After a long day of running around, sitting at the dining table and smelling the aroma of the food, Shi Jing felt really hungry.

Fang Ning served Shi Jing rice, then served herself some, before saying, "Let's eat."

She didn't stand on ceremony with Fang Ning and started eating right away. She ate quickly, and the two didn't exchange any words.

They ate quickly, taking only about ten minutes to finish their meal.

Fang Ning glanced at the clock on the restaurant wall; it was almost 4:30.

Summer days are long, but since Shi Jing was traveling alone, Fang Ning felt that he shouldn't be allowed to go back too late.

"Do you...do you want to go back?"

"Huh?" Shi Jing checked the time. "It's 4:30."

Shi Jing herself hadn't planned to go back like this, but Fang Ning had asked, so it wouldn't hurt to go back earlier. She'd had a long day of running around, so it would be good to go back and rest.

She originally intended to donate money today, but the dean won't accept it because of her age, so she plans to find another way.

Having decided to donate, she didn't intend to keep the money in her possession indefinitely.

However, this matter cannot be rushed. If all else fails, we can continue to donate to charities.

But since we're here, we can't just come and go; we might as well stay a few more days.

So she asked, "Can I come over tomorrow?"

Fang Ning didn't understand why she asked that, but she still nodded: "Yes, you can."

Shi Jing nodded in satisfaction, "That's good."

"I'll head back now and come find you again tomorrow."

Fang Ning wanted to take her home, but Shi Jing refused outright. How could she let a child take her home? If she did, wouldn't she have to take him back too?

"I can easily hail a taxi at the door; there's no need for a ride-hailing service."

"Then, I'll walk you to the door." Fang Ning didn't insist.

Shi Jing no longer refused, and the two walked towards the main gate.

The sun was finally less scorching, but even so, the weather was still like a giant oven. They hadn't waited long at the door when the car Shi Jing had called arrived. Shi Jing didn't delay, got in the car, and waved goodbye to Fang Ning.

"It's hot, you should go home now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The car took her directly to the hotel, and Shi Jing paid the fare and went straight into the hotel.

Her suitcase and all her belongings were already in the room. After entering, she immediately took a shower, then comfortably lay down on the sofa.

Qi Yan quickly replied to the message sent to the three-person group chat, while Qi Shuang remained silent.

The two were used to it. Ever since Qi Shuang started filming, she had much less free time. She often had to film night scenes, and even when she finished get off work on time, she still had very little time to read or memorize the script.

Shi Jing had become a bit lax since the start of the holiday and hadn't read much in the past couple of days. The two of them played games together for a while, but Qi Yan was called out by her mother after only two rounds. Shi Jing couldn't muster any enthusiasm by himself, so he simply tossed his phone aside and took out a book from his bag to read.

She's made it a habit now; she wants to read whenever she's bored. Speaking of which, what was she doing before?

Shi Jing held the book and thought for a moment, it seemed to be something like watching TV series or reading novels.

Forget it, why bother thinking about the past?

Besides, she actually quite likes her current life.

Inside the Xing'an Welfare Home, the children had just finished dinner and it was still light out. They were running and playing in the yard.

Some of the older children helped clear the tables, while others helped wash the dishes. Although there were staff members in the restaurant, it would be quite tiring for one staff member to handle the tableware for so many children.

The children in the orphanage are relatively precocious and quick to help; they will help in any way they can.

As dusk fell, the children were all sent off to take a bath. A little while later, some of the older children would return from outside. Most of these children were sixteen or seventeen years old; some were still in their second or third year of high school, while others had already started learning a trade from others. After they returned, they would eat, take a bath, and rest.

The older children led the younger ones to the bathroom to take a bath, while the little ones were helped by the aunties in the yard.

The boys were in one bathroom, which was divided into an outer and an inner section to allow more children to shower at the same time. The outer section was for storing clothes, and the inner section was the shower area with more than a dozen showerheads.

Fang Ning was washing his hair with everyone when he felt a little guy calling him. He wiped the water off his face and looked over; it was Liangliang.

"W-What's wrong?"

"Brother Ning, what happened to that girl today? Did she leave?" Liangliang looked at Fang Ning expectantly.

Fang Ning pinched his nose: "Sister, go back and rest. She'll come again when she has time."

Just then, an older boy came in from outside and overheard their conversation. He laughed and asked, "Who are you talking about? Which older sister?"

As he spoke, the boy found a showerhead and started rinsing himself.

When Liangliang saw the boy, she answered crisply, "A girl came to the courtyard today, and she brought lots and lots of things."

While applying foam to his head, the boy ruffled his shiny hair and said, "Do you want the girl to come and play, or do you want the things she brought?"

"Brother Yuan, it itches!"

Liangliang was amused and laughed heartily, and Fang Ning also laughed beside him.

That evening, Luo Yuan found Fang Ning with a card. Fang Ning was reading at her desk in the dim light.

Fang Ning was one of the few children in the compound who lived alone. It wasn't that the other children isolated him, but rather that he often studied until very late. He was afraid of disturbing the others' rest, and the others were also afraid of disturbing his studies.

Luo Yuan knocked on the door and went in after receiving a response from Fang Ning.

"Why did you turn on such a small light again? Don't you want to lose your eyes?" he said as he turned on the switch on the wall.

"Yuan, Brother Yuan." Fang Ning tried to stop him, but he spoke slowly, and the lights had already been turned on by the time he called out his name.

Luo Yuan dragged a chair over and sat down next to him: "The courtyard isn't in such dire straits yet; we can still afford to turn on a light."

Fang Ning smiled helplessly.

The welfare home is mainly funded by the government. Although their city isn't particularly prosperous, its economic conditions are quite good. In addition, they receive regular donations from kind-hearted individuals, so the children's lives are relatively comfortable. However, many of the children in the welfare home have disabilities. Although medical expenses are reimbursed, it's still a significant burden for the welfare home, so he always tries to save money wherever possible.

"Here, this is for you."

"This is......"

“Knowing you’re saving money for Xiao Xiao’s surgery, a few of us chipped in a little, not much, just a little over ten thousand.”

"Yuan, Brother Yuan..."

Xiao Xiao was abandoned at birth due to congenital heart disease and was later found by a kind person and brought to an orphanage. Because of this disease, Xiao Xiao is now four years old, but still looks like he is two or three years old.

Children with this condition are best able to undergo surgery between the ages of three and six. The hospital is actually applying for funding, but it's not quite enough yet, so Fang Ning is hoping to save up some money so that Xiao Xiao can have the surgery as soon as possible.

"Thank you, Brother Yuan."

Thinking of Xiao Xiao, Fang Ning ultimately did not refuse.

After he arrived at the hospital, the first child he truly came into contact with was Xiao Xiao, so he always had some different feelings for this child than for others.