Chapter 23 “Little Fish Orphanage”

Chapter 23: "The Little Fish Orphanage"

Little Fish understood what Sang Ye meant.

Sang Ye wanted her to leave the Little Fish Orphanage.

But why would she leave?

Little Fish tilted her head in confusion. "Sister, there are so many adults and children here to play with me. I'm having a blast. I don't wanna leave so soon."

The little girl still didn't realize this was a terrifying survival game, and the Little Fish Orphanage was a horror instance.

Sometimes she was clever and sharp, but other times, trusting too much made her slow on the uptake.

From start to finish, Little Fish treated this place as a real orphanage and everyone as real children just like her. She even made up the games and rules herself, just following her heart without holding back.

Because in her simple mind, she came here just to have fun.

Sister Octopus had said that Little Fish would have fun in the Little Fish Orphanage for five days, and after five days, Sister Octopus would come to pick her up on time.

So for the players, this was a life-or-death horror instance, but for Little Fish, it was just an interesting outing, a playground that felt both new and familiar.

She didn't need to race against time to find clues, didn't need to crack the instance's secrets, didn't need to win over NPCs, and there was no so-called clearance requirement. For Little Fish, none of that mattered to her.

From beginning to end, she was just simply playing.

"I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Little Fish shook her head, facing the stunned Sang Ye. "Sister, don't be in such a hurry to get rid of me."

Sang Ye: "..."

She too started questioning herself.

Why did a kid like Little Fish just show up out of nowhere?

Why wasn't she scared at all, or eager to leave?

Why...

Had the outside world changed somehow?

She silently swallowed the countless questions on the tip of her tongue, turning them into a resigned explanation. "I'm not trying to drive you away, but... the Headmistress will probably wake up soon. If she sees you, you might never get out."

Sang Ye didn't know which orphanage Little Fish was from, nor did she know that Little Fish's Headmistress was the same as her own.

She was simply worried about Little Fish's safety after seeing the thick fear in the sky and sensing the raging energy inside her that was becoming harder to control.

If Little Fish didn't leave now, she might never have another chance.

Sang Ye didn't want to see the free-spirited Little Fish trapped here forever.

"Sister, it's okay." Little Fish reached out and took her cold fingers, comforting her softly, "I wanna see the Headmistress wake up soon too."

Sang Ye opened her mouth but said nothing.

Little Fish changed the topic.

"Oh, when is Xiaoyin's birthday?" The little girl's eyes were full of innocent curiosity.

There was no trace of fear toward ghosts.

Sang Ye looked down at her, and after a moment, helplessly gave in. "On the fourth day, it's her birthday."

"Then I'm four days older than her!" Little Fish puffed out her chest, looking super proud.

Sang Ye: "..."

How could she tell Little Fish that Xiaoyin actually celebrates her birthday on the fourth day each time?

That kind of birthday, Xiaoyin had already celebrated hundreds of times.

The words were right there on the tip of her tongue, but seeing Little Fish's proud, gleeful expression, Sang Ye swallowed them back again.

Never mind, Little Fish wasn't wrong.

She quickly talked herself into it and tried to pull Little Fish away from there.

"Sister, wait a moment." Little Fish stood firmly in place, not budging an inch.

Sang Ye looked at the little girl, whose eyes were fixed on the wall, and a bad feeling suddenly rose in her chest.

"Little Fish, the bell's about to ring for handing out red flowers—"

Before Sang Ye could finish coaxing her, Little Fish reached out and touched the wall in front of her.

"..."

Sang Ye's voice cut off abruptly.

Silence fell heavily around them once more.

Little Fish looked at her hand, which had suddenly half-disappeared, and curiously waved her hand in the empty air.

Then, she turned her head and looked at the stunned Sang Ye with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Sister, can I go in?" Little Fish asked eagerly.

"...No! You can't go in!" Sang Ye pursed her lips and refused the little girl's request in a low voice.

"Then can that uncle inside come out?" Little Fish wasn't angry; instead, she smiled softly, her eyes turning into crescent moons.

Sang Ye fell silent again.

This time, the silence stretched on.

Little Fish's hand had already touched the cold ghostly energy in the air wall several times before she heard Sang Ye's cold, flat voice.

"How do you know?" Sang Ye stared at Little Fish with a heavy gaze.

At noon, only she and those adults knew that someone had been pushed into the wall.

How could Little Fish know?

Had she been secretly watching back then?

