klisemfg Chapter 153 Orphanage
Chapter 153 Orphanage
Chapter 153 Orphanage
As dawn broke and a gentle breeze blew, a voice asked, "Brother, what are you doing up so early?"
As soon as Bai Yuzhe opened the door, Bai Youqing came out of the room carrying a teddy bear. She was rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning widely, looking adorably silly.
"Do you want to go with Hoshino-sensei to the orphanage?"
"I'm not going." Bai Youqing rubbed her eyes. "I want to sleep."
"Okay, I'll be going now. I left some money on the table. Go out and get something good to eat; you're still growing..."
.
"Okay, okay, stop nagging."
The door slammed shut.
Inside the room, Bai Youqing immediately threw the teddy bear onto the bed. She had woken up as soon as she heard that her brother was going out alone with Hoshino Seri.
She also seemed speechless at her brother's invitation, wondering why someone would bring a third wheel on a date.
However, this also indirectly proves that she still holds a very high position in her brother's heart!
I felt a surge of joy.
She didn't stop picking out clothes; she planned to secretly follow them so that while protecting her brother and the others, she could also relax a bit.
This week has really exhausted her.
"Xiao Ai (AI assistant)?"
"I'm here, what are you doing?"
"fine."
"If there's nothing else, then don't disturb my sleep!"
"Oh." These days, Xiao Ai seems to be coming out less and less, Bai Youqing thought to herself.
"Teacher Xiaobai, are you going out on a date?"
On the side of the street, Bai Yuze encountered Grandma Tan, who was carrying a bag of steamed buns and preparing to go home.
"No, no," Bai Yuze grinned.
"Huh, Teacher Bai doesn't usually dress this formally. He's all dressed up in a sharp suit now, and wow, there's a faint scent of men's cologne..."
Grandma Tan carefully examined Bai Yuze's clothes, revealing a look of knowing satisfaction.
After all these years, Teacher Xiaobai has finally figured it out.
If the other party doesn't find a girlfriend soon, she's ready to mobilize the neighborhood community.
Seeing Bai Yuze preparing to leave empty-handed, Grandma Tan quickly handed him a bag of steamed buns she had prepared for her grandson. "Teacher Bai, take this bag of steamed buns. Keep them for the road. You've gotten up so early; you probably haven't had breakfast yet."
"No, no, this is what you bought for Xiaobin, Grandma."
Bai Yuze quickly shook his head and refused, saying that missing breakfast for a day was not a big deal.
"It's alright, I'll just make some noodles when I get back. Good luck, Xiaobai. Just remember to bring it over for this old woman to see." Grandma Tan smiled.
Bai Yuzhe felt embarrassed to refuse again, and said with a helpless smile, "Then thank you, Grandma Tan."
They agreed to meet at a small garden near the Xunyang River, where there was a long wooden walkway with wisteria growing on the trellis at the top.
Every April, when spring arrives, it blooms with wisteria flowers hanging down like a purple waterfall. The view is like a scene from a fairy tale, making it one of the top attractions near Xunyang River.
Every year as April approaches, many young couples take the opportunity to go there for a romantic date.
Not long after Bai Yuze arrived, Hoshino Seri, dressed in a light white dress, also arrived. She swayed gently with her steps, like a lotus flower in the water, graceful and moving.
Hoshino Seri stopped and looked up, immediately taking in the breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
"Good morning, Hoshino-sensei." Bai Yuze stepped forward and greeted him.
"Teacher Xiaobai, you look quite well today."
Hoshino Seri's gaze shifted from the beautiful scenery to the fresh and handsome Bai Yuze, a look of surprise flashing across her face.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Bai, who is usually lazy, looks surprisingly handsome after dressing up a little.
Bai Yuze smiled gently, "As the saying goes, your face reflects your heart. Because I can spend time with Hoshino-sensei again today, I'm happy, so my demeanor is naturally quite good."
"What Teacher Xiaobai said is really cheesy."
Hoshino Seri stared at Bai Yuze for a long time, then muttered, "But, Teacher Bai must have put in a lot of effort to find this beautiful place."
"I guess so." Bai Yuze chuckled. He hadn't thought too much about it at the time. The main reason was that this place was close to Hoshino Seri and the subway line 7, and he was also attracted by the bright and beautiful flowers.
When he first passed by, he thought it was a violet, so he kept an eye on the place.
Later, after checking online, I realized that this was wisteria, a completely different plant from violets.
Violets have small leaves, numerous small flowers in various colors, and a long flowering period, lasting from spring to summer. They prefer to grow in cool, moist environments.
Wisteria has large leaves and few large flowers, usually purple and white in color. Its flowering period is short, with perfect blooming time lasting only three or four days. It prefers to grow in a sunny environment.
I was lucky today; I caught the wisteria in its most beautiful bloom.
As they strolled hand in hand down the corridor, a young man ran over, wanting to take a picture of them.
Before Bai Yuze and the others could speak, a young woman dressed as Yang Guifei rushed out in a panic, shouting, "Don't you dare trust his photography skills! Anyone you randomly pick on the street will take a better picture than him!"
"what?"
