The aloof CEO and his childhood sweetheart bring the tragic novel's female lead to an orphanage to adopt a child.

All the children pounce on the childhood sweetheart, saying, "Mommy, pick me! Pick me!"

The viewers' comments come flooding in.

"She can't birth her own child, and now even the orphans don't want her. The tragic female lead is truly pitiful, humiliated by both her husband and his childhood sweetheart!"

"The childhood sweetheart keeps winning—spoiled by the CEO, and the orphans scramble to call her 'Mom.' The female lead is nothing but a piece of decor."

"It's not tragic enough! Make her even more miserable! It's even better if she cries on the spot so that later, when the CEO recalls this scene, he'll have to work double time to win his wife back!"

I glare at the comments, feeling so mad that my short legs push me forward, landing me right in front of the ignored female lead.

I tug at her sleeve. "Missy, can you make stew?"

The female lead freezes up. "I… I can."

My eyes light up with joy. "That's it then! That's exactly what I love. I'll go with you!"

Jessica Dawson, the female lead of this tragic show, suddenly froze in place, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"You want… To eat the stew I made?" she asked me. When I thought of the fragrant stew, my eyes lit up like lightbulbs had been switched on in them, shining brightly!

"Yeah! Missy, be my mom! I've taken a shine to you," I said. She hadn't even replied to me yet when a barrage of comments flooded before my vision, becoming even more frenzied.

"Holy shit, holy shit! I'm dying of laughter! This kid is at most five or six years old, yet she's talking in a full-on Southern accent, calling the female lead 'Missy' like that! She's way too extroverted!"

"This scene was supposed to be the childhood sweetheart humiliating the tragic female lead for failing to adopt a child, and the male lead would rub salt in her wounds in a heart-wrenching move. But now, a Southern brat appears wanting to go with her! How will the story even continue?"

"Exactly! What kind of dumb plot twist is this? Weren't we promised heartbreak and suffering?"

Jessica's pale pink lips moved slightly, and she spoke with a soft voice that trembled with uncertainty. "What did you just call me?"

I thought for a second, then shouted with sincerity, "Mom!"

As soon as the word fell, her dull gaze suddenly lit up with a brilliant glimmer. Her tears spilled down her cheeks, splattering onto the cement ground. She seemed to want to crouch down, but her body was weak and swayed unsteadily.

I panicked at once. I let go and lunged forward, my gangly arms wrapping around her leg and becoming her crutch.

"Why're you crying? Did I pull too hard and hurt you?" I asked, concerned.

My calloused hands were red from the cold and cracked with cuts, and in my excitement earlier, I hadn't controlled my strength.

Jessica shook her head vigorously, and her tears streamed down her face even more fiercely.

Just then, Serena Decker, who was wearing a red dress, suddenly screeched sharply.

"Xander, look! Some wild child came out of nowhere and started rudely screaming at Jessica!" She sashayed as she walked up to Xander McNeil's side, and her manicured finger nearly jabbed at the tip of my nose.

"Mr. West, how do you even raise the kids here? This child just grabs and touches people with no sense of propriety at all!

"Jessica is weak—how can she withstand all this pulling? What if she gets frightened?" she questioned.

Georgia West, the director of the orphanage, immediately donned a grim expression. She quickly stepped forward, reaching out to pry my arms off Jessica's waist.

She scolded me with false severity, "Kiddo! Let go! Hurry and let go! You're being far too unruly, disturbing an honored guest! You hear me? Hurry and apologize to Ms. Dawson!"

Georgia's grip wasn't a weak one. My stubbornness instantly flared up, and instead of letting go, I clung even tighter.

"I won't let go! I didn't scare her! I only asked about the stew. She said she can make it, so I'm going with her!" I shouted so loudly that my spit nearly sprayed right onto Georgia's face.

Georgia was nearly shaking with fury. "You!"

Jessica's trembling hand carefully touched my reddened cheek.

"You… Are you willing to come with me?" she asked.

"Yep!"

I nodded vigorously. With my small body standing straight and a firm gaze, I said, "I'll go with you to eat stew!"

"Jessica, don't be impulsive," Xander finally said in an icy tone. He frowned as he glanced at me with disgust, as if he were looking at some trash by the roadside.

"This child is crass, untamable, and mannerless. Serena is right. What if she scares you? Besides, the McNeils don't need this kind of shameful thing in the household," he said, deliberately emphasizing the word "thing."

Serena immediately chimed in with a sweet voice, "Exactly! Look at her, all dirty and shabby—a little girl with that rough Southern accent sounding so uncouth. Bringing her home would just make others laugh.

"Besides, adoption is such a serious matter. How can it be decided just because a kid said so? I don't think Jessica should make her choice today. We'll help her pick a well-behaved, sensible child who can speak normally."

The live comments instantly erupted before me again.

"Taking a kid like this home really does lower their status. The childhood sweetheart speaks harshly, but she's not wrong."

"But this little kid clearly likes the tragic female lead, and the female lead clearly likes her, too. If she can't adopt her… Oh, right, the tragic part of the plot is happening!"

"Only this kid ran into the female lead's arms. I don't get why the female lead has to be tormented again. She's already lost her child. Isn't that enough tragedy for a plot where the male lead has to try everything to win her back?"

Jessica's body visibly stiffened, and she instinctively hugged me tighter, her arms trembling as if she were taking a desperate gamble.

"I want her. This little girl—I only want to adopt her," she said firmly.

Serena screamed, "Jessica, are you crazy? You'd go against Xander for a wild child?"

