Chapter 27 “Little Fish Orphanage”

Chapter 27: "The Little Fish Orphanage"

After all the players had left the classroom, the remaining children swarmed around Little Fish.

Tongtong pouted her lips, "Little Fish, you shouldn't have given them that many little red flowers!"

Luo Luo nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Sister Xiaoyu, little red flowers are super, super precious!"

Bai Ye stared at Little Fish's head and asked in confusion, "Did you get stupid from sitting in class all day? You gave them away, so now you've got none left."

Panpan thought for a moment and tried to comfort Little Fish, "It's okay, I can give you all the little red flowers I earn every day."

Yang Yang pressed her lips together, hung her head, and looked at her wet and icy cold hands. After a long moment, she mumbled sullenly, "Sister Xiaoyu, I really don't like going to school. Can we please not use little red flowers to buy a teacher?"

Song Pingan sat there quietly beside Bai Ye, listening to everyone. After a moment, he chimed in to comfort Little Fish too, "I can give you one of my little red flowers every day too."

He gets two little red flowers every day; even if he gives one to Little Fish, he still has one left.

Hearing the kids' comforting words or objections, Little Fish stared at them for a couple of seconds and then shook her head.

"I want to do this," the little one said firmly. "This is a really good deal."

Little Fish hadn't learned much math yet and didn't know about equivalent exchange or comparison, but she just knew deep down that the deal she made was a super great bargain.

The little red flowers in this Little Fish Orphanage are worth way more than those in the other Little Fish Orphanage.

And all Little Fish had to do was study hard, come in first, and get a lot of little red flowers.

The little red flowers here were very useful, just as useful as the charity funds that Principal Mama worked so hard to raise every time.

Little Fish hadn't forgotten the level completion condition Sister Octopus had coldly announced, but she wasn't scared of not beating the level.

She was a child of the orphanage, a little fish that can live well no matter if she's thrown into the sea, a stream, a fish tank, or a glass of water.

Weeds don't get to choose their growing environment.

If she couldn't clear the level, Little Fish can still live well in this orphanage.

For a homeless child, anywhere can be home.

Instead of getting picked by new parents and taken to a new home, Little Fish preferred to make her own small choices.

Now it's a choice of a little red flower.

In the future, there will be more and more choices.

"I'm using little red flowers to buy what I like and what I want," Little Fish said softly to the children.

She didn't know how to explain it, but she had a gut feeling that the things she wanted and the knowledge she wanted to learn were more important and precious than little red flowers.

"...Then you only need to hire the teacher for lessons," Sang Ye said to her.

Little Fish shook her head again, pointing outside with the pencil she was holding.

"This place is falling apart at night. The wind blows through when we sleep, it leaks when the weather is bad, and thunder becomes even scarier."

So Little Fish traded little red flowers to get Huang Xiannian to fix up the Little Fish Orphanage.

Her little hand still pointed outside, but the pencil tip pointed at the bright blue sky.

"When we wash our hair and take a bath, it dries fast, and we won't catch cold or get sick. Blankets, moldy damp things, and clean clothes can all be taken outside to dry warm and soft under the sun."

So Little Fish agreed to let Zhao Yu trade taking care of us for little red flowers.

Little Fish swept her gaze around the room, and finally landed firmly on the silent Xiaoyin.

"Xiaoyin is about to have her birthday. Principal Mama said that birthdays are the day we first came into this world. But on that day, we all cried nonstop because we were scared of the unknown. So every year after that, we need to collect lots of happiness and joy to become braver and braver."

Xiaoyin's birthday princess crown was borrowed, not hers. Little Fish hoped Xiaoyin could truly have her own happiness.

So Little Fish also said yes to Liu Ren, because he was good at crafts.

As her words fell, the classroom became so quiet you couldn't even hear anyone breathing.

Little Fish poked her soft cheek with the eraser tip of her pencil, thought for a moment, then slowly said, propping her head up with her hand, "I know you all want to keep your little red flowers for something else. But I don't need new parents, and I don't want to go to a new home and be someone's daughter, so I don't need to save little red flowers. I can exchange them for things I want more. You don't have to learn from me."

Actually, you didn't need to follow her example at all.

Because whether Little Fish gave tuition fees to hire a teacher or gave other little red flowers to hire the other three, all the children present became passive beneficiaries.

They didn't have to pay a thing, but they got to enjoy everything.

Little Fish didn't think she was losing out. After all, she never had the thought that she would ever come out on the losing end. She only looked at how much she had gained and whether she got what she wanted.

As for whether the other children might benefit from this, Little Fish looked at these stunned little kids and sighed softly in her heart.

Principal Mama had told Little Fish that when there was no adult to take care of them, kids who are capable and strong should step up to take care of other kids, so that everyone could have more chances to survive.

Little Fish hoped these children could live just as well and work just as hard as she did.

"But... if no parents want to adopt you, what will you do?" Tongtong asked softly. As she finished, her eyes quietly reddened, and tears that wouldn't obey glistened in her eyes.

"Little Fish, you're only five years old. For a five-year-old child, without parents to take care of you, many, many people will bully you, and you might just up and die quietly."

Little Fish is a real, breathing kid.

