Chapter 35
The welfare home is surrounded by many sycamore trees, and sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Several children dressed in blue and white clothes were swinging on a swing under a tree, and their laughter filled the yard.
Lina followed the caregiver around the orphanage. "Mrs. Barkley is a really nice person. We have activity rooms, rehabilitation rooms, a canteen, a playground, and dormitories. Not only are the facilities complete, but the teachers who come here to teach are also very capable. Since you are new here and not very familiar with the place yet, you can get to know the students first."
“Okay.” Rina observed her surroundings and walked slowly.
She noticed a group of children hiding behind the drying quilts, secretly observing her, as well as the person next to her.
"I heard from the director that you're here to apply for a repairman job?" the woman asked, glancing at her cautiously out of the corner of her eye.
Rina withdrew her gaze: "That's how it is."
When the deputy director, Durand, saw her educational background, he felt it was a bit of a waste for her to be a repairman. After some discussion, he finally decided to have her serve as an after-school tutor.
"Thank you for your hard work. My name is Eileen, and I'm mainly responsible for the children's academic performance. There are a few children here who are a bit weak in their foundation, so the teachers need to pay more attention to them. If there are any problems, please communicate with them promptly." Eileen paused for a moment, "Then let me introduce you to the children here first."
Rina's gaze fell on the girl standing under the tree in the distance.
Eileen said, "Her name is Annie, she is seventeen years old, she is withdrawn, doesn't like to talk to people, and often stays alone. The teachers can't communicate with her either. She will be leaving the orphanage soon."
Rina asked, "Where do we go after leaving the orphanage?"
“The women’s textile factory,” Eileen smiled with relief. “After they turn eighteen, if they don’t get into high school, the orphanage can no longer take them in. They need to learn to be independent, and the factory manager is willing to provide some jobs. The vice director has been pleading for a long time to be able to cooperate with the company.”
Rina: "A girl has already gone there?"
Eileen nodded. "Yes, they come back to visit every now and then, and everyone is doing well. By the way, we have to wear uniforms here every day, so please take this job seriously. The children here are all very cute."
Rina glanced at the British-style long dress worn by the person opposite her. She didn't really like it, but she still nodded silently.
“Let’s go to the activity room. The children are having an arts and crafts class at this time,” Eileen said.
The activity room is on the second floor, while the girl who fell down the stairs that year was on the third floor.
Rina glanced up and Eileen said, "The third floor is the music classroom. There's a music class the day after tomorrow."
The two walked into the classroom, where the children were engrossed in drawing.
Eileen exchanged a few words with the caregiver in the pink apron, then began to introduce her to everyone, "Children, this is Arisu Kazumi, who will be your tutor from now on. Please give her a round of applause."
Rina gave a friendly smile. "Hello everyone."
The children below the podium stared at her for a while, wide-eyed.
"Where did Harumi-sensei go? Will she come back?"
Eileen explained, "Due to family reasons, the teacher needs to go home to take care of her baby."
"Can this teacher also draw?"
Do our teachers tell us bedtime stories?
"Will the teacher braid our hair into pretty little braids?"
Faced with a series of questions, Rina maintained her smile: "Of course, no problem."
Eileen gently touched Rina's arm and whispered, "Then I'll leave this place to you."
Rina turned around and glanced at Eileen, smiling and greeting her.
After she left, the person next to her introduced herself, "My name is Laura, and I'm the caregiver in charge of their daily lives. If there are any problems at work, let's communicate more."
Rina asked thoughtfully, "What are they going to do next?"
“It will be lunchtime in an hour, and I will take the children downstairs to eat.” Laura pointed to the information card on the wall. “It has photos of twenty-one children, and their names and hobbies are written next to them. It should help you get to know everyone faster.”
Rina stared at it for a while, but her face did not show any expression.
After all, she had already noticed them when she came in and had memorized each child's face and name.
Vanilla was no exception; she wrote her dream of becoming a fashion designer when she grew up next to her column.
Laura suddenly asked, "Is there anything you want to ask?"
A question flashed through Rina's mind: "Is someone missing from the classroom?"
Laura lowered her eyes, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "That child had an accident and is no longer here. Don't talk about it in front of the child anymore."
The tone implied a warning.
Rina nodded, then stayed with the child for nearly an hour before quickly fleeing the scene after class and heading to the lotus pond in the backyard.
Well, the seven or eight-year-old children were too enthusiastic, and Rina found it a bit overwhelming. She preferred to stay in a quiet place.
For example, the backyard.
The lotus pond is now surrounded by a fence, and the area is covered with all sorts of footprints, completely ruining the scene.
Why would a girl come to a place like this during her lunch break?
Rina walked around the lotus pond and overheard someone's conversation.
"Yamazaki, did you harm Vanilla? I saw that note; she asked you to meet her at the lotus pond."
