Chapter 2: Abandoned

Walking up past the medicinal herb garden, there was a small tea plantation on the slope near the valley. It covered a fairly large area and seemed to contain many different varieties, but as a northerner, Luo Qiao couldn't tell what they were.

In her past life, Luo Qiao was a wood-element ability user. Her wood-element ability was different from others; while others could only use theirs to accelerate plant growth, Luo Qiao’s ability also possessed healing and offensive capabilities. Seeing these plants made her feel a sense of kinship, but that was all in the past. Luo Qiao sighed and continued walking forward.

She looked around this place with curiosity, wondering why she was the only one here. Before she could figure it out, she felt someone pushing her and heard a voice saying, "Wake up, get up and eat something before you go back to sleep."

Luo Qiao opened her eyes, feeling a bit dazed. Once she was fully awake, she realized she was still in the same room as before. Thinking about the dream she had just had, she let out a self-deprecating laugh in her heart.

Lu Yichen brought the food over and asked, "Do you want me to help you up?"

Luo Qiao replied, "No need, I can do it myself."

She looked at the large bowl placed in front of her. Inside were potatoes and dried green beans stir-fried with meat sauce, served over white noodles. It smelled delicious. From the original owner's memories, Luo Qiao knew that not every household could afford to eat pure white flour these days.

She felt a bit flattered. To be honest, she was dying to eat it. Although she could get full in the apocalypse, that food was all grown using abilities; the seeds had long since mutated, and the unique, pure fragrance of grain was long gone.

However, Luo Qiao knew nothing about what had happened after the original owner fainted, and she felt constantly uneasy.

Seeing Luo Qiao holding the bowl but staring blankly, Lu Yichen asked, "Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your taste?"

Luo Qiao was startled and quickly shook her head, saying, "No, no, it's just that I..."

Lu Yichen said, "Eat first. After you finish, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

With that, he turned and left the room.

Luo Qiao let out a breath and thought to herself, "True enough, heaven and earth are vast, but eating is the most important thing."

When Lu Yichen came back in, Luo Qiao had actually finished the entire large bowl of noodles. She was so full she felt like she could still eat more; it was just that delicious.

Luo Qiao blushed in embarrassment and said, "It was too delicious, I ate a bit too much."

After saying this, she lowered her head, sneaking a glance at Lu Yichen from the corner of her eye.

Lu Yichen looked at this somewhat thin and delicate young girl with a hint of amusement, reminded of his younger sister far away in Beijing.

Luo Qiao gave a light cough and asked, "How did I end up here?"

Lu Yichen deliberated for a moment before saying, "Your adoptive parents left with Zhao Guibao—oh, that’s the child you were swapped with. But the Zhao family claimed that you weren't their biological daughter, saying their own daughter died shortly after birth."

Luo Qiao let out a cold, mocking laugh in her heart. "Gao Suhua, you really dare to say anything. That's fine, though; it saves me from having to be a beast of burden for the Zhao family like the original owner."

But then she thought about her household registration and said, "Thank you for taking me in and feeding me. I will repay you in the future."

Lu Yichen said, "Yesterday, you fell and hit your head, losing quite a bit of blood. The doctor said you shouldn't be moved, so you're staying here for now. Auntie Gao from the branch secretary's house has been taking care of you; she just left because she had something to attend to."

Luo Qiao nodded slightly and said, "Then I've caused you trouble."

In her heart, however, she was thinking about how the original owner had been abandoned.

Lu Yichen said, "Rest for now. When you're feeling better, we can discuss how to resolve things."

Dear readers, because the female lead's age in the story has been changed from thirteen to fifteen, if you find any errors, missed corrections, or unreasonable points while reading, please leave a message for Yuanzi. Yuanzi will correct them as soon as possible. Thank you all.

(End of chapter)