The man, who appeared scholarly and cultured, crouched down and gently held her shoulders. His voice was tender and affectionate, his eyes filled with warmth as he said, "Come live with us from now on."
The woman also added softly, "I'm your mommy." But there was no warmth in her eyes.
If it had been Song Juyao, she would have felt more anger. But since it was Jiang Mi, she couldn't help but feel jealousy creeping in. Compared to a skinny little child like Song Juyao, Jiang Mi's presence made her feel like a rival. And her female intuition made her feel that this girl was not simple; she had hidden depths.
As Jiang Mi thought about the kind of people this couple might be, she felt a sickening churn in her stomach. However, she was too shocked to speak, her gaze filled with horror as she looked at Song Juyao.
Song Juyao was in tears. "Mimi, you're too kind to me. You clearly like the uncle and auntie, yet you're considering giving them up for me. How can I do that? So, I recommended you to the uncle and auntie, and they really like you."
"I don't want..." Jiang Mi began, but her words were cut off.
"What are you saying?" The dean spoke with a mixture of kindness and pressure, oppressively pressing his hand firmly on Jiang Mi's head. His eyes bore a menacing look. "Who wouldn't want a home? They like you, and you like them. You'll be happy together in the future. You should be grateful, Jiang Mi."
Because Jiang Mi was the most beautiful child in the orphanage, the dean had noticed the man's fanaticism with her. She didn't care about the reasons behind his obsession; all she saw was an opportunity to get more money for Jiang Mi, three times what they would get for Song Juyao. The dean felt that selling Jiang Mi to him was very worthwhile.
After all, they were both ten years old, and it was unlikely they would find anyone else willing to adopt them. If they grew older, their chances of being adopted would diminish, and once they reached adulthood, their hearts would become wild and they would leave the orphanage.
He thought the orphanage had treated Jiang Mi so well, making her fair and beautiful like a little princess, wasn't it right to repay him?
Jiang Mi looked into the dean's eyes and felt terrified. She recalled the image of the dean whipping disobedient children. She had never been beaten herself, but she had witnessed his brutality towards others. Even if she stayed, she feared she would have a miserable life.
Jiang Mi's refusal didn't work, she didn't lose hope and desperately suggested the possibility of adopting Song Juyao as well. "I can't be without her. Please, uncle, can you also adopt Juyao?" She instinctively pouted and acted in a spoiled manner.
The man hesitated a bit, but the woman smiled and said, "Sorry, we can only adopt one child." Little bitch, you can seduce men at such a young age!
Jiang Mi was desperate and pleaded repeatedly, but even though the man was reluctant to refuse, they had ulterior motives after all. They only intended to adopt one child because having two would be too much trouble. So, her request was ruthlessly rejected.
Jiang Mi was terrified, but she had a lot of idol baggage and couldn't bring herself to throw a tantrum or cry loudly. Consequently, she was quickly forced into the car. Sitting inside the car, she watched Song Juyao crying outside, feeling seething hatred. She didn't expect that while hunting geese all day long, a goose would peck her in the eye!
Feeling the man's gaze on her through the rearview mirror, Jiang Mi shivered, her stomach churning. She almost vomited several times, nearly regurgitating her last night's dinner.
When she pushed Song Juyao out, she felt nothing. But when it happened to her, she reacted strongly.
Song Juyao watched the retreating car until it vanished into the distance. Auntie had to nudge her to turn away, but she continued to cast frequent glances backward.
"Mimi will definitely be happy!" Song Juyao said.
"She'll be happy for sure, and no one will want you." The beloved girl was adopted and taken away, leaving the aunt feeling unhappy, and her words carried a sting.
"It's okay; I'm used to it. As long as Mimi is happy. Besides, Mimi will come to see me often," Song Juyao said, showing a somewhat silly and sweet smile.
"You're such a fool," Auntie said, her heart softening as she saw Song Juyao like this. Silly child, many children say they'll come back often when they're adopted, but most of them never return.
Song Juyao turned back to look one more time, then hung her head sadly.
What did the second level of hell have in store for her? Since she was so eager for her to experience it, it must be something delicious, right? Thanks but no thanks, she'd rather not enjoy it. You go ahead and indulge yourself.
