Chapter 2

I nodded vigorously. With my small body standing straight and a firm gaze, I said, "I'll go with you to eat stew!"

"Jessica, don't be impulsive," Xander finally said in an icy tone. He frowned as he glanced at me with disgust, as if he were looking at some trash by the roadside.

"This child is crass, untamable, and mannerless. Serena is right. What if she scares you? Besides, the McNeils don't need this kind of shameful thing in the household," he said, deliberately emphasizing the word "thing."

Serena immediately chimed in with a sweet voice, "Exactly! Look at her, all dirty and shabby—a little girl with that rough Southern accent sounding so uncouth. Bringing her home would just make others laugh.

"Besides, adoption is such a serious matter. How can it be decided just because a kid said so? I don't think Jessica should make her choice today. We'll help her pick a well-behaved, sensible child who can speak normally."

The live comments instantly erupted before me again.

"Taking a kid like this home really does lower their status. The childhood sweetheart speaks harshly, but she's not wrong."

"But this little kid clearly likes the tragic female lead, and the female lead clearly likes her, too. If she can't adopt her… Oh, right, the tragic part of the plot is happening!"

"Only this kid ran into the female lead's arms. I don't get why the female lead has to be tormented again. She's already lost her child. Isn't that enough tragedy for a plot where the male lead has to try everything to win her back?"

Jessica's body visibly stiffened, and she instinctively hugged me tighter, her arms trembling as if she were taking a desperate gamble.

"I want her. This little girl—I only want to adopt her," she said firmly.

Serena screamed, "Jessica, are you crazy? You'd go against Xander for a wild child?"

Xander's expression turned stormy, and he glared at Jessica menacingly. The invisible pressure emanating from him seemed to freeze the air in the orphanage. Georgia rubbed her hands together nervously on the side, not daring to make a sound.

Jessica's face grew even paler, but she held me tighter.

"Mom, don't be afraid," I said.

I suddenly turned my head around to face Xander and Serena. I mustered all my strength and raspily shouted in the heaviest, childlike Southern accent, "Why do y'all keep on jibber-jabbering in here?

"Who's the one doing the adoption anyway? It's Mom who wants a kid, and y'all are just helpin' her choose.

"Now that she's chosen me, and I've chosen her, why can't it work? Keep on yappin', and I'll smack you, believe it or not!"

The entire orphanage instantly fell silent. Xander and Serena looked as though something had been spilled all over them, their faces full of stunned disbelief.

"Holy shit! The audacity! She's challenging the aloof CEO directly?"

"That bastard McNeil has an ugly look on him, and that scheming woman's jaw is about to drop completely!

"The Southern brat is quite capable! Nice, compared to a tragedy, I still prefer something gratifying!"

"Female lead, hug your shield tightly! That kid is solid! She's got a mouth on her, roasting scumbag men and phony women for you!"

Jessica was so shocked that she forgot to cry and just stared at me blankly. Then, an extremely faint smile quietly crept onto her pale lips. In the end—with Xander glaring at her lividly and Serena's venomous stare—the immensely pressured Jessica finished the adoption paperwork and became my mom.

…

The McNeil residence was terrifyingly huge, and its staff all looked at me with cautious scrutiny and barely concealed disdain.

My new room was a small and cold one in the most remote corner of the villa. It only had a tiny bed and a shabby cabinet. It didn't even have a window.

Serena was the one who prepared all the new clothes sent to me. They were either several sizes too big, looking like sacks, or hideously gaudy in color. Some were clearly old dresses that seemed to have been worn by others without being washed.

"You're an orphan, so you should be glad to have anything to wear," she said mockingly.

Serena covered her mouth as she let out a fake laugh, having deliberately said it right in front of Jessica.