1 Orphanage

Inside an orphanage, a 13-year-old girl with white hair and blue eyes can be seen standing in a line with the other orphans waiting for their caretaker. Different from the others, her eyes give of coldness.

"Xian Ye, Wang Xiu, Lu Fei..."

As the caretaker voices out the names, the girl can be seen having a slight smile on her face.

"Mu Yue"

"Here"

"You four are now 13 years old, the official will come with a carriage to bring you to the city. There you will be adopted or taken as servants of wealthy families. Rest well, tomorrow morning you will be given neat clothes. It will take 4 hours of traveling to the city with a carriage "

Coming back to her room, Mu Yue was reminiscing about her experiences in the orphanage.

She was found by an old nanny in the forest when the old lady was foraging for fruits and vegetables. The old nanny was surprised to see the baby covered by clothes. Despite being left alone and the sky going dark, the baby was calm and does not cry. The old lady carried her back to the orphanage.

The other caretakers told the old lady that the orphanage can no longer accommodate another child as the number of orphans has reached the limit. The old lady insisted and brought her back to her room. Because the orphanage reached the limit, the old lady was responsible for the additional food that will be used by the child.

The child has grown well under the care of the old lady. However when she was 9 years old, the old lady contracted an illness, and due to her old age died in bed. That's when the bullying started. Xian Ye, another orphan girl envied her beauty and when the old lady died, she colluded with the other orphans to bully her.

Although there were years that the orphanage has a free spot, it was not given to her as she was a "personally adopted" orphan. They told her that she should still be happy that she can still occupy the old lady's room and does not give any other care. They turn a blind eye when she was bullied.

She has to always go to the outer side of the forest to forage for food and hunt on her own. The only time she can eat meat is when there are leftovers, encountering dead but still edible animals or when a guest is inspecting the orphanage. She cannot tell the inspectors of what she experienced as she always has caretakers keeping an eye on her while she's eating.

She cannot sleep due to her excitement that she can finally get away from this orphanage, so she went out and sat on a tree branch. She always stares at the moon and sung lullabies when she was alone. She feels calm under the presence of the moon. While singing a soft lullaby, she heard the caretakers speaking.

"That white-haired child will finally leave our orphanage! That old lady was really stubborn. When she arrived, the money we took away from the budget decreased! Good thing the old lady died or else it might have continued."

"Can't we just sell her to the slave traders? They give more money than letting the child go with the official."

"Do you think I never thought about that? It's just that the old lady included her names on the list of orphans and was given to the City's official that year. She cannot go missing or else there might be an investigation that will follow."

"At the least, the official gives us a bonus for every orphan that was raised here. Consider it as her worth or else I might have risked on selling her to a slave trader!"

Unknown to them, the girl can be seen staring at them with cold eyes.

"When I grow up, I must be strong or else others can still bully me! I must at least get adopted by a wealthy family to start a good life."

Mu Yue said as she goes back to her room to rest.