Or was she in cahoots with those adults, and her real purpose for coming in now was to rescue the person who had been pushed in?

Under Sang Ye's suspicious, cold stare, Little Fish blinked, slowly pulled back her little hand that had been reaching for the air wall, and replied obediently, "Because he's the only one still playing hide-and-seek."

"What...?" Sang Ye couldn't help but start doubting herself again.

This time, she doubted that she was too stupid to understand Little Fish's words.

Every word made sense individually, and together they were easy to understand, yet they felt a world apart from the correct answer.

Sang Ye stared at the innocent Little Fish in front of her, silently making a mental note to add more literacy lessons over the next few days, or even indefinitely, whenever possible.

It's scary to be so uneducated.

She always had trouble understanding what Little Fish was saying.

She truly didn't understand, so she didn't lower her guard. Little Fish scratched her head, thinking hard about how to explain.

"It's like... last night's hide-and-seek game. Bai Ye left a cat mark on this uncle. Today, Bai Ye told me that this uncle has been staying in the director's room."

As she spoke, Little Fish, being sharp, glanced at Sang Ye's changing expression and whispered timidly and obediently: "Sister, I was afraid he might be a bad guy, so I wanted to take him out so he couldn't do any harm."

At first glance, no matter how you looked at it, Little Fish's motives and intentions were completely fine.

But the problem was: who sent her? Who gave permission?

Sang Ye stared at Little Fish, her mind a mess, and it took her a while to force out one sentence: "The hide-and-seek game... isn't it over?"

Why would the cat marks still linger on them?

"Because..." Little Fish opened her mouth to answer.

Sang Ye cut her off with a stern face: "Don't say it was an accident. I don't believe you."

Little Fish: "...Oh."

The little girl puffed her cheeks in a sulk, realizing there was really no good excuse left. So she gave up on excuses and lifted her little face and declared loudly and confidently: "Because I never announced the game was over!"

Sang Ye went completely still.

Never announced the game was over?

Did that mean that from yesterday until now, not only were the living people unknowingly trapped in the hide-and-seek game, but even the little ghosts in the orphanage were still following the rules Little Fish had set?

And what Little Fish hadn't announced as over wasn't just the hide-and-seek game...

Once she realized this, Sang Ye looked at Little Fish with completely different eyes.

She subconsciously took a small step back. This small step didn't do much to make her feel any safer, but she retreated anyway.

It was as if the child standing in front of her wasn't a living human child who would scream at ghosts, but an evil ghost disguised as a living child.

An evil ghost that not only eats people but also devours ghosts.

Looking at Little Fish's innocent and naive expression as she tilted her face up, Sang Ye suddenly understood why Little Fish could fill the entire Little Fish Orphanage with such intense, overwhelming fear.

The source of all this fear wasn't just the living but also the little ghosts in the orphanage.

There was Luo Luo, Bai Ye, Yang Yang, Tong Tong, Pan Pan...

And now, herself, Sang Ye.

"Sister, can I let that uncle out?" Little Fish was still trying to persuade.

But Sang Ye's mind was a blank—she felt like she couldn't think or speak.

After a few seconds, it dawned on her what Little Fish was asking.

Her heart clenched. Just as she was about to steel herself and refuse despite her fear, a crisp, cheerful bell rang out in Little Fish Orphanage.

The bell rang.

Sang Ye's tense nerves relaxed significantly.

"Let's head out. The bell rang. If she doesn't go out, she'd miss the little red flowers."

She was lying.

She was lying to a young evil ghost.

As for the evil ghost herself, Little Fish—whether she bought it or not was hard to tell. Under Sang Ye's slightly anxious gaze, she reluctantly nodded her little head, obediently took hold of her ice-cold hand again, and said, "Alright... then I'll come back tomorrow."

Little Fish obediently let herself be led out of the director's room.

Before leaving, the little girl tilted her head and looked back inside.

The last thing she saw was the only painting on the wall—the one that was hers.

In the painting, there was a big, round, chubby fish with a dozen ugly little matchstick people holding hands and singing inside its belly.

I'm going to swallow you all into my belly. You'll all listen to me and be eaten by me.

Little Fish scampered on her short legs, running happily through the pitch-black hallway.

As soon as she came out, invisible stamps stamped cute red little flowers on the back of her hand.

There were three in total.

Little Fish touched them, didn't wipe them off. They looked like they'd grown right out of her skin.

