Chapter 9 Leaving Homeland

The next morning, Zhang Wei vaguely felt someone coming to her bedside. She opened her eyes and saw a bearded face. It was the foreigner from yesterday, and standing next to him was Anne Hathaway.

The director's mother was speaking to her in a cheerful tone:

"Weiwei, get up. Look, your new mom and dad love you and are going to take you to your new home!"

What? She was sold so quickly?

Zhang Wei thought a lot in an instant. She had the illusion that she was being sold by human traffickers. It seemed that there were no human rights in the world of children.

There doesn't seem to be much difference between going to Officer Hou's sister's house or to this foreign couple's house. After all, she doesn't know them, so she can't be worse than Chen Jiumei... right?

Of course, she could also resist by crying like a real child, but at this moment, Zhang Wei looked at this well-dressed, kind-looking couple who came with an interpreter and entourage, and her soul as an adult was shamefully moved.

Ms. Hathaway had already taken out a new coat from her attendant and put it on Zhang Wei. Her movements were not unfamiliar at all. Zhang Wei thought that there must be other children in her family.

When Zhang Wei was picked up, she couldn't calm down. Did Officer Hou's family really not want to adopt her all of a sudden? Did she have a rare blood type, or was she born with healthy organs? This sudden change made her start to have some conspiracy theories.

Zhang Wei hadn't fully prepared herself mentally yet, and the speed of the process was shocking to her.

After having breakfast together at the welfare home in the morning, Zhang Wei got a preliminary understanding of her new family. The host's surname was Wilson, and he said Zhang Wei could just call him Charles.

They also said that Zhang Wei's name sounds very similar to their surname, and they should be a family.

There are three other boys in his family, the youngest of whom is about the same age as her, but they decided on their own that all three boys are her brothers.

After watching the Wilsons sign a document, she was carried into a business car.

The whole time, Emma, who looked as beautiful as Hathaway, held her and asked her about her needs from time to time through the translator. When she got in the car, she thought, this is a regular welfare home, there shouldn't be any personal threats...

After getting off the car, Zhang Wei checked into a high-end hotel that she had never stayed in in her previous life but had only heard of. The hotel staff were extremely enthusiastic and even pushed a baby stroller over. Fortunately, Ms. Emma did not put her in, otherwise Zhang Wei would have had some psychological problems.

After taking the elevator into the room, Emma put Zhang Wei down. Zhang Wei stepped on the thick carpet, which felt soft.

There was already a row of dolls on the sofa, some Chinese and some foreign. The translator was a lively girl, and she immediately pulled Zhang Wei over:

"Wow, Weiwei, look, mom and dad bought you so many beautiful dolls."

Zhang Wei picked up the one closest to her and turned to the Wilsons and said, "Thank you!"

"Oh! I'm glad my angel likes it!" Charles fits Zhang Wei's impression of foreigners very well and expresses himself very directly.

The translator still spoke with a Chinese subtlety: "Mr. Charles was very happy. This is their thoughtful gesture."

They seemed to be busy with other things, and one of them went into a room and didn't come out, leaving the translator sister to play with her.

Zhang Wei had a good impression of the translator. She wondered if she would stay with her forever, so she asked directly, "Sister, will you stay with me?"

She was stunned for a moment, then squatted down patiently to coax the child:

"Weiwei, don't be afraid. Your new mom and dad are very nice. They'll buy you new clothes and toys. You're such a good boy, everyone will like you."

"You're going to your new home tomorrow. It's better there than the orphanage. You're going to like it."

After saying that, thinking of Zhang Wei's expectant eyes, he whispered, "If you are unhappy, you can call me." Then he stuffed a small card into Zhang Wei's pocket.

Written on it was her name - Wu Yi and a phone number.

Zhang Wei touched the card, as if it could give her a little sense of security. Although she had expected it, she couldn't help feeling uneasy when she thought about all the unfamiliar things she was about to face.

Many of her former classmates went abroad to study, and she had thought about it when she graduated. However, her father had a second child at that time and told her that raising a child was not easy. Zhang Wei didn't want to ask for help, so she gave up.

This is also why she took the civil service exam as soon as she graduated. The establishment can give her a sense of security, and she cannot rely on others.

Thinking about the all-English environment she would soon be in, Zhang Wei felt that she urgently needed to improve her English. With her current level, she probably wouldn't even be able to pass the College English Test Band 4...

Zhang Wei immediately asked Wu Yi to teach her English words so that she could occasionally say a few words without surprising others. She really didn't want to be mute anymore.

In one morning, under the translator's surprised gaze, Zhang Wei learned to name the objects in the room: doll, table, sofa, bed, curtains...

Can call out short names: Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma...

Any more would not be suitable. At lunch, only Emma came out. She ordered Chinese food for Zhang Wei and the translator sister, and she only had a little salad herself.

Zhang Wei scooped a spoonful of steamed egg and covered the rice with it. The first bite made her eyebrows drop. It was filled with sea urchin!

The stir-fried lilies and grilled eel tasted very good. Zhang Qing felt that she had finally had a good meal after such a long time. She ate up the small bowl of rice.

Enjoyment makes people degenerate, which makes Zhang Wei look forward to the future life.

Charles didn't come out of the room until they had all finished eating. He said goodbye and hurried out again. Zhang Wei guessed that she probably wouldn't have much time to spend with him in the future.

At night, Emma agreed to let Zhang Wei sleep alone, but refused to let her take a shower by herself. In desperation, she could only agree to let the translator sister watch her take a shower...

When lying on the big bed in the hotel, Zhang Weicai felt a little uncomfortable with the quiet. She couldn't sleep, so she gently got up and sat by the window.

Looking at the city lights outside the window and thinking about what happened that day, Zhang Wei was wondering, was the previous life real?

Or is she actually Chen Laidi, and Zhang Wei's life is just her imagination?

If she did start a second life, what meaning does her existence have to the world?

Could it be that someone had glimpsed her secret regrets and discovered that she didn't really like the ordinary and stable life, but simply lacked the courage to take that step...

She thought of the fear she felt when she walked in the dark on the cliff road in Chenjia Village, the small pride she felt when she successfully got on the bus after spending money, and the relief she felt when she successfully arrived in City A by train. Everything that happened in this short period of time seemed even more thrilling than the more than 20 years she had been Zhang Wei. What was even more dangerous was that she kind of liked this kind of life.

So she absolutely did not want to stay in the orphanage, which was the biggest reason why she acquiesced to the Wilsons' adoption. Although she found many reasons to convince herself that it would be nice to go back to the original path, she still wanted to experience a different life. If she still followed the routine of going to college and then getting a stable job in this life, then her new life seemed to have lost its value.

Yes, she wanted to experience a different life. She wanted to see what kind of person Zhang Wei could become with courage. Then, no matter whether the road ahead was smooth or tortuous, she would definitely persevere...

With renewed courage, Zhang Wei fell asleep peacefully.