"It wasn't me, I, I only saw it later, that note, it fell, fell outside the cabinet." The boy stammered, pausing after every two words, and it took him a long time to utter a complete sentence.
"You're lying. You didn't take a nap in bed at noon. What were you doing?"
"I saw it too, you sneaked out of the dorm at noon!"
"I, I, I can't, I won't—" The boy unconsciously twisted the hem of his clothes, huddled in a corner in fear, tears streaming down his face.
The leader stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and said sternly, "If you can't tell us, you're coming with us to the police station!"
The boy's forehead was beaded with sweat, and he shook his head like a rattle-drum, "I can't go, no, I won't go."
The man said impatiently, "Why can't I go? Are you feeling guilty for killing someone?"
The boy kept shaking his head, too frightened to speak, "I, I didn't...."
"You stuttering idiot, you're asking for a beating!"
Seeing that the group was about to fight, Rina decided to step in and stop them, saying, "Bullying a classmate will get you sent to the principal's office."
The leader was startled and immediately released her, turning around to look at her. "Who are you? Outsiders aren't allowed to enter the orphanage at will!"
Rina said gently, "I'm a new after-school tutor."
One of them clearly didn't believe her, looking her up and down with a hint of disdain: "You're a teacher?"
Rina's tone was cold yet meaningful: "Shall we go to the director's office to verify?"
The children looked at each other in bewilderment and quickly left the place.
The little stutterer glanced at her cautiously and prepared to leave, but was stopped by Rina just as he was about to go.
"If a teacher bullies a student, they will be sent to the principal's office." He pressed himself against the wall, not daring to look at Rina.
Rina raised her hand and rubbed her sore neck: "I just have something I want to ask you."
The stutterer looked up at her, "What?"
Rina: "Are you and Vanilla dating behind the teacher's back?"
The little stutterer suddenly became a bit anxious, and her lips turned a little pale. "No! We're good friends."
Rina: "Was there anything unusual before your best friend had the accident?"
The little stutterer buried her face in her clothes and shook her head.
Rina: "Lying isn't something a good child does."
The stutterer stammered, "I...I didn't..."
Rina: "Then why are you crying?"
My eyes are swollen from crying.
The little stutterer wiped away her tears, hesitated for a moment, and stammered, "Vanilla... if I had seen the note that day, Vanilla, the accident wouldn't have happened."
Lina seemed a little anxious as she listened to him speak. She noticed the abrasions on his arm and said, "I'll take you to the infirmary."
The stuttering girl stubbornly replied, "No need."
"Oh, I see. This is a bit of a headache." After saying that, Rina turned around and saw that the person named Annie was standing behind the door, staring intently at her with sharp eyes, trying to see through her thoughts.
This girl named Annie harbored great hostility towards her.
The little stutterer was also a bit scared and took a step back.
"After school, she beat up several thugs all by herself. Everyone was afraid of her."
Rina: "Is she close to Vanilla?"
The stutterer said, "Only Vanilla and she spoke a few times, I think..."
Rina patted his shoulder, startling him. "Has she bullied you?"
When the stutterer saw her approaching, she took a few steps back. "No, she didn't acknowledge me."
Rina: "What kind of person do you think Vanilla is?"
Little Stutterer: "She is very gentle, kind, understanding, and beautiful. Everyone likes her."
Rina smiled at Annie as she listened.
Anne looked at her, trying to decipher the meaning of each of her expressions, but the woman was too composed.
He has a completely expressionless face, never revealing any emotion, which is disgusting.
She turned and left that place.
Rina took the stutterer to the infirmary, and only after asking the medical staff did she learn that his name was Yamazaki Nagisa.
He and Vanilla were indeed quite close, after all, they entered the orphanage together and grew up together.
According to the medical staff, it was snowing heavily that day when the director found two infants still in swaddling clothes at the entrance of the welfare home. After checking them, he found that they had no identification and placed them in the welfare home.
Both of them have very gentle personalities, and over the years, they have almost never been seen arguing.
Nagisa Yamazaki definitely knows something, but he's very wary of himself.
Rina pondered for a moment, then walked to the bulletin board in the hallway. Looking at the portraits hanging on the wall, she felt a pang of emotion.
It turns out the old dean is over eighty years old.
She stood there for a while when someone suddenly came over and greeted her, "Are you the new teacher who applied for the job?"
It was Durand, the deputy director of the welfare home.
He was dressed in a suit and tie, but because he was overweight, the back of his suit jacket was pulled straight up, and when he smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the fleshy cheeks were squeezed together.
Rina bowed and said politely, "Hello, I am the new teacher, Arisu Kazumi."
Durand smiled and nodded: "The orphanage needs young teachers; the children still prefer to interact with young and beautiful women."
The old director has been bedridden for the past few years, and he has been in charge of all the affairs of the welfare home. According to Mary, it is very likely that he will take over the position of director after the old director leaves.