"...You actually got two first places?" Sang Ye glanced down at the little red flowers on Little Fish's hand, her voice mixed with a hint of weird relief.

And in her heart, she was actually trying to reassure herself.

Little Fish won two first places. She had taken two classes in the morning and got first in both. So she's really smart, huh?

Such a smart child—if I sometimes can't understand her words or keep up with her thoughts, that is totally normal, right?

After all, even those adults who could read a lot were being pushed around by Little Fish, weren't they?

Sang Ye talked herself into it again and accepted how irrational Little Fish was.

Sang Ye's voice cut through the night's silence.

It was as if everything around suddenly came to life. One after another, little ghosts emerged from the pitch-black darkness.

Tong Tong couldn't wait and charged toward Little Fish.

As she ran, she shouted, "Little Fish! I got today's little red flowers!"

A trail of little kids followed behind Tong Tong.

Luo Luo, Yang Yang, Panpan, Song Pingan, and Bai Ye, who was lying on Song Pingan's back.

Tongtong rushed over to Xiaoyu, barely skidding to a stop, and raised her little hand as if presenting a treasure, showing Xiaoyu the Little Red Flower stamp on the back of her hand.

"Xiaoyu, I'm giving you this Little Red Flower!" Tongtong said, and without giving Xiaoyu or anyone else time to react, she immediately pressed her hand against Xiaoyu's without a second thought.

The next second, the Little Red Flower on the back of Tongtong's hand gradually faded away, and in its place, another Little Red Flower appeared out of nowhere on Xiaoyu's already cramped hand, making it even more crowded.

Xiaoyu was still a bit dazed.

But Tongtong held her hand, admiring her own handiwork, thoroughly satisfied.

Hmph! She was the first to give Xiaoyu a Little Red Flower~

None of the other kids had beaten her to it!

Tongtong was extremely pleased. Holding Xiaoyu's warm little hand, she turned around and proudly lifted her chin, trying to look down her nose at her defeated rivals.

Panpan stepped forward in silence.

She also pressed the back of her hand against Xiaoyu's.

Three Little Red Flowers.

Not a single one stuck; she gave them all to Xiaoyu.

Right in front of Tongtong's face.

Tongtong: "..."

Her smile froze, then faded, and she flew off the handle!

Her face cycled through a dozen expressions in a second, so much so that her facial muscles hadn't adapted yet, turning all twisted and weird.

"Thank you, Sister Panpan~" Xiaoyu looked at her hand, now crowded and splotched red, laughing so hard her eyes turned into crescents.

Panpan gave a shy smile and stepped aside to let the other kids behind her come forward.

"...I only have one. I'll try to get first place tomorrow," Bai Ye said, his head down, looking a bit gloomy.

He had been totally outshone by the two ahead, losing big time.

Song Pingan also held out his little hand.

But after pressing it against Xiaoyu's hand, there was still one left on his own hand.

He glanced at Xiaoyu cautiously, wanting to explain, but his mouth opened and closed without a sound.

Luckily, Xiaoyu didn't seem to care, and just smiled sweetly and said thank you to him.

Behind him, Luo Luo and Yang Yang also hung their little heads, quietly promising they'd definitely bring her their Little Red Flowers tomorrow.

A little further off in the darkness, the players huddled together stealthily, quietly watching everything happening here.

"Doesn't this scene seem a bit weird?" Qi Jing asked softly.

Cheng Jingjia wrung her hands in grief: "I don't know, my heart aches! If only I could have just one?!"

So many Little Red Flowers! If they were mine, wouldn't I be able to leave this damn instance in the next second?

But why did they all give them to the BOSS in the instance?!

"Damn it, why does the boss of the instance have to compete with us for the clearance items..." Zhao Yu also clenched her teeth while watching Xiaoyu, her eyes full of envy and resentment she didn't even realize.

With just a few words, they strayed from the topic, which just goes to show how much that scene shook the players.

But fortunately, there was still someone to pick up Qijing's cue.

A player just as low-key, while envious, struggled to steer the topic back and answered Qi Jing: "Yeah, I find it really familiar too, the more I see it."

As for exactly where the familiarity came from, he dug through his memories from the past few decades.

Then silently pressed his hand to his chest, having the same heartache as Cheng Jingjia.

"When I was in elementary and middle school, the older school bullies used to corner me demanding protection money..."

Everyone: "!!"

It dawned on them like a lightbulb moment!

