A person's upbringing could affect them for the rest of their life. Suolan might not remember much about her father's death, but her mother's attitude as she grew up, and the fact that most of the children she played with had experienced the same pain, could not possibly have left her unaffected.
District 019 had done everything it could to deal with the aftermath of the mining accidents, and as time passed, it seemed as though those wounds had healed. But people in District 019 generally lived long lives, and there had to be things that neither compensation nor time could heal.
As Suolan grew up, mining accidents rapidly became less frequent. By the time machines had replaced most of the workers, there were practically no more accidents caused by mining. For an ordinary person, those negative memories might have faded into the depths of their mind over time. But Suolan was an exceptionally precocious person, and her insistence on positive emotions seemed strangely out of place.
Of course, the mining accidents of the past were not necessarily connected to the "Enbel Maiden," but for now, they were an important lead.
Another lead was Suolan's sudden choice of oil painting as her main artistic focus, as well as the fact that several of her companions had left Dingding Flower Town around the same time.
Classmates who had spent a few years together in school might gradually lose touch after parting ways. But Suolan and Laiguang and the others had practically grown up together, spending nearly twenty years in each other's company. They had also seemed to regard Suolan as their leader. How could they have lost touch after going their separate ways?
And after she became famous, Suolan almost never mentioned these friends of hers. That too was out of