She once lived in a world of strawberry-flavored choices, but now, it was clear that the world she was in was cheese-flavored.

She didn’t know at which moment a choice had gone wrong, but in this cheese-flavored world, she and Old Carter had yet to form any father-daughter bond, completely different from the storyline where the two of them had depended on each other since childhood.

To put it more simply, she had come to a parallel world, and in this world, for some reason, Old Carter hadn’t raised her—she was an orphan.

It was very easy to confirm this.

David Carter stood up and, among the many plaques at the entrance of the welfare home, found a shiny silver sign and used it as a mirror.

Hmm...

Round face, big eyes, big ears, a round nose...

Exactly the same as she looked when she was little.

It was nearly midsummer, and the weather was hot.

David Carter confirmed this and felt a bit relieved. She smacked her lips, leaned back, and savored her memories of this world.

The next second, her backpack banged heavily against the edge of the upper step, and her pencil case and water bottle clattered loudly.

She was startled, quickly let go of the straps, and hugged the backpack to her chest, afraid something might break.

David Carter froze.

This wasn’t her—this whole series of actions was the instinctive reaction of little David Carter.

She couldn’t afford to break anything; even an ordinary backpack or water bottle was precious, and she couldn’t buy a second one.

David Carter gripped the strap and looked down.

The backpack was washed so much it had turned white, and the spots where the straps were likely to break were reinforced with dense stitches.

Then she realized her earlier description was off—this world, to her, wasn’t smooth and creamy like cheese at all; it was bitter from start to finish.

Like all orphans, her greatest wish since she could remember was for her parents to come back and get her.

But twelve years had passed, and she had never seen her parents come.

In this world, she was truly fierce—talking back to teachers in class, to classmates after class, rebellious to the core and defiant to everyone. Her most recent heroic feat was pinning the homeroom teacher’s son to the ground and beating him up.

Now, at noon, she had come back for lunch, and the homeroom teacher had told her to notify her parents to come to school in the afternoon. But she didn’t dare let the director know, so she could only hesitate at the welfare home’s entrance.

The scene at that time should have been simple and pure.

In this world, she took a step back at the entrance of the welfare home, while in that other world, she took a step forward at her home’s gate.

In that step forward and step back, the fifth-grade David Carter was replaced by the twenty-two-year-old David Carter.

Now, this fifth-grade David Carter would neither have a strange personality from lack of love, nor feel anxious and pained from fear of the director’s scolding.

But another emotion surged up strongly.

She looked up and could only see a sliver of sky through the eaves.

Old Carter, where are you?

Without me, would your life still be a mess?

...

David Carter thought for a long time.

In the end, she simply patted her butt and stood up from the entrance of the welfare home. Since she was here, she might as well try to find Old Carter.

She walked out of the alley, and the city unfolded before her.

In those days, Anning City hadn’t yet undergone large-scale development. The buildings were short and small, the shops crowded together—roast chicken shops, noodle shops, clothing stores... Waiters bustled around in aprons, old grandpas swept dust off the shelves with feather dusters. Although the decor was nothing like the bright lights of later years, it felt inexplicably familiar.

David Carter walked along the road, looking around.

Having lived in Anning City for so many years, of course she’d heard of Hongxing Welfare Home, but as for its exact location, she only had a rough idea.

A familiar aroma drifted through the air. She quickened her pace and saw a grilled squid stall. Now, all those vague impressions became concrete. Huh, Hongxing Welfare Home was actually not far from where she and Old Carter used to live. She didn’t need to walk across the whole city.

The grilled squid stall had a big banner with the words “Chen Dayan” on it. Later, Anning TV did a food show and honored Mr. Chen as the “God of Squid.”

But in those days, the reward for elementary schoolers washing dishes was usually ten cents, so five yuan for three skewers of grilled squid was still expensive.

The stall was surrounded by layers of students, and David Carter squeezed in to watch.

A little kid, probably eating for the first time, was holding his grandma’s hand.

The vendor asked what sauce they wanted, and the grandma said without hesitation, “No sauce, kids can’t eat spicy.”

David Carter looked at the three cups of sauce that the media would later rave about, tugged the little kid’s sleeve, and whispered, “The sweet and spicy sauce is delicious, you should try it.”

The grandma glared at her, took the squid, and led the child away.

The little kid kept looking back with every step.

David Carter pointed at the sweet and spicy sauce and mouthed an exaggerated “super tasty.”

The boss burst out laughing, clearly delighted, and insisted on giving her a skewer of grilled squid.

“No need! Next time I’ll have my dad bring me to buy some!” David Carter waved at the boss, slung her backpack, and kept walking.

At the end of the road was another street.

There were two elementary schools near Hongxing Welfare Home. It was almost one o’clock, and the kids who had gone home for lunch were starting to return to school.