By earning my own money to support myself, putting myself through college would be entirely feasible.

With those thoughts in mind, my anxiety about the future completely dissolved.

I braced myself for a long, quiet stay at the orphanage.

Yet, I never expected that just two weeks later, three uninvited guests would completely disrupt my peace.

4

Early on a Saturday morning.

The housemother frantically summoned all the children to gather in the recreation room.

Under normal circumstances, this meant another prospective family was arriving for an adoption review.

Sure enough.

A short while later, the director escorted a young couple into the room.

The children immediately snapped into rigid, upright postures.

Every single gaze was filled with intense yearning as they stared at the incredibly striking couple entering through the doorway.

Everyone secretly prayed to be the next lucky soul to leave, just like Seraphina had.

Only I froze in absolute astonishment the moment my eyes fell upon the young couple's faces.

Why on earth were they here?

Could it be...

In the very next instant, a devastatingly familiar face came into view.

It was Julian.

5

My mind spun into a daze.

Involuntary fragments of my past life came rushing back.

Not long after I had been adopted by my previous family, I happened to run into a group of young boys from the neighborhood while stepping outside.

Upon discovering that I was Christian’s new little sister, they found the novelty incredibly exciting.

Swarming around me in a chaotic huddle, each of them eagerly asked if I wanted to come to their house to be their sister instead.

Julian had been one of those boys.

Naturally, I had completely ignored their childish antics.

The group of boys had been thoroughly disappointed.

Julian, in particular, had worn his deflated heart right on his sleeve.

Rumor had it that the moment he returned home, he relentlessly pestered his parents, demanding that they procure a sister for him immediately.

Driven to absolute wits' end by his endless begging, his parents had eventually traveled to the exact orphanage I had come from, attempting to adopt a girl for him.

But for reasons unknown, the arrangement had ultimately fallen through.

Piecing the memories together.

The reality of the situation clicked perfectly into place.

In this timeline, Julian had likely spotted Seraphina playing in the neighborhood.

Consequently, he must have thrown another massive tantrum, dragging his parents all the way out here to find him a sister.

6

Recalling that the family's adoption attempt had failed entirely in the past.

I quietly and discreetly retreated to the furthest, most isolated corner of the room.

I truly never expected to see a young, childhood version of Julian again.

In my previous life, I hadn't been particularly close to him.

However, since we resided in the same luxury estate and Julian was Christian's classmate.

He and I were, at the very least, casual acquaintances.

One memory stood out with striking clarity—it happened during my senior year of high school, right around the time Chloe was brought back to the mansion.

Originally, the family intended to send me abroad to Boston right after graduation.

Chloe’s abrupt return completely shattered those plans.

Possessing a healthy dose of self-awareness, I resolved to apply to a local university within Boston instead.

Unexpectedly, Julian, who was already attending university abroad at the time, caught wind of my predicament and personally called me, offering to entirely bankroll my tuition and living expenses.

I had been completely baffled by his sudden generosity.

After all, we were barely more than strangers, and studying abroad required an astronomical amount of money.

I couldn't bring myself to carelessly owe such a massive favor to someone else, so I cleanly and decisively rejected his offer.

To my utter shock, a few days later, he actually boarded a international flight back to the country just to corner me and pitch the offer one more time.

Though I maintained my refusal, I had been deeply, genuinely touched by his kindness.

Thus, in my memories, Julian remained one of the exceptionally rare, warm-hearted individuals among that entire circle of arrogant, wealthy heirs.

7

Just as my mind was drifting into a flurry of thoughts.

A childish voice pierced through my ears.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I lifted my gaze.

I stared blankly at the young boy standing before me, who possessed sharp, well-defined brows and bright, starry eyes. He was barely any taller than I was.

After a long pause.

"Clara," I replied.

A smile rippled across Julian’s lips, blooming brilliantly into a radiant grin.

Then, as if he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure, he turned around and yelled toward Mrs. Judith with pure delight:

"Mom, I want this one to be my little sister!"

8

The subsequent turn of events was entirely unexpected.

I was officially adopted by the J family.

My mind remained in a complete daze even as the car smoothly rolled into the luxury estate that I knew all too well.

How strange!

In my previous life, the J family had indeed visited the orphanage, but in the end, the adoption had definitely fallen through.

Julian had never had any sister.

Why did a deviation occur this time around?

Could it be that because I altered the initial plot, the lives of others shifted accordingly?

Could that really be the case?

"How do you like this room? It has a balcony and a perfect view of the lake."

"If you don't like it, you can check out my room. It's a bit bigger than this one and has a balcony too. If you prefer it, you can have it."

Julian was incredibly enthusiastic.

His warmth was so overwhelming that I felt genuinely flattered and a bit overwhelmed.

Just how desperately did this guy want a little sister?

Naturally, I wouldn't dare to usurp his room, so I quickly assured him that this room was already wonderful.

"Uh, are you hungry? Let me take you out to get some food. There's a night market nearby with tons of delicious snacks."

I shook my head.

Refusing to give up, Julian rolled his dark, sparkling eyes mischievously.

"Do you want to play video games? Or maybe work on a puzzle? I can teach you."

I never could have imagined.

The childhood version of Julian was actually such a chatterbox.

His overwhelming hospitality was hard to refuse.

Just as I was contemplating whether I should give in and agree to his offer.

"Julian, let Clara get some proper rest. She needs to adapt to a brand-new environment at her new school tomorrow."

Mrs. Judith walked over, interrupting him at just the right moment.

Julian was utterly reluctant to leave, turning his head back with every single step. As he reached the doorway, he remembered something and firmly instructed me:

"Get some good rest then. I'll come to wake you up tomorrow morning."

After Julian left.

Mrs. Judith gently held my hand and led me to the wardrobe, pointing out where the towels and pajamas were kept.

Perhaps worried that I couldn't read yet, she then brought me into the bathroom to help me differentiate between the body wash and the shampoo.

"Clara, treat this place as your own home from now on. Regard Julian as your older brother, and look at Mr. Joseph and me as your father and mother, okay?"

"Of course, if you don't feel comfortable calling us Mom and Dad just yet, you can simply call us Uncle Joseph and Auntie Judith. It doesn't matter at all."

Perhaps because my psychological age was already twenty-five.

I found it truly impossible to address this woman, who was physically not that much older than my actual self, as mother.

For a moment, I was completely at a loss for words.

Mrs. Judith didn't mind in the least. Instead, she crouched down, gently caressing my cheek with a warm smile.

"It's perfectly fine if you can't bring yourself to say it right now. Let's get you washed up first, and then go to sleep early so we can check out your new school tomorrow, alright?"

At this very moment.

She didn't feel like a mother figure.

Instead, she felt like a gentle, loving older sister, miraculously soothing the faint, lingering anxiety buried deep within my heart.

9

The next day.

Mrs. Judith took me to my new school for enrollment.

This was also the exact school I had attended in my previous life.

On my very first day of school, I ran straight into Sera in the hallway.

Both of us were in the first grade, and her classroom was right next door to mine.

Seeing me, Sera was thoroughly taken aback.

"Clara, it really is you! What are you doing here?"

I could only inform her that I had been adopted by the J family and was currently residing within Emerald Hills as well.

Sera was absolutely ecstatic.

"Really? That's amazing! Does that mean we can play together all the time from now on?"