Chapter 84 IF Line (3): By a twist of fate, it got on the right track.
The old woman's eyes widened, and she almost fell down again.
Fortunately, Song Yunqing was supporting her tightly.
He helped the man over, but the area was already surrounded by panicked drivers and passersby. After finally squeezing through, he found the boy lying on the ground, the one who had been arguing with the old woman earlier.
There was a large pool of blood beneath him, and he was still clutching a few twenty and fifty-yuan bills in his hand. Some others were scattered around him, all stained with bright red blood.
For the first time, Song Yunqing directly experienced how much blood could flow from a person's body.
Even my dreams at night are filled with car crash scenes.
Strangely, in the dream, there was only him and that boy named Xiaoxue.
They hadn't exchanged a single word, yet the other person kept staring at him, their increasingly empty eyes revealing endless hatred.
Why do I hate him?
Song Yunqing found it extremely puzzling.
He was the one who stole the old woman's money to buy fried chicken, and he was also the one who broke traffic rules and ran the red light. Yet, after being hit by a car, he inexplicably began to hate himself.
That's simply...incomprehensible.
But he seemed to be entangled by that hatred, his feet rooted to the spot, unable to escape, and could only watch helplessly as the person lying on the ground drew closer and closer until they were right at his feet.
He felt a chill he had never felt before.
Just then, a third person appeared in the dream, or more accurately, a pair of hands, old, rough, and wrinkled, covering the other person's eyes and sighing.
Song Yunqing then woke up with a start.
Because of this dream, he was absent-minded all day, and after lunch, he inexplicably went to the hospital.
"The boy who was brought in after the car accident yesterday afternoon?" The nurse at the information desk thought carefully and then asked, "Is it the one named Xiaoxue?"
That's what the old lady called me yesterday.
Song Yunqing nodded.
"You must be his classmate." The nurse shook her head regretfully: "He was in critical condition all night, but he still passed away."
A living person just died like that?
For the first time, Song Yunqing experienced the concrete manifestation of death.
He left the hospital in a daze.
Not knowing what to do next, he simply asked the driver to take him to the address the nurse had given him: Lantian Welfare Home.
Before coming, I was not mentally prepared at all, and I had no idea that a small welfare home could accommodate dozens of children.
They come in various sizes, but most are incomplete.
“They were all abandoned here by their parents, either because they were in poor health or because their parents couldn’t afford to raise them.” The old woman picked at the string beans and sighed softly, “Xiaoxue’s parents died when he was five years old. He was originally sent to another welfare home, but later… he came here.”
"That's because he bullied people in other welfare homes, that's why no one wanted him." A childish voice came from outside the door.
A little girl, about eight or nine years old, carefully shuffled in carrying a full cup of water. "Big brother, have some water."
Song Yunqing quickly took the water and drank some of the water that was about to overflow, then greeted her stiffly, "What's your name?"
"Qingqing! Qingqing on a sunny day."
Xiao Qingqing spread her arms and introduced herself.
Song Yunqing noticed first that her sleeves were a bit too long and baggy, and then asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Ten years old!" Little Qingqing wasn't shy at all. She ran up to him and reached out to touch him: "Brother, you're so handsome."
"Xiao Qing." Dean Qu quickly pulled her back to his side.
Putting everything else aside, the outfit the boy is wearing must be quite expensive; if it gets dirty, they can't afford to pay for it given their current financial situation.
Xiao Qingqing pouted.
Then the older brother reached out his hand to her and said, "You're cute too."
Just then, the driver who caused the accident came to negotiate with his lawyer, and Xiao Qingqing pulled Song Yunqing aside to introduce him to her other friends.
Is he new here?
"Gege, when are you asleep? I'm not asleep yet."
"Pigeon, pigeon..."
Song Yunqing was initially uncomfortable being surrounded by a group of children. But as soon as he spoke, the previously chattering children quieted down one by one, and sat obediently beside him, covering their faces.
This feeling was very novel. Having always been overshadowed by various titles, it was as if he was being truly seen for the first time.
He wasn't some genius who got into Peking University at the age of 13, nor was he the youngest son of the Song family. He was just Song Yunqing, Brother Yunqing.
Xiao Qingqing dragged him around everywhere—the kitchen, the classroom, the yard where everyone played, and finally to the bedroom, where there were two or three babies who couldn't speak yet.
"This is Xiaofeng, this is Xiaoyu!" Xiaoqing pointed them out to him one by one, but she also had her own ulterior motives, "Brother, you... must be very rich, right?"
Although she was only ten years old, she was much more sensible than other children. "Could you lend us some money? I... I'll definitely pay you back later!"
She ran to the sleeping baby and said, "Xiaoyu has to take medicine every day, and the medicine is very expensive. If you can lend me some money, I... I'll do anything!"
"Did you bring me here on purpose?"
Xiao Qingqing clenched her overly long sleeves, lowered her head, and dared not look at him again.
Song Yunqing went over and rolled up the rolls for her, then looked at the baby on the bed who had woken up at some point and was blowing bubbles as he looked at her.
"Ah, ah!"
He gently held the baby's outstretched little finger, and the baby stuck out its tongue, kicked its legs, and giggled.
"Good girl." Song Yunqing then asked Xiao Qingqing, "What's his name?"
Xiao Qingqing, confused, blinked her teary eyes and said, "Xiao Yu."
“Light rain, light sunshine, light breeze…” he murmured, suddenly remembering the five million his father had rewarded him with.
