She had a new name, given by a kind-hearted person, she was called Jantice, the pronunciation was a bit strange, but she knew it was her name.
When Jantice opened her eyes in this world, her mind was blank, she didn't remember anything, not her name, not her past, and she didn't know where she should go, everything was unfamiliar.
She looked around, it was a desolate landscape, with no signs of people, nor any movement of birds, beasts, insects, or fish, as if this place were isolated from the world.
In the silent night, Jantice opened her eyes wide in confusion, lifted her feet and walked forward, even though she didn't remember anything, she could still move forward.
After walking for who knows how long, she encountered a metal box with four round wheels, the person inside was speaking words she couldn't understand, so she didn't rashly approach.
The thought of survival occupied her mind, and later she survived by using her nimble skills to steal.
She tried to learn the language here, but with little success.
After coming to this city, Jantice found it was not stable, many people's eyes made her uncomfortable, so she hid herself and made herself dirty so that no one would notice her, or even if they did, they would avoid her.
Jantice thought the unpleasant smell was effective.
She found an empty room here and cautiously hid inside, but a few days later, she was driven out by what should have been the owner of the place. If she hadn't run fast, she might have been hurt by their strange weapons.
The group of homeless children here didn't accept her either, and her plan to learn the local language was repeatedly postponed.
Until one night when Jantice was planning to spend like any other night in a small alley, a person passed by and stopped.
A very strange person, with something strange on his head.
In this place, there were not only such strange people as him, she even saw dark figures floating in the sky.
She didn't attack him, nor did she run away. Originally thinking that this person was no different from those with ill intentions, he brought her back to his house, let her clean up, gave her clothes, gave her food, and even gave her a name.
Most importantly, he could converse with her without any barriers, though sometimes she couldn't understand some of his words.
He still looked very young, with two strands of hair in front of his forehead that were completely different from his other black hair, he seemed tired, and Jantice even smelled a faint smell of blood from him, he was injured, and there was a hint of fierceness in his eyes.
Jantice didn't ask rashly, but she could feel that he had no ill intentions towards her.
...
The next day, when she woke up from her sleep, it was already three or four in the afternoon. Jason noticed the girl who slept quite well on the sofa.
Jason originally wanted the girl to sleep in the room, but there were many weapons in his room. If the girl, who didn't know what they were, touched them, she might hurt herself.
The girl also asked to sleep on the sofa outside, such a small child, surprisingly obedient.
The girl leaned against the sofa, curled up her body, it was a posture of self-protection without security.
The safe house was not big, when Jason walked past gently, the girl quickly opened her eyes, and her guardedness never waned.
Jason didn't think she would completely trust him in just one night, so he asked her to go out with him later and have a meal.
Jantice didn't refuse, she knew she could only rely on him temporarily now.
Originally, Jason went out again in the early morning and brought back a set of clothes for children around eleven or twelve years old, but they were still too big for the girl, so it was better to take her with him to buy them.
Besides clothes, there were also some daily necessities, Jason wondered if he should buy some children's supplies?
The little girl was small and thin, but her hair reached her waist, it was messy, with some knots in some places. Jason, who had no experience taking care of children, felt a bit reluctant to watch her violently comb her hair.
Jantice wasn't good at taking care of her hair, she originally felt that long hair was troublesome, before Jason spoke to help her, she found a knife and directly cut off her hair.
Seeing her deftly cutting her hair to shoulder length, Jason: ...
Jason: It's quite good.
Jantice's white hair was very conspicuous, and she felt a bit uncomfortable after cutting it short, but her head felt lighter. Her mood seemed fine, but she was just a bit uneasy.
Before going out, Jason casually found a baseball cap and put it on her head. Adult-sized hats were too loose for her, sliding down her face directly. She pulled off the cap, looking at Jason somewhat puzzled.
Seeing her repeatedly adjusting the cap without success, Jason had to step in and help, showing her how to adjust the strap at the back to fit her head.
The girl nodded expressionlessly and said thank you.
Jason thought he probably heard more thank yous that day than he had in the past ten years.
...
Jantice didn't know her age, so Jason could only roughly guess, but her malnourished appearance affected his judgment. He took a middle value and assumed she was about ten years old.
Jason wasn't quite sure what a ten-year-old girl looked like, but even the young boys in their teens, even those in the alleys of crime, looked taller than her.
He guessed she hadn't had a good past. She walked nervously and curiously by his side, observing her surroundings, even avoiding physical contact with passersby.
Even when they arrived at the clothing store, the girl seemed stiff in response to the clerk's enthusiasm.
Jason was somewhat amused by the situation. This little one wasn't very expressive, which wasn't good for a child. But noticing her pleading gaze, Jason couldn't sit still and told the clerks that they were fine on their own.
The clerk seemed to understand something and stopped pushing sales, quietly accompanying them. The clerk speculated that this little girl might have some social disorder, or perhaps autism?
But fortunately, the young man with the child was quite generous in his spending, buying the little girl many clothes.
Then, the smiling clerk who bid them farewell saw them turning into a shoe store.
Jantice didn't understand what Jason was saying to them throughout the whole process. From their gestures and the clothes they pointed to on her body, it was all about her.
She didn't speak, letting them manipulate her.
When Jason, who left the children's clothing area, couldn't help but think, it turned out that raising a child was so expensive, luckily he could afford it.
With both hands carrying large and small bags, Jantice couldn't help but look up at Jason with some distress and said, "I'll work hard to earn money and pay you back."
Even though she hadn't figured out the current prices and currencies.
Jason relaxed his brows and couldn't help but chuckle, "Just listen to the adults obediently, little brat. I'm not so down and out that I need you to earn money."
Jantice frowned, her little face serious, "I will."
Jason didn't plan to argue with the child about this matter, with numerous shopping bags hanging on his arms, he took out his phone to check the list and nodded nonchalantly, "Alright, alright, whatever you say."
After buying many children's items, Jason didn't take Jantice back to the original safe house. It was too small and unsuitable for raising a child.
He remembered he still had a two-bedroom safe house, but it had hardly been used, and there weren't as many weapons as in the other safe houses. It might be in a mess inside.
Jantice seemed to realize this wasn't the way back to the original place, feeling a bit nervous until Jason explained, then she relaxed.
The key couldn't be found, so Jason resorted to violence to break open the door, leaving Jantice staring in bewilderment.
The lock was broken, and upon opening the door, the scene inside didn't look clean, but Jason could accept it. At least there was no situation of illegal occupancy by others.
Noticing the girl's shiny eyes, he realized his behavior just now was a bit violent, "Ahem, special circumstances call for special treatment."
Whether the girl took it in or not, Jason didn't know.
Jantice felt a bit apprehensive about changing houses, seeming to find it hard to believe because even he would be living here.
"Why are you being so good to me?"
Jason couldn't figure it out either. Perhaps it was because this child was even more pitiful than he used to be, but he also knew deep down that this wasn't the main reason.
The child had amnesia. The fact that she could end up like that indicated that she wasn't suitable for living alone outside. Why not send her to an orphanage to be taught by professionals? He thought, surely it was because they still didn't know the child's identity. A child with amnesia, no past, and extraordinary abilities probably hid a big secret.
"Just felt like it," he said indifferently.
Jantice didn't understand. They were complete strangers, and he didn't have to go to such lengths.
Jason scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and asked her straightforwardly, "Do you want to live with me?"
Of course, if she didn't want to, Jason could figure out a way to get her into a good orphanage, visit her from time to time, and support her financially.
Jantice pondered the meaning of living together. She asked in confusion, "Are you a pervert who likes young girls?"
Jason: ???
"What?!"