A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

The envelope was made of kraft paper, with curled and yellowed edges and several dark brown stains, indicating that it had been touched countless times.

Grandma Lin's hands trembled with excitement.

She held the envelope up high in front of Nuannuan, then deliberately lowered it so that Nuannuan could see the crooked words on it.

"Dear Nuannuan."

Three words were written in the very center of the envelope.

"Who said your parents are dead?" Old Mrs. Lin's voice suddenly became very soft and gentle, completely different from before.

She crouched down and shook the envelope.

"Your father is not dead. This is a letter he just sent back through someone."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wang Guixiang suddenly raised her head, opened her mouth, then quickly closed it again. She didn't know when her mother-in-law had prepared this, and her heart was pounding.

Nuannuan's little body froze.

She stared at the envelope, at the three words on it, her little hands unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes.

"Dad...isn't dead?"

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Then, she burst into tears.

Large tears streamed down her face, soaking into the coarse cloth of her clothes and leaving dark stains. Her whole little body trembled as she cried, her face streaked with snot and tears, and she gasped for breath.

"Daddy... Warm Daddy... Waaaaah..."

The crying was so heart-wrenching.

The scene was so tragic that even the two men lying paralyzed on the bed in the inner room were alerted. The uncle, whose leg was broken, struggled to prop his neck up and looked towards the direction of the curtain.

Old Mrs. Lin was overjoyed.

They've taken the bait!

She knew that no matter how tough she was, she had to soften in front of her dead parents. This little brat, however clever, was still just a five-year-old child; how could she withstand such a blow?

She quickly stepped forward, reached out to touch Nuannuan's head, and spoke in a carefully crafted tone of kindness.

"My dear grandson, don't cry, don't cry. Your father is alive, he's doing something important out there and won't be back for a while. He said in his letter that you should listen to your grandmother, and he'll come back for you once you've cured your uncle..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Nuannuan suddenly raised her hand and pushed her arm away.

The child wasn't very strong, but the movement was swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Nuannuan cried until her face was red, even the tip of her nose was red, but she didn't take the envelope.

She turned around and pointed to Wang Guixiang, who was standing next to her, looking so guilty she wanted to bury her head in the ground.

"You're lying!"

Nuannuan cried until her voice was hoarse, her little chest heaving violently as she uttered each word.

"My mom and dad are both dead! My aunt said so!"

Wang Guixiang shuddered, and her legs went weak.

Nuannuan didn't give her time to react; her crying grew louder, and she called out intermittently.

"My aunt said... my parents were swept away by the flood... and they'll never come back..."

She also said... to tell Nuannuan to go to the bottom of the cliff to find her parents...

Nuannuan wiped away her tears, her little finger pointing at Wang Guixiang, her finger trembling.

"She pushed Nuannuan off the cliff!"

The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

Wang Guixiang's face first turned white, then blue, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

She took a step back, her back hitting the wall with a dull thud.

The envelope that Old Lady Lin was holding froze in mid-air.

She hadn't expected this.

Completely unexpected.

She went to great lengths to forge the letter, knowing that a five-year-old child's greatest weakness was her deceased parents. However, she never expected that the little girl would not only fail to take the bait, but would also expose Wang Guixiang's secrets!

Pushed off a cliff?

Old Mrs. Lin's mind was buzzing. She turned her head and stared intently at Wang Guixiang.

She didn't know that!

All she knew was that her son and daughter-in-law treated the girl badly and were somewhat harsh, but pushing her off a cliff would have resulted in her death!

If Wang Guixiang goes to jail, who will take care of her eldest son who is already paralyzed in bed?

"Wang Guixiang!" Old Mrs. Lin squeezed out the three words through gritted teeth, her voice fierce.

Wang Guixiang knelt down with a thud.

"Mother... I... I didn't... She's lying... She fell down by accident..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she waved her hands frantically.

"Nuan Nuan isn't lying!"

The warm, sweet voice suddenly rose in pitch, the crying stopped for a moment, and her little face was covered in tears, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"When they reached the edge of the cliff, Auntie pushed Nuannuan down."

"Nuan Nuan fell down, and her leg bled a lot..."

As she spoke, her voice began to tremble again, her small mouth pursed, and tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"Nuan Nuan calls her 'Auntie'... Auntie ignores Nuan Nuan... Nuan Nuan is in so much pain..."