"Don't believe her, I'm a professional photographer, and I do it for free! You can try taking a couple of pictures~"
The young man held a camera, and his face looked very sincere.
Bai Yuze and Hoshino Seri exchanged a glance. With such beautiful scenery, they were definitely willing to create some wonderful memories. In the end, after Yang Yuhuan's persuasion failed, they nodded in agreement.
So, under each other's guidance, the two took several photos under the wisteria blossoms. Bai Yuze glanced at them and thought they were indeed very well taken; the couple looked like a perfect match.
When Bai Yuze casually asked if he needed to pay, the other party refused, printed out the photos on the spot, handed them over, and said something.
"Brother, I don't need the money. Can I just put these photos in my photo studio? Consider it a thank you for the lost time."
"Okay." Bai Yuze didn't think much of it. He remembered the various photos of handsome men and beautiful women that were displayed next to him when he went to take his headshot.
Bai Yuzhe agreed, so Hoshino Seri didn't object. She was still a little ashamed that her photos were displayed on the wall for others to view.
"No way, you can take pictures? Then why did you take such an ugly picture of me?!"
Just as Bai Yuze and Hoshino Seri were about to leave, they could clearly see the handsome photographer being chased and beaten by the Yang Yuhuan cosplayer, who was pinching his ears.
"Teacher Shiro, they look so loving!" Hoshino Seri said with a smile.
"Yes." Bai Yuze nodded in deep agreement.
Let's move past this little incident.
The two set off carrying a lot of things.
Although Bai Yuze often helps out at nursing homes, orphanages are different from nursing homes. Bai Yuze has never been to any of the orphanages in Yeqiu City, and he has not had any pleasant memories of them.
Bai Yuze was an orphan not only when he first transmigrated into this world, but he was also an orphan in his previous life.
He grew up in an orphanage. Apart from a few like him who were abandoned by their parents at birth, most of the children there were abandoned by their parents due to various degrees of congenital defects, such as Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, and limb deformities.
The atmosphere inside was very oppressive, and the children inside hardly smiled.
Over time, many children develop different psychological problems. Some are irritable and easily angered, while others are silent and gloomy. When the adults are still around, everything is normal. But once the adults are gone, it becomes a world of survival of the fittest, and bullying is commonplace.
He ran away after finishing high school; life there was too oppressive for him.
As a result, Bai Yuze never paid attention to any information about orphanages in either of his lives; the image of the orphanage from his childhood was completely imprinted in the deepest part of his heart.
This time, it can be said that an exception was made for Hoshino-sensei.
The orphanage is located in a rather remote area, even more remote than the nursing home. To be precise, the nursing home is still within the urban area of Yeqiu City, but this place is completely in the suburbs of Yeqiu City.
The road looked like it hadn't been renovated in a while; it was dilapidated, and you could faintly hear ride-hailing drivers complaining.
After getting off the bus, Bai Yuzhe looked around. There were farmlands everywhere, and at a glance, they were mostly abandoned. Only a few fields still had rice seedlings planted, and a small patch of golden rapeseed flowers. The environment here was not very good.
"Did I disappoint Teacher Xiaobai?"
"No, I'm just curious why the orphanage is located in such a remote place."
Bai Yuzhe opened his phone and found that the map showed very little information about the area; it only gave a simple name, and the directions were extremely limited. The orphanage was indeed remote, but this was far too remote.
It was almost unbelievable to him.
"You'll understand once you come with me, Teacher Xiaobai."
Hoshino Seri didn't answer. Instead, she took Bai Yuze's hand and led him through the farmland path to a small town. Most of the houses looked dilapidated and were closed. The open space in front of the houses was covered with leaves and dust. In the few houses with open doors, there were several elderly people sitting outside. There were hardly any young laborers in sight.
Passing through this area of abandoned houses, a decent-looking orphanage appeared before him. Wen Yue Orphanage didn't look very big, with a dormitory, a canteen, and a small school next to it. It didn't look very impressive from the outside, but the inside was very clean and tidy.
Inside, you can also see some newer sports equipment, and a few simple ping-pong tables.
Even before Bai Yuze stepped inside, he could hear the children's laughter and chatter.
Among them, he saw a student he vaguely remembered, a somewhat introverted girl in class, whose name seemed to be Lin Xi.
She stood in front of the small blackboard, teaching simple pinyin.
Below her sat a variety of children, their eyes sparkling as they looked at her and babbling incoherently.
Hoshino Seri looked at the children and smiled happily, then began to explain to Bai Yuze.
This area is close to the suburbs. A few years ago, the Kuroshio Current crisis occurred, and most of the able-bodied men who went out to work in Shiwan Township died in the crisis. A small number of them also moved away with their families. Gradually, only the elderly and some orphans remained in this township. Later, Linxi's father went to the government and asked for a sum of money to build an orphanage to specifically take in these children who had lost their homes.
However, their good fortune was short-lived. Linxi's father was attacked and killed by a monster while he was out purchasing equipment for the orphanage.
Linxi's mother had no choice but to seek help from the government again. However, the government was willing but unable to help. A large number of places needed to be rebuilt after the war. They only provided a sum of money but did not send anyone to manage them.
