She hurriedly struggled loose of the car and dragged her brother out. The car then burned down completely.
She passed out from her dire injuries right after.
She regained consciousness to a few minor injuries and to her younger brother missing.
Her mother was eventually pronounced dead.
With the coroner's report in one hand and her broken arm in the other, she watched her mother be pushed to the cold morgue. She followed woodenly behind without shedding a single tear.
She seemed to forget how to cry.
Her mother did not have any friends when she was alive, so her funeral was hastily arranged by a few good Samaritans who had taken pity on her.
She forgot how she had endured through the subsequent month in a hospital.
Her heart had turned numb at that point. Still, she only fully realized that she would be alone from then onward on the day of her hospital discharge.
Other than a piece of jade, she had nothing of her mother.
She recalled her mother carrying the jade with her at all times and never keeping it away.
She did not mention a word of her past to her daughter, though.
She did recall how much her mother had hated her father and grandfather's origin. Still, even though not much was spoken about them, she knew that they were rich people.
She also remembered her mother holding a deep-seated grudge against a man named Mu Sheng to the point of calling him a cruel butcher.
While her mother did mention the Mu family, the number of times could be counted with one hand.
She kept mum about the two siblings' father, however.
Since she did not have any relatives, after some paperwork, she was sent to a private orphanage.
The place ended up becoming her lifelong nightmare.
That was probably the darkest period of her life, and because she never wanted to revisit that past, she was subjected to a selective memory loss. The memory of that place had turned hazy.
This was until Mu Wanrou's 'a slut is always a slut – born to be vile' retort brought back her memories of the forgotten past. Finally, she could recall a girl who used to curse her with those exact words back then.
…
After she had reached the orphanage, she was quickly assigned to a room.
The room of about 20 square meters was considered crowded with 16 children occupying eight double decks in it.
A pretty girl called Rou'er was sharing a bed with her. Just like the rest, this girl yearned to be adopted by a rich family.
Different from the other children, she recalled this girl always looking beautiful and outstanding. She was often decked in pretty frocks and was frequently holding candies and snacks. Her mannerism was akin to a highly regarded, pampered princess.
The orphanage director and teachers doted on her, and she even had a huge following among the children.
Back then, Yun Shishi was still agonizing over the loss of her mother. Her reclusive and autistic behavior repelled the rest. No one liked to play or be with her.
That girl was the first to reach out to her. When she was feeling helpless and hopeless, the little girl gave her a sweet and said, "My name is Rou'er; what is yours? Let's be good friends!"