Pampered and Kept by a Gloomy Younger Lover - Chapter 8.1

The Bean Class at the orphanage started even later than Qin Zhuyu’s school term.

Attending class was truly too painful. Ever since Qin Zhuyu discovered she didn’t actually hate Wen Zhao, she stopped dragging her along to suffer through lessons.

Thus, Wen Zhao accepted Yu Xin’s offer.

After spending the first weekend following the start of the term with Qin Zhuyu, Wen Zhao returned to the orphanage on Monday.

Most of the children at the orphanage were abandoned, many due to hereditary diseases or physical disabilities. Such children were rarely chosen for adoption.

Beyond the lack of adopters, once they reached school age, they found it difficult to adapt to ordinary classrooms. The director had finally made the decision to group children of similar ages into “small classes” and hire teachers to come to the orphanage to teach. This added a massive expense, tightening the institution’s already strained budget.

When Wen Zhao arrived, lunchtime had just ended. Today’s meal consisted of braised chicken legs, seaweed and soybean soup, and stir-fried bamboo shoots with ham.

“The food is quite good,” Wen Zhao teased, stepping up behind Yu Xin.

Yu Xin set down her tray. “A pity you arrived late, otherwise you could have had some too.” She was smiling as she joked, but Wen Zhao could tell she was troubled.

Unsure if she should pry, Wen Zhao simply asked, “It’s the first day of class; are you adjusting well?”

“I’m doing okay, but these kids… sigh, they are actually quite well-behaved.” She changed her tone halfway through. Wen Zhao’s eyes widened. “I’ve already signed the contract.”

Yu Xin slapped her forehead. “Oh, I forgot. When they’re in class, they are incredibly noisy. But noise isn’t the issue—the issue is the chaos! I couldn’t manage them to begin with, and now I’m at my wit’s end.”

Following her melancholy gaze, Wen Zhao saw a group of little “beans” chatting excitedly. They were indeed noisy. Feeling the USB drive in her pocket, Wen Zhao felt a bit apprehensive.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Yu Xin gave a wicked grin. “Hehe, it’s a good thing you reminded me you signed the contract. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare complain to you. This morning’s class was total pandemonium; I was nearly fuming with rage.”

Wen Zhao: “…I wish I hadn’t said anything.”

Fortunately, she was familiar with these children, otherwise she might have started to back out. “Just to be clear, I don’t have a teaching certificate.”

Yu Xin gave her a strange look. “You think I do? I was forced into this too. No ‘proper’ teacher is willing to come to an orphanage to teach these kids. We’ve been recruiting since last autumn, and as of last weekend, we only managed to hire eight people. Total number of certified teachers: zero.”

She spoke with such tragic gravity that Wen Zhao felt moved. When a few children chased each other toward them, Yu Xin immediately hid her melancholy. She didn’t want the children to see the hardships of adulthood.

A corner of Wen Zhao’s clothes was grabbed, used as a prop for two children playing hide-and-seek. Before they could finish, a childish female voice barked at them, “Don’t bully Sister Wen Zhao!”

The two children made faces at the little girl and ran off.

Wen Zhao bent down and picked up the girl who had spoken for her. “Little Mushroom was so brave just now.”

“He-hehe, it was nothing.” The pale-skinned girl’s skin flushed easily whenever she was emotional, just as it did now.

Wen Zhao pinched her soft cheek. “Come on, it should be nap time. I’ll carry you over.”

Behind them, Yu Xin wanted to call out to Wen Zhao but decided against it. Usually, when they cared for these children, they avoided overly intimate contact, such as hugging. They couldn’t give every child equal affection, so they maintained an equal sense of detachment.

But that child was Little Mushroom. Yu Xin thought about it and let it go.

The children in the Bean Class were the age of middle-school preschoolers. Teaching them required not a wealth of knowledge, but the ability to control the room.

The PowerPoint Wen Zhao had labored over was a huge hit with the kids. Everyone scrambled to participate in the little games she had meticulously prepared. Yu Xin watched from outside the door, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and mock resentment.

Who exactly is their primary caregiver here?!

Yu Xin was practically fuming with envy, noticing that Little Mushroom and a few other children were actually helping to maintain order.

Regardless, Wen Zhao’s first class was a solid success. Afterward, however, Yu Xin kept looking at her strangely. Not only that, Yu Xin kept tugging on Wen Zhao’s sleeve, acting more like a child than Little Mushroom.

Wen Zhao was surprised. “Xinxin, why do you keep holding my sleeve?”

“Did you rub yourself with catnip?” Yu Xin said petulantly.

It took a moment for Wen Zhao’s brain to process what she had said. Realizing the implication, Wen Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “They aren’t a pack of kittens.”

