Chapter 7: The Long Wait and a Fateful Adoption

“Where could my brother have gone? He hasn’t been back all night…”

Wang Yaofu lay sprawled on her brother Wang Xiaole’s bed. Her entire being sagged, like a salted fish bereft of dreams, utterly devoid of spirit.

The clock rewound to yesterday.

The setting: an abandoned apartment in the Celestial Realm.

That evening, a charming little loli arrived. Three keys could open the main door: one held by the landlord, and the other two by a pair of siblings—who were now, in fact, sisters.

Carefully placing the cake she carried in her left hand onto the table, the loli—Wang Yaofu herself—found no trace of her brother after entering the room, assuming he had simply stepped out. She wasn’t overly anxious then, intending to wait patiently.

‘Brother has no one to accompany him; he’s bound to return soon.’

The younger sister had surmised that Wang Xiaole would be alone that day, which was why she had come to keep him company, to ensure her brother wouldn’t feel lonely.

For a ten-year-old girl, her thoughts were remarkably precocious. Little did Wang Yaofu know, her wait would extend from evening until noon the following day!

“Why isn’t my brother back? My brother, my brother…”

Wang Yaofu tossed and turned on the bed, but even as her lamentations became a desperate chant, Wang Xiaole remained out of sight.

The little girl had called her parents the previous night. They had no objection to their biological daughter choosing to stay at their adopted child’s home for the night.

To be frank, the parents secretly wished Wang Xiaole would move back home, rather than choosing to live alone in an apartment for the sake of independence. Their affection for Wang Xiaole was entirely genuine.

Even now, the couple would recall the initial circumstances with immense fondness. One day, a girl introducing herself as Min had knocked on their door, cradling a tiny infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.

“This child needs to be raised. I wish to entrust him to your care.”

While they couldn’t be described as a conventional couple, they were ultimately not the type to adopt a child rashly. To achieve her objective, Min chose to employ magic.

She ascended into the air using levitation magic, bathed in a brilliant, auspicious glow. At that moment, a single thought blossomed in the couple’s minds, a sentiment they both shared wholeheartedly:

“She’s a living immortal!”

“No, an alien disguised as a human.”

Persuading each other was highly improbable, nor did they intend to; ultimately, they simply held different opinions. What a pity the times were different. Had this happened today, they would undoubtedly have snapped photos and posted them to their social media feeds.

“Wow, immortals look just like mortals!”

“Excuse me, which planet are you from? What other languages do you speak besides Chinese?”

Despite being the center of attention, Min showed no trace of irritation. All that mattered to her now was the child cradled in her arms.

“Uncle and Auntie, are you willing to raise this boy?”

“Is this a little immortal?”

“An alien infant? This is definitely worth researching!”

The couple harbored a profound interest in their future son, believing him to be a truly special existence.

“I’m afraid I must disappoint you…”

Harboring expectations without basis could prove quite troublesome. Min had no intention of lying about this, so she informed the couple:

“This is simply a human infant. He comes from another world, one inhabited by people just like yourselves.”

“Why entrust him to *us*?”

Although she seemed a little eccentric, when serious, she could cut straight to the heart of a matter with a single sentence. The woman before Min possessed precisely this ability.

“You appear to be a young girl, yet your abilities far surpass ours. Raising the child yourself would surely be the best choice for both you and him.”

What they said made sense, but not everything could be settled by logic alone.

“I am merely a merchant, not a nanny to anyone. My search for parents for this child is solely to fulfill his birth mother’s wish.”

“So, for some reason, his parents are unable to raise him?”

“Rather, his mother is unable to, and this child has no father…”

Hearing this, the couple immediately imagined the infant’s father had passed away, leaving the mother to struggle through a difficult life, unable to raise her own flesh and blood… While the truth differed somewhat from their imaginings, this did not prevent the couple from immersing themselves in the tragic story they had conjured.

“How utterly pitiful!”

“Such misfortune!”

In that moment, the wife pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Afterwards, her husband borrowed the handkerchief, continuing to use it to dab his eyes while also giving his nose a quick wipe.

“Let’s not stray from the topic. Are you willing to adopt him?”

At this, the couple turned their heads in perfect synchronicity. After exchanging a glance, they both nodded in unison.

“More children would be a bit troublesome, but one child we can certainly adopt.”

With that assurance, things became much simpler!

“Here, take these. This is a forged adoption certificate; I’ve also prepared any other potentially useful documents in advance.”

Min’s intention was that with these forged documents ready, registering Wang Xiaole’s household registration would be effortless in the future.

“Additionally, here is a sum for his upbringing.”

Offering what she considered a small amount, Min casually extended a check for twenty million, reaching forward to press it into the hands of the couple before her, but she was unsuccessful.

“This money…”

“Would twenty million pounds be more suitable?”

“Certainly not!”

