The Li Family Village was bustling with activity today.
Many cameras were set up in the village. The village chief was sending his granddaughter to the big city to record a TV show, and he even set off two large firecrackers for the occasion.
The cameras quickly finished filming the scene of the car leaving, and things should have quieted down by now.
"What should we film?" the director asked.
"Let's film that little girl. She's quite pretty. Why isn't she the one going to record the show?" the cameraman said.
"Oh, you mean Li Xiaoya? She is pretty... but the people of Li Family Village say she's stupid and greedy, likes to steal things, always lies, has a foul mouth, and no manners at all," the director shook his head.
The cameraman stared at the girl in the frame, unable to help muttering to himself.
Stupid and greedy?
It doesn't seem like it.
In the small viewfinder, the child called Li Xiaoya was being jostled about by the villagers.
She had to grip her basket tightly, her fingers turning white from the effort.
If one were to look closer, they would see many scars on her hands. Those were left behind from repeated blistering and bursting.
Soon, the villagers gradually dispersed, and Li Xiaoya, carrying her large basket, walked off in another direction.
The cameraman couldn't help but wonder, where is she going? Where are her parents?
*
Li Xiaoya went to pick mushrooms.
They could sell for three yuan.
Autumn came early to Li Family Village, and after several days of rain, many mushrooms had sprung up.
If there were any rotten mushrooms, she could take them home to make soup.
Li Xiaoya walked along the muddy path, swallowing ingloriously.
Meanwhile, the director was greeting the camera: "Hello everyone, in about ten minutes, the other protagonist of our show, Sheng Yuxiao, will arrive at Li Family Village."
This reality show, called "Exchange Lives," was broadcast live, allowing netizens to interact via bullet comments at any time.
The netizens were already getting restless.
[Damn, no wonder they say bad environments breed bad people! Such a pretty child, yet with such a terrible character]
[Never mind the child! Young Master Sheng! Young Master Sheng is coming!]
The Sheng Yuxiao they spoke of was the heir to the Sheng Corporation.
He came from a good family and was handsome, but his personality was quite terrible. That's why his mother personally signed him up for this show, wanting him to experience the hardships of life and improve his character.
At this moment, the young master was sitting in a blue Bugatti sports car worth 40 million yuan.
The driver was from the production team.
He carefully kept an eye on the young master beside him...
Sheng Yuxiao's face was full of resentment, not saying a word.
Upon closer inspection, one could see a bone stud embedded in his brow bone, topped with a white diamond.
Dazzling and sharp, just like him.
The driver felt that even looking at him for a moment longer would result in being cut by his sharpness, so he hurriedly averted his gaze.
It was this moment of distraction.
"There's someone ahead," Sheng Yuxiao spat out a few words.
The driver sharply turned the steering wheel.
They barely grazed past the person.
To avoid the car, that person had also fallen into the ditch by the roadside.
"Are you blind?" Sheng Yuxiao spat out three more words, then opened the car door and walked out first.
The driver broke out in a cold sweat, his first thought being, thank goodness the cameras weren't set up here! Otherwise, if this was livestreamed, wouldn't he be cursed to death?
Sheng Yuxiao was seventeen years old this year, but he already stood at 180 centimeters tall.
With his long legs, he strode to the edge of the ditch in just a few steps, cursing without looking back, "Are you all idiots? Get the person out!"
Only after cursing did he squat down to look at the person in the ditch.
It was a child.
Sheng Yuxiao was taken aback.
The child was lying on her back in the ditch, a basket on her back. She looked like an overturned turtle, struggling but unable to turn back over. Her small arms and legs were flailing uselessly.
Sheng Yuxiao couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Hearing this laugh, the production team members were stunned.
No wonder people called Young Master Sheng a hellraiser. There had just been a traffic accident, and they didn't even know if the person was dead or alive, yet he could still laugh...
"Just like the turtle my mom keeps," Sheng Yuxiao said with a sneer. The young master, for once condescending, braced one leg on the other side of the ditch, then reached out and pulled the child out of the ditch.
