Qian Xingxing watched the other children take a piece each, then looked at the older child who hadn't moved, and couldn't help but ask him, "Xiao Yi, don't you want to eat it?"
Xiao Yi was about to shake his head when an apple was handed to him. It was the dean's mother.
"What's wrong, Xiaoyi? Don't you like apples the most?" She smiled kindly, her eyes full of joy.
Xiao Yi moved his lips twice, and under the loving gaze of the director's mother, he reached out and took the slightly oxidized apple: "Thank you, Mom."
Qian Xingxing watched him put the apple into his mouth in silence. It was hard to tell from Xiaoyi's face that he "liked" eating apples.
The four adults also took a piece of apple each. They didn’t care whether to eat it or not. After all, it was not particularly rare for them. Perhaps only these children would treasure this small piece of apple.
"Mommy wants to eat too!" The little girl in a blue skirt took an apple and handed it to the director's mother in a baby voice, which immediately made the latter's eyes red. She sniffed and praised her for being so well-behaved.
Qian Xingxing's attention fell on the director's mother. Her hair was a little messy, and her eyes reflected the child's face, focused and loving.
"Hey." Nan Peng, who was sitting closest to Qian Xingxing, called him softly. Qian Xingxing realized that he was signaling him to look outside the living room.
The living room, kitchen and another room of unknown origin were separated by only a corridor. There was nothing special about the kitchen, but there was a little red light coming from the gap below the closed door of the room.
What room is that?
This question soon lingered in Qian Xingxing's mind, making him distracted.
I don’t know if she noticed Qian Xingxing’s distraction, but the dean’s mother moved her body and blocked his sight.
Qian Xingxing came back to his senses and looked at her, then heard her say, "It's almost time to prepare dinner. Could you please take care of the children? It would be nice to play with them in the yard for a while."
"Sure." Qian Xingxing nodded. "Can you do it alone? Do you need any help?"
"No need." Dean's mother shook her head: "It's not a problem when I'm alone. I won't bother you with this."
Four tall and strong men brought a group of little kids into the yard.
Perhaps the director's mother was already exhausted by the trivialities of daily life, so the yard had not been maintained much. Sand and weeds, dust and fallen leaves were mixed together. A group of children ran in, and the yard suddenly became even more messy.
But the kids don't care.
The old swing in the yard creaked loudly as they were rocked, and the children's laughter was shrill, even louder when they were chasing and playing. It was very harsh, and soon Qian Xingxing's head was buzzing with pain.
I don’t know how the director’s mother spends her days.
He looked around, found a stone pillar, brushed off the dust on it and sat down.
Children are full of energy. They chatter for a long time without getting tired. The adults have already sat down or leaned against the wall.
Zibai stood in the corner, looking at everything in front of him. He always felt that this place was a little strange. He didn't know if it was because he hadn't been back for too long that he had such a feeling.
As he was thinking, he caught a glimpse of that special child out of the corner of his eye. He didn't go out to play, but was squatting alone under a tree on the other side, holding a stone in his hand, and seemed to be drawing on the ground?
Zibai became interested, so he simply walked over and stood behind him to watch without saying a word.
The stone scratched the dust, leaving light marks on the ground. He couldn't tell whether the child was drawing or writing, but in any case, he didn't seem to be scribbling aimlessly.
"What did you write?" Zi Bai walked to his side, squatted down and asked in a low voice.
Xiao Yi was not frightened by his sudden voice. He just paused for a moment, then silently put down the stone and shook his head slightly: "Nothing."
"You don't seem very happy?" Zibai looked at him, "Would you like to talk to me? Maybe you need someone to listen?"
Little Yi had a wooden face. When Zibai looked at him from the side, he noticed that the child had very long eyelashes and big eyes, but his entire face was very small with a pointed chin.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Zibai didn't try again. It was normal to be wary of strangers you just met.
Seeing him stand up to leave, Xiao Yi touched the toes of her slippers with her fingers and asked, "Did you really grow up here?"
The boy's eyes reflected Zibai's appearance. He wore a soft white T-shirt and gray-blue jeans. It was a very simple outfit, but compared with these children who were covered in gray, the two seemed to come from two different worlds.
Or maybe they were living in two different worlds, which was probably why the boy asked this question...
"Yes." Zi Bai nodded, although he had no impression of it.
"When I grow up, will I be like you?" Xiao Yi lowered his head, picked up a stone and drew circles on the ground.
"That depends on how hard you work." Zi Bai didn't directly say yes or no.
But he seemed to have misunderstood the boy's question, so the boy changed the question: "When I grow up, will I leave here like you guys?"
Zi Bai was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "The director has already contacted other orphanages for you, and you will be taken there when the time comes. The conditions there are better, and you may be adopted, or you may grow up healthily there and make your own way in the future."
Such a future undoubtedly sounds bright, but Xiao Yi pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and stopped talking.
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