Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Qian Qi Being Bad

The main building had five floors.

The first floor held several multipurpose rooms. One had toys, either donated or bought. Another had picture books and early readers for different ages. Everything was tidy, not a bit of mess.

One room was special: the nursery. Soft mats covered the floor. Three toddlers, one to two years old, crawled around, laughing now and then. An elderly granny watched them. When she saw Qian Qi, clear dislike flashed in her eyes, but she still gave a small nod.

Qian Qi nodded back, ignored the surprise on the granny’s face, and headed for the second floor.

The second floor was the space for kindergarten-age kids. They sat stiffly in their classroom, quiet as mice, but those bright little eyes kept sneaking glances toward the door.

When they spotted Qian Qi, their clean, pure eyes filled with fear and a strange thrill.

The teacher was taking roll, saying: “Little Min? Little An? Where did those two run off to? I hope they don’t bump into Qian Qi…”

She looked up and saw Qian Qi in the doorway.

The teacher ducked her head and pretended she hadn’t seen anything.

[…]

Qian Qi turned without a word and headed for the stairs. The instant she left their sight, the room exploded with whispers. The kids chattered: “Is that the Qian Qi the big kids talk about?”, “She’s really scary! She looks like a bad guy!”, “Will she eat us?”, “Dummy, only monsters eat people. People don’t eat people!”, “What if she’s a monster who can turn into a person? Then she might eat people!”, “Wow! That could happen!”

[Don’t get mad. Kids just say whatever.]

Grinding her teeth, Qian Qi climbed to the third floor.

The third floor had classrooms for older kids, while the fourth and fifth were dorms. There were five staff members total, plus one cook for meals. No extra help.

Compared to the second floor, the kids here were calmer. The middle schoolers stared with a mix of fear and open scorn.

Qian Qi wasn’t so gentle with middle schoolers. She grinned, dragged her hand across her throat, and barked: “What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll beat you up!”

They scattered like startled birds.

[Wow… you are so childish.]

Qian Qi snorted and turned to go downstairs. At the stairwell, two small heads popped out. It was the same pair of eavesdroppers. When they realized she’d seen them, they flailed their little legs and ran.

Scratching her head, Qian Qi asked the voice in her mind: “System, are they scared of my face, or…”

Was it that the original owner really did some rotten things, and that’s why they were so afraid?

[Please face yourself. Whether it’s the original owner or you, both of you are bastards ^_^]

[…]

Feeling glum, Qian Qi went down, planning to check the dining hall. In the yard, the same three kids from earlier had returned to the washbasin, scrubbing clothes that weren’t theirs.

She bit into a banana, squatted beside them, and tipped her chin: “Hey, buddy, want a hand?”

Her sudden voice made them jump. They clutched the clothes, bodies going stiff. No one knew what to say.

Only the boldest boy shook his head in a hurry: “No, no, we can do it.”

Everyone in the yard knew Qian Qi’s grip was scary. If she helped, who knew how many shirts she would tear. And she didn’t even wash as clean as a machine.

They inched the big basin away and scrubbed harder, hoping to finish and hide fast.

“Tsk, fine,” Qian Qi said, pride stung. “I was just asking anyway.”

She took another bite. “Let me ask you something. Is the director good to you?”

They glanced up like she’d asked the dumbest thing in the world, then bent back to work. One muttered while scrubbing: “Director Mom is the best.”

“No bad sides at all?” Qian Qi had gotten used to their attitude, so her skin thickened. She even ruffled their hair and said: “Tell me the details and I’ll give you candy.”

She pulled a fistful of candy from her pocket. She had bought it on the way here.

They exchanged another long, speechless look.

[Wow, you scumbag… what are you teaching kids!]

“Director Mom isn’t bad at all. You’re the bad one!” a boy snapped, eyes red as he glared. “She treats you the best. She even sent you to college, and you still want to talk bad about her!”

“Qian Qi is really bad. She didn’t come back at New Year to see Director Mom! Director Mom cried!”

“Don’t talk to us! If you want to hit us, hit us. We hate you most.”

They scolded her one after another, heads tipped back in stubborn fury. Seeing their teary eyes, Qian Qi felt a stab of regret. She shouldn’t have asked so bluntly.

“Okay, okay. Qian Qi is bad. Qian Qi was wrong. I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing their heads. Watching them flinch and squeeze their eyes shut made her sigh inside.

“Here. I was wrong. This is to make up for it,” Qian Qi said, stuffing candy into their hands before turning to leave.

Behind her, the three boys stared at the sweets, then at each other.

“Did Qian Qi just… apologize?”

They blinked, shocked. In their memories, Qian Qi was always hot tempered. She made kids cry and never said sorry.

But…

“What if this is chili candy?” Boy A said, worried.

Boy B said: “You try first…”

Boy A said: “No no no, the smallest should go first…”

Boy B pointed at Boy C: “He’s the smallest. Let him eat first!”

Boy C: “…” [I may be small, but I’m not dumb.]

A few minutes later, Boy C slipped the candy into his mouth. His bright eyes squinted in delight.

“So sweet.”

“Wow, it’s real candy!”

“It’s so good. So sweet!”

They lifted their heads to the clear blue sky. Today felt extra sweet.

If only every day could be as sweet as this.

–

The orphanage had two buildings: the main building and the dining hall. The front yard held lines for drying clothes and quilts. To the east, there was a small track and field. Out back stretched a large vegetable garden, carefully tended, with tender greens and tomatoes on the vine.

Seeing the garden made Qian Qi feel close to it. In her last life, Bright Light Orphanage had a garden too. After she grew out of her wild phase, she often helped her dean mother take care of it. Over time, she grew to love farming.

When test scores came out, she wanted to apply to an agricultural university. But farming wouldn’t make them rich. It wouldn’t bring money to the orphanage. Her dean mother told her that if she could get into the Agricultural Research Institute after graduation, Bright Light Orphanage would have a good name and attract more support. So she chose the agriculture program.

Thinking back now, maybe that was just the excuse she needed to go to the school she liked.

Her dean mother had paid her tuition herself at first. Thankfully, Qian Qi worked hard and often won scholarships. Her advisor even said that with her talent and effort, getting into the Agricultural Research Institute wouldn’t be a problem.

The memory made her chest ache. She wandered through the garden, and when she pictured her dean mother hearing that she had died suddenly, the pain sharpened.

Lost in thought, she didn’t see what caught her foot. She stumbled forward, face aimed straight at the ground.

And there, sticking up from the dirt, was a sharp, black thing pointing right at her face.

Oh no.

Her face was already a mess. She couldn’t afford more damage.

At the last instant, she kicked out and lurched again so the point would hit her chest instead. She even added her own sound effects: “Ah, it hurts, it hurts, I’m going to die!”

But the pain never came.

When she fell, she dropped into another space.