The onlookers heard this and all turned their eyes to Su Mian.
They had expected her to insist on some other compensation, but instead she replied directly, “Alright, thank you.”
Better to get some food first and let the children fill their stomachs. After all, she was in the wrong. If they really called the police, the officers would mainly try to mediate. She might end up with nothing.
These few buns and steamed rolls could solve the urgent needs of the three of them, and that mattered more than anything.
The middle-aged woman was actually very reluctant, but she had hit someone, and the other party hadn’t fought back.
Besides, Su Mian’s hair looked messy, and she had wounds all over. She looked badly beaten.
If the police really got involved, she would definitely be in deep trouble.
So she had to keep her word and gave Su Mian all the steamed buns and rolls she had at home, seven in total.
Su Mian carefully hugged the newspaper-wrapped buns and rolls, thanked the middle-aged woman, and led the two children away.
After leaving the crowd, Su Mian quickly pulled the two children into an alley, then took out the buns and handed one to each child.
“Eat,” Su Mian said with a smile.
She didn’t call the children by their names because she couldn’t bring herself to say them.
The two children were twins, a boy and a girl. They didn’t have formal names yet, but they did have childhood nicknames.
The boy was the older brother, called Gouzi. The girl was the younger sister, called Zhaodi. Who would come up with names like that?
The worst part was that, according to her memories, Su Mian herself had casually given the children these nicknames, saying they were easy to raise.
Su Mian felt that no matter what, she could never give her own children names like that.
So during those unfamiliar five years, Su Mian felt that the person wasn’t her.
The little girl, a bit scared, scooted closer to the little boy and didn’t take it.
The little boy, however, wasn’t as afraid of Su Mian. He took both buns, then handed one to the little girl.
Only when she saw it was her brother handing her the bun did the little girl accept it and eat.
Seeing both children trying hard to fill their stomachs, Su Mian quickly took out a steamed roll and started eating.
As she ate, she searched her mind for memories of the five years she had no impression of.
Her memories stopped at age twenty. Everything that happened in the following five years felt like it wasn’t done by her.
Su Mian’s memories were chaotic at the moment, but a voice kept surfacing in her mind.
It told her that once she got home and opened the box there, she would understand everything.
At that thought, she quickened her pace of eating the steamed roll.
Seeing her eat so fast, the two children also followed suit and took big bites.
Afraid they might choke, Su Mian quickly said, “Slow down, there’s no rush.”
Hearing this, the two children exchanged a glance and obediently slowed down.
But they both kept carefully stealing glances at Su Mian from time to time, as if she were some kind of terrifying beast.
Su Mian didn’t take the initiative to talk to the children again.
Mainly because she didn’t know how to face her two children right now.
After all, in her memories, she had treated the two children badly, to the point of beating and scolding them at every turn.
Especially her daughter, whom she had even grown to detest.
It wasn’t because she favored boys over girls. It was because her daughter had stopped speaking from the age of two. Su Mian saw her as a burden and had always wanted to abandon her.
If she hadn’t been unable to find a suitable opportunity, the girl would probably have been abandoned long ago.
That was why Su Mian wondered if some bizarre body-snatching had happened to her. She had always considered herself a kind person since childhood and couldn’t possibly abuse her own children.
In her memories, she vaguely recalled a very mysterious wooden box hidden at home. During those five years, she had carried it with her wherever she went.
Su Mian had a hunch that the wooden box held the answers she wanted.
“Mom, are we going home?” The little boy’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Su Mian snapped back to reality and quickly stood up. “Let’s go home.”
On the way home, none of them spoke.
The two children were already afraid of Su Mian, and Su Mian wanted to get home first, figure out what had happened, and then decide how to handle what came next.
Soon, the three of them stopped at the edge of a slum.
The people living here were basically all extremely poor, like Su Mian, so the environment was harsh. Even “dirty, messy, and poor” wasn’t enough to describe it.
Su Mian led the two children deeper into the alley.
Then she stopped in front of a dilapidated wooden hut.
The door wasn’t even locked. It opened with a push.
The house was completely bare, with nothing worth stealing.
In fact, because she lacked money, Su Mian had even traded the door lock for things.
As soon as the door opened, a foul, musty smell hit her.
Su Mian didn’t even have time to deal with the wooden box she had been longing for. Instead, she first found a filthy rag, fetched water, and started cleaning.
The only fortunate thing was that she was in the capital of Xiangcheng, where the whole city had running water. She didn’t have to go out to fetch water.
As she cleaned, Su Mian didn’t forget to tell the two children, “If you’re hungry, eat the buns and rolls on the table. Mom needs to clean the house.”
Hearing this, the two children didn’t dare speak. They walked to a spot in the corner where a mat was laid out and curled up together.
When Su Mian saw this, she froze, and then her face instantly turned pale.
Her memories were still chaotic, and she had forgotten that the two children had always been made to sleep on the floor, in a small corner.
I really am worthless!
Su Mian felt a sting in her nose. Her body felt drained of strength, and a sense of helplessness washed over her.
She was now certain that none of this had been done by her. But what exactly had happened?
The matter had come full circle. Su Mian no longer had the heart to clean. She went straight to the corner of the wardrobe and dug the wooden box out from the pile of messy, dirty clothes.
The wooden box looked very dirty, but it wasn’t easy to open.
However, Su Mian’s memories contained the method to open it.
She turned the small numbered wheels on the bottom of the box, and it opened.
The first thing she saw was a letter.
Beneath the letter was a book.
Su Mian’s hands couldn’t help but tremble, but to find the answer, she opened the letter first.
The letter was simple and direct. A few hundred words summed up the past five years of her life.
[Hello, Su Mian. By the time you read this letter, I will have already left this world.
I am an employee tasked with maintaining world order, Employee No. 996.
I apologize to you first, since I occupied your body for five whole years.
To balance this world and keep it from collapsing, I had to borrow your body to help the male and female leads complete their story. I hope you understand.
Now that world order has been restored and can run independently, we will no longer interfere in anything in this world. You can continue to control your own life.
To make it up to you, I have given you a spatial ability. It is hidden inside your body, and you know how to use it.
Finally, I have left the memories of these five years in your mind. But to help you sort through them as soon as possible, I have left you the original novel of this world. Anyone other than you who touches the novel will vanish on the spot.]
Su Mian didn’t even have time to question whether it was real. She immediately took out the original novel from the box.