A collective gasp rippled through the courtyard. All eyes, wide with disbelief, swiveled to Olivia, who nearly fumbled her phone, mirroring the universal shock at the chubby boy's announcement.
SMACK!!
Maria's hand connected with the back of Adrian's head, a sharp, resounding thwack.
"Adrian! Stop messing around! It wasn't Olivia who was called inside..."
The wave of resigned sighs washed over the teenagers. Of course, they thought, there was no way someone their age would be up for adoption. The brief flicker of hope—that if Olivia, a fellow 'old-timer,' could be chosen, maybe they stood a chance—extinguished itself. But Maria's next words snapped them back to attention, their shock renewed.
"It's... Everly. You're the one they called. You'd better hurry up and get in there."
Everly, who had mentally checked out of the adoption lottery years ago, froze mid-scroll. Olivia, equally stunned, quickly morphed from shock to a giddy excitement for her friend. If it hadn't been for Maria and Olivia physically propelled Everly forward, a human push-cart all the way to the director's office, she might still be a human ice sculpture in the middle of the sun-baked yard.
"Ah, Everly... you're here... hurry up and sit down!" June Wu, the orphanage director—or "Mother," as all the children called her—beamed, enthusiastically patting the sofa beside her. Olivia and Maria gave Everly one final shove through the doorway before closing it behind her.
Snapping out of her daze, Everly quickly settled next to June. Her gaze then drifted to the two figures seated opposite them. One was a middle-aged man, radiating an aura of gentle kindness, his eyes welling up with what looked like profound emotion as he regarded Everly. The other, a young man who looked to be around her age or slightly older, possessed a strikingly handsome face, marred only by an aura of cold arrogance. His eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly as his eyes swept over Everly's face, a complex cocktail of annoyance, disappointment, and a hint of something akin to worry swirling within their depths.
The young man exhaled a dramatic, put-upon sigh, turning his chiseled profile away from Everly as if the sight of her caused him physical pain. Everly's eyes narrowed. Her initial appreciation for his admittedly striking features vanished, replaced by an instant, visceral annoyance. She'd rather poke her own eyes out than gaze upon that insufferable expression.
Fine, I'll just go blind then, rather than look at that annoying face.
A flicker of suspicion ignited: Were these people here to adopt her? And if so, were they the kind of rich perverts who used adoption as a flimsy disguise for something far more sinister?
"Not only does the DNA test confirm it, but her face is also remarkably similar to my younger sister's... there's no doubt she's my niece!" the middle-aged man declared, his voice brimming with joyous conviction. Beside him, the young man's expression twisted into an even deeper scowl of annoyance.
Everly blinked. Once. Twice. She even squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then reopened them, half-expecting the scene to dissolve into thin air. She'd been called into this room countless times before, always for potential adoption interviews. So, naturally, she'd assumed these were just another pair of well-meaning (or perhaps not-so-well-meaning) strangers looking for a new family member. But family? Her biological family?! This was a plot twist she hadn't anticipated.
They're... really my family? My actual uncle? And this annoying peacock of a guy, is he family too? My cousin, perhaps?
"Family...? Uncle?! Are you really my uncle?! Mother June! Are you absolutely sure these aren't just really well-dressed scammers? Or maybe rich people who lost a bet and had to adopt the prettiest orphan?"
Everly spun to face June Wu, the woman who had been her steadfast anchor for seventeen years, the closest thing to a mother she'd ever known, and one of the few people in the world she trusted implicitly.
June, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, nodded vigorously, her hands warmly enveloping Everly's.
"That's right, sweetheart. They came here a few weeks ago, while you were at school. At first, I thought they were just another couple looking to adopt, but then they told me... they said you might be their family's lost daughter! I never realized... all this time, you were kidnapped by bad people. I thought the woman who brought you here as a baby was your mother, and she just couldn't keep you... That you were given up out of… misfortune. But hearing their story, she's a truly awful person! You were kidnapped, Everly, not abandoned by your parents!"
A maelstrom of emotions churned within Everly's chest, a chaotic symphony of relief and fury. Relief, because the gnawing ache of being an "unwanted child" suddenly vanished. Fury, a white-hot rage directed at the phantom woman who had snatched her, then discarded her like trash, condemning her to seventeen years of orphanhood. Her face might have looked comically blank, a picture of utter bewilderment, but inside, her imagination was already sketching vivid scenes: strangling the kidnapper, then beating her senseless for a solid ninety days and ninety nights, just for good measure.
The man who claimed to be her uncle nodded sagely, reinforcing June's dramatic revelation.
"She's right, Everly. We even took the liberty of testing the DNA from... well, let's just say a few of your personal belongings, courtesy of the director."
He then produced a document from a sleek folder, sliding it across the table. Everly's eyes, still wide with a mixture of shock and burgeoning fury, scanned the page: a glaring 99.9% parent-child relationship. Proof positive. These people, annoyingly handsome one included, were indeed her kin.
Ah... so that's where my toothbrush, handkerchief, and that one comb went. I thought I was just losing my mind. But seriously, why did they need so many items? It's like a stalker's trophy collection. Were they checking multiple times, just to be absolutely, positively sure I wasn't some random, well-groomed imposter?
Everly, despite her limited understanding of genetics (most of her knowledge came from the more dramatic plot twists in her extensive collection of cliché novels), pieced together the implication.
"Oh, where are my manners? I almost forgot to properly introduce myself." the man interjected, slapping his forehead dramatically. "My name is Zack Zhou, your mother's older brother. You can call me Uncle Zack," he offered, a warm, genuine smile spreading across his face. Everly, usually a fortress of skepticism, felt an immediate, unexpected pull of connection.
"Okay, Uncle," she replied, a tentative smile gracing her lips. The effect was immediate and profound. Zack's eyes welled up, a look of pure, unadulterated joy transforming his features.
"My niece! She called me uncle! And what a beautiful smile she has!" he practically chirped, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief that, Everly noted, suspiciously resembled one of her own.
The handsome man beside him let out a derisive snort. "Uncle, haven't we all been calling you uncle this entire time? Why the sudden burst of enthusiasm just because..." he paused, his gaze sweeping over Everly with a sneer that could curdle milk, "...because the kid you just met called you uncle? And as for pretty... Sylvia is far more attractive than her."