tapped her small feet, spinning in place.
She wanted to move forward, to plead with her brother’s mother...
But to Qin Meilan, Zhu Zhu was a nuisance.
She was irritated, kicked the child away, and yelled into the phone, “If you don’t explain, I won’t agree. The signal’s bad, you tell me—”
The kick was sudden and unguarded; Zhu Zhu was flung instantly.
The little girl truly looked like a ball, kicked far away.
Pain engulfed her, and from her eyes emerged helplessness.
The visiting netizens hadn’t reacted yet when they heard her brother laughing out loud.
“Serves you right, serves you right…”
“Bastard sister deserves it!”
Zhu Zhu’s face scrunched in pain.
The adults rushed forward to help her, telling her not to be afraid, angrily confronting Qin Meilan.
“That child’s identity is special!” Zhao Wu almost shouted down the line. “Ask! Satisfied now?”
“What identity?”
Qin Meilan didn’t understand. Hearing the commotion, she frowned and looked back.
She was surrounded by these troublesome city visitors, and at that moment, police sirens sounded.
The village children had never seen police cars, let alone so many lined up—it was impressive.
Until their attention was drawn again.
A big child pointed to the blue sky.
“An airplane... there’s a plane!”
...
On the forum, netizens still bumped the thread.
“Why no updates?”
“Could it just fizzle out like this...?”
“What else? That’s their kid; they wouldn’t just take her away.”
“What did Zhu Zhu do wrong to deserve so much suffering?”
“Isn’t there anyone who can protect the baby? So heartbreaking, you can feel her helplessness even through the screen.”
Fewer and fewer netizens kept bumping the thread.
More new threads attracted attention.
This thread should have died down.
Just as originally scripted, Zhu Zhu would have been forgotten in the end.
Yet fate twisted unexpectedly, bringing a miraculous turn.
“Poster: I’m back.”
“Poster: Wow, arrived at the scene first to witness the drama.”
“Poster: Even a private plane showed up... They say Little Bitter Melon is the abducted young heiress of a wealthy Beicheng family!”
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