Chapter 57: All Alone

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: All Alone

"There’s no need, really. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, nothing at all."

"You don’t have to take it so to heart. The most important thing is for you to live your own life well."

"Sometimes, a girl has to be a little kinder to herself. What other people say is just their opinion—it isn’t who you really are."

"You should just be yourself."

"Be your own flower—bloom for yourself, and be the one to enjoy your fragrance."

Learning the girl’s story, Jiang Fan felt a pang of sympathy for her.

But this was all he could do. After all, in this society, wasn’t everyone just trying to get by, struggling to survive?

"Okay, I’ll take that to heart. But please, you have to give me a chance to thank you. Otherwise, I won’t be able to rest easy."

Seeing how insistent the young woman was, Jiang Fan had no choice but to nod helplessly.

"Alright then, I’ll call you tomorrow evening."

"Okay."

After the two nodded their goodbyes, Rong Anyao left the store.

Jiang Fan found a seat and sat down, a weary look on his face.

’This is really not a man’s job.’

At the same time, his mind raced, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with the store.

But to his surprise, not a single customer came in from the time Rong Anyao left until the end of the day.

Even though there was a lot of foot traffic just outside the door.

But not a single person came in. Even having two employees stand at the entrance to beckon people in had no effect.

In fact, it could be said that it actually made things worse.

"Alright, it’s closing time. You can clock out."

Jiang Fan waved at the two of them.

It was already 5 PM. Xuerong Group and all its subsidiary stores closed at 5:00 PM, a remarkably considerate policy.

The two saleswomen looked as if they’d been granted amnesty. The moment Jiang Fan was gone, they grabbed their things and dashed home as if running a hundred-meter sprint.

Jiang Fan didn’t leave right away. Instead, he took a long walk around the entire sixth floor of the mall.

He noticed that other stores had even fewer styles than Xuerong, yet they weren’t short on customers.

After making a full circuit, he had a rough idea of the problem.

Then, he drove straight to the Grand Orphanage. Yin Ruxue had already messaged him to say she had picked up Mengmeng and was already home.

That was why Jiang Fan didn’t head straight home.

As he walked into the orphanage, Jiang Fan noticed that there were many new recreational facilities for the children. Some of the little ones were even holding cartons of milk and drinking.

Some of the children were also wearing new clothes, no longer the tattered rags they had before.

"Jiang Fan, what are you doing here?"

Li Qian’Er’s voice sounded from behind him.

"Snot Girl, where have you been?"

"I’ve told you not to call me Snot Girl!"

The joy Li Qian’Er felt at seeing Jiang Fan instantly vanished, replaced by a roll of her eyes.

"But you are Snot Girl. Am I not allowed to call you that anymore?"

"Where’s Grandma?"

"Is she feeling any better?"

"Much better. She’s been talking about you a lot these past two days."

"It’s just that you haven’t come by."

"Come on, take me to see her."

Li Qian’Er nodded, and Jiang Fan followed her to the dormitories at the very back of the orphanage.

Wisps of cooking smoke curled up from inside. Grandma was cooking for the children.

"Grandma, why are you working? I told you to get more rest! I can handle all of this."

Li Qian’Er was immediately exasperated.

"Grandma’s just fine. See? I’m alright now. Besides, you have your own things to attend to."

"The children still need to eat, don’t they?"

"We have money now. We can hire a cook to help out."

"That would be much more manageable, and you wouldn’t have to work so hard."

"Look who’s here."

Li Qian’Er secretly wiped away a tear, then pulled Grandma aside and tugged Jiang Fan forward.

"Oh, Fan. You gave us so much money all at once. The children can’t possibly use it all. You should take some of it back."

"Grandma, I can earn my own money now. You’re the one who struggled to raise me."

"Now that I have the means, it’s only natural that I help support the orphanage."

Jiang Fan’s voice was gentle. He understood what Grandma meant. She had always been like this—always thinking of others, never of herself.

"This... *Sigh*."

Grandma’s eyes welled with tears, her thoughts seemingly drifting elsewhere, and she let out a deep sigh.

Over the years, if not a hundred, then at least eighty or ninety children had left the orphanage.

But Jiang Fan was the only one who had ever offered such significant help, the only one who had even come back more than once.

It was a disheartening thought.

"Also, Grandma, let me check on your health."

Jiang Fan took Grandma’s pulse, then said, "Have Snot Girl find a new place for the entire orphanage to move to. You really can’t stay here anymore. It’s too unsafe."

"I’ve already taken care of the money issue."

’A few million might seem like a lot, but to cover the daily expenses of dozens of children—to make sure they have books to read and clothes to wear for several, even ten or more years—it was merely a drop in the bucket. It wasn’t nearly enough.’

’Especially with the way prices were skyrocketing these days.’

"That’s impossible. Where would we find a place big enough for all of us to move to? And even if we did, we couldn’t possibly afford it."

Grandma quickly shook her head, refusing.

"Besides, it’s not easy for you to earn money. Back then, you were only this big when I carried you back from the snow."

As she spoke, Grandma held out her hands, showing a length of about a foot.

"I only ever wanted you to grow up safe and sound. I never expected you to become so successful. It makes me happier than I can say, but the orphanage can’t become a burden to you."

Jiang Fan’s thoughts were suddenly pulled back to over twenty years ago.

Back then, although the orphanage was poor, they managed to get by with help from all sorts of people.

Plus, Grandma was younger then and could work to help support the orphanage.

So while Jiang Fan’s childhood was difficult, he never really felt wronged or neglected.

Not only was he the youngest child there, but the older boys and girls all took great care of him, and Grandma treated him as if he were her own son.

"Grandma, I know that if you hadn’t rescued me from the snow all those years ago, I wouldn’t be here today. And this isn’t a burden."

"Even if you won’t think of me, you have to think about all these children in the orphanage. They’re still so young. They need to go to school, they need to eat, they need to live."

"We can’t hold them back, can we?"

Jiang Fan knew Grandma’s personality all too well, and his words hit her right where she was most vulnerable.

It left her speechless. If there was one thing in her life she could never set aside, it was the children of the orphanage.

"Snot Girl, come here."