Afterwards, once Linxi's mother saw that she had received the money, she hardened her heart and decided to move to the city with her daughter.
She didn't want to take care of these children anymore, since no one knew about the money anyway, but Lin Xi absolutely refused.
The two had a major argument over this, and Lin Xi even threatened to sue her at the city government.
Later, Linxi's mother was willing to compromise and use the money for the construction of the orphanage, but Linxi had to go to the city with her.
But Linxi didn't want to give up on these children.
Unfortunately, she was just an ordinary high school student, and there were many things she was powerless to change.
Hoshino Seri discovered this information during a lunch break when she noticed Lin Xi's unusual behavior and had a heart-to-heart talk with her.
"So what happened next?"
"That's right, I later became the director of this orphanage!"
Hoshino Seri proudly puffed out her broad chest, looking like she was about to praise me.
"So, that's why Hoshino-sensei was always dozing off lately!"
"More or less."
Hoshino Seri smiled.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuzhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief. So you're the director of the orphanage! You should have said so earlier. You scared me to death. I thought you were a magical girl.
As they chatted and dressed, they attracted the attention of the children in the yard, especially when they saw the large bags that Yuan Baiyuze and Hoshino Seri were carrying, which were filled with colorful snacks. Their eyes lit up as if they had discovered a treasure, and they immediately crowded around, shouting as they ran, "Hoshino-neechan is here!"
Bai Yuze instinctively reached for the snack bag to hand them out, but Hoshino Seri stopped him, looking at him seriously: "Wait until all the children are here before handing them out. Make sure they are all equal; no one gets more, and no one gets less."
"Okay, okay." Bai Yuze obediently covered the bag again.
The female teacher's statement is correct. If some people receive more, then naturally some children will receive less, and they will feel wronged.
"Sister, I'm hungry!"
"Let me see what snacks are available. I absolutely won't take any. If I do, it'll be a pig... no, no, it'll be a kitten."
"Sister, who is this handsome brother?"
"I'm so hungry, can I have a bag first, sister?"
Unfortunately, the usually gentle female teacher showed cold indifference today, refusing to open the plastic bag even as the children screamed incessantly.
Seeing that Hoshino Seri was difficult to break through, the children all ran to Yuan Bai Yuze.
"Big brother, I know Hoshino-neechan's secret. I'll tell you if you give me a bag of snacks."
"I...: I know that too!"
One of the children, his eyes darting around, shouted, "Brother, hand over the snacks right now, or you can forget about pursuing Sister Yuan Xingye! We won't agree to it!"
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Xiyi, dressed in a light blue school uniform, ran up to Yuan and the others, gave the loudest kid a good whack on the head, and smiled apologetically at Bai Yuzhe: "Sorry, Teacher Bai, kids are just kids, all they care about is food."
In the past, she had always believed that the rumors about Hoshino-sensei and Shiro-sensei were false.
Looking back now, she doesn't believe there's not a shred of shady dealings between people when it comes to hiring.
"Teacher Bai, have some water."
After the two distributed the snacks and some toys, Lin Xi came over with a cup of warm water.
"Thank you," the staff said in unison.
"Teachers, you two chat, I won't disturb you." Lin Xi chuckled, walked out of the room, and closed the door behind her.
"I'm exhausted!"
Hoshino Seri stretched lazily, took the banknotes Bai Yuze handed her, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"I already said I can handle distributing the supplies."
"No way! Seeing the adorable smiles of these kids makes me happiest. Is Teacher Xiaobai trying to steal my happiness?"
Hoshino Seri turned her head and glared at him fiercely.
"No, no, how could I, a mere employee, dare to disobey Dean Hoshino's authority?" Bai Yuze quickly shook his head.
"So, do you like these children?" Hoshino Seri brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead, which was being ruffled by the breeze, and gazed into Bai Yuze's eyes.
"I really like it."
Looking out the window at the cheerful, lively boys and girls, everything Bai Yuzhe witnessed today completely redefined his understanding of orphanages. He realized that even when no one came to adopt them, the children in the orphanage could be so adorable and well-behaved.
Instead of bullying the weak.
Hoshino Seri blinked and gave a joyful smile.
From the other person's eyes, she could only sense Yuan's genuine feelings, without a trace of hypocrisy or affectation.
The Xi family ate lunch at the orphanage.
Hoshino Seri watched as Bai Yuze joined the group of children, playing games like "Red Light, Green Light" and hopscotch, having a great time. What could be better for children than playing games together?
Before long, all the children started calling him "brother" and began to fawn over him.
Who let Bai Yuze run rampant in the middle of it all?
"Brother, come visit again next time!"
Goodbye, brother!
Finally, accompanied by a group of children, he left the orphanage.
In his last moments before leaving, the little boy who had been tapped on the head still shouted loudly to Bai Yuze Hengya, "Brother!"
You must treat Hoshino-neechan well, otherwise I will definitely seek revenge on you in the future.
Next second,
He was dragged and pulled into the orphanage by Lin Xi.
Only that sentence lingered, echoing through the fields...