The True Heiress And The Fake Heiress Ended Up Together - Chapter 75

“Big sister, did you two also leave the orphanage?”

The children, with their adorable faces, asked a surprisingly interesting question.

If it were anyone else, they might retort, “Excuse me, are you being polite?”

Jian Ying’an felt not a ripple of emotion inside, but instead, an urge to say, “No, I walked out of an orphan grievance.”

They were just a group of children, speaking innocently, and they wouldn’t think too much about it.

These two An’ans looked so young; they certainly weren’t here to adopt them. The only people who would visit them were the older “An’an brothers” who had grown up and left the orphanage.

They felt perfectly justified in their assumption!

The Director’s forehead broke out in cold sweat: “They are just children, simple in thought…”

This was being live-streamed, and many viewers could see it; it was footage that couldn’t be edited out.

To avoid affecting future adopters’ opinions of the children, the Director tried to smooth things over. He quickly ushered the two women inside the orphanage, trying to follow the planned routine and showcase the good aspects.

The older children were sensible and talked about their daily lives.

The orphanage had many facilities, which looked quite similar to a kindergarten.

There were slides, mats, and colorful crayon drawings.

The Director, worried the children couldn’t handle the situation, followed behind them.

After they toured the first floor, the children stopped.

Jian Ying’an: “Aren’t we going to look upstairs?”

The few children lowered their heads: “Upstairs is where we sleep.”

The first floor was warm and inviting everywhere.

Yet, they wouldn’t take Jian Ying’an and Qin Mianmian upstairs, where their accommodation was.

The Director invited them to play with the children, making it seem like today’s filming was as simple as spending time with them.

Jian Ying’an asked Qin Mianmian: “Do you want to go upstairs to see?”

Qin Mianmian was happy to play with the children, but she was also curious about what was upstairs.

The more the Director tried to hide it, the more curious she became.

Jian Ying’an: “It might not be so pleasant upstairs.”

In her previous life, she had considered the idea that being abandoned in an orphanage might be better than her situation, and she had looked into orphanages.

The upstairs was likely where illusions were shattered.

Regarding orphanages, her early idea was that conditions were tough and life was difficult.

In reality, with increasing support from kind people, the children at least had basic living security.

What truly shatters illusions is the reason why children are abandoned.

The few innocent-speaking children came closer again: “There are many friends upstairs. Their bodies aren’t well, so they can’t come down to play. Will An’an go up to visit them?”

Jian Ying’an remained silent. She knew what was upstairs, and it was up to Qin Mianmian whether she wanted to go.

Qin Mianmian was stunned. She looked up at the stairs, which were deserted and very quiet.

There was definitely something wrong upstairs.

Qin Mianmian: “An’an, should we go up and take a look?”

Jian Ying’an: “…An’an?”

Qin Mianmian: “An’an!”

Jian Ying’an hadn’t heard a “Big sister” and felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

Qin Mianmian: “Just now, I called you An’an!”

Jian Ying’an: “…Alright.”

She paused, then softly.

“Alright.” Let’s go up and see.

The older children disagreed with them going up: “The Director said we can’t take guests upstairs.”

The younger children: “But Huahua and the others are all upstairs.”

Both sides were at a standstill.

Qin Mianmian: “I’ll go talk to the Director.”

The Director was preparing the children’s lunch. He was cooking a large pot of porridge, and several aunties were preparing other food, mostly vegetables.

Seeing the two of them approach, with the camera crew behind them, the Director smiled and greeted them.

Director: “No need to help here. You can look around.”

When the Director learned that Qin Mianmian wanted to go upstairs, his expression was awkward: “There’s nothing good to see upstairs…”

Qin Mianmian insisted on going up.

Finally, the Director looked at the camera crew behind her and agreed.

They walked up the stairs. Before reaching the second-floor rooms, Qin Mianmian quietly asked, “An’an, what do you think they are hiding? Could the sanitation be poor?”

Jian Ying’an frowned. She preferred Mianmian calling her “Big sister.”

It sounded soft and sweet, right to the heart.

Jian Ying’an: “Hygiene is one aspect, and the other is that the children are all different.”