"Exactly. The boss is terrifying, totally the orphanage tough guy. These little kid NPCs might even have to fake a smile when dealing with her."

"Yeah, look at that girl Tongtong, smiling all happy but probably dying inside."

"Hiss... now that you mention it, I actually feel kind of sorry for them?"

"Get real! If the boss takes all the red flowers and we get nothing, we'll be way more pathetic than them!"

Beside Xiaoyu, Tongtong, who was said to be forcing a smile, suddenly gave a dramatic roll of her stunning smoky-gray eyes.

"Xiaoyu, how many Little Red Flowers do you have?" She took Xiaoyu's hand, turned it over to look at the back, and then counted them one by one.

"One, two, three..." Tongtong counted to the last one. "Xiaoyu, you've got nine Little Red Flowers now!!"

As she counted, Xiaoyu counted along with her, one by one.

Nine.

The little girl turned her head to look at Sang Ye, who had been silent behind her all along.

The number she had said to Sister Sangye at the door of the principal's room was ten.

She was still one short.

"I need one more," Xiaoyu spoke up.

Her voice was so distinctive that as soon as she spoke, the surroundings became exceptionally quiet.

Even the rustling of wind through the grass seemed much sharper.

But it was far less harsh than her words.

Tongtong's joyful smile froze on her face.

The other children shrank back, wanting to retreat.

Bai Ye, lying on Song Pingan's back, cast a cold, predatory gaze at the other children, and reminded coldly: "Didn't you all say before that you would give all your Little Red Flowers to Xiaoyu?"

"Why haven't you done it yet?"

He asked in a low, eerie voice, "Who's first?"

No one answered.

The children shrank back into the darkness.

"You're all lying bad kids!" Tongtong, who had lied just last night, was so furious that her pale gray eyes turned blood-red.

Little Fish tilted her head and easily grabbed hold of Tongtong, who was about to charge out and fight the other kids.

Song Pingan bared his teeth as he pinned down the pale, ghostly hand that had nearly snapped his neck.

Luo Luo and Yang Yang hid behind Panpan, also staring angrily at the other children.

"It's okay~" Little Fish broke the deathly tense silence.

Then she turned around, raised her little hand, already densely covered in little red flower stamps, and looked at Sang Ye with sparkling black eyes full of hope.

"Sister, I need one more little red flower." She asked boldly and openly.

Sang Ye silently met her gaze. In under two seconds, she raised the back of her hand and, under the stunned gaze of the children, gave her own little red flower to Little Fish.

"Thank you, Sister~" Little Fish lifted her left hand, which had no more space left, and happily showed it off. "See, Sister? I told you I'd really have ten little red flowers!"

Sang Ye: "..."

There weren't ten. Little Fish had threatened Sang Ye into giving her that one.

"...I-I'll give you mine too." A little girl hesitantly stepped out of the darkness.

Little Fish looked at her, then declined with a sweet smile: "No, thanks~"

"I don't want your nasty little red flowers."

Seeing the little girl's at-a-loss expression, Little Fish looked at the other confused children and spread her small hands regretfully:

"You're all bad kids who lied today, so your little red flowers are nasty ones too. I won't take them."

"Wait until tomorrow when you're no longer bad kids, then give me your little red flowers~"

With just a refusal and a sentence, the roles of the active and passive immediately reversed.

As a semi-bystander, Sang Ye was horrified to realize that she, like Tongtong and the other children, felt a secret glee because Little Fish had accepted her little red flower.

Because it meant that in Little Fish's eyes, none of them were bad kids who liked to lie.

They had been affirmed by Little Fish.

The price was giving away their little red flowers, quitting lying, and striving to be good kids in Little Fish's eyes.

They had given so much, yet received only indirect acknowledgment.

But...

Sang Ye raised her hand, touching her cold, lifeless chest in confusion.

But she still felt happy.

Why, indeed?

"Yeah, really, why?" Tongtong looked at the sneaky players in the distance and asked Little Fish in confusion: "Why don't we play a more fun game with them tonight? Sleeping is so boring!"

Little Fish raised her left hand, covered in little red flowers, and gently rubbed Tongtong's head, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

"Because before the carnival, there's always a silent night~"

[Author's Note]

Little Fish Baby: Sister Sangye said I'm an evil ghost.

Little Fish Baby: The other kids are still lying to me.

Little Fish Baby: Uncles and sisters say I'm the orphanage bully.

QAQ A truly wronged child has no tears in their eyes!!

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