Next, it was her turn to unfold in the script.
As for the middle-aged man who had been staring at Song Juyao for a while and was suspected of being a pervert by Jiang Mi, walked into the orphanage's gate in the same afternoon.
…..
Jiang Mi was taken home by the couple, trembling with fear the whole way. But before heading home, she was taken to a shopping mall to buy some clothes and bedding.
Jiang Mi kept telling herself to endure it. She was a celebrity judge, and in this situation, while Song Juyao had only one path ahead of her, she had more options. First of all, she could quit at any time, but she knew she wouldn't choose that option. If she quit, she wouldn't be able to come back in, and the live broadcast hadn't even started yet. How could she give up this opportunity? She knew the lengths she had gone through and the sacrifices she had made to get on "Justice Trial."
Moreover, the audience already knew she had entered. If she quit before the live broadcast began, wouldn't that be like telling the viewers that she couldn't even compete with the kiddie Song Juyao?
Besides, she had other options. Once they arrived at the couple's home, she could call her friend, Fake Heiress, for help. They were both in the entertainment industry, and they'd cross paths sooner or later. She was certain her friend would lend a hand.
With these thoughts in mind, she held back the churning in her stomach and followed the couple.
The man was very enthusiastic, almost to the point of disregarding his wife's feelings. He chose everything for Jiang Mi in shades of pink, cute items. When they passed by a children's underwear store, he even sneaked a few glances. This made Jiang Mi feel even more nauseous.
She couldn't help but hate Song Juyao even more at this moment. Damn it, she should have been the one to bear all this! This was her fate!
The woman's expression grew increasingly unpleasant, and her gaze towards Jiang Mi became more and more terrifying.
"MiMi, you don't look well. It might be because of motion sickness. Let's get her some motion sickness medicine and take a break before heading back," the male host said, his heart going out to Jiang Mi due to her pale complexion. He showed consideration as he went to a pharmacy in the mall to buy the medicine.
He clung next to Jiang Mi as he sat, their shoulders touching. Jiang Mi suddenly felt her scalp tingling, and she was about to jump up from her chair.
She suddenly realized why she was following them back. Why was she enduring this? She could borrow someone's phone right now and call Fake Heiress! Wasn't she being silly?
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Mi couldn't bear it any longer. She pushed him away disgustingly like it was some cockroach on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I'd like to stroll around on my own."
Jiang Mi quickly got up and left.
The man was stunned, looking at his still slightly aching hand, and then at Jiang Mi's retreating figure. His gaze grew deeper and more intense.
Jiang Mi walked a good distance, then turned to see that the man was following her. She began to feel sick and frightened again. Trying to appear calm, she walked a bit further, but when she saw that the man was still trailing her, she approached a woman, hoping to borrow her phone.
"Auntie, could you lend me your phone to make a call?"
"Of course." The woman handed her phone to Jiang Mi.
Jiang Mi quickly reached out to take it but found that a man's hand was quicker, intercepting the phone before she could.
"Sorry about this, my daughter is throwing a tantrum with me," the man said helplessly, placing one hand on Jiang Mi's shoulder. Jiang Mi caught people off guard, and the man was no exception.
Jiang Mi felt the hand on her shoulder and suddenly a strong sense of danger washed over her. She met the man's gaze and it felt like he wanted to devour her. Her strong intuition made her throw away his hand and ran in fear.
The man immediately chased after her.
"Help! Help me! He's a bad person, he's a pedophile! Help me!" Jiang Mi screamed in horror as she ran.
The people in the mall were shocked, and Jiang Mi quickly received assistance, trembling as she hid behind her protectors. The police soon came over as well.
Jiang Mi breathed a sigh of relief.
However, things took an unexpected turn.
Her claim that the man was a pedophile was unsubstantiated, the police couldn't find any previous convictions for the man. Moreover, Jiang Mi had only left the orphanage today and had never met the man before. Both the man's car's black box and the mall's surveillance footage indicated that he had not made any suspicious moves beyond the norm while interacting in the whole time he had been away from the orphanage and coming to the police station.
