Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Xie Hongwei walked over slowly and stood in front of Shen Juanjuan: "Are you Shen Juanjuan?"

Shen Juanjuan turned his body away without a word.

"Let me guess," Xie Hongwei closed his eyes and pressed a finger to his forehead. "I guess your name is Shen Juanjuan, and you know an older brother in Mixin Town, right?"

Shen Juanjuan glanced at him, his expression turning wary. Beside him, Rong Chen's face was pale, his lips moved but no words came out.

Lin Duozhi and Tang Yuanyuan also squeezed to the front, slowly moving forward to stand beside Shen Juanjuan, all nervously watching the officer in front of them.

"Have you been bringing food to the big brother these days? Does the management of the orphanage know about it?" Xie Hongwei asked again.

Rong Chen laughed dryly: "What is Lieutenant Xie talking about? I don't understand a single word."

But Xie Hongwei continued to ask Shen Juanjuan: "The big brother has trouble walking because of his injured feet, so you've been bringing him food. Tell Uncle Officer where you get those foods from?"

Rong Chen looked at Shen Juanjuan, feeling as if time had slowed down, and the air around him seemed to have been sucked away, making it hard for him to breathe.

Shen Juanjuan lowered his head, but his lips moved slightly.

"What?" Xie Hongwei asked.

Shen Juanjuan's lips moved again.

"Louder, Uncle can't hear you."

Shen Juanjuan's voice grew a bit louder: "I picked them up. The things my brother and I eat are all picked up by me."

Beside him, Rong Chen closed his eyes and let out a slow breath.

"All picked up?" Xie Hongwei asked.

"Yes, all picked up," Shen Juanjuan replied firmly, counting on his fingers: "There's food, and also colored paper, cups, glass balls, flower cloth, bags..."

"Alright, Shen Juanjuan, regardless of where the food comes from, I'm going to give you two choices now."

Shen Juanjuan glanced at his palms, seeing both hands empty, then his gaze swept over his flat pockets, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Xie Hongwei said: "The first choice is that you stay in the orphanage and never see your brother again, nor bring him any food."

Shen Juanjuan suddenly froze, and Rong Chen was also slightly taken aback.

"Of course, you have a second choice, which is to continue helping the big brother pick up food, but you will never be able to return to the orphanage."

Shen Juanjuan's eyes gradually filled with hostility, then he took a few steps back until he was among Tang Yuanyuan and Lin Duozhi, and he glared at them loudly: "It's none of your business whether I pick up food for my brother or not. Who do you think you are? You're not Chief Administrator Chen, you're not Administrator Wu, you're not, not..."

"Administrator Zhao," Wang Xiaoxi prompted from the side.

"You're not Administrator Zhao!" Shen Juanjuan added.

Another officer who had been silent, Yu Zhen, couldn't help but frown: "How do you kids talk to adults? What have you been learning?"

"It's none of your business," Chen Hongliang shouted at Yu Zhen.

Rong Chen lowered his eyes as if he hadn't heard, and Shen Juanjuan and the others, sensing the administrator's attitude, grew louder and more defiant.

"He thinks he's the administrator, how funny," Shen Juanjuan scowled at the other children.

The children all frowned: "He thinks he's the administrator."

"Does he think he's a ghost trying to scare us?"

Shen Juanjuan clicked her tongue: "So funny, he says he'll give me two choices, but his hands are empty, even his bag is empty."

"He wants you to pick up treasures for him."

"I won't pick up treasures for him."

Xie Hongwei turned to look at Rong Chen, and before he could speak, he heard Director Liu's voice from the direction of the main gate: "Rong Chen."

Rong Chen approached as if relieved: "Director, you're finally back."

"Have the two children with fevers recovered?"

"They did after taking the medicine."

"How much milk powder is left?"

"Not much, enough for another week."

...

Director Liu didn't even glance at the officers until he had finished asking all his questions, then he noticed them and asked Rong Chen: "What are they here for?"

