"How could I..."

Upon hearing Meng Shuangcheng's question, Yu Jianing was about to retort without even thinking.

But it felt like his throat was locked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Do you have bizarre and fantastical sensations in your mind?

It feels unreal, but it really happened.

...

“Xiao Ning… Director, I don’t really want to send you away, but the orphanage has taken in a few new children, and we haven’t received our funding in a long time… I…”

A dilapidated little courtyard.

The woman, dressed in faded clothes, fidgeted with her fingers, and kept her head down, not daring to look at the girl in front of her.

"It's alright... Dean... I'm all grown up now, I can live on my own..."

Yu Jianing smiled gently, her skin pale and bloodless, looking sickly no matter how you looked at it.

"well…"

The woman sighed helplessly and pulled out a few dollars tangled in toilet paper from her pocket: "Take this money... From now on... live a good life..."

"Um...no need, Dean. I can take care of myself. You can keep this money to buy food for your younger siblings..."

"Shimeng... I'm so sorry to have troubled you..."

"well……"

With a few more sighs, Yu Jianing dragged her suitcase, which had been discarded countless times, and left the orphanage.

Actually, there wasn't much inside; it was mostly just a few tattered clothes.

It wasn't very heavy, but the weak Xiao Ning had to stop and rest after walking only a short distance.

She leaned against a bench by the roadside, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red, and her forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

Jia Ning took a breath and looked at the orphanage gate far away from her. She had forgotten when she came here, and even her name was given to her by the director.

She forgot a lot of things...

All I remember is that the dean mentioned: "I found you on the mountain. It was raining that day. You were wearing a burlap sack and no shoes, and you were unconscious in the grass."

"He was unconsciously shouting for help. If I hadn't often been picking mushrooms near the spot where you were lying, I might never have found you."

Xiao Ning snapped out of her thoughts.

Because she got caught in the rain, she fell seriously ill when the director took her back to the orphanage, suffering from a persistent high fever.

There's not much money in the hospital, and there are so many mouths to feed.

I heard that the dean pawned his wedding ring to pay for her intravenous drip for a day.

She could only buy pills; if she really didn't survive, there was nothing else she could do.

Fortunately, Yu Jianing was quite resilient and survived, though she was physically weak.

It's probably because it didn't get proper care.

"Thanks…"

Yu Jianing took one last look at the gate before dragging her suitcase into the city.

Children from poor families mature early. Having grown up in an orphanage, she was no longer a clueless little girl and knew what she should do.

To live, you need money!

She went to many shops that were hiring, but the bosses felt she looked sickly and didn't want her.

And so, Yu Jianing remained adrift until nightfall.

She touched her rumbling stomach, her vision blurring.

I took out the water I got from the sink in the public restroom, filled a bottle, and only then did I feel a little full.

To be honest, Yu Jianing was in despair at this time; her life had just begun when it turned into darkness.

Fortunately, she later encountered a woman in a trash can who smelled strongly of perfume and alcohol.

She's a prostitute...

On the day we first met, she was wearing a black dress, her lipstick was smudged and ugly, and she was hugging a trash can and vomiting violently.

This made Xiao Ning, who was eating leftovers from some unknown restaurant next to her, vomit as well.

After vomiting, the woman seemed to sober up a bit and looked at the dirty Yu Jianing, asking:

"I saw you looking for a job a couple of days ago. Don't you have a home or a mother?"

The blunt and harsh words made Xiao Ning's face turn pale, and she glared at the woman fiercely.

But then she said, "I can give you a job, but are you a virgin? You look young, so you probably are, right?"

Yu Jianing was furious and left without looking back, pulling her suitcase.

But the woman followed her, swaying unsteadily, her high heels clicking loudly, as if she might fall at any moment.

"Judging from the way you've walked those two steps, it seems so. Interested in hanging out with me?"

"No, thank you!"

Xiao Ning didn't know why she replied to her back then; she was probably genuinely annoyed.

Are you angry?

The woman blinked, looked Yu Jianing up and down, put her arm around her shoulder, and said earnestly.

"Little sister, listen to me. You're the perfect age. Lots of bosses like you. Come with me, and I'll guarantee you'll never have to worry about food or clothing!"

"Let me go!"

Yu Jianing pulled her hand away, wanting to curse at her but unable to find the words.

He gritted his teeth and continued walking forward, dragging his suitcase.

"Ten thousand! A boss is willing to pay you your age. After the job is done, I'll give you an extra three hundred. From now on, you'll work for me and I'll pay you six thousand a month. Keep the tips yourself."

Xiao Ning stopped in her tracks, biting her lips until they turned white.

At that moment, she deeply despised her own soul, because she had fallen in love...

Seeing that she didn't want to leave, the woman gave a mocking laugh.

But only she knew that it was self-deprecation.

She walked behind Yu Jianing and gently hugged her.

They completely ignored the stench emanating from the other person, who had been rummaging through trash cans.

After all, she'd eaten things that smelled even worse than this...

“For poor people like us who can’t even afford to eat, being innocent is the most meaningless thing.”

"Reality is reality, and fiction is fiction. The trope of a domineering CEO falling in love with you is something that will never happen in this lifetime."

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