Chapter 59 Chapter 59 People are very greedy

Before asking Fu Xuan, Yu Wan had actually searched online for high-end but not overly expensive gifts suitable for men.

As a result, she was dazzled by the meaning behind the gifts:

Giving someone a tie means you want to tie it for them every day; giving someone a belt means you want to tie them to your waistband; giving someone a razor means you want to live with them; giving someone a watch means you want them to think of you every minute of every day...

Yu Wan was in a dilemma. Given her superior-subordinate relationship with her boss, there was basically nothing she could give to her boss.

Just pick one to give to me, Yu Wan is poor.

For example, the boss can wear a different watch every week for a year. Lai Yanxu told her that one of his watches can be exchanged for a suite in Haishi, and the most expensive one can be exchanged for a large flat with a river view.

Therefore, Yu Wan struggled for more than a week and still had no idea what to give.

The express was sent to Fu Xuan, who sent several cute emoticons to express his happiness. Yu Wan then told him her purpose.

Yu Wan: [An An, um... can I ask you something, what does your brother like?]

An An: [Why is Sister Yu Wan asking this? ]

Yu Wan: [Isn't your brother's birthday at the end of this month? I want to give him a birthday present, but can you please not tell anyone else for now?]

An An: [Okay, okay, Sister Yu Wan, I'll keep it a secret.]

An An: [My brother loves to work!]

Yu Wan: “…”

Yu Wan: [Anything more specific, like if you like candy, shiny stickers, or hairpins?]

An An lay on the carpet, looking at the message sent by Yu Wan on the phone. He scratched his head, raised his legs and swung them back and forth behind him, looking conflicted.

She asked Ma Yinfang, who was working on a tablet while wearing glasses, "Grandma, what does my brother like?"

Ma Yinfang put down the tablet and asked, "Are you asking this, or is someone else asking this?"

Fu Xu'an said he would keep Sister Yu Wan's secret, and then pointed at himself, "I want to know, isn't my brother's birthday coming up? I'm thinking about what birthday gift to get him."

Ma Yinfang smiled at Fu Xu'an, with an expression that seemed to see through everything. "Oh? But weren't all the birthday cards you gave your brother before designed by you? Last year, you gave him a painted plaster doll, but he said it was ugly and you were so angry that you swore that you would never give him a gift next year. How come you forgot what you said last year so quickly?"

Fu Xu'an puffed out his lips, looking tangled, and finally just started to play tricks: "Oh, grandma, people change. I am now eight-year-old Fu Xu'an, not seven-year-old Fu Xu'an. I am already in the second grade of elementary school!"

Ma Yinfang stopped teasing her and said, "Okay, okay, I don't know what your brother likes. If you want to know, wouldn't it be better to ask him directly?"

An An pouted and replied to Yu Wan.

An An: [Sister Yu Wan, I can't help you. I don't know what my brother likes. Does he like money? Otherwise, why would he keep working to earn money? He likes reading books and newspapers. He even reads the newspaper in the morning while eating. He also likes to exercise. He exercises every day. When I was a kid, I was not feeling well one year, so he would wake me up every day to run. It was so annoying. Running in the winter is so cold. Oh, and he also likes to write. He often writes on a piece of paper over and over again, then throws it aside when he's done.]

An An: [Sister Yu Wan, how about I ask my brother directly for you? I promise not to tell him that you wanted to give him a gift. I'll just say I wanted to give it to him.]

Yu Wan was helpless. The boss was so smart, so he asked directly how could he possibly hide it.

However, after seeing the message sent by Fu Xuan, Yu Wan knew what birthday gift would be more suitable for her boss.

She thanked Fu Xuan and put away her phone. The electronic announcement on the bus started.

We have arrived at our beloved orphanage.

Yu Wan got off the car and met Lu Sui at the door of the orphanage. The two walked in together while chatting.

The orphanage remained the same: a small, red-roofed, one-story building. In the corners, the mosquito-repellent plants that Mother Lin had planted drooped in the sun. Summer was hot, and the children all wanted to stay in the air-conditioned rooms. Although Mother Lin limited the hours the air conditioning was on, some inevitably became unwell due to the temperature change, forcing her to cancel their afternoon popsicles and replace them with cooling mung bean soup.