Xie Hongwei greeted him: "Director Liu, I am Lieutenant Xie Hongwei of the government army, and this is Yu Zhen. We are here on Chairman Gu's orders to chat with a child."

Rong Chen whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "They just came from Mixin Town, and now they're looking for Shen Juanjuan. They're ordinary people."

Director Liu's eyes darkened: "What interest does Chairman Gu have to send people to chat with our orphanage children?"

Yu Zhen sneered: "Director Liu, your orphanage children are quite impressive, able to leave the orphanage at will and even bring food to a fugitive in Mixin Town."

"Lieutenant, you shouldn't make such accusations lightly," Director Liu said.

"Do you know that the military has been looking for someone? His surname is Chu, twelve years old, with severely injured legs that prevent him from walking."

"I know, he's Chairman Chu's son, Chu Ya," Director Liu said without hesitation.

"He is a major criminal the military has been searching for. We've been looking for a long time without any leads. After much searching, we found that he was hiding in Mixin Town."

"Is that so? It must have been quite difficult to find him."

"It was indeed hard to find him, but fortunately, we now know his hiding place. His legs were injured, and without someone to take care of him, it's unlikely he would have remained hidden for so long. When we found him, we also discovered that someone had been taking care of him, providing food, and it turned out to be a child from your welfare home."

Director Liu looked at Shen Juanjuan: "So you mean this child is the one who took care of Young Master Chu? Do you know how old he is? He just turned six, and hasn't even been out of the children's area for two months. The gates of the welfare home are always locked. How could he slip out alone and go to Mixin Town, where even adults dare not enter, to take care of someone who can't walk and provide him with food?"

Yu Zhen said, "He admitted it himself just now."

Director Liu sneered, "Can you believe what a six-year-old says? If he says he can fly in the sky, would you believe him?"

The group of students standing on the steps laughed along when they saw Director Liu laughing.

Shen Juanjuan was also laughing, hands on his hips, head thrown back. Tang Yuanyuan tugged at his arm, "Stop laughing, they're talking about you."

"What? About me? What are they saying?"

"They're saying you brought food to your brother."

"Eh... Wasn't that already mentioned? I'm not afraid of him."

Yu Zhen's face darkened, "Director Liu, since we've found the person, let's not argue about this. White Castle doesn't plan to bring Chu Ya back to Cloud Peak. If he wants to stay in Mixin Town, he can. However, given his sensitive status, the children from your home should no longer approach him. Chairman Gu gave Shen Juanjuan two options. He's too young to understand, but you can make the choice for him."

The smile on Director Liu's face slowly faded, "What choices?"

"First, he never goes to take care of Chu Ya again, and we pretend this never happened. Second, he can continue to take care of Chu Ya, but his actions will be considered those of the welfare home."

Director Liu pushed up his glasses, appearing calm, but his eyes behind the lenses gradually turned cold.

"Our Angel Welfare Home is jointly built by the three armies, so it does not fall under the jurisdiction of any one party, and Chairman Gu has no authority to command me."

Yu Zhen replied, "Chairman Gu may not have the authority to command you, but he can have the Morning Star Club stop supplying resources to the welfare home."

"You dare!" Director Liu growled lowly, then stepped forward half a step, lowering his voice, "All the children in our home have undergone genetic screening, and over ninety percent will develop into Sentinels or Guides. Does Gu Lin dare to cut off their supplies?"

Xie Hongwei sighed beside him, "Director Liu, do you think Chairman Gu wouldn't dare? You are a respected old director, look at the children behind you, all with mouths open waiting for food and drink. Why don't you help Shen Juanjuan make a choice?"

Director Liu stood there, anger rising in his eyes, but his face gradually turned pale.

Xie Hongwei continued, "Who wants to pick a fight with such a tiny child? Just let him stay in the welfare home, don't run around everywhere, and don't get involved in danger. This is for his own good. Chu Ya is a key figure we are monitoring, so don't let the child get close to him, or else it would harm him."

Director Liu opened his dry, cracked lips as if to say something, but Rong Chen stepped forward, "Director, I'll talk to the child."

