Jian Sheng rested her head on Jian Xiuhuan’s not-so-strong arm, closing her eyes.
What surfaced in her mind were the experiences she had in this world since her arrival.
Though less than half a month had passed, she had already gone through so much.
She had found her family, a mother who loved her, people who cared about her, and even discovered her relatives from the Qi family, with whom she shared a deep connection.
While many things here weren't as ideal as she had imagined.
In fact, due to her own complacency and carelessness, she had faced the greatest crisis of her two lives.
Yet, unknowingly, she had developed a sense of belonging and attachment to this world and her family here.
All the memories replayed in her mind, and Jian Sheng saw the memories she had once merged with again.
The memories belonging to the original owner of this body.
In a daze, she seemed to see a little girl, eight parts similar to Jian Sheng, standing before her in a boundless pure white realm, composed entirely of light. This little girl, however, always hid a flicker of timidity in her gaze.
The little girl smiled faintly.
"Thank you," she said.
"Please take good care of Mommy," she said.
Then, the little girl, transformed into light, completely merged into her.
"Shengsheng? Shengsheng?"
Jian Sheng was awakened by an anxious voice beside her. She looked up in a daze, seeing Jian Xiuhuan looking at her with a worried expression.
What's wrong?
She was about to ask, but suddenly felt her face was wet. She reached out a small hand and touched it.
It was the trace of tears not yet dried.
"Shengsheng, were you having a nightmare? I saw you closing your eyes and you were crying."
"Did I recall something bad when I was telling you the story earlier?"
"If you're not happy, we can stop. You don't have to think about it."
Jian Xiuhuan was flustered and awkward, trying to comfort the little girl before him. He felt as if his heart twitched with every tear that fell.
Jian Sheng blinked, and another tear rolled down her eye.
It landed on her cheek, cool and refreshing, but she didn't feel herself crying at all.
What had just happened?
Was she dreaming?
Silently accepting the tissue Jian Xiuhuan handed her, she clutched it tightly in her small hand.
A strange emotion surged within her. Jian Sheng grabbed the front of Jian Xiuhuan's clothes and suddenly burst into tears.
She cried heartbrokenly, as if to vent all her emotions.
Jian Xiuhuan was completely panicked, stiffly patting the little girl's back, and stammered in a flurry:
"Shengsheng, don't cry. Tell me if anything feels wrong or if you're upset."
"Or maybe Shengsheng misses home? We can stop filming, and I'll take Shengsheng home right now, okay?"
Jian Xiuhuan didn't notice Hu Guangxu's darkening expression, nor the roaring barrage of comments in the live stream.
Helplessly, he held the little girl close, patting her gently, too anxious to know what to do.
As Jian Sheng cried, she seemed to release emotions that were unfamiliar, as if they didn't belong to her.
When she came back to her senses and realized what she had done, her fair, tender face instantly flushed red.
She wiped away her tears and sniffled haphazardly with the tissue in her hand, then buried her face in Jian Xiuhuan's chest, refusing to come out.
Through the camera, only the little girl's bright red ears, peeking out, could be seen.
Seeing the little girl return to normal, Jian Xiuhuan let out a long sigh of relief.
Heaven knew how scared he had been.
Hu Guangxu, who had been observing the situation, also relaxed. A large portion of the program's traffic was currently focused on this sibling pair.
If they suddenly decided to quit, the program's losses would be immense.
The invisible losses brought by this traffic couldn't be compensated even if Jian Xiuhuan paid a hefty breach of contract fee.
He looked at the real-time comments in the live stream with a very complex expression.
— Phew, you scared me to death. I was so worried about Sheng Bao's mental state.
— If possible, it would be good to find Sheng Bao a psychologist. After all, she was kidnapped. Without psychological counseling, I'm worried Sheng Bao might develop trauma.
— You guys don't know, when Sheng Sheng was telling the story, her expression directly scared me. I didn't even dare to breathe while listening. Now that Sheng Bao has cried, I feel like she's finally a normal child.
— Sheng Bao is just too smart. The smarter a child is, the more they know and understand, the more likely they are to overthink and develop psychological issues.
— When Sheng Bao cried just now, although I was very worried, I had this strange feeling that Sheng Bao had finally come alive.
— I thought I was the only one who felt this way. When Sheng Bao recounted her kidnapping, she was so calm it didn't seem like a normal child. I was terrified listening to it.
— So, everyone should try to restrain their curiosity. Sheng Bao has experienced the pain of being kidnapped. We shouldn't force her to reopen the wound.
— Even if we're worried and want to understand, we can wait for Xiuhuan to learn about it from Sheng Bao's parents and then tell us, instead of making the victim herself tear open her wounds for us to see.
— If Xiuhuan or any program staff see this, please help us tell Sheng Bao that we don't want to hear stories anymore, we just want Sheng Bao to be well.
— If Sheng Bao really has psychological sequelae, it's recommended to get treatment first. I can watch the program, but I want Sheng Bao to be well.
The audience's opinions quickly reached a consensus. Although some were still curious about the fate of the young girl rescued by Lou Jusheng in the story, it was clearly not the appropriate time to ask.
Hu Guangxu sighed with relief.
Who could have imagined that these viewers, who initially came out of simple curiosity about the little girl, would now erupt with such solidarity?
Jian Xiuhuan held the little girl, who was clinging to his clothes and burying her face in his chest, refusing to come out, with one arm.
With the other hand, he looked at the live stream, where a unified barrage of comments had begun to appear at some point:
— Sheng Bao, you must be well!
This display of unity deeply moved Jian Xiuhuan.
He gently patted the little girl's back and smiled as he replied:
"My dad has already arranged for a psychologist. They'll be waiting at our next rest stop."
"If Sheng Sheng needs psychological treatment and cannot continue filming, we will prioritize her treatment."
"As for the story, that's up to Sheng Sheng. If she doesn't want to tell it, no one can force her."
"If Sheng Sheng wants to finish the story, I won't stop her either."
Jian Sheng nudged in Jian Xiuhuan's arms and lifted her face, which was as red as a ripe apple.
Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and, with a hint of tentativeness, gently pressed a kiss on his cheek.
"You're so good to me, brother, hee hee~"
The soft touch on his cheek made Jian Xiuhuan freeze in place.