Chapter 4: Denial

Even though it was only at the second level, Luo Qiao was extremely happy because her superpower was still intact. She would gradually improve it; after all, in the original book, ahead of Qingshan Village were just mountains and forests.

Moreover, it was peacetime now, so there was no urgency to increase her superpower level for self-defense.

Knowing that her superpower had followed her, she finally felt reassured. Even if no one took her in, she could live comfortably. If worse came to worst, she could go up into the mountains, find some valuable flower seedlings to nurture, and sell them to support herself.

Thinking about flowers and plants reminded her of the dream she had before. She wished she had a space of her own, but she wasn’t one to have unrealistic expectations. Even in the post-apocalyptic world where space superpower users were scarce, she didn’t have the luck of a koi.

With her superpower ensuring her livelihood, she relaxed. Perhaps it was due to losing too much blood yesterday; soon after, she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Unexpectedly, she found herself dreaming the same dream again. This time, Luo Qiao returned to the front of the bamboo house. Seeing no one around again, she boldly pushed open the door and entered.

Inside, the place was spacious. After a quick look around the ground floor, aside from the living room, there was a kitchen and a utility room. After inspecting the ground floor, she looked upstairs. She still didn’t meet anyone and she knew it wouldn’t be wise to go up recklessly, but curiosity drove her to walk in.

Upstairs, there were three rooms: a bedroom, a study, and one dedicated entirely to musical instruments—ancient zithers, guqins, pipas, erhus, suonas, xiaos, flutes, shengs, ocarinas, and konghous, each represented in abundance. It was clear the owner was a music enthusiast.

There were numerous pieces of jewelry, all exquisite, along with several embroidery frames of varying sizes. There were many embroidered works in the cabinet, as well as high-quality fabrics, and threads.

The books in the study were mixed—medical texts, music theory, and embroidery techniques. Luo Qiao casually picked up a book on embroidery techniques.

Just as she was about to open the book in her hands, Luo Qiao heard noises outside, growing louder and closer, which woke her up.

Listening carefully to the commotion outside, she heard a woman saying, “It’s not that we don’t recognize her, it’s just that she really isn’t our daughter. Our daughter didn’t survive after birth.”

Another woman retorted, “Then why did you agree to let her stay? If you don’t recognize her, why not let the Luo family take her away?”

Yet another woman chimed in, “The Luo family woman gave Zhao’s family 200 yuan. It was only because of that money that Gao Suhua agreed to let her stay.”

“Since you’ve taken their money, take her back to your home to raise her. What’s the point of throwing her into Comrade Lu Yichen’s house?”

“The captain is here, the captain is here.”

A man spoke up, “Gao Suhua, what is your Zhao family up to? You throw someone into Comrade Lu’s house and then wash your hands of it?”

Gao Suhua responded, “Captain, we live quite far away. The doctor also said yesterday that it’s best not to move her. It’s inconvenient for us to come over.”

The Captain questioned, “When are you planning to take this person back? You can’t just leave her at Comrade Lu’s house forever.”

Gao Suhua explained, “Captain, as you know, we already have six daughters to take care of. It’s not that I don’t recognize her, she really isn’t our Zhao family’s daughter. Why don’t we see if any family in the village wants a daughter and send her over?”

Luo Qiao listened to their conversation from inside the house, feeling extremely angry. How dare they treat her like this?

Then, Lu Yichen’s voice cut in, “Why don’t you all listen to what the young girl herself thinks before making a decision.”