Qin Nan listened quietly, without urging, questioning, or interrupting.
Bai Hao and Long Chengxiu in the front yard seemed to know something, and even though it was late at night, they did not return to the back yard.
The kids upstairs, still laughing and playing, were busy working overtime to finish what they needed to do.
The night was deep, and the night of Qingming Festival was exceptionally quiet. The disaster that was happening in the distance seemed to have no effect on this paradise.
Natural disasters and man-made calamities; cries and deaths.
Everything seems so far away, yet so close at hand.
Bai Muqiu dared not, dared not use his divine power to know whether the girl had escaped the fire, whether she was safe and sound, or... whether she was about to embark on her journey to the underworld.
"In this life, she is an orphan. Her birth mother became pregnant out of wedlock and was abandoned. She was left at the gate of the orphanage."
It was a very poor and dilapidated orphanage. Calling it an orphanage was really just a shelter provided by a kind person for a group of homeless children.
She was adopted several times, but was returned each time because she had no family. After several twists and turns, she was no longer adopted.
When I met her, she was selling scrap. She seemed very skilled, sorting things quickly, weighing them, and haggling over prices.
The recycling station owner said that the little girl is very capable and takes good care of herself. Every time she makes money from selling her items, she rewards herself with a lollipop.
It seemed she could earn a few dollars or a dozen dollars a day, and she saved it little by little. She was still in school, and although the school waived tuition fees, there were still expenses for books and other things.
The director was very poor; she had given up all her savings to the orphanage. She was just providing a place where all the children had to struggle to survive.
She earned her school fees herself, little by little.
"She came from a poor background, but she worked hard to live and held onto hope. Isn't that wonderful?"
She was still all alone, ostracized, bullied, targeted, and ridiculed.
Because no one was there for her to rely on, she became the target of bullying.
She... is not doing well.
Yet, I never saw the light in her eyes disappear; her eyes remained as bright and shining as ever.
"Is no one in charge?"
Bai Muqiu smiled and shook his head. "People are all prone to bullying the weak. Even the weak will bully the weaker. The evil in people's hearts has no bottom line and cannot be deeply understood."
"Then she..."
Seven years ago, she was just over thirteen years old, and now she is twenty.
She has excellent grades; she is exceptionally gifted in her studies, just like in her past life, she could easily learn things that others could only dream of.
She went to university, but didn't leave Suzhou City; she stayed at a university in the city.
She is still struggling to survive, working to earn money to support herself, while also taking care of her studies. She has no rest, no enjoyment; just surviving is enough to keep her busy.
But when I saw her, she was selling fruit at the market, and she was still all smiles.
Her hands were as rough as an old woman's, and her face was also sallow and rough. In the prime of her life, she lived like a middle-aged woman.
But she was very happy.
She greeted the buyers cheerfully, discussed the transaction with confidence and ease, and she seemed...
I don't know how to say it, it's like..."
"Like a guiding light in a stormy night."
"Hmm! It's bright, dazzling, and warm... but also... desolate and lonely."
"Do you think she's not doing well?"
"Okay?"
Qin Nan chuckled and held the sleepy Bai Moxuan in her arms, letting him sleep comfortably.
"Before, when I was just an ordinary person, I also went through a dark period, but what matters is not the road I have traveled, but the destination ahead."
Where your heart leads you, that is where you belong.
What is an ordinary person?
They have healthy family relationships, relatives and friends, went to school, never experienced malice, just studied and took exams, graduated, and found a job, which may not be very good, but it is very stable.
A plain life, without any waves, following the routine.
It sounds ordinary, but only one or two out of ten people might have such a simple life.
Parents divorced, elders and juniors at odds, brothers at odds, no relatives or friends, all alone.
I've been deceived, harmed, exploited, and schemed against.
Betrayed by friends, alienated by lovers, disobedient by children, and left without support in old age.
Or perhaps, misfortune begins from birth.
Life is not just about the eight sufferings; a thousand people can have ten thousand different fates. Different people, different choices, different lives, and different encounters.
The reason you think she's good is because she has loving parents, doesn't have to suffer hardships, and can live a life of comfort and health.
But for many, this kind of happiness is a luxury, even a lifelong dream.
Qin Nan paused, and seeing Bai Muqiu's somewhat dazed appearance, sighed softly.
"She is doing very well; in fact, you could say she is doing better than many people."
Because she did not become entangled in worldly affairs, she found joy in them, saw things clearly, and thought things through thoroughly—this was her way of dealing with the world.
"Late Autumn, you've been influenced by others your whole life; do you still remember your principles of conduct?"
"I……"
Bai Muqiu remained silent.
Qin Nan didn't say anything more. He carried Bai Moxuan upstairs and back to the room. Qin Nan was startled to find that Bai Hao had already changed into his pajamas and was lying in bed waiting for him.
"Wow, when did you get up here?"
Qin Nan lowered her voice and asked Bai Hao.
"It's been quite a while; even drinking tea wouldn't have lasted this long." Bai Hao paused, then asked, "Mu Qiu, how are you? Have you come to your senses?"
"have no idea."
"Didn't you try to comfort me?"
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