Part 3
The stool under the little boy’s butt was shorter than his calves; his knees stuck up high, supporting a book.
Wen Rong approached and saw the book teaching three-digit multiplication and division.
“Why don’t you go get an egg?”
The little boy didn’t look up, focusing intently on the book. “Only little kids want eggs.”
Wen Rong was amused by him. He didn’t look very old, yet acted like he looked down on children.
“Do you like math too?”
The little boy looked up impatiently. “You’re so annoying.”
Wen Rong had a wound on his lower abdomen and couldn’t squat down, so he could only prop himself on his knees, barely meeting the little boy’s eyes level. “Where have you learned up to?”
The small mouth instantly turned into an “O.”
“Mn?”
“You, you, you, you…”
“Hello?” Wen Rong smiled slightly at him.
The little boy stood up quickly, hugging the book and craning his neck to look at him. “You’re so tall.”
This was the first time since Wen Rong transmigrated that someone said he was tall. He was in an excellent mood. “You’re not bad yourself.”
“Mn! I’m awesome too. The Director always used to say I would live in the Inner District like you.”
The Director?
Wen Rong’s smile faded a little.
It was a pity that he hadn’t properly said goodbye to the Director in the real world, and the Director in the novel world had passed away too.
Just as he was adjusting his emotions to continue chatting with the little boy, he was suddenly shoved hard on the waist. A little girl ran out and pulled the little boy to leave.
Wen Rong looked over in confusion, which the little girl keenly noticed. She glared at him fiercely with her big eyes.
The next second, the little girl panicked and let go of the little boy’s hand, hiding both hands behind her back.
“Xiaohua, this is Big Brother Wen Rong!” The little boy stomped his feet excitedly. “In the future, I will live in the Inner District like him.”
The little girl named Xiaohua turned her face away. “If you talk to him, I’ll never talk to you again.”
Wen Rong: Ah?
The little boy was stunned just like Wen Rong, but he was closer to Xiaohua, so he chased after her subconsciously.
“Xiaohua, sorry, don’t ignore me.”
The commotion was neither big nor small, just enough to attract Leon’s attention.
“That’s it for today. Little friends who haven’t prepared can come back tomorrow evening.”
The children were regretful but dispersed obediently.
Leon picked up the egg basket and walked to Wen Rong. “Why did you come down? How’s the wound?”
“I’m fine.”
Wen Rong couldn’t help asking, “That little girl named Xiaohua, why doesn’t she like me?”
Leon laughed. “Does a little girl have to like you?”
“Um… not really. I’m just curious.”
“I don’t know about the little girl, but I know the little boy worships you. When I came yesterday, he kept asking me where you were.”
While they were talking here, the little girl and little boy had run out of sight.
Wen Rong finally sensed something amiss. “Where is Shi Ye?”
“He went to the military station. Estimate he won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”
Leon took Wen Rong’s hand again. “Come, Senior will give you special treatment.”
“What?”
“Senior isn’t as useless as Shi Ye. Following him means suffering; following Senior means eating meat.”
Taking credit for Zhou Xie’s work, essentially.
The ginseng chicken preserved in the ice bag was fresh. Add some water, set up a fire to boil it, and the oil floated out. In this truly underdeveloped Outer District, it was practically a divine delicacy.
But Wen Rong’s wound hurt, and he really had no appetite. He served a bowl of soup and let Senior Leon distribute the rest to everyone else in the orphanage.
After busy work, Leon accompanied him back to the rest room. When the power completely cut out, everything fell into darkness.
He lay side by side with Leon on the brick bed. There were sleeping bags, not too hard, but having just woken up and lying down again made it difficult to fall asleep.
“Senior,” Wen Rong called out tentatively.
“Mn?”
“I…”
He hesitated to speak.
Senior’s meaning to Wen Rong was special; he was more willing to tell Senior what was in his heart.
He had many, many thoughts, much bitterness, including how much it hurt when the knife stabbed his lower abdomen, how much it hurt when stitching… but opening his mouth, thinking of that small town, thinking of the little boy reading under the flashlight, he couldn’t say anything.
” nothing to say? Let Senior speak?”
“…Mn.”
Leon tugged at the sleeping bag, getting as close to Wen Rong as possible. “When the doctor was treating your wound, we talked to Zhou Xie on the phone and got some news.”
