Chapter 3: Waking Up in the Hospital

In her previous life, Mu Mian had lived to the age of twenty-four. Except for her birth, she had always been quite lucky, whether in big or small matters.

Her classmates and friends often joked that she must have beena reincarnated koi fish.

She would always refute them by saying, “What kind of koi fish gets reborn as an abandoned baby?”

Still, she couldn’t deny that fortune had always seemed to favor her.

Like now—if both men had come in together, she would have struggled to handle them. After all, they were two grown men.

If this were before, she wouldn’t have been afraid even if there were two more. But right now, she only had some strength. She had no advantage in height, she was running a fever, and her body felt weak.

Luckily, the first one to enter was the crippled man.

Mu Mian quickly moved to the doorway, hiding behind the door where she could easily strike his good leg.

On the broken kang, Xu Lele, having witnessed everything, trembled as she hugged the still-sleeping little boy beside her.

Even though she didn’t know this boy, she just wanted to hold him. Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto the little boy’s face.

Despite her fear, the little girl still remembered Sister Mianmian’s warning not to make a sound.

As Xu Lele trembled in fear and Mu Mian prepared for a desperate fight, the tall man finally entered.

Like the old woman before him, he assumed the children were easy to handle and let his guard down, carelessly pushing open the door.

The room was small. Besides the space behind the door, everything inside was visible at a glance.

Just as he was about to question why one of the children was missing and why Old Lady Li was lying on the floor, Mu Mian struck.

Without hesitation, she raised the wooden stick and swung it at his good leg.

A miserable scream rang out, followed by a sickening crack that echoed through the shabby room.

The tall man collapsed to the ground, twisting his face into a vicious expression. He immediately realized that this little girl had been pretending to be clueless all along.

What an easy target, my ass! She was sharp as a knife!

Realizing he had been fooled, the man’s face twisted with murderous rage. “F***! You little bi—”

Bang!

Mu Mian didn’t hesitate for even a second. She swung again, this time aiming for his head with all her strength. The curse died on his lips as blood splattered, and he fell silent.

At the same time, urgent footsteps sounded from outside.

The short man rushed over and, upon seeing the scene, clenched his fists and lunged at Mu Mian, cursing, “You little b***! You really think you can run?!”

Although he was short compared to other men, he was still much taller than an eight-year-old girl.

He grabbed the other end of the wooden stick while reaching out with his free hand to yank Mu Mian’s hair.

But how could Mu Mian let him get his way? She dodged swiftly, and with a sharp movement, her right leg shot up—

With a loud “thud,” she kicked him directly in the crotch.

A moment later, an even more miserable scream echoed through the room.

The short man staggered backward uncontrollably, clutching his lower body in agony. His eyes were filled with rage and disbelief—he never expected a little girl to have such strength!

But he only hesitated for two or three seconds before gritting his teeth and charging toward Mu Mian again, his expression dark and vicious as he cursed.

In the chaos, Mu Mian swung the stick wildly. Because of the height difference, her intended strike to his head instead landed near his mouth.

With a loud thud, something seemed to fly out.

Mu Mian didn’t have time to check. She clenched her teeth—if this human trafficker didn’t go down, it would be her life on the line.

She didn’t care where she hit, as long as she kept hitting. Arms and legs all came into play as she swung relentlessly at him.

Though she took two hits herself, she had the upper hand. The short man’s most vulnerable spots were throbbing with unbearable pain, his stance becoming unsteady.

Finally, after a blow to the back of his head, he stopped moving. The blood-stained wooden stick fell to the ground, its tip splitting with two cracks. If she struck him two more times, it would probably break completely.

Seeing that the man was truly motionless, Mu Mian collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Beside her, Xu Lele, who had witnessed everything, crawled toward her while sobbing. “Wuwuwu, Sister Mianmian…”

The young girl, who had never seen such violence before, was completely terrified and finally broke down into loud cries.

Amid the crying, Mu Mian used Xu Lele’s pull to climb to her feet. “Stop crying, let’s hurry and go.”

She hadn’t forgotten that the short man had a wife. Her head was spinning badly—she was running on sheer willpower. She wasn’t sure if the fever medicine was kicking in, but she felt overwhelmingly sleepy.

But now was not the time. The most urgent task was to get out of here. She had no idea who lived nearby.

She only knew that when the sun rose, they had to reach a crowded area—that would be their safest bet.

Mu Mian quickly ran to the broken brick bed, picked up the still-sleeping little boy, and carried him in her arms. She didn’t know whose child he was, but leaving him here wasn’t an option. She also wasn’t sure if the three traffickers were unconscious or dead.