Without waiting for Director Liu's response, he hurried forward.

"So funny, he said he would give me two things, but there's nothing." Shen Juanjuan showed his empty hands to the other children.

Chen Hongliang also held out his hands, "Come, I'll give you two big sweet potatoes. Did you see them? Two big sweet potatoes."

"He didn't come to choose anyone to go to Cloud Peak; the director is going to kick him out."

"Look, the director is angry, he's about to kick him out. He just said, 'Don't kick me out, don't kick me out, I'll give you two things.'" Chen Hongliang showed his empty hands to everyone again.

The children laughed uncontrollably, mimicking and laughing.

"Chen Hongliang, I'll give you two good things, hahaha—"

Shen Juanjuan was still laughing and spreading his hands when he heard Rong Chen calling him. Laughing, he turned his head, "Chief Administrator Chen, hahaha..."

Rong Chen squatted down in front of Shen Juanjuan, looking at him with a complex expression. Shen Juanjuan's laughter gradually stopped, and the surrounding children fell silent.

"Shen Juanjuan," Rong Chen called his name, his throat dry, unable to speak further.

Shen Juanjuan instinctively sensed something was wrong, feeling uneasy, he reached for Lin Duozhi, moving closer to him.

Rong Chen cleared his throat, looking away, and said, "Chief Administrator Chen just wants to ask you, do you want to go to Mixin Town again?"

Shen Juanjuan nodded slightly, softly saying, "I want to go home."

Rong Chen took a deep breath and continued, "If you go home, you won't be able to come back to the welfare home. What will you do?"

Shen Juanjuan seemed not to understand the implications of these words, showing no reaction, only confusion on his face.

But the surrounding children understood first and spoke up.

"Why? Why can't he come back to the welfare home?"

"He goes home every day, why can't he come back?"

"If he can't come back, how will he eat?"

Shen Juanjuan finally came to his senses, seeing Rong Chen still looking away, he moved to face him directly.

"Can I dig a hole to come back?"

Rong Chen wiped his face, silent for a few seconds, then shook his head, "No, you can't."

"Then, then..." Shen Juanjuan was at a loss for words, Rong Chen added, "But if you don't go to Mixin Town, you can stay in the welfare home."

Shen Juanjuan immediately shook his head, "No, I want to go home, my brother is still there."

He kept watching Rong Chen's expression, when Rong Chen looked away, he followed, blocking in front of him.

"Are you going to kick me out? Chief Administrator Chen, are you going to kick me out?"

Shen Juanjuan finally realized the seriousness of the situation. As he asked, his eyes began to redden, and his voice trembled with sobs.

Rong Chen said, "We're not kicking you out. I just said you can stay in the welfare home."

"But you won't let me go home anymore, right? Right?"

"Juanjuan..." Lin Duozhi anxiously held Shen Juanjuan's hand.

Rong Chen nodded lightly.

Tang Yuanyuan suddenly pointed at Xie Hongwei and Yu Zhen, angrily saying, "It's them, they're the ones who spoke ill of Shen Juanjuan."

"Chief Administrator Chen, they are bad people, don't listen to them," Liu Sijin shouted from the back of the crowd.

Chen Hongliang roared loudly, assuming an attack stance: "Psychic attack!"

"Psychic attack!"

"Psychic attack!"

Shen Juanjuan finally found his source of anger and roared at the two officers: "You thick-skinned guys, I'm going to beat you, I'm going to beat you, drive you away, out!" Then he squatted into a horse stance, making an attack gesture: "Psychic attack! Attack each other!"

Xie Hongwei remained calm: "Little boy, it's simple, just don't see your brother anymore."

"Thick-skinned, where is my quantum beast? My quantum beast should also attack! My table ghost, the table ghost should bite him!" Shen Juanjuan, enraged, rushed forward to hit someone but was held in Rong Chen's arms.

"Shen Juanjuan." Rong Chen's voice was somewhat stern, which made Shen Juanjuan stop.

Shen Juanjuan looked at Rong Chen, urgently defending himself: "It's him, he's the one speaking ill of me, he's lying, don't believe him."

