Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The glass noodles Uncle made really did smell amazing.

I could smell them the moment I stepped inside.

I sat stiffly at the table.

Before I left, the director had reminded me:

“When you get to someone else’s home, be polite. Don’t eat too much at meals.”

I was starving, but I only dared to take tiny bites.

But Uncle and Auntie kept piling food into my bowl.

The rice bowl, bigger than my face, was soon heaped like a little mountain.

“Try this. It’s good. These little mushrooms were sent over from Tieling. Fresh as anything.”

“Oh, you need to eat more meat. Our girl is so skinny.”

“These glass noodles, let me tell you, they’re so fragrant. A specialty from our Northeast.”

“How is it, sweetheart? Why aren’t you eating? Are you not used to it?”

“Old Zheng! I told you to make some local dishes, but you insisted on making a whole table of Northeastern food. What if our girl isn’t used to it? What are we going to do now?”

“My fault, my fault. Well, what do you like to eat? Uncle will go make it for you.”

The orphanage’s food budget was eight yuan per person per day.

The bits of minced meat in the green beans, glistening with oil, were the best thing in my memory.

Every time I managed to get a little extra, I would be happy for ages.

But it turned out that besides “the best,” there was also “my favorite.”

I didn’t want them to misunderstand, so I immediately lifted my bowl and buried my face in it, shoveling rice into my mouth.

“I am used to it! I’m really used to it!”

Northeastern food was delicious.

I wanted to stay in this home a little longer.

I was shocked that I could have such a greedy thought.

They were good people.

After dinner, they took me to the mall and walked around for ages.

All my daily necessities and the clothes I was wearing were replaced with brand-new ones.

By the time we got home, it was already late at night.

I changed into new pajamas and curled up in the corner of the bed.

At the orphanage, several people often had to share one bed.

If you took up too much space, the others would be cramped.

Curling my body into a ball had become my sleeping habit.

After I drifted off in a daze…

It felt as though someone entered my room and quietly crouched down beside my bed.

“Old Zheng, do you think those floating comments we saw today were hallucinations?”

“If one person saw them, maybe. But if both of us saw them, probably not.”

“But what they said was too much. How bad can one child be?”

“As long as we treat her well, this child won’t go down the wrong path.”

“But honestly, I really do like this girl from the bottom of my heart. Now that she’s come to our family, she’s our own daughter. From now on, no one gets to bully her.”

I was half-asleep and couldn’t open my eyes at all.

But I could sense them moving gently, placing me in the middle of the bed.

It was soft here. Spacious.

No one would deliberately squeeze me, and I wouldn’t wake up after a whole night with an aching back.

It was the most peaceful sleep I had ever had.

People say loving someone is like raising flowers.

Uncle and Auntie loved someone like raising a pig.

Northeastern dishes came in huge portions, and every single one went perfectly with rice.

At first, I restrained myself and only ate half a bowl of rice.

Now I could eat two big bowls in one meal.

The director said that if you ate too much at someone else’s house, they would be unhappy.

The floating comments appeared often too, saying:

[What’s so good about this? Every time she eats like she’s never seen food before. Is she a pig reincarnated?]

[Good thing our Yunyun went home with that rich couple. Now she’s eating Michelin-star meals every day. It’s basically my dream heiress life.]

[Sigh, maybe she just starved too much at the orphanage. Revenge eating, like a starving ghost. I think this couple will get sick of her soon.]

In the past, whenever the floating comments compared me to Cheng Yun, I would feel jealous.

Jealous that she could get better things than me. Jealous that she could live a good life without lifting a finger.

I wanted to snatch away everything she had.

But this time, my heart didn’t ripple at all.

The food Uncle Zheng made was delicious.

Every time he watched me finish every last bite, he smiled especially happily.

It was the exact opposite of the floating comments saying he would dislike me for eating too much.

Auntie Wang Shu was wonderful too. She had never cooked before, but for me, she tried to learn.

That time, she fried a plate of red sausage.

It turned out so salty that the two of us nearly drank an entire bucket of water.

Uncle Zheng, who had just come back from duty, huffed and puffed his way through making three dishes and a soup.

Then he sternly ordered Auntie Wang Shu never to suddenly get inspired and cook on her own again.

Auntie gave a sheepish laugh and promised she would never touch the kitchen again.

After that, whenever Uncle Zheng was too busy to come home and cook, Aunt Wang would take me out to eat.

Before, I never knew that food could be divided into so many different cuisines.

There were so many dazzling kinds that my eyes felt full before I even started eating.

Every time, Auntie Wang Shu would order a huge tableful.

Even though it was obvious the two of us couldn’t finish that much, she still ordered it.

She said, “Anything other children have eaten, our child has to try it too.”

I lowered my head and shoveled rice into my mouth.

But I could taste my own tears.

So this was love: every meal we ate together.