The man's wife, a beautiful and poised woman, had been by his side throughout, making Jiang Mi's claims seem even less credible.
Jiang Mi's face turned ugly, and she tried to leave the police station but was quickly stopped.
"Let me go, let me go!"
"Sir, Madam, you might want to consider having her undergo a psychiatric evaluation," the police officer suggested while shaking the man's hand.
The man looked at Jiang Mi with resignation and then held his wife's waist, saying, "Now that we've adopted her, we will treat her as our own daughter. Even if she's sick, we won't abandon her."
"You're truly good people."
Jiang Mi was both shocked and angry, struggling frantically. She felt the scene in front of her was grotesque, but was forcefully put into the car.
"Let me out, let me out!" Jiang Mi pulled at the car handle vigorously, but the car door remained firmly shut.
However, the couple in front turned to look at her with strange and terrifying expressions. "How did you know?"
Jiang Mi fell into an ice cellar. It's over. She finally realized what a terrible mistake she had made in a single thought and a moment of loss of composure. She now understood what awaited her next.
Two police officers watched as the car departed, then turned to each other, speaking solemnly.
"We need to visit the orphanage unannounced."
"Um!"
The orphanage seemed to have subjected these children to something inexplicable, pushing this child to such an extent that her mental state had become severely disturbed. The thought of what the children might be experiencing filled them with an intense anger, and they felt an urgent need to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the truth.
……
In the real world,
Although the production team had started recording for the second episode, the virtual world's time flow was accelerated to push Song Juyao to the age of eighteen as quickly as possible. The images were connected in a series, and they couldn't see what was happening inside the virtual world with their naked eyes. What happened inside could only be seen after slowing down the speed.
However, since the celebrity judge had entered early this time, with Jiang Mi following closely behind Song Juyao, they felt reassured and even more convinced that Song Juyao would never be like the in the previous episode this time.
Thinking this way, they were suddenly caught off guard by the notification that Jiang Mi had exited the virtual world.
…..
During her break, Ming Shu took a moment to check the live broadcast's status. Her expression subconsciously turned serious. Her manager also had a strong dislike for Jiang Mi. This was because Jiang Mi had previously written numerous articles to gain attention, criticizing Ming Shu. She presented her arguments so convincingly that anyone attempting to refute her would appear unreasonable, leaving them feeling frustrated.
"Who in the industry doesn't know what kind of person she is? She acts like she's all about knowledge, virtue, and indifference to fame and wealth, but in reality, she'll stop at nothing to gain popularity. This time, she got the chance to enter the virtual world, and she hasn't wasted any time ingratiating herself with the production team," her manager said sarcastically.
Thinking that the annoying person would get even hotter, Ming Shu was in an irritable mood.
"It's useless for her to kneel down and lick her. She might get hacked just like the crew of the last episode was slapped in the face by Song Juyao." Ming Shu said.
"That was the last season. I'm sure the production team has made more arrangements this time. I believe Jiang Mi will rise to the top after this season, and her exposure rate is clearly through the roof. Even if she gets criticized, there's still the 'black-to-red' effect..."
"Hey, whose side are you on?"
"This is just a matter of knowing the reality..."
Suddenly, Ming Shu sat up straight, staring wide-eyed at the live broadcast.
When a celebrity judge was eliminated, there was always a notification in the live broadcast. Did she see it correctly just now? Jiang Mi was eliminated? Or did she automatically exit? ? ?
It seemed she hadn't made a mistake; even the barrage comments were stunned.
【????】
【Huh????】
【The live broadcast hasn't even started yet, and Jiang Mi is out???】
【...Ahhhhhhh, I want to know what happened inside!!!】
【Wasn't Jiang Mi awesome? During the first episode, she kept posting articles telling her fans and netizens how to handle situations like Ming Shu's. And now, the live broadcast hasn't even started, and she's out??? All talk???】
【Hahaha, what a car crash! I've been fed up with Jiang Mi for a long time, always riding on Ming Shu's coattails, and her fans claimed she's knowledgeable, and highly intelligent. Pff!】
The program team was dumbfounded.
"What... What's going on? Did something unexpected happen to Jiang Mi, or is she incapable of handling even a child?"