It was true they had never seen such a vast sum in their lives, but what truly puzzled the couple was:

“Is the child’s birth mother truly so wealthy?”

“Firstly, the currency of your world is useless in ours. Secondly, this upbringing fund comes from my own pocket.”

What the couple said next wasn’t mere politeness; they genuinely believed:

“How could we possibly let you incur such an expense…”

“Twenty million is hardly enough to impoverish me! Besides, I have already received the corresponding compensation; this is not a one-sided contribution.”

Min wished for them to accept the money, yet the couple held firm to their principles.

“Please respect us!”

They spoke in unison.

“My husband and I are not raising this child for money.”

“Do not let our familial affection be tainted!”

People often seek what they lack, and frequently, they are willing to pay a heavy price for it. Yet, the two individuals before Min, while not wealthy, were also not fixated on money.

‘Honest folks!’

Min didn’t dislike such people.

Their steadfastness proved that Min had not chosen wrongly. It was precisely because she had made extensive inquiries and gained a general understanding of the couple’s character that Min had decided to call upon them today.

“Since that is your wish, I shall concede a step.”

If twenty million felt excessive, she would simply offer less. Min retrieved the check, rewrote it for one million, and then repeated her previous action.

“One million is neither too much nor too little. You have no reason to refuse this time, do you?”

Min had calculated how much it would cost to raise a child to the first year of high school in this city, by ordinary standards. The figure she presented was eminently reasonable.

And after the first year of high school? Well, after that, Wang Xiaole would transmigrate. And this transmigration was inextricably linked to Min herself. Through the forbidden spell she wielded, Min had already glimpsed that future!

This time, it was the couple who chose to yield. There was no doubt they were prepared to raise the child without external assistance. However, if someone could offer financial support to their family within a reasonable amount, there was truly no need for them to refuse.

After all, they had decided to have their own child, a crystallization of their love, in a few years. With this check, they wouldn’t encounter financial difficulties when raising their own children.

“Thank you.”

The two heads before her bowed in unison, but Min cared not who offered thanks; what she needed now was:

“Uncle and Auntie, allow me to name this child. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course, we’re not very good at that.”

“Please, Miss Alien, come up with a suitable and wonderful name.”

The surname had been decided the moment the child was adopted; naturally, he would take his adoptive father’s surname. As for the given name, Min had already settled upon it:

“He shall be called ‘Wang Xiaole’! It may not be a beautiful name, but it is undeniably the most fitting for him.”

“…”

“…”

The couple’s reaction to Min was simultaneous silence.

“What? Is there a problem with the name?”

To speak truthfully, the couple found the name somewhat distasteful. It lacked profound meaning, and personally, they didn’t find it particularly pleasing to the ear.

However, the couple had already stated earlier that Min should choose the name. Words once spoken were like water splashed out—they could not be taken back. For them to retract their earlier statement now would clearly be an embarrassment.

“I think this name is quite good, don’t you, dear?”

“A bad name is easy to raise… no, what a truly wonderful name it is, dear!”

Even if they couldn’t bring themselves to be fully satisfied, they accepted it, blaming themselves for speaking without thinking. Min could guess what the couple was thinking, but she feigned ignorance, moving directly to the farewell.

“Farewell, Uncle and Auntie! Perhaps this will be our last meeting…”

With these words, Min turned and walked out the door without a backward glance. No matter how the people behind her called out, she never turned back.

****

This was the entire process of Wang Xiaole’s adoption by his foster parents. Wang Yaofu, as the younger sister, was aware that her brother was not blood-related to her. However, she knew nothing of Min’s existence, nor had her parents ever told her that Wang Xiaole came from another world.

Therefore, when she later met that girl, it would be for the very first time…

*Ding-dong~*

Someone rang the doorbell.

“Brother’s back!”

Wang Yaofu sprang from the bed as if on springs, her small legs moving like the wind, *whoosh*, to the front door. Why her brother had been out all night was unimportant to Wang Yaofu. As long as Wang Xiaole came home, she, as his sister, was willing to forgive him.

At that moment, Wang Yaofu even thought:

‘If Brother is hungry, I’ll use my pocket money to order takeout, just like last night.’

“Welcome ho—”

The little girl excitedly opened the door, only for her smile to freeze as she saw another little girl.

“Hello, my name is Min.”

The one who brought Wang Xiaole into this world, the one who abducted her back to another world, and the one now standing before Wang Yaofu—they were all the same person. There was no second Min in the world, just as there was only one “Scale of Loss and Gain.”

The other girl’s appearance seemed quite young, so Wang Yaofu didn’t consider her a bad person. Naturally, even if she wasn’t a bad person, she couldn’t just casually enter the house. However, Min had her own way of getting Wang Yaofu to let her in. She only needed to ask:

“Do you want to see your brother?”

One could say:

Min would make an excellent human trafficker!