A dark rainy night descended on Shanghai, and a woman in a black cloak roamed the streets with a large basket on her arms. It was 1999, and everyone was getting ready for the new year, which was just around the corner.

When she arrived at her destination, the woman came to a halt. Wang and Jiang Foster Homes.

She smiled as she looked at her basket, where a sleeping baby was wrapped in her thick blanket and peacefully sleeping. The woman kissed the child on the cheek before putting her beside the door and ringing the vintage doorbell, revealing two girls behind the massive doors.

(Xiaojia is the long hair one)

"Who is Wang Xiaojia?" 

"That's me," one woman said, raising her hands. "I own this foster home with my wife, Jiang Yun," she said, motioning to the girl beside her. The two women's attention was drawn to the woman when she nodded and looked down at the basket. "Oh," Xiaojia said, bending down and touching the baby's cheeks.

"What's her name?"

She questioned the parent.

"Qian Y/n," Xiaojia paused. "Come again?"

"Y/n is her name... Please take good care of her," the woman said as she ran away into the rain, not telling Xiaojia her name. "Do you know who she is?" " Jiang Yun inquired. Before looking at the baby, Xiaojia shook her head. "But the baby's name is," she said as she took the basket and placed the child inside.

"Can you inform Xiaoting?"

2009; Wang and Jiang Foster Homes

A ten-year-old Y/n stood by the window, watching the black car come to a stop in front of the adoption home. A lady with fiery red hair emerged, accompanied by a man holding an umbrella for her. She was dressed entirely in black, and for Y/n, she felt her heart race for an unknown reason. She noticed the lady looking up at her window, so she hid behind the curtain.

"Y/n?"

Asked the elderly lady standing outside her door. Jiang Yun smiling at her. She was already in a wheelchair because she is too old and weak to walk. Xiaojia, on the other hand, is a bit weak now as well; the two were more than a century old, and Y/n was quite impressed that they were still strong.

"Are you ready now, sweety?"

She inquired, but the child shook her head. "I- I'm jittery, nana," she admitted, clutching her chest as her heart raced uncontrollably. Jiang Yun chuckled as she motioned for Y/n to follow her.

"Do you have a crush, dear?"

Y/n shakes her head. "What? Nana, I'm too young for that! " They both laughed. "But promise me that when the time comes, you will love the one for you forever, okay? L ike me and Xiaojia, you will have to love and assist one another." Y/n smiled and nodded. She was too young to understand these concepts, but her inner self appears to. "I'm going to miss you two, Nana."

"We will, too... now get your things and go to your new family," Y/n smiled sadly, gripping her backpack tightly. "Until we meet again, Y/n," the child nodded as she descended the stairs and met Xiaojia by the door.

"Y/n? Come here, kiddo," the woman said as the child ran up to her grandmother and hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you, Nana. Thank you for everything"

Y/n groaned as she caught a glimpse of sunlight through a window far away from her, the light irritating her eyes. Her entire body was numbed; she felt as if she were drifting by the sea water, as she remembered.

She looked around; she was at the mansion, but no one was there. Candles are being lit everywhere, including around her bed, as if she died or something. "Jie-jie? " she called, but then flashbacks from her dream hurt her head.

In her dream, she saw herself and Xiaoting. She witnessed the death of her mother, her family, and Xiaoting. How Xiaoting came back from the dead and how she died. That day, a woman gave her to foster care, with Xiaojia assisting. It feels real, but she is unsure.

"Y/n? You've awoken! " Xiaoting ran up to her, but Y/n backed up, nervous.

In her sleep. She recalled her interactions with Xiaoting. Hugs and kisses galore. It felt both real and strange. She remembered Xiaoting being older than her. But why is she the older one in her dream?

"What's the matter? Do you remember who I am? Xiaoting stroked her cheeks.

"Shen Xiaoting, 1899, war, guns, Shen Xiaojia, Belgium, Budapest, mom, soldiers, dead, kiss," she remembered, which lit up Xiaoting's eyes. "Do you remember everything?" She crept up to the younger's face with both hands.

"What exactly am I? " Y/n wondered, tearing up as the memory flashed through her mind. Her emotions are rushing in, but her heart is silent. She touched her chest and felt her heartbeat... there was none.

"Why isn't my heart beating anymore?!"

"Y/n... you were dead for a few days, but I... I saved you just like you saved me... Do you remember everything? Me? Do you remember me? " Xiaoting moved closer, but Y/n only moved away. "Stay away," she mumbled, causing Xiaoting's smile to fade. "But, love, it's me," Xiaoting said, but Y/n pushed her away. "What do you mean by 'love'? I don't love you... not in that way," Xiaoting felt her world collapse. Y/n remembers, but her feelings for Xiaoting haven't returned.

