Miss Darling

Ying Shu was adopted.

Not long after her adoptive mother took her in, the woman developed a mental illness and spent all day beating and scolding her. Ying Shu couldn't go to school, had no food to eat, owned no decent clothes, and couldn't see even the slightest hope.

Wanting to escape that life, she sneaked out of the house one night. Unfortunately, she fell and broke her leg. Unable to walk, the eight-year-old curled up in the pouring rain, shivering all over.

Her consciousness began to fade. A woman appeared before her, holding an umbrella.

The woman was elegantly dressed and beautiful, with an air completely unlike the poverty-stricken mountains. Ying Shu stared at her, feeling an inexplicable hostility and resistance. The woman crouched down and stroked her, exclaiming at how miserable she looked. "Sweetheart, what happened?"

Ying Shu was stunned. This was the first time anyone had ever called her sweetheart.

Later, the woman carried her to a car and let her rest her head on her lap. She held Ying Shu close, soothing her and saying she'd take her to the hospital.

The woman smelled wonderful. Ying Shu didn't know if it was body wash or perfume. She only knew that it was the most wonderful thing she had experienced in her life so far.

Later, the woman took her in and kept her by her side, paying for her schooling. As her sponsor, Ying Shu had assumed there would be a power imbalance and a sense of distance between them, but she never expected...

"Xiao Shu, I'm hungry. Will you cook for me?"

"Baby Xiao Shu, I can't get up today. Will you go to school by yourself?"

"Xiao Shu, there's going to be thunder tonight. Come sleep with me."

"Xiao Shu, don't scare me. I'm frightened..."

*

Jiang Lingxi is a very unusual person. She's fifteen years older than Ying Shu, but she was doted on by her family from childhood. Easygoing and gentle, timid and kind, she's highly dependent on other people. She cries when she's frightened, and even cries when Ying Shu gets mad at her. Even after Ying Shu turned twenty, Jiang Lingxi would still call her on rainy days to remind her to come home and keep her company because she was afraid of thunder.

Even when Ying Shu sneaks a kiss from her at night, she doesn't dare make a sound.

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