Fang Xiuxiu squeezed through the crowd and asked softly, “Little girl, do you need help?”
Wen Zhile was somewhat surprised.
She could tell the staff member genuinely wanted to help her, likely because her current wretched appearance had evoked the woman’s kindness.
She smiled slightly: “No need, thank you, sister.”
“Sister, may I ask your name?”
Being an “outsider” in Jingzhou City now, having just arrived, her first priority was to build good relationships with the locals.
Whether useful or not, speaking sweetly never hurt.
The girl’s voice was gentle and soft, listening to her felt like a spring breeze brushing through willow leaves – utterly soothing.
Fang Xiuxiu had never encountered a girl with such a tender tone before. Having checked her ID earlier, she knew this girl was only sixteen, ten years younger than herself.
Unconsciously, she softened her own tone: “My name is Fang Xiuxiu.”
“Since you’re fine, I’ll head downstairs now. You should go rest!” She lowered her voice, “The restroom is at the very end of the hallway, separated by gender. There are some male guests on the second floor, make sure to lock your door at night.”
“I’ll remember, thank you, Sister Xiuxiu.”
Watching her descend the stairs until she was far away, Wen Zhile finally closed and bolted the door.
This was a single room, its furnishings completely visible at a glance.
A bed stood against the window, next to it a dark brown small wooden table. Moving outward about a meter was a sofa covered with an orange plastic sheet.
Against the opposite wall was a washstand with a mirror attached to the wall.
Wen Zhile drew the curtains shut, then took off her cross-body schoolbag and walked toward the bed.
She emptied everything from her schoolbag onto the bed.
Textbooks, a cloth pouch, ID card, and some loose change piled together, among them a student ID.
Wen Zhile picked it up and opened it: Jianghe County First High School, Second Year – Dai Zhi.
The name Dai Zhi was changed after she turned three.
Perhaps because of her rebirth, Wen Zhile could clearly recall all memories from birth in this life.
After age three, the Dai family called her Dai Zhi, publicly claiming they had renamed their daughter Dai Nuan.
It wasn’t until recent years when Jianghe Village uniformly issued ID cards that this name was officially stamped.
Wen Zhile opened the cloth pouch.
In her rush along the journey, she hadn’t had a chance to check it.
She separated and counted the money and coupons inside.
The coupons included some Food and Oil Coupons and Cloth Coupons, plus ten Industrial Coupons; there was five thousand yuan in cash, with only four hundred-yuan bills. It seemed this was indeed the Dai Family’s money, not her parents’ money exchanged for larger denominations. A smile touched Wen Zhile’s lips.
Her parents had given the Dai Family eight thousand yuan total, yet they managed to save this much.
This was far more than she had expected. The Dai Family’s finances were controlled by Zhang Danhua, who undoubtedly intended to save this money for Dai Guangzong’s marriage. Thus, her parents’ hard-earned money hadn’t been completely squandered by them.
For now, she could only use this money. She had considered taking on translation work to cover living expenses these days, but the translation resources she accessed in her previous life had exceptionally high requirements regarding the translator’s background. Her current status didn’t meet the standards. Other channels for translation tasks were very obscure; finding them required both connections and time, making the effort disproportionate to the gain.
Her most important tasks now were family recognition and dealing with the Dai Family.
Wen Zhile securely stored the money and coupons, then began pondering how she should proceed with family recognition.
First method: Directly find her parents or uncle and aunt, tell them the truth. Given their capabilities, as long as they investigated, they would certainly uncover the truth. But Wen Zhile had doubts regarding the swap between her and Dai Nuan’s identities.
She had a birthmark on her body—a light red, small triangular shape at the root of her thigh.
When her parents went to find her back then, they would definitely have checked for the birthmark. How could they have mistakenly brought Dai Nuan home instead?
Without clarifying this point, if she rashly showed up at their doorstep, she might alert the enemy.
Moreover… Wen Zhile had her own selfish motives.
She knew her parents and uncle’s family were kind-hearted people. She was afraid that after raising Dai Nuan as their own daughter and niece for thirteen years, they would be reluctant to let her go.
Only by letting them hear with their own ears and see with their own eyes how miserable she, this “stranger,” was, and then guiding them to uncover the truth—realizing she wasn’t a stranger but their own flesh and blood—could this stark contrast evoke more heartache and anger.
Compared to learning her identity first and then investigating her circumstances, reversing the order would yield better results.
And then there was Grandma.
Grandma was old and couldn’t handle such a shock.
For all these reasons, she had to take it slow.
Having made up her mind, Wen Zhile washed her face, dragged a chair over to block the door, and only then took off her dirty clothes and went to bed.
She woke up the next morning.
She had slept for nearly fifteen hours, making up for all the rest she had missed during her recent days at the Dai Family. Waking up refreshed, the gloom she had felt since her rebirth vanished entirely.
In her good mood, her old habit of smiling at everyone resurfaced.
A little after 5 a.m., she went to a nearby market to buy fried dough sticks and soy milk, then stopped by a small supermarket on the street to pick up toiletries and a bag of White Rabbit Candy before leisurely walking back to the hotel.
Fang Xiuxiu arrived at 5:30 to take over her colleague’s shift. As soon as she stood behind the front desk, she was met with Wen Zhile’s smiling face: “Sister Xiuxiu, you’re here for work.”
Wen Zhile walked over and placed a handful of White Rabbit Candy on the counter. “For you.”
Fang Xiuxiu was pleasantly surprised. After thanking her, she took one, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
“Little Dai, you’re in a good mood today.” She was like a completely different person compared to yesterday.
“Is that all you’re having for breakfast? Look how thin you are—you need to eat more.”
The girl had lovely features, but it was a pity she was so skinny and pale.
“Mm-hmm, Sister Xiuxiu, there’s something I don’t understand and wanted to ask you.”
Fang Xiuxiu nodded as she ate the candy. “Go ahead.”
Wen Zhile spoke unhurriedly, “I’ll be taking the college entrance exam next year and want to get into Jingzhou University. I’d like to go in early to experience the study atmosphere among the older students.”
A warm, gentle smile graced her face, tinged with a hint of shyness. “But I don’t know how to get in. Would the security guard stop outsiders from entering?”