After getting out of the car, Jiang Chengye walked straight into the welfare institute.
“Sir, who are you looking for?” The elderly security guard at the entrance frowned as he asked.
It was clear the young man before him wasn’t an ordinary person.
Just from the car parked nearby, even if the old man didn’t recognize the brand, it was obvious the car was expensive.
“Uncle Chen, I’m here to see Director Li,” Jiang Chengye said with a smile.
The old man’s surname was Chen, and everyone called him Uncle Chen. Jiang Chengye had been here many times before, so naturally he knew him.
But clearly, this Uncle Chen didn’t recognize him anymore.
If the Villain System suddenly jumped out again now and told him it had added some extra features to Uncle Chen as well, Jiang Chengye might just kill himself on the spot. That would be too much of a joke!
Uncle Chen frowned and searched his memory for a long while, but he was sure he didn’t recognize the handsome young man before him. How could he know his surname?
Seeing his confusion, Jiang Chengye quickly said, “I just called Director Li earlier. He said I could just let Uncle Chen at the entrance know.”
Only then did Uncle Chen’s furrowed brows ease, and he smiled cheerfully. “Then go on in.”
Jiang Chengye smiled as he entered Sunshine Welfare Institute.
The children inside looked at Jiang Chengye with nervous eyes. These children were very sensitive. They rarely interacted with outsiders, and when a stranger came, it often meant that one of them would be leaving—adopted.
Although the teachers had told them that being adopted meant having parents and no longer being alone, in their hearts, the welfare institute had already become their home. The teachers were their family, and the other children were their siblings—a big family.
“Sir, who are you looking for?” Liu Xiuli, who had been playing with the children, quickly stood up and asked with a smile.
She thought Jiang Chengye had come to adopt a child, which would be a good thing for the children and would also ease some of their burden.
Liu Xiuli was the only teacher at Sunshine Welfare Institute. The director was Li Chunlan. Together, they were the only two adults running this institute, taking care of more than twenty children.
Although the Dragon Nation government did support these welfare institutes, underfunding was inevitable. The funds received were barely enough to keep the children alive.
Jiang Chengye had originally passed by this place by chance during a plotline. He heard the joyful laughter of children inside. After finishing the mission, he came back here.
He couldn’t help but think of his own past on Blue Star.
Back on Blue Star, if not for the welfare institute taking him in, he would have died long ago.
The situation there was no different from here. These small welfare institutes relied on government aid and donations from kind-hearted people to survive. For children growing up in welfare institutes, education was a luxury. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
So when he became an adult, Jiang Chengye went straight to work at a construction site and became a skilled laborer.
Looking back, if he had been able to study, perhaps his life would have taken a completely different path. He wouldn’t have been at the construction site—maybe he’d be a corporate employee in a small company instead.
“I’m here to see Director Li,” Jiang Chengye said to Liu Xiuli with a smile.
Looking at the group of children around six or seven years old, Jiang Chengye knew each of their names. Back then, he had even told them stories, and when he was beaten up by Ye Chen and came here, these little brats had even vowed to avenge him.
“Brother Chengye, why did the little rabbit lose to the little turtle…”
“The little tadpoles found the wrong mom…”
“Brother Chengye, you were beaten up? Who dared to bully Brother Chengye…”
…
But now that everything had restarted, everything had returned to the beginning.
He was the only one who remembered everything. That feeling truly made his heart ache.
But it was different now. This world was real. There was no redo.
So the lock on Jiang Chengye’s heart had naturally opened. He came here to make up for the regrets of the past.
When Liu Xiuli heard that he was looking for Director Li, her smile grew even more radiant. In situations like this, it usually meant adoption or donation. Either way, it was good news for the children.
“What do you want with Director Li?” A small child with a skinny frame but a straight posture looked at him warily.
Jiang Chengye glanced at the child, a sense of nostalgia rising in his heart. The first time he had come, this kid had asked him the exact same question.
The child’s name was Wang Hu, but everyone called him Huzi.
He was the oldest among the children, already ten years old this year. When Jiang Chengye had been beaten up by Ye Chen during a plotline, this kid had shouted the loudest about getting revenge for him.
“I’m here to adopt a child. I think you’re a good choice,” Jiang Chengye said with a smile.
Huzi was the one most unwilling to be adopted. He felt that if he left, who would protect his younger brothers and sisters?
As soon as Jiang Chengye said this, Huzi’s little face instantly looked like a bitter melon. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stubbornly said, “I don’t want you to adopt me. I still have to protect my little brothers and sisters!” This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.
“You brat, do you plan to stay in the welfare institute your whole life?” Liu Xiuli scolded him.
She knew Huzi’s temperament. He had been abandoned at the gate of the welfare institute as a baby and had lived here ever since. She and Li Chunlan had raised him like their own child.
But Huzi couldn’t stay in the welfare institute forever. If someone wanted to adopt him, that would be the best choice.
“I do want to stay here forever. Mama Liu, I don’t want to leave you and Mama Li,” Wang Hu said as he threw himself into Liu Xiuli’s arms, crying.
The other children saw this and also began to cry one after another.
Jiang Chengye suddenly felt a little awkward. With just one sentence, he had made all of them cry.
Liu Xiuli’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she gave Jiang Chengye an apologetic glance.
“Alright, alright, I was just teasing you,” Jiang Chengye said with a helpless laugh. Then he coughed and asked seriously, “Do you want to go to school?”
When Liu Xiuli heard him say he was joking, she thought he was upset with the children’s reaction and was about to explain, but then she heard his question and tears immediately fell from her eyes.
The issue of the children’s schooling had always been a painful spot for her and Li Chunlan.
Every time she saw the kids watching other children coming home from school with envious eyes, it broke her heart.
The children who had been crying in her arms also stopped and looked at Jiang Chengye with hope in their eyes.
“We want to go to school,” they all said in unison.
The corners of Jiang Chengye’s lips curved slightly. “If you want to go to school, then no more crying. Be good and listen to Mama Liu. From now on, I’ll sponsor your schooling!”
“Yay! We can go to school!”
“I can wear a backpack too!”
“School! School! School…”
Watching the children cheer and jump for joy, Jiang Chengye couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow in his heart.
Whether on Blue Star or in this world, this kind of problem always existed.
What was within his easy reach was a luxury for others.
What you took for granted might be the dream others chase for a lifetime.