Before coming here, Xu Zhenghuai had made countless assumptions, but he never expected such a scene.

They took over someone else's grandmother's house. Shouldn't their relatives raise the child properly?

He didn't care about anything else and stepped directly into the ground, walking towards Chenchen with uneven steps.

The man who was working at that moment saw Xu Zhenghuai and the village secretary.

"Who are you? What are you doing?"

Xu Zhenghuai brushed the sweet potato from the child's hand, disregarding the dirt on his clothes, and carried the child directly from the field to the roadside. Chenchen, perhaps frightened, remained silent throughout the entire process.

In the field, village officials were communicating with Chenchen's grandmother's sister-in-law, whom Chenchen should call her great-aunt.

Perhaps because she had heard that Xu Zhenghuai was a wealthy man from out of town who was coming to sponsor Chenchen, her expression became much more "friendly" when she came over, and she even had a smile on her face.

"I never expected that Grandma Chenchen would have a friend like you. She left in such a hurry that she didn't even leave any words."

As the woman spoke, she pretended to wipe away her tears, "Chenchen, quickly take the kind person to our home for a visit. I'll go and call your great-uncle back."

Sponsoring Chenchen was the initial idea, but now Xu Zhenghuai's thoughts have changed. In a family like this, no matter how much money is given, it won't go to Chenchen at all. What's the difference between this money and throwing meat buns to a dog?

He initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought it would be a good opportunity to ask Chenchen how she was doing here.

So Xu Zhenghuai watched the woman leave and then said to the village official, "Thank you for your help. Just have Chenchen take me there."

When only the two of them were left, Xu Zhenghuai asked Chenchen, "How old are you this year? Are you in school?"

The little girl shook her head. "I'm six years old. My aunt said there's no kindergarten in the village, so I won't be able to go to school until next year."

Chenchen's little face was covered in mud and streaked with tears, making it unrecognizable, but her big, bright eyes were still incredibly beautiful.

"Brother, do you know my grandma?"

Xu Zhenghuai nodded and said softly, "I know your grandmother, and your brother's mother also knows your grandmother."

He was even saying yesterday that adopting a child should be done with caution, but now he has completely changed his mind. To hell with caution, the child is already like this, life would be better in an orphanage than here.

——

How is the child now?

On Sunday evening, Xia Wenxi had dinner with Lin Shen, and she couldn't help but ask about the child's situation. Coincidentally, Lin Shen had already heard Xu Zhenghuai's plans for the future that afternoon.

"The Xu family has no blood relation to Chenchen, so they can't just take the child away."

So he plans to directly sue that family for child abuse. They might not want to go to court, and if he brings up adoption at this point, they should agree. The Xu family doesn't want Chenchen's grandmother's house or the money she left behind; their condition is that he take the child. They shouldn't object.

If that doesn't work, then we'll have to file a lawsuit. If the child abuse is confirmed, the child will likely be sent to an orphanage. Then, if Zheng Huai and his family still want to adopt Chenchen, they can do so directly through the orphanage.

When Xu Zhenghuai left the village today, he only left 1,000 yuan for Chenchen's great-uncle and great-aunt, and did not mention anything else. Chenchen's great-uncle and great-aunt even said behind his back that he was stingy, that he looked respectable but only gave 1,000 yuan.

The more money they kept, the more greedy the family became. If they felt there was something to gain from Chenchen in the future, they wouldn't give up custody of Chenchen so easily.

Hearing this, Xia Wenxi breathed a sigh of relief. This idea did seem feasible. If Chenchen were adopted by the Xu family, her life would be much better than her current one.

"If Chenchen is to go to an orphanage later, I don't know if the court will designate which orphanage to send her to. If needed, I would be happy to help contact the director of the orphanage I visited before. I went there not long ago, and the conditions there are quite good in all aspects, and the teachers are very responsible."

"I know. I'll pass it on to Zheng Huai. I'll let you know if I need anything. Thank you, Wenxi." Lin Shen reached out his hand and took hers.

Xia Wenxi asked in confusion, "You know?"

"cough!"

Lin Shen confessed, "Yes, I know you went to the orphanage you used to stay at. Of course, I didn't intentionally try to find out your whereabouts; I just overheard it in the staff canteen."

"Employee cafeteria?"

Xia Wenxi became more and more confused as she listened. Only her family knew that she had gone to the orphanage, so how could Lin Shen have heard about it in the Lin Group's staff restaurant?

"You met the younger students who were volunteering at the orphanage that day, right? You even bought them food and drinks. I overheard a classmate talking about it while interning at Lin's."

Lin Shen smiled and then said to Xia Wenxi, "I heard them say that Miss Xia is simply an angel, both beautiful and kind."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he didn't tell Wenxi who had mentioned this during their internship at Lin's. Of course, Xia Wenxi didn't even think to ask about it, since there were so many students there that day, it was normal for some to be interns at Lin's.

Xia Wenxi never expected that this matter would reach Lin Shen's ears in such a roundabout way. She then heard Lin Shen's words, which made her blush.

"Don't praise me like that, I'm not qualified to be an angel. Actually, I had my own selfish reasons. During that time, I kept dreaming about things from my childhood, which is why I wanted to visit that orphanage."

If it weren't for those chaotic dreams, she wouldn't have thought to inquire about the orphanage where she spent her childhood.

Lin Shen shook his head and said to her, "If we're talking about conscience, how many people in this world are without selfish motives? What you did genuinely helped those children, so that's a good thing."

"Mr. Lin is right! Let's drink to that."

Xia Wenxi smiled and raised her glass, which contained red wine. In the past, when the two of them went on dates, Xia Wenxi would drink soft drinks, and Lin Shen would drink soft drinks with her, but the atmosphere here today was just too good.

Candlelight, music, beautiful scenery...

Xia Wenxi didn't really know how to appreciate red wine; after taking a sip, she felt it wasn't as good as orange juice.

However, after swallowing it, I slowly began to taste some of the flavor.

Towards the end, I took one sip after another, like drinking a beverage.

Lin Shen was initially worried that she would get drunk, but seeing that her face wasn't red and that she spoke normally, he didn't think she was drunk, so he didn't stop her from drinking.

I thought it was because Wenxi in their family had a high alcohol tolerance.

Lin Shen had been drinking tonight, so he couldn't drive. However, the restaurant offered a chauffeur service, which was more convenient than calling a driver himself.