Nian Fu had a dream. In it, she seemed to have returned to the orphanage where she had spent her childhood.
Shadowy figures hurried through the gray-white wash of color, while scenes from the past drifted before her eyes. Nian Fu saw "that person" from her memories.
Six years ago, the woman in the long white coat had still been young. Holding a black umbrella, she entered the orphanage and moved deftly through its maze-like corridors.
The usually overbearing director treated her with great respect, following at her side with nods and bows as he explained something in a low, fawning voice.
She merely wore a proper smile, every gesture and movement displaying impeccable courtesy.
Nian Fu hid behind a corridor pillar and watched cautiously, suspecting that the woman was a high-ranking member of the Federation—at the time, her world was too small for her to imagine what other force could command such reverence.
The woman seemed to notice her as well, but she said nothing, only gently asking the director a few questions.
Nian Fu could not understand much. She only knew that the woman had come looking for a child, but the director had clearly failed to give her a satisfactory answer.
That child was not in the orphanage, so why had the woman thought to look for someone here?
"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'll have to ask you to keep an eye out for us. If you find that child, please be sure to inform me immediately," the woman said politely to the director.
The director repeatedly agreed. Then, when he turned around and spotted Nian Fu hiding nearby to eavesdrop, his face immediately twisted into a vicious expression. "What's your number? Get back to your room!"
Normally, Nian Fu would have run off without