"Bao'er, if anything happens to you, how am I supposed to go on..." a mournful woman's voice arose.
The woman, dressed in patched clothes, had eyes swollen as walnuts from crying and was surrounded by five young boys, who were also in tears.
In front of them lay an old wooden bed, under a dingy quilt, a little girl in a coma.
Her complexion was as pale as paper, her breathing weak, her eyes tightly shut.
Ever since falling into the water, the little girl had remained unconscious.
The doctor said that if she didn't wake up today, it was very likely she would never wake up again.
"My poor child!" The woman burst into tears again.
The wailing of six people was almost enough to shake the heavens.
Originally busy assimilating the memories of her original self, Xia Ningxing was disturbed to the point of sighing, seeming to accept her reality, and finally resigning herself to opening her stinging eyelids to look at the six unknown faces before her, "You all, stop crying..."
No sooner had she spoken than Mrs. Xia excitedly hugged her, tears pattering down on her face, "Bao! You've finally awoken, I was so scared."
"Little sister!!"
The five brothers gathered around as well, tenderly touching her little head.
The thick concern in their eyes made Ningxing's nose tingle inexplicably.
Originally having gone from a multimillionaire young actress to a poor eight-year-old peasant girl of the late 1980s, she was extremely resistant in her heart, but now, it seemed not too bad.
At least, she had a family in this life! She was no longer an orphan!
"Bao'er, why are you spacing out? Has your brain been damaged?" The woman saw her vacant gaze and thought the fever of several days had muddled her, and immediately began to sob sadly again.
As soon as she cried, the five little creatures also started bawling again.
It was as if she was about to die...
Xia Ningxing felt like her eardrums were about to burst and hurriedly comforted them, "Mom, brother, my brain isn't damaged, you can stop crying."
She had always been a person with strong adaptability and decided that since she was there, she might as well make the best of it.
"Alright, alright, I won't cry." Seeing her articulate speech and recognizing people, Mrs. Xia finally stopped her tears and affectionately patted her little head, "You've lost weight after being sick so long, Bao'er. I'll go make you some chicken soup to nourish your body now!"
Bao'er, Xia Ningxing's nickname.
In this era, most families preferred sons over daughters, but the Xia family was different, favoring daughters over sons.
At the Xia family, Ningxing was a little princess, loved by her mother and cherished by her brothers—wasn't she the fattest in the family?
"Thank you, Mom." Ningxing felt a warm feeling in her heart seeing how Mrs. Xia cared for her, and the panic of being in a strange new world dissipated significantly.
"Why be so formal with your mom!" Mrs. Xia lovingly touched her head and then, as if changing her face, turned sternly to the five scruffy boys, "You lot better look after your sister well. If anything happens to her again, I'll thrash every one of you, do you hear me!?"
If it weren't for those rascals failing to keep an eye on Bao'er, she would never have been pushed into the river.
The most infuriating thing was that the perpetrator wouldn't even admit it!
Due to a lack of evidence, the matter had to be dropped in the end.
The five boys shivered and quickly raised their little hands, promising, "We know, Mom. From now on we'll definitely keep an eye on little sister."
Only then did Mrs. Xia go to the kitchen with peace of mind to start the soup.
After she left, Xia Ningxing cast a glance at her five newfound brothers.
"Little sister?" Seeing her round, grape-like eyes staring at them, the five brothers immediately tensed up, fearing that she might have developed a new problem.