Chapter 31: This Man Is a Little Handsome

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: This Man Is a Little Handsome

Due to the earlier awkwardness, Li Qian’Er was rather quiet for the rest of the drive.

She occasionally stole a glance at Jiang Fan, only to find him driving, quiet and focused.

’This man... he’s actually kind of handsome.’

’Yeah, he is a little handsome.’

"What are you lost in thought about? Hey, we’re at an intersection."

"Which way do I go now?"

The Grand Orphanage was originally on the south side of Yang City. Many years had passed, and Jiang Fan had heard long ago that it had moved.

"Oh, ah, right. Go straight and then turn right."

Li Qian’Er snapped out of her daze and hurriedly pointed at the road ahead.

"If we go any further, we’ll be in the suburbs."

Li Qian’Er said wistfully, "The orphanage used to be in the city."

"Then we ran out of money, so we had to move to an abandoned school outside the suburbs."

Jiang Fan fell silent.

The light turned green. Jiang Fan drove on, and they arrived about half an hour later.

’The hell you call this the suburbs?’

Jiang Fan glanced around. Right behind them was a massive forest.

’They’re practically living in the damn mountains.’

An abandoned school came into view. It wasn’t very large and looked extremely dilapidated.

There were several huge boulders nearby.

The ground was also marked with wide cracks.

Jiang Fan looked at the mountainside behind the school and instantly understood. There must have been a landslide here before.

That’s what caused these cracks.

It was clear that studying, learning, or running an orphanage here was very dangerous.

In the orphanage, converted from the dilapidated school, the grounds were spotless, free of dead branches and fallen leaves. Someone had obviously taken great care to clean them.

The children were reading, and the clear sound of their voices carried out from a classroom.

It was as if Jiang Fan had been transported back to a long-ago summer, back to his own days at the orphanage.

"Don’t scare the children, okay?"

"Also, you can’t mention the whole money-stealing thing to the kids."

"I know what I did was wrong."

"But I just don’t want the children to go hungry."

"Okay." Jiang Fan nodded.

"And one more thing... can we not mention what happened between us either?"

"Sure."

Seemingly surprised that Jiang Fan had agreed so easily, Li Qian’Er relaxed considerably.

Just then, it was time for class to end.

Electricity was a precious commodity here, so the end of class was announced by the old dean ringing a bell.

The children ran out of the building, running joyfully around the grounds of their orphanage-in-a-dilapidated-school.

Seeing that Li Qian’Er was back, they all swarmed around her happily.

"Qian’Er is back with money!"

"We’ll have food to eat!"

Li Qian’Er asked with a wide smile.

"So, what did Dean Grandma teach you today?"

"Today we learned about the map of Huaxia, the fifty-six ethnic groups, and patriotism."

"And did you learn it well?"

"We did!"

There were close to thirty children here, most of them only six or seven years old.

Besides the old dean, Li Qian’Er was the only other one looking after them.

Jiang Fan was secretly astounded.

Li Qian’Er had somehow shouldered the burden of supporting the entire orphanage all by herself.

This was something he had never, ever expected.

"Qian’Er, who’s this big brother?"

"I read in a book that when girls grow up, they get a husband."

"Is this big brother your husband?"

Li Qian’Er tapped him lightly on the head. "You shouldn’t be reading just any old book."

Little Fatty winced, not knowing what he had said wrong.

But seeing the stern look on Li Qian’Er’s face, he didn’t dare to ask.

Jiang Fan, however, didn’t mind at all. This group of children filled him with an inexplicable warmth.

"Qian, is he a friend of yours?" the Dean Grandma asked with a benevolent expression.

At the mention of Jiang Fan, Li Qian’Er suddenly beamed. "Dean Grandma, he’s my boyfriend."

"He said he’s going to donate to our orphanage."

’What? Boyfriend?’

’Just a second ago, it was husband, and now it’s boyfriend?’

However, Jiang Fan didn’t refute her. That wasn’t his main concern right now.

Jiang Fan looked at the kind old woman before him. More than a decade ago, back when he was still an infant here, the Dean Grandma hadn’t looked so weathered.

Now, this woman in her twilight years was gaunt and frail, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"So, you’re Qian’s boyfriend. Come in, come in and sit down."

The Dean Grandma dismissed the children, telling them to go and play on their own.

The three of them went into a classroom.

The so-called classroom was also a dormitory, cluttered with all kinds of old furniture and supplies.

A discarded door panel served as a blackboard on the front wall.

At the back of the classroom was a large, makeshift bed constructed from a pile of old bricks and wooden planks.

Outside the door, a plastic bucket was catching water dripping down from the mountain.

Jiang Fan couldn’t believe it. ’Is this really the same orphanage I grew up in?’

The location had changed, the surroundings were different, and the people had become so weathered by time.

The old dean said gently, "Our conditions here are poor. I hope you don’t mind."

Jiang Fan was very calm. "It’s fine."

"I grew up in an orphanage too."

After he spoke, Jiang Fan’s gaze fell upon the Dean Grandma.

He spoke. "Dean Grandma, do you remember me? Jiang Fan."

"The Jiang Fan who used to love reading."

"The only one in the whole orphanage who got into a university. That Jiang Fan."

A flicker of light entered the Dean Grandma’s eyes as Jiang Fan spoke.

Li Qian’Er, who was standing to the side, was overcome with excitement. "You’re saying you’re Jiang Fan?"

"Really? Are you really Jiang Fan?"

"And you are...?" Jiang Fan clearly couldn’t remember her.

Li Qian’Er looked a little disappointed, then said, "I’m Li Qian’Er, the one who’s five years younger than you."

"When you were twelve, I was seven. That was the year my parents abandoned me, and you were the one who brought me back here."

Jiang Fan felt his whole world shift. ’What kind of divine luck is this? It’s really someone I know.’

He felt a surge of excitement as well.

"You’re that Snot Girl who was always crying."

"Who are you calling Snot Girl? I’m all grown up now, and I’m a beautiful woman," Li Qian’Er huffed.

Seeing Jiang Fan, the Dean Grandma began to weep with joy, as if she were seeing one of her own children all grown up. "You’ve grown up."

It seemed as if all her feelings were condensed into that one simple phrase.

Jiang Fan gently embraced the old woman.

He hoped to give her some measure of warmth.

For decades, this old woman had raised one generation of orphans after another.

She had truly devoted her entire life to this cause, sparing no effort until her dying day.

’She’s had such a hard life.’

But just then, the old woman’s body began to tremble violently, convulsing all over. One withered hand clutched tightly at her chest, and her already gaunt face grew dark and ashen.

"Oh no, Grandma is having a heart attack!"

"The Life-saving Pills! Where are the Life-saving Pills?!" Li Qian’Er was clearly frantic.