Tang Yuanyuan and others followed up with explanations: "Chief Administrator Chen, don't listen to those people, we can drive them away."

The older students usually disliked these younger ones, but while they could dislike them, they couldn't stand outsiders bullying them, so they started to speak up: "Why should this person be allowed to drive away our institute's people?"

"Who is he? Let's report him to Cloud Peak."

"Is this guy crazy? What did the younger students do to offend him?"

"Drive them away, Dean, drive these people away, if you don't act, we will."

...

The student crowd was in an uproar. Rong Chen suddenly stood up and roared at them: "Why? Is it because of what you eat and drink? Is it because you can still stand here and act tough? Is it because of the few buckets of sweet potatoes carried into the canteen just now?"

By the end of his roar, Rong Chen's voice was almost hoarse. The students dared not speak again, only standing there with unfriendly expressions.

"Everyone to the canteen! All of you, immediately to the canteen!"

Several managers who had been standing nearby immediately stepped forward, urging the students toward the canteen. The students stood still, and the managers drew their rulers: "Hurry up! All to the canteen!"

Amidst the sound of rulers, the crowd began moving toward the canteen, but some of the older students still turned back, glaring hatefully at the officers and soldiers.

"Psychic attack!" Chen Hongliang changed his attack gesture.

"You all go too! Hurry up!" Rong Chen shouted at the younger students.

Seeing Chen Hongliang and the others being dragged away by the managers, Shen Juanjuan quickly grabbed Lin Duozhi's hand and followed, but was lifted up by Rong Chen.

"I want to go to the canteen, I want to, I want to go to the canteen..." Shen Juanjuan struggled hard, seeing several children being dragged farther and farther away, he finally cried out, "I want to go to the canteen, I want to eat, I want to queue... waa..."

At this moment, Director Liu walked over, took Shen Juanjuan from Rong Chen's arms, and patted his back: "Don't cry."

"Dean," Shen Juanjuan sobbed: "I will attend classes well every day, I will write well, I won't fight anymore, please don't drive me away, okay? Dean, I will wash my face well, brush my teeth well, please don't drive me away..."

Director Liu put him down, squatted in front of him, and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

"You can stay, but you can't go to Mixin Town anymore, okay? Tell me quietly," Director Liu asked softly.

Shen Juanjuan leaned against Director Liu's chest, his crying gradually subsiding. He sniffled and lifted his face, finally shaking his head.

"I want to go home, I want to go home, my brother is still at home." He whispered in Director Liu's ear, tears streaming down his face.

"Good boy, good boy." Director Liu whispered in his ear: "We won't drive you away, we'll just deceive them, you go home first, the Dean will come to get you back soon."

When Director Liu stood up again, he led Shen Juanjuan directly to the gate. The two officers seemed surprised by this action and asked in surprise: "Director Liu, what are you doing?"

Director Liu replied coldly: "I didn't choose for him, he chose for himself."

The expressions of the two officers became somewhat complicated. Xie Hongwei said helplessly: "Alright, since he wants to go, let him go. But Director Liu, let's make it clear, the orphanage should have no more dealings with them."

"The orphanage has many children with mouths to feed, we dare not refuse," Director Liu responded coldly.

"Shen Juanjuan, Shen Juanjuan..."

Hearing the voices of Lin Duozhi and others coming from the direction of the canteen, Shen Juanjuan, with tearful eyes, looked that way. Although the children were blocked by the managers, they still tried to squeeze through, shouting at Shen Juanjuan.

"Shen Juanjuan."

Shen Juanjuan, who had stopped crying, started to cry again, pointing at the two officers and crying to them: "These two people want to drive me away, these two people."

"Psychic attack!" Chen Hongliang's voice echoed from afar.

"Psychic attack!"

"Beat him!"

...

At the orphanage gate, Shen Juanjuan broke free from Director Liu's hand, opened his bag, took out his raincoat and rain boots, and struggled to put them on.