Tongtong was willing to give all her little red flowers to Little Fish, not just because she was scared of Little Fish, but also because she wanted to use her little red flowers to help Little Fish choose the best mother or father.

That way, Little Fish wouldn't stay just a little kid forever. She would grow up, be loved, and have a good home.

"I won't."

Little Fish's eyes were clear and bright as she looked back at Tongtong, whose eyes were all watery. She said firmly, "I'm a lucky little fish. A lucky little fish won't quietly die. Principal Mama said that my parents are always watching over me in the sky, and they'd never let me get bullied."

"And besides, I have the most powerful guardian angel. So I don't need parents, and I can still live very, very well!" The way she said it was especially dazzling.

Bai Ye sneered and said coldly, "Looks like your brain's gone a little screwy. You exchanged little red flowers for so many useless things. None of us will be grateful to you, and we don't need your pity." He felt a tightness in his chest that was uncomfortable, so he didn't bother to hide his emotions, and his words became much sharper.

"I'm not pitying you."

Little Fish's words made Bai Ye stop short, and his face turned even more gloomy. Even in broad daylight, he looked like a terrifying little ghost.

"What I exchanged for are things I like and want."

Little Fish stared at the gloomy Bai Ye, blinked, and said straight up, hitting the sore spot: "Bai Ye, you called me stupid and said things I don't like to hear. So I've decided I'm gonna hate you for a whole day. I don't want your little red flower today. You can give it to someone else."

Bai Ye: "..."

He was so angry that his eyes turned red. Forcing back tears, he turned around bitterly and fiercely rubbed his eyes with his hands.

Xiaoyin looked at Bai Ye, then at Xiaoyu, squeezed in front of Xiaoyu, and raised her little hand, gesturing with effort.

"Sister, I'll give you all my little red flowers."

Sister Xiaoyu is a very, very good kid.

She was willing to lend her pretty princess crown, and she always remembered her birthday, even giving her precious little red flower.

If only Sister Xiaoyu were an adult.

Then Xiaoyin could secretly dream of Sister Xiaoyu being her very best mother in her dreams.

Xiaoyin's eyes were moist and sparkling as she looked at Xiaoyu. Unable to speak, she did everything she could to express her fondness for Xiaoyu.

Finally, like a clingy and obedient little kitten, she squeezed her tiny body into Xiaoyu's equally small embrace, pressing her fluffy little head against Xiaoyu's ear and gently nuzzling.

Sister Xiaoyu, hug~

After hugging, they'd be the best family ever.

She was the first family member to really celebrate Xiaoyin's birthday.

So Xiaoyin no longer wanted to pick a mom or dad from those adults. She wanted to give all her little red flowers to Sister Xiaoyu, so Sister Xiaoyu could get more things she liked and wanted.

Xiaoyin also planned to study harder. She wanted to be first in class, so she could earn more little red flowers for Sister Xiaoyu.

She wanted to be the kind of kid Sister Xiaoyu liked.

So she had to be better behaved and more helpful than Bai Ye!

"Okay, thank you, Xiaoyin~" Xiaoyu hugged Xiaoyin, who had squeezed into her arms, and patted Xiaoyin's back with her little hand.

Xiaoyin secretly smiled. Even after the hug ended, she took the opportunity to quietly hold onto Xiaoyu's clothes, not letting go.

Sang Ye observed all the interactions between the kids and Xiaoyu, and she was the child who was most affected by Xiaoyu and had the most complex feelings.

She was now eight years old. Before being found by the orphanage's Mother Director and brought to Xiaoyu Orphanage, she already knew many, many things.

So Sang Ye knew that the kids outside the orphanage who had parents all had to study a great deal for a very long time. That way, relying on their families and knowledge, they could slowly grow into useful and capable adults, earning a lot of money to support themselves.

But Sang Ye never expected Xiaoyu to trade her precious little red flowers for just a few short days of study.

And also handcrafts, cleaning, repairs...

Every little red flower given out benefited all the kids in Xiaoyu Orphanage, including herself.

Kids without adult care were always messy and dirty, not very lovable.

Xiaoyu used her little red flowers to trade for all kinds of care from those players.

Xiaoyu had done better than she (Sang Ye) had.

When the Mother Director wasn't around, Sang Ye was the one taking care of the younger siblings, but now, watching Xiaoyu's every move, Sang Ye suddenly realized that she herself hadn't really done a good job.

"Xiaoyu."

Sang Ye suddenly called out to the little girl in the middle of the other children.

Xiaoyu looked at her questioningly, her eyes bright and lively, her voice light and soft: "Sister, what's up?"

"...Don't use your little red flowers." Sang Ye seemed to have made up her mind. She looked at Xiaoyu and said to the slightly puzzled child: "Ask them to take care of us using our little red flowers. You don't have to use yours."

"Save your little red flowers." Sang Ye gently urged: "These little red flowers are very important to you, so never give them away for no reason, got it?"

"If not mine, then whose?" Xiaoyu wasn't fooled by her words.

Sang Ye: "...I'll go ask the Mother Director for some."

"Author's Note"

When writing this, I could really picture a group of little stray kittens huddled together and meowing noisily, hahaha [cat paw].

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