“No need, I’m just in the neighborhood, I’ll be back soon!” Olivia Carter wrapped herself in a thick, warm cotton coat. Not wanting to be caught up by her grandaunt, she dashed out in a flash.

Her grandaunt stood up and called out loudly, “Put your hat on!”

Olivia Carter had no choice but to put on the hood of her coat, looking like a fully armed little doll, skipping and hopping toward the entrance of the community.

Yurongtai Community had strict management and was covered with surveillance cameras. Even food delivery and couriers couldn’t get in, so the safety level was quite high. Because of this, the family had no objections to Olivia Carter running outside, knowing she was going to play with Sarah Young at the security guard’s room.

In a secluded corner of the community, there was a row of low houses—the dormitory for the security guards. Sarah Young was about fifteen or sixteen years old and currently in high school. She only stayed at Yurongtai during holidays, helping her father with cleaning and cooking. Her father was a security guard at the community; the rest of the family lived in the countryside of a neighboring province, relying on his income to get by.

When Olivia Carter arrived at the dormitory, Sarah Young was stir-frying garlic sprouts in a small pot, the aroma of oil and food drifting out through the cracked window. Sarah Young opened the door for Olivia Carter, then turned back to turn off the stove and serve the food, asking, “Xiaoxiao, have you eaten? Do you want some?”

Olivia Carter shook her head and replied honestly, “I already ate at home.”

Hearing this, Sarah Young nodded. She quickly packed the food into a lunchbox and said, “Sit and wait for me a bit, I’ll be right back after delivering the meal.”

Sarah Young put on an old, pilled coat, grabbed the still-hot lunchbox, and got ready to head to the main gate to bring food to her father on duty. Before leaving, she closed the dormitory door and reminded Olivia Carter not to run around, then hurried off.

The security dormitory was small. The iron bunk beds, a battered wooden table, and a chair full of condiments took up most of the space. Add to that the basins and hot water kettle piled in the corner, and the place was completely packed. Olivia Carter was used to it. She pulled a small chair from under the table and sat obediently, waiting for Sarah Young to return.

The wooden table was covered with Sarah Young’s study materials. Olivia Carter glanced casually at the math problems, browsing through them one by one.

Within a few minutes, Sarah Young returned from delivering the meal. She simply used the pot as a bowl, finished the remaining food, and then went outside to wash the dishes.

Seeing Sarah Young finally put the pot away, Olivia Carter knew her chores were done. She pointed at the numbers in the exercise book and reminded her, “Sarah Young jie, this one is wrong.”

“Really? Let me see?” Sarah Young walked over quickly, drying her red, frozen hands with a towel. She checked carefully for a while, then smiled in relief and said, “I really did get it wrong. Xiaoxiao, you’re amazing.”

Sarah Young immediately picked up a pen to correct the answer. She was very serious about her studies, always working on practice problems in her spare time. Olivia Carter had even learned English with Sarah Young before; they read the English version of “The Little Prince” together. Later, Olivia Carter’s level gradually surpassed Sarah Young’s, but Sarah Young wasn’t upset. Instead, she asked Olivia Carter to help her practice speaking.

Sarah Young was a special presence among Olivia Carter’s friends. Their ages and family backgrounds were vastly different, yet they got along inexplicably well. Right now, Olivia Carter didn’t understand the usual rules of making friends; she had her own unique way of judging people—by the color of their emotions. When she first met Sarah Young, she saw a red heart. It was the first time she’d seen a red heart outside her family, so she naturally felt drawn to Sarah Young.

Although Sarah Young jie wasn’t especially gifted with languages, she could use a bamboo pole to pick persimmons, weave pretty bracelets with colored string, and roast delicious little potatoes. In Olivia Carter’s eyes, she could do anything. Olivia Carter couldn’t talk to her excited family about her worries, so she could only turn to the trusted Sarah Young jie and share her troubles.

“You have a biological older brother? And he’s coming back soon?” Sarah Young was surprised by the news, a trace of worry appearing on her face. “That’s a bit tricky…”

“But Dad said he’ll like me, so it doesn’t seem too serious.” Olivia Carter felt a little uneasy inside, not comforted by Chu Jiadong’s words. She’d heard plenty of stories about Sarah Young’s older brothers’ bad behavior, so she was quite wary of this so-called “older brother” creature.

Sarah Young let out a rare snort. “Of course, it’s not like you’re fighting him for the family fortune. When you get married, you’ll even bring in a bride price for the family. Why would he dislike you?”

Sarah Young instantly projected her own experiences onto Olivia Carter. Thinking about the trouble the other girl was about to face, she felt a bit anxious and uneasy.

Even though Olivia Carter’s intelligence was above average for her age, she still didn’t understand some words. She asked in confusion, “What’s a bride price?”

Sarah Young struggled to explain for a while before Olivia Carter finally understood, then retorted, “Mom and Dad would never sell me!”

Sarah Young was silent for a moment, then said, “That’s because your family’s doing okay right now, so they’re not in a hurry to marry you off for a bride price. It’s like how I can still go to school. If one day my family is really short on money, I’d probably have to go back to the village to get married and couldn’t go to school anymore.”

“You think your parents are good to all of you now, but that’s only because things haven’t gotten tough yet. I’ve seen it plenty of times before.” Sarah Young’s face showed a maturity beyond her years as she calmly revealed the truth. Many people around her hadn’t even finished high school, working on the farm at home before getting married, with the bride price used to support their brothers.