Wang Guixiang's face completely lost its color.

She knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, her mouth opening and closing, making muffled sounds in her throat, unable to speak clearly.

"Wow, well done, human cub!" Little Green bounced around in Nuannuan's mind, its ginseng tendrils trembling. "Tear this vile woman's underwear off, let's see how this old hag will handle this now."

Grandma Lin stood there, her expression changing several times.

Wang Guixiang is such an idiot.

She raised her hand and slapped Wang Guixiang hard on the back of the head.

"Get out! You useless piece of trash!"

Wang Guixiang took the blow but dared not dodge, nor did she dare to cry out loud. She crawled toward the door.

She walked to the door and then looked back at Nuannuan.

That glance held guilt, fear, and resentment.

Nuannuan didn't look at her, her little hands covering her face, her shoulders trembling.

"Little Green..." Nuannuan called out in her heart, her voice filled with grievance, "Is what she said... true? My dad is really not dead?"

Little Green's ginseng rootlets drooped down, unusually silent.

It remained silent for two seconds before speaking.

"Human cub, to tell you the truth," Little Green's tone was unusually serious, "I have never sensed the presence of your biological parents. Perhaps they are too far away."

Her warm little hands clenched even tighter.

She knows.

She knew it from the day she was adopted.

But the moment she held the envelope up to her eyes, her heart skipped a beat. What if? What if her parents were still alive?

The thought only lasted for a moment before she suppressed it.

deceptive.

It's all a lie.

"We can't stay here anymore." Little Green frantically thought in Nuannuan's mind, "Human cub, you have to find a way to contact your new dad right away! That old hag is no pushover, and you're just a little kid; you won't get away with this!"

Nuannuan secretly peeked at Old Lady Lin through her fingers.

The old woman had her back to her, bent over, and chased Wang Guixiang out, cursing under her breath.

Nuannuan's little brain started working at lightning speed.

She can't escape.

She didn't recognize the place, and she didn't know if there was anyone else outside the door. Her legs were too short to outrun an adult.

But she had other options.

Just then, Old Mrs. Lin closed the door and turned around.

Her face regained its composure, suppressing her anger and embarrassment.

She walked back to Nuannuan, squatted down, and forcefully stuffed the yellowed envelope into Nuannuan's hand.

Nuannuan did not break free.

She lowered her head, sobbing, her small hands clutching the envelope, her fingers gently tracing the words on it.

Grandma Lin felt there was hope.

No matter how clever this girl is, she's still just a child. No child can be heartless in front of their own father.

She suppressed her irritation and tried to make her voice sound as gentle as possible.

"Nuan Nuan, Grandma isn't lying to you. Your father is really still alive. He's in a very, very far place."

"He said in the letter that you should be good and listen to your grandmother."

She paused, then pointed to the two men lying in the inner room.

"As long as you cure your uncle, your father will come back to pick you up immediately."

Grandma Lin's voice was very soft, yet each word seemed to penetrate Nuannuan's ears.

"You'll definitely agree, right?"

Nuannuan didn't look up.

Her little hands were still clutching the envelope, her shoulders shrugging.

After a long pause, she spoke.

His voice was muffled, deep and nasal, with the nasal tone of someone who had been crying.

"Warm...warm, you can give it a try."

Old Mrs. Lin's heart skipped a beat!

Become!

She almost lost control of her expression; just as the corners of her mouth were about to turn up, Nuannuan added another sentence.

"But Nuannuan is hungry."

Nuannuan raised her little face, her nose red and tears still clinging to her eyelashes, looking at Grandma Lin with a pitiful expression.

"Nuan Nuan needs to eat. She needs to be full to have energy."

Grandma Lin was stunned for a moment.

That request... is reasonable.

"Okay! Grandma will go cook for you right away!"

Grandma Lin stood up, her steps lighter than before, and hurried towards the kitchen.

She had barely stepped out the door when Nuannuan wiped away her tears.

She turned the envelope over, looked at the back, and then brought it to her nose to smell it.

"Little Green, this letter is fake, isn't it?"

"Of course it's fake! The ink smell has dissipated; it's been written for at least half a year. It's not something that was just brought back. Besides, the glue on the envelope is moldy; the smell makes me want to vomit!"