1
An old Volkswagen and a brand-new Maybach pulled up in front of Trình Vân and me.
The wealthy couple hesitated. Trình Vân and I were both suitable candidates.
But we each had our flaws: one of us wasn’t pretty enough, and the other wasn’t kind enough.
After thinking it over for a while, they finally headed toward me. The comments appeared again:
【Are these two blind? They chose that stupid, ugly girl just because she’s a little prettier, instead of choosing Trình Vân.】
【It’s fine. Even if she gets adopted, she’ll be sent back.】
【She’s just here to make Trình Vân’s kindness shine later on. Don’t get worked up.】
Just then, a couple with unmistakable Northeastern accents suddenly appeared in front of me, their eyes brimming with joy.
“Oh, my goodness, what a pretty girl!”
“You can tell right away she’s meant to be ours.”
“Sweetheart, would you like to come home with us?”
“We’ve got a pot of pork stew with noodles at home today. It’s delicious!”
I looked at the comments and blinked, just before that wealthy couple could get to me.
I turned and threw myself into the arms of the Northeastern woman in a coarse-cloth dress.
2
I’ve been able to see these comments ever since I was very little.
At the orphanage, supplies were handed out unevenly, so most of the time we had to fight over them. Trình Vân and I had been competing since we were little.
Whenever I managed to get a new notebook or a new outfit, these comments would appear to curse me out.
They said, “She’s been wicked since childhood.” Even as a little girl, I’d stop at nothing; once I grew up, everyone would hate me.
Back then, I didn’t understand. What was wrong with wanting to live a little better? As I grew up, I finally understood: I was only there to be Trình Vân’s foil.
My selfish greed was bound to make her resilience and indomitable spirit stand out.
And as the villainess, all I could do was fail again and again whenever we competed, grow twisted inside, and become truly wicked.
But this time, I really didn’t want to be someone else’s foil anymore.
I got into the Volkswagen, and only then did Trình Vân breathe a sigh of relief.
The comments grew even more smug:
【Haha, what an idiot. She gave up the heiress experience card for a bowl of pork stew with noodles.】
【She’ll be stuck like this for the rest of her life. From now on, she and our Vân Vân will belong to two completely different worlds.】
【Her character is a detestable villainess. No matter who adopts her, she’ll end up abandoned. I’m just waiting to see her make a fool of herself.】
I’ll be abandoned?
I cautiously raised my head and looked at the man driving up front. Our eyes met by chance in the rearview mirror.
He immediately broke into a wide smile. “A girl getting shy? Look all you want. From now on, we’re family.”
“I’m Trịnh Nghị, and my wife’s Vương Thư. I’m a police officer, and she’s a teacher. We both have respectable jobs, so don’t worry.”
“Don’t feel any pressure about coming home with us. Just think of our house as your own!”
Aunt Vương Thư smiled too. “He’s right. Don’t be shy.”
“Oh, when we were filling out the paperwork just now, we saw that your name was listed as Tiểu Ngũ. What’s your full name, sweetheart?”
I lowered my head. My fingers were nearly scratched raw, and the comments said I’d be abandoned no matter what.
Then it didn’t matter what my name was anymore.
“I don’t have a full name. I’m just called Tiểu Ngũ.”
3
Uncle’s pork stew with noodles smelled wonderful. I could smell it as soon as we walked into the house.
I sat up straight at the dining table.
I remembered what the director had told me before I left:
“When you go to someone else’s home, mind your manners. Don’t eat too much.”
I was so hungry I was seeing spots, but I only dared take tiny bites. Uncle and Aunt, though, kept piling food into my bowl.
The bowl, bigger than my face, was piled into a mountain.
“This is delicious. These mushrooms were sent from Thiết Lĩnh. They’re so fresh.”
“You have to eat plenty of meat. You’re too skinny, sweetheart.”
“And these noodles—let me tell you, they’re delicious. They’re a Northeastern specialty.”
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”
“Old Trịnh! I told you to make a few local dishes, but you made a whole Northeastern feast. What if she doesn’t like it? What are we going to do?”
“It’s my fault. What do you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
At the orphanage, the daily food budget was eight thousand per person. The greasy bits of minced meat in stir-fried beans with minced pork were the best thing I could remember eating.
Whenever I got to eat a little more, I was so happy. But it turned out there was something even better than the tastiest food: the food I liked most.
I didn’t want them to misunderstand, so I immediately hugged my bowl and lowered my head to wolf down the food.