When Yu Wan heard about this, she bought a huge inflatable swimming pool online and placed it under the big locust tree in the yard. She filled it with water that just covered the middle of her calves and left it in the sun for a whole morning. The temperature was even a little hot. In the afternoon, when the sun was setting, the big locust tree became a natural place to cool off, and the children could play in the pool at will.

At this moment, Yu Wan and Lu Sui were standing under the eaves watching the children playing in the swimming pool.

The younger child was pulled by the older child and could barely stand in the swimming pool. When a spoonful of water splashed over from the opposite side, his eyes narrowed into slits instantly. At the instruction of the older child, he wiped his eyes casually with the hem of his short-sleeves, and started splashing water without even opening his eyes.

Various self-provided water scooping tools, including mouthwash cups, small water guns, washbasins and water scoops, were used one after another, turning the swimming pool into a small battlefield.

The water droplets fell in the sunlight, like crystal clear and dazzling crystals. The laughter resounded throughout the front yard, making the onlookers couldn't help but smile.

Mother Lin smiled with relief, "Yu Wan, you're the one who found the solution. The children haven't been this happy in a long time."

Yu Wan was busy with work during this period and did not come to the orphanage. Many children asked her when Sister Yu Wan would come. When Yu Wan really came, these children became shyer than each other and no one dared to come forward and talk to her.

Yu Wan replied to Mother Lin: "I saw it online too. As long as the kids like it, that's fine."

There are not many children in the Xin'ai Orphanage because of its small scale. It was originally a shelter funded by individuals and later expanded slowly. There are a total of 28 children, ranging in age from two to seventeen years old. There are only three permanent staff members in the orphanage, including the director, deputy director and Aunt Tian who cooks.

Yu Wan looked carefully and looked confused: "Mother Lin, why can't I see Lin Heng?"

The little boy with bright black eyes who always hid behind a pillar and looked at her secretly while holding a puppy toy.

"You're talking about Lin Heng," Mother Lin said, remembering something. "Wait a minute."

She asked the deputy director to look after the child and took Yu Wan and Lu Sui to her office. "I forgot to tell you that Lin Heng was taken away by his biological mother some time ago. A paternity test was done, and all the formalities were completed. We can't hold the child hostage, but we know Lin Heng's mother's information and address, and we will visit her regularly."

"Then Lin Heng..."

Mother Lin smiled. "I know what you want to ask, Lin Heng. No, he shouldn't be called Lin Heng now. He now has his mother's last name, Meng Heng. After divorcing her ex-husband, Miss Meng found out that the child she gave birth to that year was not stillborn. It was her ex-husband's family who cruelly abandoned the child because they saw that the child had physical defects. After Miss Meng found out, she contacted the police and submitted a DNA report, and only then did they find Meng Heng. So, don't worry. I can see that Miss Meng cares a lot about Meng Heng. And Meng Heng, the child, took Miss Meng's hand and left with her after she came to the orphanage more than a dozen times. The child doesn't understand why, but he knows better than us adults who is the one who truly loves him."

Yu Wan put away her worried expression and sighed sincerely, "That's great."

Mother Lin pulled a rusty biscuit box from the drawer and handed it to Yu Wan. "The kid found this in the backyard and gave it to me. I opened it and saw a two-inch ID photo of you when you were a kid, and a notebook that should be your diary, but I didn't read the contents. Not long after you sent me a message last time, this box was found by Meng Heng, and he also came home with me. I guess this is fate."

The biscuit box was only the size of a palm. Although it had been washed by Mother Lin, the outer shell had been corroded by rust and was in a terrible state. The brand information printed on it could be vaguely seen, but there was very little inside.

The diary is only slightly larger than an ordinary notepad, and the paper quality is not very good. Due to the invasion of moisture, the edges have turned yellow and wrinkled, and the small ID photo has also faded.

She saw herself as a child, about five or six years old, wearing a dark green cotton-padded jacket and a high, withered ponytail. Her face was pitifully thin, and she looked at the camera with red eyes.

In addition to the diary and ID photos, the tin box also contained some candy wrappers she had collected, which had also lost their color and turned into garbage like waste paper. Several colorful rubber hairbands were stuck tightly to the bottom of the tin box, and they broke into several pieces with a slight pull. At the bottom was a red and white polka-dot bow.

It turns out that the missing bow on the little bear is here.

Seeing Yu Wan lost in thought, Mother Lin handed the album to Lu Sui and said, "I'll turn on the air conditioner. You can watch it in my office. I'll go see the kids. Stay for dinner tonight. Those kids love you."

