“Sir?” Klaus glanced back, but there was nothing that required his master’s special attention.
Li Shu casually withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go.”
That child should be the protagonist of this world. As for what the director said, Li Shu just let it pass. He knew that the young male protagonist had a difficult time at the orphanage. The director didn’t like the child and believed he brought misfortune to the orphanage. It was understandable that she’d say some slanderous words.
Klaus handled the miscellaneous matters. Li Shu looked out the window where a sycamore tree stood, planted when the orphanage was established. Despite the orphanage being old, the tree remained lush, silently watching the children come and go.
[When the host saw the male protagonist just now, why didn’t he just take him away? ?] 1314 was puzzled. He didn’t want the host to be overly polite to the director.
Li Shu rubbed the cup in his hand. [There’s no rush.]
[Host, do you know? This director is too much,] 1314 rambled on, [Ever since the male protagonist arrived at Hong’an, things have been getting worse every year. The director blames all the troubles on the male protagonist, calling him a disaster. The male protagonist’s leg became like that because she didn’t take him for treatment in time. Why doesn’t she think about it? It’s because the male protagonist listened to her that he got hurt.]
After learning about the male protagonist’s childhood experiences, 1314 had been indignant all along. In its view, the male protagonist hadn’t done anything wrong. His transformation into what he became was inseparable from his experiences in his youth.
If it weren’t for the director’s years of consistent emotional abuse, the male protagonist wouldn’t have developed such a gloomy personality at a young age, had no friends at the orphanage, and also wouldn’t have become so paranoid and distrusting of anyone after being taken in by the original owner. When he learned that the original owner’s intentions in adopting him were impure, he easily believed it without seeking any confirmation and it became the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
After discussing with the director, Klaus stated the purpose of their visit, “Our sir is here to take a child who catches his eye.”
Klaus deliberately emphasized the three words “catches his eye”.
Thinking she understood the big boss’s request, the director took out a stack of files from a drawer. “I know what you mean, sir. Here are the profiles of the children I specially selected. Please have a look.”
Klaus took them and handed them to Li Shu. Li Shu flipped through them casually. It couldn’t be denied that the director had put in effort. The children in these files were all outstanding in appearance, but none of them were what Li Shu wanted.
His brows were slightly furrowed, and Klaus knew this was a sign of dissatisfaction from his master. Lowering his voice, he asked the director, “What about the other children?”
‘These were already the best children in their orphanage. Didn’t Mr. Li find any of them suitable?’ The director twitched her lips and tried her best to keep the smile on her face: “Don’t you like any of these children?”
‘Although I really wanted this gentleman to take away a child, he didn’t even look at the group with the best conditions, and the chances for others were even slimmer.’ Suppressing her disappointment, the director took out the files of the other children. “The profiles of the other children are all here.”
Li Shu exchanged the stack of papers he held with the ones Klaus handed him. It was evident that this batch of children wasn’t as outstanding as the previous ones. Whether in appearance or physical condition, they had some defects.
It was understandable. How many families were willing to abandon normal children? There were a few reasons for abandonment: being born with disabilities or serious illnesses, discord between parents, or falling into delinquency…
In the stack of files Li Shu was reading through, besides the male protagonist, there were several other children with disabilities. He focused on the files, not sparing any attention to others.
The director sat nervously in front of her desk, watching anxiously. Li Shu and Klaus remained silent, and she didn’t want to disturb them.
Some people were like that, just sitting with their heads bowed, even if the surroundings were simple, no one could bear to disturb them.
As time passed, the man who had maintained his position without moving lifted his head. He pulled out a piece of paper from the stack of files and placed it lightly on the desk. His tone was indifferent. “This child will do.”
The director glanced at the person standing behind the man and bravely stepped over. When she saw the content of the paper on the table, her heart skipped a beat. The distinguished gentleman didn’t choose anyone else, but the child she had asserted would never be adopted, the one she had bullied for over a decade.
She immediately wanted Li Shu to reconsider. But as soon as she raised her head, she met Li Shu’s cold, dark eyes that seemed to see through everything. She swallowed the words she was about to say and kept them to herself.
“Sir wants to take this child. Shall I go and call him?” When she asked this, the director’s tone was cautious, containing a hint of hope. Only if she personally went to find the child would there be a chance to turn things around.
“Klaus,” Li Shu called out.
“What are your orders, sir?”
Afraid that Li Shu would ask someone else to call the child, the director hurriedly spoke first, “Gentlemen, please wait a moment. I’ll go and fetch the child.”
This time, Li Shu didn’t give her a hard time. He simply murmured, “Fine,” and nodded. “I’ll trouble the director.”
“It’s no trouble, it’s no trouble.” The director immediately stepped out, as if there was a flood or a ferocious beast chasing her from behind.
“Sir?” Klaus didn’t understand why Li Shu had called him just now.
Li Shu slightly raised the corners of his lips. “It’s nothing, just to give her a scare.”
Klaus didn’t know when his master developed such an interest, but seeing his slightly curved lips, he felt relieved. His master didn’t seem as concerned about his condition as before, which was a good thing.
The laboratory had said that maintaining a good mindset was crucial for his condition not to deteriorate suddenly. Klaus knew that the sudden changes had put a lot of pressure on his master’s mind. This kind of thing wasn’t easy to bring up, and it was best if his master could figure it out on his own. After all, what mattered more than one’s own body?
“Klaus, do you think this child can bring miracles?”
“Definitely.” Klaus answered without hesitation.
