Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Two Bastards

A handful of expressions flashed across the three kids’ faces. When they finally reacted, they jumped up and ran in a panic toward the main building. As they ran, they shouted at the top of their lungs: “Qian Qi is back! Qian Qi is back!”

Like an alarm for enemy sighted, the whole compound snapped into alert. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Qian Qi thought she heard chairs and desks scraping inside, followed by a rush of footsteps, then sudden silence.

She scratched her head and muttered: “Don’t tell me I’m a bastard here too?”

[^_^]

[…]
[She actually got all that from a simple emoticon.]
[Ugh, the original owner left such a huge mess.]

Fuming, Qian Qi pulled a small mirror from her pocket. Ever since she learned about her face’s weird setting, she had decided to carry a mirror and practice expressions so she could watch herself.

If she wanted to do something bad later but showed a creepy smile instead, she would get caught.

She couldn’t help making another sneaky face.

After smoothing her expression a little, Qian Qi finally stepped into the building.

The halls were still as a pond. Not a soul in sight. The kids had hidden who-knew-where. Her flip-flops slapped the tile, dragging and squeaking with each step.

The more she looked, the more shocked she felt. The inside layout matched the orphanage from her last life exactly.

So the woman on the phone just now…

Qian Qi halted, then sped up toward a room on the first floor.

Those three kids’ shouts must have reached the person inside, because just as she reached the director’s office, the door swung open.

A middle-aged woman stepped out. Her black hair was pinned into a simple bun, with soft wisps falling by her cheeks. The look suited her and made her seem very gentle.

Qian Qi’s gaze paused, a tiny, hard-to-see disappointment slipping over her face.

She had thought…

Silly. How could her dean mother from her last life be here? Even the voice was different.

“Qi Qi, you’re here so early?” Xiang Wen Yun’s smile bloomed, warm and surprised. She shifted aside to let her in and said gently: “Come in.”

Qian Qi pressed her lips together and followed Xiang Wen Yun inside.

The room wasn’t what she expected. It was neat and bright, with a soft, warm style that matched this gentle-looking director.

Not like her dean mother from before, whose temper was like a devil chili pepper. Dealing with naughty kids every day left her fuming by noon, and her office was always a mess.

But maybe a woman like that was exactly the kind who could raise confident, sunny kids.

Qian Qi couldn’t help smiling. When she was little, she was the naughtiest kid in the place. Everyone called her King of the Kids. Climbing trees, getting into fights, digging holes in the yard… if others couldn’t imagine it, she could do it.

Who would guess that the proper, lady-like mask she wore in college hid the heart of a first-class rascal?

Ahem.

Memory over, she set the fruit she brought on a side table.

“Why bring so much back with you?” Xiang Wen Yun said softly, half scolding and half moved. Her voice was gentle, but her eyes looked misty, her throat working like she was holding back a sob. Seeing this, Qian Qi couldn’t tell if this woman was only the director or maybe her birth mother.

They didn’t look alike though.

Once she calmed, Xiang Wen Yun murmured: “Qi Qi, take it back with you when you leave. We don’t lack these things.”

“Okay,” Qian Qi answered, noncommittal. She wasn’t going to take it back, but she didn’t want a polite tug-of-war over fruit either.

She dropped onto a small stool, swung her foot onto the rung, and rocked like a little chick. Then she said: “Director, let me see the land-use contract.”

Sitting behind the desk, Xiang Wen Yun pulled a few pages from the drawer and handed them over: “What do you want that for?”

Qian Qi didn’t answer. She skimmed the contract fast.

She had looked up the basics yesterday. In this world, there are two kinds of orphanages: regular orphanages and Awakener orphanages.

The first kind is private. The director pays all the costs. The second kind is backed by the Awakener Association. Orphans with an Awakener skill can go to Awakener elementary, middle, and even high school for free.

After Dungeons appeared, the number of orphans shot up. Most get sent to the nearest regular orphanage. If a child awakens, the director can transfer the child to an Awakener orphanage and receive a nice foster stipend.

But Xiang Wen Yun couldn’t even put together 500,000. That meant Bright Light Orphanage hadn’t had a single Awakener child for years.

The land-use contract for this orphanage would expire in 20 days. Xiang Wen Yun was really calm about it, telling her only now.

“Have you asked anyone for sponsorship?” Qian Qi looked up.

Xiang Wen Yun’s lips moved. Shame flickered in her eyes. “I tried. I just don’t have the ability.”

“The contract says if we can’t find a transferee, they’ll take the land back, and the kids will be sent to other orphanages,” she said, lowering her gaze. She stroked a framed photo on the desk.

It was a group photo of her and the children. Qian Qi even spotted herself in there.

“Conditions at those places… they run for profit,” Xiang Wen Yun said, gripping the contract. “Kids don’t even get full. Those places just wait, hoping one child will awaken so they can cash in.” Her voice thinned. “I really can’t rest easy. If, before we’re scattered, I can find parents willing to adopt them, even if it’s only as a stand-in… ”

It would still be better than sending them there.

“If they’re lucky, maybe they’ll find real love.”

“Oh, but don’t worry, I’ll keep paying your living expenses on time,” she added quickly. “I plan to work at another orphanage after this. I have experience. The pay can carry you through college.”

Watching her hurry to explain, Qian Qi nodded: “Okay.”

She didn’t say she would fix the land problem. She stood and said: “I’m going to look around.”

On the way out, she snapped off two bananas from the fruit bag.

The moment she opened the office door, two little rascals who had been pressed against it to eavesdrop tumbled in and crashed right into her.

As if they had touched a hot stove, they sprang back, faces full of terror, and bolted.

[…]

Was she some kind of monster? Back when she was a kid, little ones loved her best!