The newspapers gave him a good reputation; everyone thought he was a kind and gentle old man.
Rina: "The children should like you more."
Durand narrowed his eyes. "Work hard from now on. I have high hopes for you."
With that, he patted Rina on the shoulder and went into the dean's office.
While everyone was eating, Rina went back to her dorm and changed into her British-style long dress.
The dormitory was a double room, and I shared a room with a caregiver named Laura.
She has a lot of personal belongings, with clothes and cosmetics taking up several cabinets, but they are arranged relatively neatly.
Rina quickly tidied up the bed, noticed a small box under the table, straightened a chair, and was about to crawl under the table when the door behind her was suddenly pushed open.
She pretended to tie her shoes.
Laura walked into the house and said warmly, "You look really beautiful in this outfit. Would you like me to do your hair?"
"Thank you, but I'm sure I'm not very good at it." Rina seemed a little hesitant as she handed the comb to her.
Laura sat down, braided two small braids on either side of her head, and then cleverly pinned up the rest of her hair.
"Why did you choose to work here?" she said. "With your qualifications, you could easily work for a better company."
Not only can you earn a high salary, but you can also enjoy better benefits.
Rina lifted her eyelids and observed her expression through the mirror: "...I want to experience a different life, don't you think?"
“Young people’s ideas are always unpredictable, full of energy, and enviable,” Laura smiled. “Do you know how to use a camera? We want to take some photos of those kids, for memories or publicity.”
Rina: "I helped a friend take photos when I was in college, but my skills weren't very good."
“It’s okay, I believe you.” Laura used her key to unlock the cabinet in the corner and took out a camera. “You can give it a try.”
After Rina took it and studied it for a while, she discovered that all the photos inside had been deleted.
Laura said, "This was left by a friend of mine. Is it still usable?"
“It should be alright,” Rina said after a moment’s thought. “Miss Laura, can I ask you something?”
Laura maintained a polite smile throughout.
Rina asked, "That girl with vanilla, did she really have an accident?"
Laura bit her lower lip. After a long while, she nodded. "She's dead. She fell into the lotus pond in the backyard by accident. It was actually our fault."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them.
“It’s been raining for the past two days, and the path next to the lotus pond is very slippery. It’s definitely easy for accidents to happen.” Rina continued examining the camera in her hand, and asked casually, “Didn’t anyone hear the cries for help?”
Laura shook her head. "It was lunch break, and everyone was resting in the dorms. The lotus pond is a distance from the dorms, so no one heard anything."
Rina: "Who was the first person to discover the body?"
“It was me,” Laura sat down and looked at her. “After my afternoon nap, I went to the backyard to hang the laundry and found Vanilla, but she wasn’t breathing.”
Rina did notice the clothesline in the backyard: "Who fished her out of there?"
Laura stared at her without blinking.
“I’m just a little curious,” Rina added.
Laura wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and said, "The cook in the cafeteria... I can't swim, so I called him. The people at the orphanage were heartbroken for a long time after Vanilla's death."
Rina nodded, indicating that she accepted this statement.
But she still decided to ask that stutterer again.
Why did Vanilla ask him out?
Rina revealed a hint of sharpness, "Your friend must be a reporter, right?"
Laura was about to leave the room when she heard this, and a cold sweat suddenly broke out on her back. "What?"
“This camera’s configuration is the first choice for journalists,” Rina raised her eyebrows. “Although it was a best-selling product two years ago, many people still choose it.”
Laura brushed the stray hairs from her forehead with her fingers, turned to look directly into her eyes, her face expressionless. "Yes, she's a reporter. Is there something you need?"
Rina smiled. "No, I just really like the landscape photos taken with this camera. It cleverly balances the highlights and shadows, revealing more details."
“Miss Arisu has such a wide range of interests,” Laura said, and then left the room.
Rina fiddled with the camera in her hand, then leaned back in her chair and rested for a while, satisfied.
She had a feeling that this case would be long and complicated.
You may have charged too little money.
In the evening, Rina took a walk with the children on the playground.
Laura was among them. Unable to ask the children anything, she looked around and saw Anne standing behind a tree, watching her every move closely.
Why is there such great hostility between complete strangers?
Rina sat on the lawn, meeting her gaze, and slightly curved the corners of her mouth.
Then she ran away.
"......."
What a rebellious child.
As dusk fell, Laura urged the younger children to line up and head to the dormitory, while the slightly older ones went to the study room to memorize their lessons.
Rina said in a serious tone, "I'll take them to the study room."
“Of course, you can tutor them while you’re at it,” Laura said, looking at the group of older children after giving permission. “Everyone, please don’t slack off.”
Nagisa Yamazaki glanced timidly at Rina and the boys who had surrounded him in the corner.
