Chapter 6: A Dramatic Transformation of the Space

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Yao Bao was very calm.

After confirming that everyone in the room had seen the strange things about her, she stopped moving.

Quietly and peacefully, she awaited death.

Whether being thrown out or sold to a laboratory again, she could die.

She had never been to school or entered society. Since she became sensible, she had been confined in that cold glass room in the laboratory for research. All her knowledge came from those people in the lab.

Extreme pain had closed off her five senses and consciousness. No one had ever liked or loved her, so she didn’t know what those feelings were.

The only thing that set her apart from before was the smiles on the faces of the people in this home when they looked at her, their gentle gazes, and their warm embraces.

That was all.

“Ee, ah.” The room was silent as death. Yao Bao grew a little anxious and let out a couple of sounds, as if reminding them to hurry and throw her out.

It was very cold outside, and she would soon freeze to death.

Old Mrs. Su was the first to regain her composure. She lowered her head and met the child’s pitch-black, unruffled eyes, and her heart suddenly ached.

Those eyes were calm and indifferent, bearing the boredom and despair of one who had endured much, as if having anticipated her fate, quietly awaiting judgment and the arrival of the outcome.

These were not the eyes of an infant; they lacked the purity and innocence of a baby.

Such eyes on a newborn seemed eerie and uncanny.

Any ordinary person would have been terrified.

But Old Mrs. Su only felt heartache; her heart seemed to be gripped tightly by something, aching so much she could barely breathe.

With her thin, rough hands, she held the child close and gently pressed her cheek against the little face.

Used to speaking loudly, the old woman lowered her voice, stiff but warm, “Yao Bao, don’t be afraid, grandma is here.”

Yao Bao’s dark pupils twitched.

After soothing her granddaughter, Old Mrs. Su looked up with a serious, stern expression. “These pears were brought back from the mountain by the second son. What do you all say?”

Su Er shuddered and straightened his back. “Mother, these pears are indeed mine. I fell several times picking them!”

Su Da said, “Mother, obviously Su Er and I picked these pears together. Why do you only punish me and not him?”

He Da Xiang rubbed his hands together and said foolishly, “Mother always says east and I never go west! Mother, I counted, there are nine pears in total. Yao Bao is still too young to eat fruit, so there’s just enough for each of us! Should I pick them up first? Such good pears shouldn’t be wasted on the ground!”

The tense atmosphere broke at He Da Xiang’s words, and everyone first chuckled quietly, then burst into laughter.

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Old Man Su put down his broom and walked over to his wife. He raised his hand to stroke his granddaughter’s face but saw his rough, calloused hands and withdrew it. “Is our Yao Bao here to repay kindness?—Hey! Old woman, let go! The children are all watching! I didn’t say anything and you’re already hitting me!”

Their father got his ear pulled by their mother. Su Da, Su Er, and the others looked up at the sky, not daring to meet their eyes, so as not to bring bad luck upon themselves later.

The commotion in the Su family courtyard in the middle of the night could be faintly heard by neighbors nearby, but no one knew what the fuss was about.

It was bitterly cold, and after the day’s fright, those who heard the noise just burrowed deeper under their covers and went back to sleep, paying no mind.

At dawn, Su Er and his wife took a basket of pears and went back to rest. Before leaving, Old Mrs. Su bent down and pressed her cheek against her little granddaughter’s face again. “Bao, don’t do anything from now on, just grow up well. This family has your grandpa and grandma, your parents, and your second uncle and aunt. The grown-ups will take care of everything, understand?”

Her voice was low, serious, and earnest.

She knew her little granddaughter could understand.

After speaking, she looked up to meet Yao Bao’s eyes and, indeed, saw some emotion there: a little confusion, a little puzzlement.

Old Mrs. Su smiled at the corner of her eyes.

That finally looked like a baby.

Silence returned to the room.

Outside, the cold wind howled, making eerie sounds as it brushed past windows and eaves.

Inside, two adults and one child quietly locked eyes.

After a long moment, Su Da extended a finger cautiously to poke his daughter’s naturally curled little fist.

Liu Yuelan frowned and asked softly, “What are you doing? Afraid of your own daughter? As a father, you’re even worse than the second uncle and He Da Xiang!”

“Nonsense. Didn’t you see the second uncle and his wife’s feet slipping when they left? They were just putting on a brave face. Besides, what am I afraid of? I want to catch some of my daughter’s luck. Maybe if I wave my hand later, I can conjure something, just in time to help you recover!”

“...” Liu Yuelan hugged her daughter and turned away, blocking the man’s gaze.

Su Da grew anxious. “Wife, Yuelan, what are you doing? I really am not afraid—”

“Nursing!”

Those two words cut off the man’s sentence.

Now it was Yao Bao’s turn to grow anxious. The little baby’s eyes widened, her lips pressed tightly together, and her little fists waved incessantly, expressing her resistance with her whole body.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you, my good little baby? Come, eat.”

Yao Bao’s little face flushed red and purple. “Ah, uh! Slurp, slurp!”

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A low chuckle came from behind the man. “Look at her little face, so anxious, she must be really hungry. Yuelan, what do you think our daughter’s origins are?”

“No matter where she comes from, she’s my daughter.”

“Of course. You carried her for ten months and gave birth to her. Who would dare say she’s not our daughter? I’ll knock out his front teeth!”

The couple pressed their heads together, marveling as they watched their daughter feed.

“She knows the family’s food supply is running low and brings food home. Such a good baby, no wonder everyone adores her.”

Soft murmurs continued until Yao Bao finished nursing.

With a mouth made only for eating and no words to speak, Yao Bao felt a faint helplessness in her heart.

The people in this family were so strange. Before, when she produced pears in front of her parents, they were so frightened they pushed her away and ran. But now, her parents, grandpa, and grandma were all different.

Not dying for the moment, Yao Bao closed her eyes, lying in her mother’s arms, and sank into her thoughts, entering her space.

She hadn’t entered that place for a very long time. To her, that was the origin of all her misery.

Yao Bao detested her space.

“Huh???” Seeing the magical place unfold before her eyes, Yao Bao’s eyes widened in rare surprise and astonishment.

Before, her space had only been as big as her parents’ bedroom, and inside there was nothing but a pear tree.

But now, what appeared before her was a vast, expansive plain.

The pear tree was still there, right in front of her, branches heavy with pears, fragrant and sweet.

Not far from the pear tree was a winding, babbling stream. Across the stream was a vegetable patch that Yao Bao had never seen before, full of lush, thriving greens she didn’t recognize.

Beyond the garden, the hills stretched endlessly, shrouded in white mist.

Yao Bao plopped herself down at the foot of the pear tree, mouth agape and eyes blank.

How had the space grown bigger? Becoming so vast meant her misery must be far greater than before, multiplied many times over.

Filled with both sorrow and anger, she fled the space as if her backside were on fire.

She still had to figure something out. She had to die quickly!