“True. When they swarm around you, they’re like a bunch of puppies. Maybe you secretly rubbed yourself with ‘dognip.’ No—are you wearing canned-food-scented perfume?”

Wen Zhao: “…”

She almost reached out to feel Yu Xin’s forehead to see if she had a fever. They hadn’t seen each other for half a month; had her language centers completely broken down?

After enduring it for a long time, Wen Zhao finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask: “Has something happened at the orphanage lately, or are you facing some trouble? I feel like you aren’t very happy today.”

Mindful of privacy, Wen Zhao leaned in close to ask. Consequently, Yu Xin couldn’t help but smell the fragrance on her. It wasn’t “canned food” perfume. It didn’t even smell like perfume.

It was a light, elegant scent that could only be detected when one was close to Wen Zhao or when she leaned in. The gentle aroma was like a cloud—perhaps not as dazzling as the sun, moon, or stars, but once close, who could resist sinking into a soft cloud?

Yu Xin opened her mouth. She had known Wen Zhao for a long time. She had never asked her age, but she instinctively felt Wen Zhao was an elder close to her in age. Like a mother whose embrace was forever warm and soft.

Wavering between treating Wen Zhao as an outsider and confiding in her, Yu Xin painfully chose the latter. “Let’s talk in my office. I don’t want the kids to hear.”

“Where are you right now?”

A voice came through the Bluetooth headset. Zheng Miaoning bit her lip and stared ahead. “In the car.”

“You’re driving yourself?” Zheng Lihui’s voice was already laced with anger.

Zheng Miaoning heard it but pretended not to notice. “Yes.”

“Nonsense!” Zheng Lihui slammed the table in rage. “Don’t you know your injuries haven’t healed yet? How can you be driving yourself at a time like this?”

“Alright, alright,” Xu Hexuan immediately snatched the phone to stop Zheng Lihui’s scolding. She then asked warmly, “Sweetie, where do you want to go? Let the driver take you. Your father and I are truly worried about you driving with your injuries.”

No, it shouldn’t be like this.

Zheng Miaoning’s brow furrowed deeper as she stopped responding to her parents altogether. In most of her past memories, at a time like this, Xu Hexuan would have been even angrier, scolding her and threatening to cancel her credit cards, throw her away, or kick her out of the house.

After enduring it for over ten years—enduring it until she had finally grown accustomed to such parents—they had changed overnight. This was more terrifying to Zheng Miaoning than before.

Faced with parents who were unrecognizable beneath their skin, Zheng Miaoning dared not do anything except put on a performance that would satisfy them. She had never felt a shred of filial affection. It was too strange, truly too bizarre.

Zheng Miaoning had asked the doctor to exaggerate her injuries; they weren’t actually that severe. The horse she had been riding that day was her companion; if Zheng Miaoning hadn’t signaled it herself, it would have been impossible for her to fall.

Whether it was the intentional fall or the exaggerated injuries, Zheng Miaoning had only wanted Wen Zhao to come see her. After lying in the hospital for a week and being kept under guard at home for nearly two weeks, she still hadn’t seen Wen Zhao.

She couldn’t wait any longer. Her intuition told her that if this continued, she would lose Wen Zhao forever. She had to see her, right now.

Zheng Miaoning had learned of the places Wen Zhao liked and frequented over the past two years, and she knew Wen Zhao was volunteering at the orphanage today. Dodging the household servants, she drove off in a car and headed straight for the orphanage.

Normally, visiting the orphanage required an appointment. But “logic” bowed to the Zheng family name. This orphanage was one of the Zheng family’s charitable investment projects, receiving regular annual donations. Zheng Miaoning entered the facility with ease.

After finding out where Wen Zhao was, she didn’t linger for a second. Before even getting close, she saw through a window that Wen Zhao was listening to a young woman speak. The woman had a troubled expression and occasionally shook Wen Zhao’s shoulders; Wen Zhao showed no sign of impatience, listening intently.

Zheng Miaoning burned with jealousy.

She approached quietly and listened outside the door for a moment. Her expression relaxed, and she boldly pushed open the office door. As expected, it drew the attention of the people inside.

Yu Xin was startled, followed quickly by annoyance. “You—why didn’t you knock!” She wondered how much this person had heard. The director didn’t want too many people to know about the orphanage’s management struggles.

Zheng Miaoning leaned against the doorframe, rolled up her sleeve to reveal the medical gauze wrapped around her wrist, and gave Yu Xin a look. “By way of apology, let me make a donation.”

That single sentence sounded like music to Yu Xin’s ears. Her anger vanished, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.

Zheng Miaoning took a stack of checks and a pen from her bag, signed the top one, tore it off, and held it out. Yu Xin lunged forward to grab it.