Chapter 25 - 1#

Finishing his morning work, Yan Heqing asked the store manager for the afternoon off.

The rain had stopped, but Yan Heqing still habitually brought his umbrella.

Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institute was a half-hour walk from the nearest subway station. Coming out of the station, the road surface was still wet with accumulated water. The first few streets were okay, but after turning into a small road, the road conditions became worse.

The road was half-dug up, covered in yellow mud and dirty water. The shops along the road were all very dilapidated; most had closed down, and only a few small shops were still open.

One of them was a convenience store.

Yan Heqing pushed the door open and went in. The owner, who was also the cashier, was watching a drama. The sound of a woman crying came from the computer. The owner was watching so intently that she didn’t even react when a customer came in.

Yan Heqing took the largest shopping basket and walked to the shelves. He didn’t look at the brands and started taking items from the first row.

Bread, biscuits, wafers, chocolate… and fresh yogurt.

Yan Heqing remembered clearly that Lin Fengzhi used to especially like strawberry yogurt. It was sweet and sour, with tiny bits of strawberry pulp. Every time, Lin Fengzhi would lick the container clean, then look at him eagerly, “Brother, I want more!”

Every time, he would save his own portion for Lin Fengzhi.

Yan Heqing took many boxes of yogurt in various flavors, including those with large fruit chunks, and also two cases of pure milk.

When he carried the items to checkout, the owner was stunned.

This street used to be quite prosperous, but it had declined over the last ten years or so. There was basically no business; she only sold to the neighbors. The reason she kept this small shop open was entirely because she owned the storefront and didn’t have to pay rent. Since she couldn’t rent it out anyway, she opened a shop herself, earning just enough for grocery money each day.

This was a big order she hadn’t seen in a long time!

The owner beamed with joy and even rounded down a few yuan for Yan Heqing.

“Welcome back next time!”

Yan Heqing walked out of the convenience store carrying two large plastic bags in his left hand and two cases of milk in his right.

Continuing along the road for about two hundred meters, the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institute was at the end.

It used to be a welfare institute of considerable scale, with a large entrance, but now there was only an old man in the guard booth.

Yan Heqing wanted to register, but the old man didn’t even lift his head, looking down at the stove he was warming himself by. “Go straight in.”

Yan Heqing entered the welfare institute. It had just rained, and the playground was very quiet; no one was running around outside.

However, even if the weather were sunny, there wouldn’t really be anyone running around outside.

Orphans who came to the welfare institute, as long as they were healthy and able-bodied, would soon be adopted. The majority left behind were children with physical disabilities or mental issues.

There were very few staff members at the welfare institute. One person had to take care of a large group of children. Just taking care of their three meals a day was headache enough; they rarely let them out to the playground for activities.

And although it was called a playground, it was just a bare, relatively large concrete area. There were no slides or other amusement facilities that children liked, nor was there any exercise equipment.

It was exactly the same as in Yan Heqing’s memory.

Yan Heqing walked under some eaves where the ground was clean. He put down the snacks and milk and called his contact. “Hello, I’ve arrived at the welfare institute.”

“Walk straight in from the main gate. When you see a light blue five-story building, come to the second office on the second floor.”

Yan Heqing picked up his things again and walked for a few more minutes until he saw the light blue building.

It was very quiet all the way up. The door to the second office on the second floor was open, and a man in his early forties was sitting in front of a computer.

Yan Heqing stopped at the door and spoke politely, “Hello, I am Yan Heqing.”

The man looked up and caught a glimpse of the things Yan Heqing was carrying. He nodded his chin towards the tea table. “Put the things there, come over and talk.”

Yan Heqing put the things down and walked to the side of the desk, where there was a chair prepared for visitors. Yan Heqing pulled it out and sat down.

During the short walk Yan Heqing took into the room, the man had been sizing him up, sighing silently in his heart.

This boy was even more delicate and beautiful than in his ID photo. With such fine skin and tender flesh, could he handle the hard work of the welfare institute?

In the past few years, there had been an endless stream of college students applying to be volunteers. Some were for course credits, some for the novelty, and some truly wanted to do charity work.

But without exception, after coming a few times, they could no longer be contacted.

The man understood.

The children remaining in the welfare institute were different from normal children. Being simply deaf-mute was already the best-case scenario. Most were unable to take care of themselves, had Down syndrome with low intelligence, cerebral palsy, and some children would hit people, throw things, and scream or curse all night long.

Even for old employees like them, it was purely to clock in hours; otherwise, they really couldn’t stay. It was torture for both body and mind.

The man had already judged that Yan Heqing wouldn’t come many times, but he still went through the process, typing on the keyboard while asking, “Your resume says you are a student at Jing University. Are you coming once, or for the long term?”

“Long term.”

The man thought he heard wrong. He stopped typing and turned his head to look at Yan Heqing. “Long term?”