Lu Sui: "Okay."

The two of them sat on the solid wood sofa chairs.

Yu Wan opened the khaki diary cover and saw a few large characters on the first page: Yu Wan and Lu Sui

The childish and crooked characters at the front were obviously written by her. There was a horizontal stroke on the pinyin "sui" at the back, so the neat and straight "随" should have been written by Lu Sui.

Yu Wan's face flushed red. She slammed the diary shut and turned to look at Lu Sui. "You didn't see anything, did you?"

Lu Sui's eyebrows were clear and moist. He smiled and looked away, with the corners of his lips slightly curved: "Well, I didn't see anything."

Yu Wan: “…”

She put the diary into the tin box, closed it, and looked through the photo album.

Lu Sui's gaze fell back on Yu Wan, "Do you want to know about your childhood?"

Yu Wan didn't hide it, "Well, I don't remember a lot of things. I want to recall my childhood."

Yu Wan found a group photo from a fundraising event.

Neither she nor Lu Sui was in the chorus on the stage, but on another page, at a fundraising event a year later, she was wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and a little yellow duck headgear while performing a drama on the stage, while Lu Sui was wearing a crown and playing the prince.

She turned back to the page of choir photos and confirmed that neither she nor Lu Sui was in it.

She pointed at the photo and asked Lu Sui, "Brother Lu Sui, why am I not in it?"

Lu Sui glanced at the time above the photo and replied, "You're tone-deaf. Dean Qian won't let you go on stage."

"...Then I can lip sync too. It's better than not being on stage and having to be alone."

Lu Sui looked at Yu Wan deeply and explained seriously: "It's true that you can just open your mouth without making any sound, but that's the problem. Once you're on stage, you sing louder than anyone else."

At that time, Dean Qian always liked to say that Yu Wan had a trumpet in his throat, and he often made Yu Wan stand in the corner with his mouth covered as punishment.

Yu Wan was embarrassed: "...Then why aren't you here?"

Lu Sui was stunned for half a second, his eyes showing memories of the past. He smiled and said, "Don't you remember? I was hiding in the closet with you at that time."

Because Yu Wan was forbidden to go on stage by the then director, Qian Mama, Lu Sui missed the opportunity to lead the singing. Before the performance, he broke into Director Qian's office through the window, got the key, opened the confinement room where Yu Wan was locked up, and hid in the closet with her.

Children's voices were melodious in the small auditorium, and Yu Wan was singing a tune-deaf song in the closet.

Yu Wan was quietly flipping through the photo albums. After she finished looking through one, Lu Sui suddenly asked her a question: "Yu Wan, do you want to find your biological mother?"

Yu Wan tilted her head to look at him, feeling strange.

Why the biological mother? Shouldn't most people ask whether they want to find their biological parents? Moreover, why would Lu Sui ask the same question as Liao Ruxuan?

Forget about Liao Ruxuan. Her mother died early, so it's understandable that she would ask her such a question. But Lu Sui was abandoned just like her, so he should understand the feeling of being abandoned better, unless...

"Brother Lu Sui, are your current family members not treating you well?" Yu Wan asked.

Lu Sui was a little dazed for a moment, his eyelashes trembled slightly, the cool air from the air conditioner invaded and enveloped him, his fingertips were so cold that they turned white. Yu Wan's eyes fell on him, like a soft and fluffy cloud baked by the sun, as if as long as he said no, she would hold his hand, pull him out of the cabinet like when they were children, and happily push him to sit on the swing, asking him over and over again if he was high.

Lu Sui controlled his expression, mobilized his lip muscles, and revealed a perfect smile that he had adjusted countless times in front of the mirror.

He gently tapped Yu Wan's forehead and said in an exaggerated tone, "What are you thinking? If you treat me badly, would I have my own car? Let me tell you, that Lexus costs over 200,000 yuan. It's expensive!"

Yu Wan didn't smile, but looked at him quietly. Her eyes were clear, with a kind of calmness and compassion that seemed to see through everything. Meeting such a gaze, Lu Sui felt so embarrassed and heartbroken that he wanted to escape.

However, in the end, Yu Wan said nothing. She closed the album and said, "Brother Lu Sui, people are very greedy. They want money and love."

"So, don't ever think that just because you have money you're content. We should be a little greedy, just like making a birthday wish: want this, want that, want it all!"