Along the mountain road in late autumn, clusters of purplish-red shrubs resemble vibrant flowers from afar. The azure sky is swept by autumn winds, carrying white clouds into the distance.
Despite the picturesque autumn scenery, a young girl sitting on a rock, resting against a large tree, had no heart to appreciate it. She pressed the hilt of her sword, glanced at the children beside her, then looked up at the sky with a look of utter despair.
"Mom? Sit here, it's not cold." A girl of about five or six years old said timidly, pointing to the seat next to her.
That spot was also a large rock, but the difference was that it was now covered with a thick layer of yellow leaves, clearly done by human hands.
"How many times have I told you, don't call me 'Mom,' you're not allowed to call me 'Mom.'" Hong Xiaoduo felt like she was going crazy, but looking at the children's innocent expressions, she couldn't vent her anger. Sigh, what was she doing? Arguing with a few poor children?
Xiao Duo couldn't help but wonder, if she had known it would turn out like this, and had pretended not to see it and walked away when she saw them being abused by that person last night, would things have turned out differently?
You're already stressed and upset about your own problems, yet you still have the energy to meddle in other people's business and stand up for others?
"Mom, these are some wild berries I just picked. Have some to tide you over." A boy came over, picked out a few large, high-quality wild hawthorns from the corner of his shirt, and carefully handed them to her.
Another one called for her mother. Xiao Duo felt her temples throbbing. The rage she had just suppressed suddenly exploded. She glared at the boy in front of her and pointed at the girl next to her: "It's one thing for her to shout randomly because she's young, but what's wrong with you? You're eight or nine years old, right? You have good eyesight, don't you? Take a good look at how old I am."
How can you even say I'm older than you?
I look only fifteen or sixteen years old. How could I have a son as big as you? I gave birth to you when I was less than ten?
The boy, who was being yelled at, turned even paler than before, his face becoming even more deathly pale, and his whole body trembled slightly.
Looking around at her younger siblings who were equally frightened, and remembering that she was the eldest, she mustered her courage and stammered cautiously, "Then, how should I address you, 'you'?"
What should I call you? This question shouldn't even exist for her. Her mind and thoughts have been in complete disarray ever since she arrived in this utterly unfamiliar place yesterday.
More than how the children addressed her, she was eager to know what her current situation was.
Just then, she heard a gurgling sound. Hong Xiaoduo turned her head and saw the child beside her, who was covering his stomach with his little hands and had a sallow face.
She knew that the sound came from someone who was hungry.
They haven't eaten anything since I rescued them last night. How could they not be hungry?
The wild berries the boy had in his pocket were hardly tasty, and there were only a few of them. They wouldn't even be enough to fill the children's teeth, let alone satisfy their hunger. Yet, he gave them to her first.
Of course, there was very little filial piety towards her as their "mother" in these actions; it was clearly an attempt to curry favor and ingratiate themselves, fearing that she would abandon them.
"Alright, alright, call them whatever you want. Um, you, you stay here with them and don't wander off. I'll go find something to eat." Xiao Duo knew that hunger was unpleasant. It was alright for adults, but these were still children.
In particular, seeing their pitiful state—as if they were afraid of bothering her, not daring to utter a sound when hungry, not daring to cry, yet still trying to please her—made her inexplicably irritated.
Who can we blame for all of this? We can only blame ourselves!
What made Hong Xiaoduo even more devastated was that, having not slept all night, she could only remember her own name. The only thing she could remember was going to that beach recommended by many online influencers, where she was drinking coconut water on a deck chair under a parasol and admiring the handsome guys with eight-pack abs playing volleyball on the beach.
All my previous memories have vanished; I can't remember anything!
The weather suddenly changed and it started to drizzle. All the tourists on the beach left, and since there were no muscular guys to see and I didn't want to stay cooped up in my hotel room, I decided to be there.
I was thinking of wandering around the area to find some local delicacies. If I wanted to taste authentic local food, I couldn't go to tourist attractions where it's expensive and doesn't taste good.
She found a local food court on her phone, but couldn't hail a taxi, so she had to walk. Halfway there, a sudden thunderstorm broke out, followed by a downpour, and her umbrella was barely holding up.
I saw a technology experience center by the roadside and thought I'd go in and wait for the wind and rain to subside before leaving.
There was only one receptionist at the science museum. I told her that I just wanted to take shelter from the rain in the lobby, but she was very enthusiastic and said that it was okay. The rain didn't look like it would stop anytime soon, so why not go in and have a look? She even said that if I bought a ticket with my ID card, I might win the grand prize—free admission and all the experiences would be free.
Looking at the rain outside, she couldn't see across the street anymore. If she just stood there and waited, who knew when the rain would stop? So she put down her umbrella, took out her ID card, and registered.
Unexpectedly, the other party looked very surprised after seeing the ID card, and immediately picked up the landline to make a call. Soon after, an elderly man wearing glasses arrived, who looked very knowledgeable.
Hong Xiaoduo heard the receptionist respectfully address the old curator as the curator. The old curator took her ID card, looked at it, and asked her if she knew her birth time.
She didn't think much of it and told the other party. Then she saw the old curator was very excited, saying that he had finally waited for it.
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