Due to the continuous rain, there was quite a bit of water accumulated in the ditch.
The child was soaked from head to toe.
Now she stood in front of Sheng Yuxiao, shivering, but still clutching her basket tightly.
"Mushrooms, mushrooms..." she said a bit sadly.
They were freshly picked.
All of them had fallen into the ditch.
Soaked in water, ruined, unsellable. The three yuan was gone. The mushroom soup was gone too.
"Mushrooms? What mushrooms?" Sheng Yuxiao was puzzled.
The staff members had all gathered around by now. Seeing such a small girl, they felt even more anxious and hurriedly asked a flurry of questions:
"How old are you?"
"Where are your parents?"
"What's your name? Do you know your parents' phone number?"
"Where does it hurt?"
The child didn't answer, only leaning over the edge of the ditch, trying to reach for the mushrooms that had fallen into the water.
Sheng Yuxiao naturally lowered his gaze.
He noticed that even though autumn had arrived, the child was wearing thin clothes and a pair of sandals with broken straps on her feet. The shoes didn't fit well, as if they had been picked up somewhere.
With her pant legs rolled up, one could see that her fair calves were covered in insect bites.
It was as if Sheng Yuxiao's brain had been struck by a heavy hammer.
Poor... poor thing.
This thought popped into his mind.
Sheng Yuxiao turned his head to look at the group of idiotic staff members who were still asking questions, and frowned: "Why are you just standing there like idiots? Help her pick them up! She wants to pick up the mushrooms!"
The staff members immediately stopped their barrage of questions and hurriedly imitated the child, bending over the edge of the ditch to pick up the mushrooms.
Sheng Yuxiao still felt dissatisfied.
He simply kicked the driver in the buttocks, sending him into the ditch: "You drove the damn car, you go down there and pick them up!"
The driver's face turned red and blue, but he didn't dare to argue. He could only obediently bend down to pick up the mushrooms.
After all the mushrooms were picked up, the child finally seemed to come back to her senses. She looked up at Sheng Yuxiao and said in a soft voice, "Thank you, big brother."
Sheng Yuxiao had no sisters at home, not even a cousin. Hearing someone call him that for the first time was like an electric current zipping through his brain.
It felt tingly.
Sheng Yuxiao grinned: "I've done plenty of bad things, but this is the first time someone's thanked me."
The child lowered her head, seeming to think seriously for a moment.
Then she looked up earnestly and asked, "What's a bad thing?"
Sheng Yuxiao laughed. "You're too young. It's not for your ears." He paused, then asked, "What's your name?"
"Li Xiaoya."
Seeing the two chatting away, the production crew couldn't take it anymore. "Young master, we're already half an hour late. They're waiting for you over there."
Sheng Yuxiao, ever the rebel, smirked. "Oh, well, let them wait another half hour then."
The crew grew anxious. "But, but... Alright, even if you don't care about the show. This child, she's soaked to the bone. If we don't take her home, she'll surely catch a fever!"
Sheng Yuxiao took off his outer coat.
He wrapped it around Li Xiaoya.
"Are you still cold?" he asked.
Li Xiaoya shook her head, bewildered.
The production crew felt their vision go dark.
That coat on the young master was a custom-made piece! Wrapping it around that child, getting it covered in mud—how could it be salvaged?
"We'll go to your place first," Sheng Yuxiao said, looking at Li Xiaoya.
*
Jin City.
Li Qingqing, the village chief's granddaughter, stepped off the plane.
She approached the camera held by the staff, showing no signs of nervousness, appearing poised and natural.
The distant, brilliant lights seemed to welcome her new life.
No one knew she was a person who had been reborn.
In her previous life, Li Xiaoya had gone to record a show called "Exchange Lives," been adopted by a wealthy family, and from then on reached the pinnacle of success.
Li Qingqing's eyes sparkled.
Li Xiaoya, from now on, I'll be living your life for you!