One of them asked, "Are you really the new teacher?"
Rina: "What makes it look fake?"
The girl whispered, "Is it okay to say that everything looks fake?"
She had absolutely no scholarly air about her.
"If you have any questions about your studies or life, feel free to ask me," Rina said.
Soon after, everyone was quietly sitting in the study room reading.
Rina sat on the podium and quietly asked the girl in the front row, "Where did the girl who sat in the first seat by the window move all her things?"
The girl stopped what she was doing, looked up at her, and said, "Miss Laura took all of Vanilla's things."
Rina: "The office?"
The girl tore a piece of paper from the draft paper and wrote: "There's nothing of hers there."
Rina: "You've already looked for it?"
The girl was startled, crumpled the note into a ball, and hid it.
I guess I'll have to stay in the high school. The mystery lies with Kobayashi Wakaba, Yamazaki Nagisa, and Annie.
Rina was about to say something.
Suddenly, a commotion arose in the hallway.
She went outside and saw that the boys in the backyard had started fighting at noon.
Lina didn't react for a moment, so she knocked on the door and said, "You guys go to the director's office after you're done fighting."
"He stole my things, why can't I teach him a lesson?"
"I didn't! You're clearly framing me!"
"You stole something and you still think you're right?"
Several people huddled together and fought fiercely.
Among them was the boy who bullied the little mute boy in the backyard at noon. His name was Tanaka, and he was a little chubby.
Laura rushed over, stepped forward to stop him, scolded him, and took him to the director's office.
Then, a short while later, Rina was also called to the director's office, and Vice Dean Durand was also present.
Rina glanced at the boys with bruised and swollen faces and couldn't help but reflect on herself.
The teaching profession is really not suitable for her.
Repairmen are more reliable.
Half an hour had passed by the time Eileen finished her stern reprimand of the boys.
Laura was about to take them to the infirmary when Durand suddenly called out to her, "Eileen, Laura, we must be more vigilant about this kind of thing and prevent bullying from happening."
Laura told the boys to leave first, then closed the door. "Actually, we all get along pretty well, but there are a few individuals who are closer and form cliques. I hope they won't do anything too outrageous."
Rina lowered her head.
Eileen was extremely surprised. "How come I didn't know about this?"
“Director, boys become very sensitive around sixteen or seventeen,” Laura paused. “They had a fight over a small matter recently, and Vanilla got involved.”
Durand stroked his beard thoughtfully, and after hearing the rest, he finally spoke, "In short, we must prevent this from happening again. It's getting late, everyone should get some rest."
Eileen turned her head and pressed, "What does this have to do with vanilla?"
“Everyone found out that Tanaka wrote a love letter to Vanilla,” Laura sighed. “The kids kept teasing us about it. Tanaka got angry and argued with everyone, and Vanilla cried too. Kids at this stage are really sensitive. After that, Vanilla was in low spirits. People would often say that she cried at night, and they would even tell me, ‘No matter what, you can’t understand how I feel.’”
Durand raised his hand, signaling them to leave first.
Rina bowed slightly.
After leaving the director's office, Laura suddenly sighed, "Girls really care about these things. After that, she became more and more depressed and always seemed very frustrated."
Rina walked forward thoughtfully without offering any opinion.
Finally, they entered the dormitory building.
Laura unlocked their dormitory door with her key and said, "We don't have private bathrooms here. At the end of the hallway, turn left and you'll find the communal bathroom."
Rina nodded and waited for Laura to leave the room with the toiletries.
I sat down and started organizing the clues I had collected that day.
However, as she turned her eyes, she glanced at the pillow and noticed that the pillowcase had been moved.
When I made the bed in the afternoon, the pillowcase was wrinkle-free.
The room was filled with a dim, yellowish light, with light bulbs suspended by wires, instantly adding a touch of eeriness to the atmosphere.
Rina lifted the pillow and saw a card with a line of bloody words written on it.
—If you want to live, get out of the welfare home right now.
Rina picked up the card, looked at it for a moment, and couldn't help but smile.
I received a threatening letter as soon as I arrived. Does that mean this place is haunted?
This kind of trick to deal with her is somewhat laughable, especially since it involves using paint...
Rina got up and checked the windows and door locks.
They were certain that someone could climb in through the window and that the lock could be easily picked.
I don't feel safe sleeping in this room at all.
However, this threatening letter also shows that her existence has already posed a threat to the person behind the scenes.
Rina picked up her phone and sent a message to Damian.
Go visit that tutor who resigned.
As soon as the message was sent, Damian replied with an OK gesture.
Then, a little while later, the real Arisu Kazumi also sent a message to greet him:
Why are you impersonating me?
Rina ignored the message, thought for a moment, and then looked at the news from various countries.
She was still somewhat worried.
What Mrs. Kasuga said that time weighed on my mind, making it hard to breathe.
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