“What?”
Wen Rong was interested as expected, his attention completely diverted.
“Curious?”
“Mn.”
“Then Senior is really miserable, seemingly in love with a workaholic.”
“What did Zhou Xie find?”
Leon: “…”
The night was long. Leon repeated exactly what Zhou Xie said to Wen Rong. He didn’t know when he fell asleep himself, until early the next morning when the sunlight fell, and he finally grasped the concept that he had fallen asleep last night.
Wen Rong woke up a bit later than him. When Leon brought water up, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, back straight, hands on his knees, like a robot waiting to be turned on.
Leon dipped his hand in some water and flicked it onto his face.
Wen Rong woke as if from a dream.
“Senior?”
“What are you thinking?”
“Thinking about why the four adults in the orphanage were persecuted.”
“Don’t waste energy thinking without clues; you’ll deviate from the correct answer. Bring your face over, wash up.”
Wen Rong obediently leaned his face close. Leon wet the towel and carefully wiped his face.
When doing this for Wen Rong, Leon felt an inexplicable pleasure.
Thinking about it, only at times like this did Wen Rong rely on him completely.
Occasionally, Leon missed the way Wen Rong cried and told him his grievances. At those times, Wen Rong’s world only had him.
Over the past two days, Wen Rong and Shi Ye wandered together; did their feelings deepen?
Leon tried hard to maintain a smile. “Wen Rong.”
“Mn?”
“Is it very comfortable? I see you’re about to fall asleep.”
“Mn.”
Wen Rong fell forward, resting the side of his face on Leon’s abdomen, his arms hugging his waist tightly. “Waking up in the morning and seeing Senior makes me feel very happy.”
Hope this treatment belongs only to me.
Leon let him hug him. The steam in the basin dissipated, and the sunlight slowly crawled onto the quilt.
Half an hour later, the two went downstairs.
That girl named Xiaohua from last night happened to pass by. She was thin and small, with sallow skin. Seeing the two of them, she turned and ran.
Wen Rong looked at Leon in confusion.
Leon sighed. “Actually, she doesn’t like me either. She hasn’t even asked me for an egg.”
“That’s a bit strange.”
“Maybe she’s wary of strangers.”
There was no other explanation.
Wen Rong didn’t have time to think about the little girl in detail. A group of children waiting to be fed stood at the kitchen door.
The doctor cooked porridge, the bodyguards washed vegetables, Wen Rong’s task was to organize the children into a line, and Leon distributed eggs.
When greeting the last child to get an egg, Leon teased him, “Does the Big Friend want an egg?”
He whispered, “Senior saved the two biggest ones for you.”
Wen Rong’s breakfast was a loving egg just a tiny bit bigger than the other children’s.
After the meal, while helping to clean up the empty baskets, he happened to lock eyes with Xiaohua in the distance.
Only then did he realize he hadn’t seen Xiaohua during the meal. Wen Rong looked around and only saw a piece of bread, which he carefully handed to her.
Xiaohua looked at him coldly, made a swallowing motion at the bread, but hesitated to move.
Wen Rong took a half-step toward her proactively. Unexpectedly, this scared Xiaohua, and she turned and ran.
“Xiaohua, wait for me.”
The little boy from last night quickly chased after Xiaohua.
Wen Rong watched the two figures hide inside a house, confused for a moment.
“Do you want Senior to tell you why?”
“Ah?”
If Wen Rong remembered correctly, when going downstairs this morning, Senior was just as confused as he was, guessing Xiaohua was afraid of strangers.
Leon leaned into his ear. “Senior specifically asked other children while helping make breakfast.”
“Why?”
“Sigh, the communication process with the children was extremely, extremely difficult.”
“?”
“You should reward Senior.”
The teasing tone made Wen Rong feel like he was back at Floriman Academy. Life was light and easy; he only needed to study hard and worry about Lin Jinghang.
“What does Senior want?”
“Give Senior a kiss.”
Wen Rong glanced at the children. “There are kids here.”
“Then next time Senior wants a kiss, you can’t refuse.”
Wen Rong smiled and agreed.
After all, seeing anything in the orphanage was unpleasant; such brief amusement really made his mood much better.
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Recommended Reads