Soon, Qin Mianmian realized what “all different” meant.

For instance, if parents had an accident, there might still be relatives to care for the child.

So, in what circumstances would parents actively abandon their children?

A defect.

Qin Mianmian realized what was wrong. The orphanage was large, several stories high, but fewer than ten children had come out to greet them. She had thought it was because there were few children…

It was because only these few children didn’t have a defect.

The rooms upstairs housed children with various defects, such as intellectual disabilities or incomplete limbs.

They could only stay upstairs, as it was inconvenient for them to go anywhere else.

Children with intellectual deficiencies drooled while staring blankly at a corner. A child with paralyzed legs saw someone coming up, tried hard to stand up, and then sat back down silently, flipping through a children’s storybook.

The Director explained: “These children will never be adopted, which is why I didn’t want you to come up.”

If they only saw healthy children, the likelihood of those children being adopted would increase.

Adopters who saw so many unhealthy children upstairs might regret coming here.

Their first reaction upon seeing this was often fear.

Most people who want to adopt are kind-hearted, but faced with this situation, they feel powerless.

Would they adopt a child born with a disability? Even biological parents abandon their own, let alone strangers who have not yet formed a bond.

Selecting only healthy children for adoption also seems strange.

Children are not goods; they are human beings.

They look forward to being accepted into a new family and try their best to behave well, hoping for a better life.

Adopters seeing this scene often hesitate and say they will come again next time—the Director has encountered these many times.

It’s better to simply let the healthy children come downstairs, at least giving them a glimmer of hope.

The scene was shocking and gave a chilling feeling.

People gravitate towards the beautiful side and avoid these parts because it’s too painful to see and plunges them into a depressing mood.

Qin Mianmian watched for a while.

She picked up a plush toy and walked over, wanting to play with the children.

The child who had tried hard to stand up brightened when he saw Qin Mianmian approaching, but then understood something, sat back silently, and held a storybook.

Qin Mianmian tried to communicate with him, but he was unresponsive.

Qin Mianmian then looked at the child making strange noises, and communication was even more difficult.

Qin Mianmian was close to tears.

The Director spoke: “It’s time for lunch.”

He called Qin Mianmian out.

Qin Mianmian stood beside Jian Ying’an, holding back her tears, not letting herself cry.

She tried to use laughter to ease the emotion.

Qin Mianmian was both crying and laughing: “It’s a good thing you weren’t abandoned.”

During lunchtime, they realized why a large pot of porridge was cooked—it made feeding easier.

Some children resisted eating or tried to grab the food with their hands. The aunties would hold their hands down and feed them spoon by spoon.

This work was tiring over the long term, yet they couldn’t bear to give up, so they could only persist.

The Director: “I know you are live-streaming. I don’t know how many people are watching, or how much this will change the orphanage in the future, but I hope, at least, don’t give up on the healthy children.”

“We will take care of the rest.”

Qin Mianmian pursed her lips: “And me, I will take care of them too.”

She had always been taken care of by Jian Ying’an, but now, she also needed to care for others.

After saying this, Qin Mianmian took the bowl from an auntie and started feeding the children. The auntie, in turn, went to attend to other children.

There were only a few caregivers in the orphanage.

But there were so many abandoned children.

Jian Ying’an stayed with Qin Mianmian.

You see, some parents are so strange—they discard their children after they are born or if they are unhealthy.

Even strangers possess a sense of kindness, yet the biological parents are unwilling to persevere.

Can you say there is no affection between them?

Who can say for sure?

The audience in the live-stream was greatly shocked.

“This… are their parents like this in the world?”

“Why bring them into the world if you won’t take care of them!”

“The Director is a good person. I need to donate. Donating is all I can do…”

“I always knew about An’an’s background, but I didn’t think about all this. An’an is so strong.”

“I hope they can all find adoptive parents!”

Jian Ying’an lowered her eyes, wondering if she was thinking of these children, or the Qin couple, or both.

She couldn’t help but look at Qin Mianmian.

She thought that sunlight would always reach every corner, and she wished that these children, too, could have a bright future.

Jian Ying’an reached out to her sunlight: “Let me do it.”