“I can eat it! I really like it!”
Northeastern food was delicious. I wanted to stay in this home a little longer.
I was surprised that I could be so greedy.
4
They were such kind people. After dinner, they took me on a big shopping trip around the mall.
They replaced all my daily necessities and clothes, and by the time we got home, it was late at night.
Wearing my new pajamas, I curled up in a corner of the bed. At the orphanage, several people usually had to share one bed.
If you sprawled out too much, someone else would have to suffer for it. Curling up in my sleep had become a habit.
I drifted off to sleep…
I thought someone came into my room and gently crouched beside the bed.
“Old Trịnh, do you think those comments we saw today were a hallucination?”
“It might be a hallucination if just one person saw them. But not if two people did.”
“But those comments were so cruel. How ugly can a child really be?”
“As long as we treat her well, she won’t go down the wrong path.”
“But honestly, I really like this girl. Once she comes to our home, she’s our own daughter. No one’s ever allowed to bully her.”
I was half asleep and couldn’t open my eyes.
But I could feel them gently moving me to the middle of the bed. It was so soft and spacious.
No one was deliberately crowding me, and I wouldn’t wake up with an aching back after a night’s sleep.
This was the most peaceful night’s sleep I’d ever had.
5
They say loving someone is like growing flowers, but Uncle and Aunt loved me like they were raising a pig.
Northeastern dishes came in huge portions, and every one of them went perfectly with rice.
I’d gone from only daring to eat half a bowl of rice to eating two big bowls at every meal.
The orphanage director had said that eating too much at someone else’s house would make them unhappy. The comments often showed up, too, saying:
[What’s so good about it? She eats like she’s been starving for ages every time. Was she a pig in her past life?]
[Good thing our Vân Vân went home with that rich couple. Now she gets Michelin-starred food every meal. It’s a princess’s dream life, for sure.]
[Well, maybe she was so hungry in the orphanage that now she’s eating to make up for it, like some starving ghost. I bet that couple will get sick of her sooner or later.]
Before, whenever the comments compared Trình Vân and me, I was always jealous—jealous that she got better things than I did, jealous that she had a good life without having to lift a finger.
I’d wanted to take everything she had for myself. But this time, I felt nothing. Uncle Trịnh’s cooking was delicious, and whenever he saw me clean my plate, he smiled so happily.
It was the complete opposite of those comments saying they’d get sick of me for eating so much.
Aunt Vương Thư was wonderful, too. She’d never cooked before, but she tried her hand in the kitchen for me. One time, she stir-fried a plate of red sausages.
They were so salty that the two of us drank a whole bucket of water. Uncle Trịnh came back from his patrol and hurriedly cooked three dishes and a soup.
He ordered Aunt Vương Thư not to go into the kitchen on a whim anymore. She giggled and promised she’d never set foot in the kitchen again.
Later, when Uncle Trịnh was too busy to come home and cook, Aunt Vương took me out to eat. Before then, I hadn’t known there were so many different kinds of food.
There were all sorts of things, so many that my eyes were full before I’d even taken a bite. Aunt Vương Thư always ordered a whole tableful.
There was clearly no way the two of us could finish it all, but she ordered it anyway.
She said, “If other children have gotten to eat it, then my child should get to try it, too.”
I lowered my head and ate, but I could taste tears.
So this was what love meant: eating every meal together.
6
When it was almost time for me to start school, Uncle and Aunt solemnly asked what name I wanted.
They said a person’s full name would stay with them for their whole life. Since it was so important, they wanted me to decide for myself.
Even my last name was mine to choose.
“As long as you don’t pick something like Hoàng Phủ Thiết Ngưu, Uncle will support you!” Uncle Trịnh joked.
“What do you mean, Hoàng Phủ Thiết Ngưu? Old Trịnh, you’re never serious. Our daughter has great taste.”
Uncle Trịnh liked teasing Aunt Vương, and a few words from him were enough to make her laugh with satisfaction.
The atmosphere was so warm that even someone like me couldn’t help laughing along.
I looked at the two people before me, who weren’t related to me by blood but were willing to pull me out of the abyss.
I murmured, “I’ve decided.”
“I want to be named Trịnh Hảo.”
“Everything just feels right and good.”
Uncle and Aunt were stunned. The moment they recovered, they were overjoyed.
“Wonderful!”
“Trịnh Hảo is a wonderful name!”
“We’ll take care of the paperwork for you tomorrow!”