Xander's expression turned stormy, and he glared at Jessica menacingly. The invisible pressure emanating from him seemed to freeze the air in the orphanage. Georgia rubbed her hands together nervously on the side, not daring to make a sound.

Jessica's face grew even paler, but she held me tighter.

"Mom, don't be afraid," I said.

I suddenly turned my head around to face Xander and Serena. I mustered all my strength and raspily shouted in the heaviest, childlike Southern accent, "Why do y'all keep on jibber-jabbering in here?

"Who's the one doing the adoption anyway? It's Mom who wants a kid, and y'all are just helpin' her choose.

"Now that she's chosen me, and I've chosen her, why can't it work? Keep on yappin', and I'll smack you, believe it or not!"

The entire orphanage instantly fell silent. Xander and Serena looked as though something had been spilled all over them, their faces full of stunned disbelief.

"Holy shit! The audacity! She's challenging the aloof CEO directly?"

"That bastard Xander has an ugly look on him, and that scheming woman's jaw is about to drop completely!

"The Southern brat is quite capable! Nice, compared to a tragedy, I still prefer something gratifying!"

"Female lead, hug your shield tightly! That kid is solid! She's got a mouth on her, roasting scumbag men and phony women for you!"

Jessica was so shocked that she forgot to cry and just stared at me blankly. Then, an extremely faint smile quietly crept onto her pale lips. In the end—with Xander glaring at her lividly and Serena's venomous stare—the immensely pressured Jessica finished the adoption paperwork and became my mom.

…

The McNeil residence was terrifyingly huge, and its staff all looked at me with cautious scrutiny and barely concealed disdain.

My new room was a small and cold one in the most remote corner of the villa. It only had a tiny bed and a shabby cabinet. It didn't even have a window.

Serena was the one who prepared all the new clothes sent to me. They were either several sizes too big, looking like sacks, or hideously gaudy in color. Some were clearly old dresses that seemed to have been worn by others without being washed.

"You're an orphan, so you should be glad to have anything to wear," she said mockingly.

Serena covered her mouth as she let out a fake laugh, having deliberately said it right in front of Jessica.

"Jessica, don't you agree? We can't really let her dress like a princess, right? That would just look ridiculous," Serena said with a sneer.

Jessica's expression darkened. She wanted to speak up, but Xander's cold glare stopped her.

"Serena is right. The kid should know her place and not fantasize about things that don't belong to her. Giving her this much is already enough," Xander remarked.

…

During dinner, at the long dining table, Xander sat at the head. Serena sat right beside him, acting like the lady of the house. Mom and I sat at the farthest end from them.

The dishes on the table looked exquisite, but the portions were pitifully small, without even a single hearty dish.

"Eat up, brat." Serena smiled sweetly, picked up a piece topped with caviar, and placed it on the small dish in front of me.

She added, "This is yummy. Try eating it with the salad. Don't disappoint your infertile mother who went through so much trouble to bring you home."

The mockery in her tone was practically oozing out of her mouth. I looked at the thing before me and felt no appetite to eat it.

Mom then cut her barely touched steak into small pieces and pushed it toward me. "Sweetie, heave some steak," she said.

Xander glanced at us and slowly said, "Jessica, keep the rules in mind. Refrain from bringing your uncultured habits into this house. Whatever she wants to eat, the maids will prepare it."

The maids would prepare it?

I peeked into the kitchen. Tomato and eggs, ribs, pulled pork—the staff were eating way better than I was!

I felt a spark of anger ignite in me and, in a fit, poked at the salad before me. I would endure this for Mom's sake! It was fine as long as I didn't starve to death.

Just then, Serena's saccharine voice rang out again. "Jessica, this soup has been boiling for hours and is really nourishing. You're weak, so you should drink more."

She carried a steaming bowl of soup, smiling broadly as she walked over and pretended to place it in front of Mom. My heart skipped a beat, for I had a bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, when Serena bent down to set the bowl, her wrist "accidentally" shook. The scalding hot soup spilled straight onto Mom's leg!

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Mom cried out in pain and instinctively pulled back. Her skirt was soaked in an instant, with a glaring red mark showing beneath the fabric.

Almost simultaneously, Serena let out an exaggerated scream and yanked her hand back. A tiny red spot from the splashed soup on her hand, about the size of a grain.

"Jessica, what are you doing? I kindly brought you soup, so why did you push me? I only wanted you to taste it!" Serena sobbed theatrically. "It hurts so much!"

"Serena!" Xander shot up and rushed over. "Jessica! Serena was being kind-hearted, yet you took your anger out on her?

"You couldn't bear a child, so we let you adopt a child. And now, you're jealous of Serena, weren't you? Apologize to her right now!"

Mom's face turned pale from the pain, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She looked at her swollen, reddened leg, then at Xander's irrational state. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a single word.

It was as if she had experienced this kind of slander and injustice countless times, having already become numb with pain. She even looked too weak and powerless to defend herself.

The livestream comments flashed past quickly before my eyes.

"Damn! The scheming woman's acting is insane! She should get an award!"

"Push her? It was clearly Jessica who got burned! Bastard Xander, are you blind?"

"Tsk! The female lead doesn't even dare to speak up. Looks like she gets bullied like this often."

"Enough with the tragic angst already! I'm so pissed off! Kid, hurry up and fight back!"

The anger in my chest burst out in an instant, and I lost it. I shouted, "Are you blind or what?"

I jumped down from my chair and rushed to stand in front of Xander. I pointed a finger at Serena's hand, then at Mom's swollen leg.