If five million can save a life, provide them with enough to eat, and give them clothes that fit, then it's not a waste of money.
"Come on, Qingqing." He put Xiaoyu's hand back under the blanket and pulled Qingqing along. "Let's go find Grandma."
Just then, the driver who caused the accident and his lawyer came out of the office. After they left, Dean Qu sighed repeatedly.
"Grandma Director," Song Yunqing knocked on the door, "What's wrong?"
Dean Qu opened his mouth, but ultimately shook his head. "It's nothing."
Song Yunqing: "Is it about money?"
Dean Qu was taken aback, not expecting him to ask so directly. "That driver has a mother at home and is also ill himself, so he can't afford much compensation."
Although Xiaoxue was primarily responsible, the driver wasn't entirely without fault either, but even so, he couldn't come up with any extra money.
"Everyone has their own difficulties, but..." Dean Qu's voice gradually faded.
Call her heartless if you will, but if she can get Xiaoxue's compensation and improve the lives of the residents in the orphanage, it's better than nothing.
"Grandma Dean," Song Yunqing took out a card from her pocket and put it in her palm, "Here is five million. Please take it to tide you over."
"No, no! How can I take yours?" Dean Qu quickly declined, trying to return the card to him.
Song Yunqing said, "Please accept it. Consider it... a small donation I'm giving to the orphanage."
"But that's too much."
“Not much, not at all.” Song Yunqing counted, “I need money for medical treatment, food, clothes, notebooks and pens. I’m worried it won’t be enough.”
…………
As it turned out, the money was well spent.
Besides studying, Song Yunqing found another meaningful and enjoyable thing to do. Whenever she had free time, she would go to the welfare home to volunteer, learn handicrafts from the director, help the teachers take care of sick children, and take turns swinging with a large group of children.
"Brother, you go sit down next." Seeing that he really liked swinging, Xiao Qingqing sensibly gave up her seat.
Song Yunqing sat down and then waved.
"What's wrong with my brother?" Xiao Qingqing asked, confused.
The next second, he picked her up and sat her down next to him. "This swing is fine for the teacher too. Let's squeeze in and swing together."
"Yay!" Xiao Qingqing's eyes crinkled with joy.
Seeing this, the other children rushed over one by one, wanting to join in as well.
Song Yunqing and everyone else swung in line for a while, enjoying the ride for the entire afternoon. Little did they know that this scene had been captured by a young reporter who happened to be passing by and posted online.
The welfare home and Song Yunqing both gained some popularity.
He only found out about it when he got home that evening. He was extremely anxious, fearing that his father would be angry and forbid him from going the next day.
However, after a long and agonizing ten minutes, Song Jingguo couldn't help but laugh out loud as he looked at the various comments online.
"Good, good!" He patted Song Yunqing heavily on the back. "He's truly my son."
"Dad, aren't you angry?"
"Why would I be angry? You're doing a good deed and making Dad proud."
Song Jingguo not only did not forbid him from visiting the welfare home, but even donated another three million in the name of the Song family.
At the same time, Song's stock price also rose steadily.
Lin Wenting, on the other hand, began to complain about his constant running around. "Just pretending is fine. I've heard that those kids are sick. What if you catch some infectious disease?"
"Mom, who told you that?" Song Yunqing argued, "Those with infectious diseases are sent to the hospital for isolation. The children living there don't have infectious diseases."
"But……"
"Tingting, let him go. The child has a kind heart."
This time, Song Jingguo stood by his side.
Lin Wenting was still dissatisfied: "Running around outside every day, what kind of behavior is that?"
"What's there to be afraid of? It'll just be a while before he goes back to school."
…………
After the start of the school year, Song Yunqing visited the welfare home much less frequently.
From every day to every week, his feelings for the orphanage only grew stronger. Every time he went, he would wear several human-shaped pendants.
He practically raised Xiaoyu from scratch. Apart from her mother-in-law, she only recognized him. When she learned to speak, her first word was "Qing".
Dean Qu later changed his name from Qu Xiaoyu to Qu Qingyu.
Two years later, Song Yunqing completed her credits ahead of schedule and was admitted to the same university for graduate studies. She was only 15 at the time.
During his graduate school year, freshmen entered university, and various clubs recruited new members. He was spotted by a girl at first glance.
"I recognize you, celebrity, genius!"
"How about it? Interested in joining the drama club? With your looks, I'd guarantee you a red envelope (a slang term for a high-ranking official in China)."
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Xia Lin, and I'm a freshman. I'm actually your junior in the same department."
Charlene held up the sign and twirled around him, "Senior? Senior, look at me! Look at me! I don't believe you're just staring blankly!"
This was the most troublesome person Song Yunqing had ever encountered. He scratched his head and whispered, "I'm 15 this year."
"Ha! I know." Charlene's expression changed instantly. "It's just 15, it's not like everyone hasn't done it before."
Song Yunqing took a step back.
Just as he was about to slip away, someone grabbed him again, saying, "Since you're only 15, shouldn't you call me 'sister'?"
Song Yunqing: "..."
Even if you don't call me "sister," shouldn't you call me "junior" based on our relationship?
Song Yunqing: "..."
"No matter what, you have to listen to me, right?" Charlene said, one hand on her hip and her chin raised.
They showed absolutely no attitude of asking for favors.
"Our drama club is recruiting new members. Hey, let's go, little brother, senior, give it a try."
"Look at you, I think you're definitely up to the task."
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