Li Shu smiled, a very faint smile, fleeting like a shooting star. Klaus noticed it. This smile was different from Mr. Li’s usual polite and distant smile. It was as if he had encountered something genuinely joyful, and couldn’t help but smile from the heart. Master Li was already handsome, but this kind of Master Li was even more difficult to look away from.
In the front yard.
Only when the man’s figure completely disappeared from sight did the boy retract his gaze, but he couldn’t help but wonder in his heart: was that person here to adopt someone too? But he looked so young, was he already married?
For some reason, just thinking about this possibility felt like there were thousands of hooks in his heart, each one piercing deeper and drawing blood.
“Hey,” someone nudged the boy, “I mean, even if you don’t have hope of being adopted, you shouldn’t be late. We all had to wait for you. Can you live with yourself?”
All thoughts froze. The boy’s mind was filled with the phrase “no hope of being adopted.” He chuckled self-deprecatingly. Hadn’t he long accepted such a result? What was there to be disappointed about? What did it matter how that man was? They were destined to be from two different worlds. Apart from this quick glimpse, they would never intersect again.
But, deep down, he still felt unwilling.
The boy clenched his fists tightly, a small flame dancing in his eyes. For the first time, he had a target he wanted to get close to.
“What are you daydreaming about? Don’t you hear me talking to you?” The person beside him pushed the boy impatiently. Seeing no response from the boy, he shrugged, lost interest, and turned to discuss with others.
They all saw today’s visitors from afar. They were so majestic and looked like big shots. If they could be adopted by such a family…
The children chattered among themselves in their own little circles.
“Yue Yue is so beautiful, maybe she’ll be adopted by that handsome uncle this time.”
“I heard such families like smart children. I think Xiao Fan has a better chance. Xiao Fan is the smartest child in our orphanage.”
“It’s impossible for me. I’m not smart and I’m not good-looking…”
“Don’t belittle yourself. You’re good. You have a good personality. All of us and Mom Director like you.”
“The least likely to be adopted is Xiao Liu. I heard he had a chance to be adopted before. The family had already decided, but later Xiao Liu did something, and that family adopted another brother,” the child lowered his voice as he spoke, “I heard that family is well-off. Mom Director said the brother who was adopted is enjoying himself.”
The other children suddenly showed envious expressions.
Only the boy remained expressionless. He remembered this incident; for a long time, he thought he had done something wrong, which led the family to give up on him and choose another child. Later, he found out that the family didn’t want him not because he did anything wrong, but because of what the director said.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly. He still remembered the shock and confusion in his heart when he accidentally overheard the director boasting about these things in a bragging tone.
The children’s discussion continued, like relentless mosquitoes buzzing into the boy’s mind, becoming more and more unbearable to listen to. He looked ahead to where the man had left, feeling lost. Why was he feeling sad now? When families came to adopt before, he never felt anything. He thought he didn’t care, but it turned out not to be the case.
No, what he wanted wasn’t just a family, but to become a family with that man, the man he had only briefly encountered.
The sun was scorching outside. After standing in the sun for a while, the children couldn’t bear it and ran to the shade of the trees. Several staff members had already hidden in the shade. When the director came over, only the boy stood alone under the sun, like a lone wolf cub.
Most of the children in the orphanage were precocious. When the director came over at this time, everyone more or less guessed something. They looked on expectantly, hoping to hear their names from the director.
“Xiao Liu,” the director called out, walking towards the boy with a complicated expression on her face. She couldn’t believe that the gentleman would choose Xiao Liu. “Come with me, the gentleman wants to see you.”
The boy suddenly raised his head, disbelief written all over his face. “That gentleman wants to see me?!”
“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”
The boy followed the director with a dazed look on his face.
“Why did the director take Xiao Liu away?” After the director and the boy disappeared around the corner, someone couldn’t help but ask.
The children who were laughing and joking just now had very pale faces now, especially the one who had spoken ill of the boy. He dared to say such things because he thought Xiao Liu wouldn’t be adopted. Now…
If Xiao Liu was really adopted, he thought of the things he had done before, and his face gradually turned white.
On this side, the director also felt uneasy. She knew she hadn’t treated the boy well, but she dared to do so because the boy was in her hands and she couldn’t resist. This didn’t mean the boy didn’t hold grudges for those things. The world of children is the most innocent and cruel. If the boy was just a pushover who allowed others to bully him, he wouldn’t have been excluded from the small group like he was now.
The road from the front yard to the director’s office wasn’t far. The director deliberately slowed down and reminded the boy of some things.
“You’re going to a new family soon, and you won’t be back here in the future. Behave in your new family, don’t be as gloomy as you are now, spend more time with your new family, and don’t mention the orphanage too much, understand…”
The boy didn’t listen to a single word the director said. He walked on the ground, but it felt like he was floating, light and weightless, unable to land. Was he really this lucky?
The director’s office wasn’t far away and they arrived quickly. The director gave the obviously distracted boy a push. “Go in.”
“Mr. Li, I’ve brought him.”
The director treated Li Shu with utmost respect. The boy had never seen the director so respectful to anyone. There had been families with good backgrounds who came to adopt before, and the director’s attitude was good back then, but it was different from now. However… the boy sneaked a glance at the man by the window. If it was this person, no amount of respect would be exaggerated.
“Sit.” Li Shu walked back from the window to where he was sitting before, gesturing for the boy to sit across from him.
The boy adjusted his clothes nervously and sat opposite Li Shu. He looked at the man across from him and felt ashamed for the first time in his life.
The man had an exceptionally outstanding appearance. He was even more handsome than the celebrities he had seen on TV before. He was the most good looking person he had ever seen.
Li Shu looked at the boy sitting obediently in the chair and got straight to the point: “Are you willing to come with me?”