Summoning the last of her strength, she held the boy in one arm, grabbed the trembling Xu Lele with the other, and ran out the door.

Earlier, she had noticed that when the short man left to find his wife, he went to the left. That meant the left side was likely more secluded and less populated. Without hesitation, Mu Mian pulled Xu Lele toward the right.

She had no idea where she was going, relying purely on instinct, turning this way and that. Maybe because it was so early in the morning, many doors were still tightly shut, and they encountered no one.

After making another turn, Mu Mian paused to switch the boy to her other arm and catch her breath.

Then, she realized something—this place seemed oddly familiar.

Her memories told her she had been here before, definitely more than once. Otherwise, she wouldn’t find it so recognizable even in her dazed state.

Mu Mian stared ahead for a couple of seconds, trying to recall why this place seemed so familiar. But before she could figure it out, a loud female voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

“Mianmian?!!”

The voice was almost a scream, sharp and piercing, yet filled with excitement and trembling emotion, cracking toward the end.

Mu Mian turned her head at the sound and saw a familiar face charging toward her—it was her cousin, Liu Tao.

The only woman in the nearby brigades who had passed the exam to become a public security officer.

Mu Mian suddenly realized why this place felt so familiar—it was near the public security bureau!

Her memory confirmed it. Because her cousin worked there, and they were close, she visited the bureau every time she came to the commune. She knew the surrounding streets well.

The moment Liu Tao hugged her tightly, the last of Mu Mian’s strength gave out. Her vision darkened, and before she completely lost consciousness, one thought flashed through her mind—

These traffickers sure had guts, hiding right under the authorities’ noses.

Were they relying on the idea that the most dangerous place was the safest place?

—

Mu Mian had no idea how long she had slept.

When her consciousness returned, the first thing she noticed was how noisy it was.

There were many voices, though they were all speaking softly, as if deliberately keeping their volume down.

Mu Mian’s eyelids twitched. She barely managed to crack them open when, suddenly, a large face loomed over her, filled with tension.

“Daughter! Are you awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Are you hungry? Tell Dad…”

Before Mu Fugui could finish his sentence, several other voices chimed in.

“Mian girl finally woke up!”

“Sister Mianmian~~”

…

By the time Mu Mian fully opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded—

One, two, three, four, five, six… faces, with more trying to squeeze in from behind.

Mu Mian: “………………”

So many people. jpg

She instinctively shrank under the blanket, leaving only her eyes exposed as she peeked out.

There were so many people—so many that she couldn’t even see them all clearly.

Her throat felt sore, likely inflamed from the fever. After opening and closing her mouth a few times, she finally managed to call out to the elderly woman closest to her, whose eyes were red from crying.

“Grandma~”

Old Lady Zhao’s deeply wrinkled face was filled with heartache, worry, and guilt. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Mu Mian opened her mouth to answer, but before she could get a word out, she accidentally choked on her own saliva, triggering a violent coughing fit.

Mu Fugui, completely focused on his daughter, spun around and sprinted outside. “Doctor! Doctor! Come check on my daughter!”

Then there was another round of chaos, which ended with Mu Mian getting a shot in the butt.

Half-leaning against Old Lady Zhao, with only half of her body visible—

Mu Mian’s butt: “………………”

Did this shot really have to be given?

As someone who was actually in their twenties, Mu Mian still felt a little embarrassed about exposing half of her butt in front of so many people.

But since she had just recovered from a fever, her face was already a bit flushed, so no one could tell. The others were also completely unfazed, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

That side of her butt still hurt a little. After getting the injection, Mu Mian lay on her side on the bed without speaking, simply watching the room full of people surrounding her with curiosity.

To be honest, it had been a long time since she had seen so many people together—excluding strangers, of course.

In her previous life, her only family had been her grandparents. She had no idea who her parents were and only knew that her grandparents had found her at the foot of a mountain.

Her grandparents didn’t have many relatives either, let alone children of their own. By the time she grew up, they were already very old. They didn’t get to enjoy many years of happiness before passing away.

After that, she was left alone and had grown used to living that way.

Now, all of a sudden, she had so many family members and relatives around her. Mu Mian didn’t know why, but she felt an inexplicable urge to cry. At the same time, she was incredibly happy. The closeness she felt toward them seemed to be imprinted deep in her soul.

So even though she was already an adult, when her biological mother, Comrade Liu Shuangcui, saw that her butt still hurt and directly pulled her into her arms, Mu Mian instinctively spread her arms and let herself be held. With her sore butt lifted off the bed, it actually felt quite comfortable.

That being said, this butt shot really hurt!