When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment.
All around were chattering kids, looking at her with curious eyes.
Niannian wiggled her small hands and feet. She still had a baby's body.
"Is this the new little sister?"
"I heard from the dean that she is."
"The new little sister is so pretty."
"Don't pinch her face! You've made it red."
"Sister Liu Hong is coming! Everyone, run! Or Sister Liu Hong will scold us for surrounding the baby later!"
The kids scattered in all directions. A young girl, who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, walked into the room.
She was holding a baby bottle in her hand and shouting at the kids with her hands on her hips, "I saw you touching her just now. Don't bully the new little sister! If I catch you next time, I'll spank all of you!"
When the baby bottle was stuffed into her mouth and she listened to the big sister's nagging, the little girl finally understood her situation.
In the end, she was sent to the orphanage.
So the question was, where was her master?
Where had her big master gone?
Maybe she just had to wait a little longer.
Perhaps after some time, her master would come looking for her.
Life in the orphanage wasn't actually that hard. Apart from the absence of her master and senior brothers, it was similar to her life in the Taoist temple, and even better in some ways.
She remembered that when she was little, the Taoist temple was very poor. Sometimes the roof would even break.
In the orphanage, at least she could have enough to eat and wear, although the food wasn't great and the clothes weren't fancy.
But the problem was that two years had passed, and her master still hadn't come.
The most crucial problem was that the little girl found that she couldn't remember what her master looked like or his name.
Even the faces of those senior brothers were becoming increasingly blurred in her memory.
Niannian was a bit anxious.
She always had a good memory. How could this happen?
By the third year, Niannian had almost forgotten who she was waiting for.
But she knew that she was waiting for someone, an elder to take her away.
"Someone's here to adopt a child. Sister, come with us quickly!"
A dirty kid who had just been playing with mud grabbed the dazed little Niannian and ran towards the front of the orphanage.
As soon as they got to the front yard, they saw a middle - aged man in expensive clothes, accompanied by a big boy with a look of impatience on his face, talking to the dean.
As soon as Niannian appeared, the middle - aged man's eyes were drawn to her.
He seemed so familiar.
This uncle really seemed so familiar. But she had never seen this uncle in the orphanage before. Why did she feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness?
"This little girl?"
The man spotted Niannian at a glance. Looking at her, he felt extremely happy and a sense of closeness.
This kid was so beautiful. If he was going to adopt a child, this little girl would definitely be his first choice.
"Ah, this is the youngest and healthiest child in our orphanage. She's very well - behaved and has strong self - care ability. You don't have to worry much if you take her home. This child has a gentle nature and never fights for anything. She's a really good kid," the dean praised Niannian without reservation.
He could tell that this middle - aged man was very interested in the little girl.
As the dean of the orphanage, he naturally wanted the best for the kids.
If a child could be adopted, they could have a family, which would be better for their growth.
It was better than being crowded in the orphanage, where they were constantly reminded that they were unwanted by their parents.
The man was tempted. After thinking for a while, he immediately made a decision, "It's her. I'll adopt her."
The dean nodded with a smile and agreed. The adoption procedure was completed quickly, and the little girl was taken away by the middle - aged man on the same day.
They all called him General Manager Yu.
He named the little girl Yu Niannian.
Niannian didn't have this name in the orphanage. They were ranked by age and named with numbers.
They didn't have surnames.
She was the twentieth and the youngest in the orphanage, and usually everyone called her Little Twenty.
At first hearing the name Yu Niannian, the little girl was a bit dazed. She remembered that this was her former name.
Looking at the middle - aged man in front of her, she still felt so familiar, but she just couldn't remember.
"My name is Yu Shanhe. From now on, I'll be your father. When we get home, you have to call me dad. This is your second elder brother. You also have an elder brother. As for your mother, she's sick now and in a nursing home. When your mother gets a bit better, dad will take you to see her," the man said gently, patting the little girl's furry head.
"Dad, mom, and second elder brother?"
That inexplicable sense of familiarity came again. The little girl lowered her head, not knowing what was going on.
Moreover, she didn't really want to leave the orphanage.
The little girl still remembered that she was waiting for someone to take her away.
That person definitely wasn't the dad in front of her. But why hadn't he come yet?
It seemed that she couldn't wait for him.
She'd just go looking for him by herself when she grew up!
The little girl was an ambitious child. If the mountain wouldn't come to her, she'd go to the mountain. If she couldn't wait for him, she'd go find him.
But she also knew that with her current age and having no money at all, it would be extremely difficult to find someone.
Maybe when she got a bit older, she could find that person on her own.
Just like that, she went home with her dad.
When she got home, she saw a little girl in expensive clothes. Her name was Zhao Tang.
Dad said she should call her sister.
But Niannian hesitated for a long time and just couldn't bring herself to say that word.
For some reason, the little girl seemed to be naturally hostile towards her.
And the little girl also felt extremely uncomfortable the first time she saw this sister.
They seemed to be natural enemies. Neither of them liked the other.
On the first day she came to the new home, this sister came to pick a fight with her and broke the gift dad had given her.
Dad wasn't home. Only the second elder brother was still at home.
Hearing their argument, the second elder brother scolded her without hesitation.
"You're just an outsider, a child my dad adopted. Tangtang is my real blood - related sister. If you bully her again, I'll ask my dad to send you back!"
The second elder brother named Yu Sheng left with the annoying sister after throwing down this harsh word.
Looking at his angry back as he walked away, Niannian suddenly felt a bit empty inside and wanted to cry out of grievance.
Dad finally came home at night, but he didn't look well.
There were dark circles under his eyes. Niannian saw a wisp of black qi coiling around his body.
The little girl had an intuition that she could solve the problem her dad was facing now.
But how to solve it? Why had she forgotten everything?