Yan Heqing nodded calmly. “Yes, long term.”

The man looked at Yan Heqing with a strange expression for a good while. A moment later, he turned off the computer and stood up. “How about this, I’ll take you for a tour first. You answer me after you’ve seen it.”

The man helped carry a bag of snacks and a case of pure milk, leading Yan Heqing to the third floor. “Our accommodation here is divided into three floors, allocated according to different conditions.”

“The higher up you go, the less ideal the children’s condition is. For example, epilepsy, or children with very severe mental illnesses. There are especially more girls; most are congenital, but a small portion are acquired.”

“These children have usually been abused and then abandoned. They have severe psychological shadows, so they are very guarded and repulsive towards us. Two days ago, a child scratched our art teacher until she bled…”

As he introduced the place, they arrived at the 3rd floor. From this floor on, an iron gate was added at the stairwell. This floor wasn’t locked, and faint sounds of laughter and playing could be heard.

The man walked familiarly towards the first room. “The children on this floor are relatively easy to handle. Some are timid; if you take the initiative, they are easy too.”

Pushing open the door, there were about thirty children inside. The proportion of girls was relatively high. Seeing Yan Heqing, they all looked over curiously. When they saw the snacks he was carrying, their eyes burst with longing light.

They rarely saw snacks. Occasionally, when groups or caring individuals donated, it would take months for their turn.

A few bold ones had already rushed over, shouting enthusiastically at Yan Heqing.

“Welcome, brother!”

“Hello, brother!”

…

Most were very timid, hiding in the back and peeking at Yan Heqing.

“Come, come, come, this brother brought you bread and milk…” The man put the things on the table and called out to the active children, “Stand in a row, line up to receive them.”

Yan Heqing took the initiative to distribute them to the introverted children.

The man observed silently. Seeing Yan Heqing communicating very calmly and skillfully with the introverted children, he was somewhat surprised. He didn’t expect this young man to be truly patient. The man saw this and began to hope that after the tour, Yan Heqing would still stay to be a long-term volunteer. The welfare institute really lacked volunteers, and the children also lacked fresh teachers.

After distributing the things, Yan Heqing told a few stories to the children, and everyone listened very attentively.

Time passed little by little, and the man decided to take Yan Heqing to the fourth floor for a look.

Going up to the fourth floor, the iron gate was already locked. The man made a phone call, and a woman with graying hair came to open the door. She was wearing an apron stained with large patches of paint. She glanced at Yan Heqing and said, “What is it? Teacher Xu is having a class.”

The man didn’t go in. “A new volunteer, take him around.”

The woman smiled. “That’s rare. It’s been a long time since a volunteer came.”

Yan Heqing nodded politely. “Hello, my name is Yan Heqing.”

The woman returned a smile. “Just call me Auntie Zhang.”

The man handed the remaining snacks and milk to Yan Heqing. “You look around on the 4th floor with Sister Zhang. When you’re done, come find me on the 2nd floor.”

The man went downstairs first. Yan Heqing stepped through the iron gate, and Auntie Zhang locked the door again, walking in front to introduce the place. “The children are in art class right now. You can go in and distribute things after class.”

“Okay,” Yan Heqing replied.

Unlike the liveliness of the 3rd floor, the 4th floor was very quiet. In a particularly large classroom, there were about twenty easels. About ten children were quietly painting inside. At the very front of the classroom stood a tall and thin woman in her early forties. She wore a smock, held a palette, and was teaching a little girl how to color.

“That’s the school’s Teacher Xu, she teaches art.” Standing at the door, Auntie Zhang shook her head slightly. “Now she’s the only teacher left in the welfare institute. Rain or shine for over ten years, and she doesn’t even want a salary.”

Through the glass, Yan Heqing quietly gazed at the woman.

Xu Qiaoyin, Lu Muchi’s biological mother.

Half an hour passed, and class finally ended. Rumble, the sky began to thunder again at this time. Auntie Zhang knocked gently on the door. “Teacher Xu, a volunteer is here to give milk to the children.”

Hearing there was a stranger, Xu Qiaoyin immediately lowered her head and quickly packed up her painting tools. Auntie Zhang was used to it; she beckoned Yan Heqing. “Come in with me.”

Yan Heqing entered the classroom.

Compared to the 3rd floor, the children on the 4th floor were even quieter because most of them were deaf-mute children.

Yan Heqing went along the easels, distributing bread and milk one by one. When he reached the last girl, Yan Heqing handed the things to her. She took them but didn’t eat, carefully putting them into her pocket.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Yan Heqing gestured.

The girl stared at Yan Heqing’s lips, then nervously used sign language.

“You… want, to bring…” Yan Heqing identified carefully, “To your… good friend?”

The girl’s eyes were bright and crystal clear. This time she nodded vigorously.