Xiaoting stepped back, a tear falling from her eyes as the love of her life had just broken her. Y/n just stood there, emotionless, staring at her.

"Do you have no feelings? Even a little? " Xiaoting questioned.

"I'm sorry, I'm not the same Y/n you met," rumbled the younger. Xiaoting felt more tears roll down her eye as she ran away. Y/n stared blankly at the spot where Xiaoting had stood earlier, her face expressionless.

She stood up, feeling more alive than she had been. She went to her room and began packing. She's leaving for good.

The sunlight burned her skin as she stepped out of the house. She then remembered, "Oh yeah, I'm a monster... again," she rolled her eyes before pulling out an umbrella and walking behind the mansion through the forest. "Thank you, Miss Shen," she said as she ran past the house with her immortal speed.

She arrived at her destination as night fell. She took a look at the building and then at the old sign next to it. Wang and Jiang Foster Homes.

She approached the door and knocked. A familiar old woman opened it a few seconds later. "Grandma," she said, smiling. Xiaojia looked at her, puzzled, and then inquired. "Y/n? What brings you here?"

"I left home because I don't want to be there anymore," she explained. "Why? Did Xiaoting do something wrong? " She stepped aside, motioning Y/n inside. "Oh, you also looked... mature and attractive at the same time," Xiaojia observed.

"Hmm... It's been 8 years since I left," Y/n reflected, noticing new faces of children inside. "Where has Nana Yun gone?" " she inquired. Xiaojia gave her a painful smile. "She's long gone, dear. It's been 5 years." Sadness striked Y/n. Xiaojia and Yun were basically her mothers.

"What exactly did Xiaoting do?"

Xiaojia inquired, taking a seat on the living room couch. "Nothing... just, I don't know. I hit my head, and things happened." Y/n smiled as she looked at the picture frames on the wall. Every face of a child they had cared for was hung there, with a large picture of Xiaojia and Jang Yun in the centre. They are both girls who are unable to have children of their own, so they adopt as many as they can. On the wall were 75 photos, including the 5-year-old Y/n. She smiled at the children she knew before, even though they didn't speak to her.

"Did you bump your head? Why? "

"Well, on my 18th birthday, we jumped off a cliff. It feels... nostalgic," Y/n smiled, a flashback dancing in her head. It wasn't the first time she and Xiaoting had jumped off the cliff and swam in the oceans... They had done a lot before.

Unbeknownst to Y/n, she was smiling as she rummaged through her old memories where s he appears to be in love with Xiaoting.

"And then what?"

The older man asked behind her. Y/n jerked her eyes open. She placed her hand on top of her lips and said, "She kissed me." It feels strange yet natural to her. She can't feel her heart anymore, but her soul appears to be levitating, and her cheeks have turned a bright pink.

"Did you enjoy it?"

She could hear a woman behind her chuckle. Y/n swallowed. Did she? She has no recollection of what happened after that because her head hit the rocks.

"I'm not sure what happened after that, but I had a dream... You were in there, nana... the younger you" Y/n turn around. "You were Xiaoting's cousin... you lived under the same roof as her. I went there when I was 18... you weren't talking to me, but you know that me and Xiaoting-"

"Are in love... of course, dear. I got my two eyes" she chuckled, making Y/n laugh. "You said that before, too," the younger said, Xiaojia nodding. "So you remember it all too well?" " she inquired. Y/n nodded, her gaze falling to her two feet. "But why did you abandon Xiaoting?"

"I'm not sure what it is. I used to adore her, didn't I? But I was no longer alive. I'm different now," she said, shaking her head. "You're still the old you, but you haven't accepted the fact that you've returned to love Xiaoting. I told her not to adopt you because it would be strange when you grow up with her. I told her I'd find you a better family, and then she'd show up in your 18th birthday, so you'd think of her as the same age, but that girl really loves you, she adopted you earlier because she wants to protect you like you protected her a long time ago," the old woman said. Y/n took her words slowly before agreeing. "What did you tell Xiaoting in her mansion? Why did you leave her? "

"I told her I didn't love her and that I wasn't the same Y/n she met-"

"Oh no, how could you have told her that?!

The elderly lady chastised. "She'll be depressed, and now that she knows you're gone, there's a good chance she'll do something stupid," Xiaojia said as she stood up slowly. When she went to look out the window, she noticed a black car parked outside. "Y/n... please think about loving Xiaoting again... it will take time, but please remember and embrace your memories with her... for now, please return to the mansion and apologize to her before it's too late."