Director Liu came to help, but he twisted his body to avoid it, holding the raincoat over his head and loudly reciting what Chu Ya usually taught him: "First, put it over your head, if you can't find your head, look up, and crawl out of the hole. Then find the sleeve holes, put both hands in, and finally put on the rain boots..."

Watching him stagger as he put on the raincoat, Director Liu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew that although he had quietly promised earlier, the child's heart was still hurt.

Shen Juanjuan put on his raincoat and rain boots and began to walk out the door, stubbornly holding his head high but wiping away tears as he went.

"Wait, the road is slippery. I'll have someone take you."

Hearing Director Liu's voice, Shen Juanjuan ignored it. Rong Chen immediately followed him, trying to hold his hand, but Shen Juanjuan broke free again.

The child, with red eyes, shouted at him in anger: "I don't need you to send me. You're a bad person too."

Shen Juanjuan stepped out of the gate, and Rong Chen followed him from a distance.

After taking a few steps, Shen Juanjuan stopped and turned around, shouting through his sobs: "You can't drive me away. I'm the king of lice. I will come, I will fly here, I will dig tunnels to get here. I, I will make you all angry."

Still unsatisfied after his outburst, he walked a few more steps and turned back: "I won't tell you when I'll come. I'll sneak in and eat all the sweet potatoes in the canteen, and beat those two people to a pulp. This is our revenge, from the little class."

As he was shouting, Xie Hongwei waved at him: "Why don't you come back?"

Shen Juanjuan pointed at Xie Hongwei, gritting his teeth: "Thick-skinned, I'll let the ghost under the table bite you to pieces."

Watching Shen Juanjuan leave, Director Liu finally turned his gaze away and said to the two officers: "Are you satisfied now?"

Xie Hongwei laughed bitterly, and Yu Zhen beside him said: "What's there to be satisfied about? We didn't come here to make things difficult for this child, but—"

"But we didn't expect the kid to be so tough. Give Chairman Gu a message: the wild grass in the abyss, even if trampled and broken, will grow again. There will always be a day when the abyss once again becomes lush and verdant, with branches and leaves flourishing."

After saying this, Director Liu did not look at them and turned to walk towards the canteen.

A military vehicle had parked on the main road at some point, and Gu Lin watched through the rearview mirror as the child struggled along the wet road.

The road was slippery, making it hard for the child to walk, while Rong Chen followed closely behind. As they passed the military vehicle, the child shouted something inside and made an attacking gesture, his face under the rain hat full of anger.

"What's he saying?" Jin Gao asked.

"What else could it be? Do you want to roll down the window and listen carefully?" Gu Lin leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "It seems he has chosen another path... A little kid, let him go. We just need to keep an eye on Chu Ya's every move."

"And Jiang Xian, he's stirring up trouble again. We also need to pay attention to the movements of the Sunburn Club."

"Let's go, back to Cloud Peak."

Rong Chen escorted Shen Juanjuan to the barbed wire fence: "Shen Juanjuan, I'll take you this far. Can you walk back by yourself?"

Shen Juanjuan ignored him and only held onto the fence, moving forward. Rong Chen stood by the fence, watching the small figure enter the garbage dump.

Shen Juanjuan crossed the garbage dump and reached the street, where he began to cry loudly. He closed his eyes, hunched over, and cried his heart out, his voice hoarse, before slowly walking home, leaning against the wall.

"... If I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I don't care, sniff, I never want to go back, even if you come to pick me up. I haven't done anything wrong, why do you want to drive me away, sniff..."

Shen Juanjuan stopped in front of the bakery, looking at the long bench through teary eyes, then slowly walked over and sat down.

"Life is like this, sniff, instead of being unhappy, why not sing and bask in the sun with Grandpa..." Shen Juanjuan extended his hand, turning the steering wheel, and sang while crying: "Grandpa's little car goes beep beep beep, da da da, sniff, beep beep beep..."

He repeated this several times until his sobs gradually subsided, and his mood improved. Then he wiped his tear-streaked, rain-soaked face and jumped off the bench to walk home.