"Are you saying you came here when you were a child?" Ji Chuan quickly asked, "Close your eyes and try to remember what else comes to you?"

"Ji Chuan, I’m scared... I don’t dare to think about it." Yan Huan suddenly felt her past surge towards her like a tide, overwhelming her for a moment, unable to accept it.

"Don’t be afraid, no matter what happens, I’m right here by your side." Ji Chuan gently held her, kissing her forehead softly. "It’s all in the past. Even if it’s a nightmare, remember it, and we’ll face it together. From now on, you’re not alone. Do you understand?"

Yan Huan nodded repeatedly, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks.

She nestled in Ji Chuan’s embrace, reminiscing about what happened after she was taken by traffickers.

"What’s going on?" Ji Shuanglin and his wife heard unusual noises in the courtyard and quickly came out, only to see Yan Huan, her face stained with tears, in Ji Chuan’s arms. "What happened to her? Did you bully her?"

"Shh!" Ji Chuan gestured for them to be quiet and not to worry.

Yan Huan closed her eyes, immersing herself in her memories. The past she had managed to seal away came rushing back uncontrollably.

Back then, she was taken away.

The trafficker took her to a village, where they went from house to house asking if anyone wanted to buy a child.

However, children her age weren’t easy to sell.

Some families thought she was too old, afraid that once she grew up, she would run back to her biological parents, making her unsuitable as an adopted child.

Others thought she was too young to be a bride, and being poor, they couldn’t afford to waste food on a child bride.

So, she had never been sold.

Thus, she was locked in a farmhouse. Inside that house, there weren’t just her; two other girls, older than her, were also curled up.

At night, amidst the stillness, they discussed how to escape.

Often in adversity, the true nature of humanity reveals itself.

One of the girls was eighteen, and the other seemed a bit younger. The two of them conspired to escape.

Yan Huan, wiping her tears, pleaded with them to take her with them.

After much consideration, the two girls still refused Yan Huan, for a simple reason: she was too young, too slow to run, making it easy for them to be exposed if they took her along.

That day, they took the chance to escape before dawn.

Yan Huan hugged her knees, tears in her eyes as she watched them leave her behind.

"Sisters, if you succeed in escaping, could you help send a message to my parents?" Yan Huan’s tear-filled eyes glistened in the dark.

Reluctantly, sharing the same fate, the two girls couldn’t bear to refuse her plea any longer.

"Alright, tell us," the younger girl agreed. "Give me your address. If I manage to escape, I’ll deliver the message to your family."

"Nancheng City. Building 28 in the military district. Look for someone named Yan Luquan." Yan Huan sniffled quietly. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Alright. I promise you."

Later, Yan Huan silently waited alone in the dark.

She was scared, nervous, not daring to cry out loud for fear of alerting anyone about the girls’ escape, only biting her clothes and sobbing quietly.

She feared daylight.

Because when the day breaks, it’s the time to determine her fate.