When Xiao Yan opened his eyes again, he saw a slap coming straight at him.
Xiao Yan was slightly stunned. He instinctively stepped back to dodge, and the slap swept past the tip of his nose, missing him completely.
His mind reeled as a flood of unfamiliar memories poured into his head, making his body sway uncontrollably. He nearly fell.
Then, a shrill female voice pierced his ears. "What? You're about to collapse before I've even hit you? You don't work hard yourself, then who are you trying to make feel sorry for you?"
Xiao Yan came back to himself and looked around. He found himself standing in a small room. The tightly fitted concrete load-bearing walls were coated in white putty, while fluorescent lights cast a stark, deathly pale glow that illuminated every corner without leaving a trace of dimness.
"This is... Blue Star?" Xiao Yan murmured softly as he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings.
"I'm talking to you! Don't you know what respect is? I pay hundreds of thousands in tuition for you every year, and this is the attitude you give me?" The woman standing before him continued to ramble.
Xiao Yan looked at the woman. She was in her forties, but had maintained herself remarkably well, with barely any wrinkles. She wore a neat black women's suit, her hair tied up in a bun, dressed like a typical urban office worker. Amid the memories flooding into his mind, Xiao Yan caught the fact that she was his biological mother in this life.
Seeing that Xiao Yan still did not respond, the woman took a deep breath. Her eyes eventually reddened as she said in a trembling voice, "Your brother is gone. You're the only one left in our branch. Whether we can return to