Hong Xue said, "It didn’t go all the way, Auntie. I’m still... a little bit clean."
’What does she mean, "all the way?"’
Bai Xi covered Ye Yunyun’s ears and said, "I’m so sorry. It was my oversight for not stopping this completely. I don’t think you’re dirty. This isn’t your fault. They’re the ones whose hearts are filthy."
Hong Xue laughed. "Everyone says that, but they’re all disgusted by me."
The words had barely left her mouth when she found herself in a warm embrace, a bewildered little child tucked into her arms.
"I won’t," Bai Xi said. "If you really don’t believe me, just tell me who it was. I’ll have someone beat them up tonight."
Hong Xue lowered her head. "You wouldn’t believe me."
Bai Xi began to run through the list of people Hong Xue might have encountered.
"I’m going back to the orphanage. That’s where I belong," Hong Xue said.
An idea flashed through Bai Xi’s mind. "Was it the director? Right?"
"...No," Hong Xue mumbled.
"The caregivers, then?"
Hong Xue shook her head.
’A predator?’
"Then it was all of them," Bai Xi declared. "A whole nest of scum."
’How did Mom figure that out?!’
Ye Yunyun’s eyes went wide.
Hong Xue stared at her in astonishment, her mouth opening and closing. She looked like she’d been caught red-handed.
Actually, it wasn’t hard to guess. Given what Ye Yunyun had previously surmised about Hong Xue’s background, it meant her living situation had a hidden meaning.
Bai Xi took out her phone, searched for the Bai Group, and showed it to her. "Do you know what an orphanage means to us? It’s nothing more than an ant. Even if it has countless other powers backing it, the Bai Family has absolute strength over them."
All the tension drained from Hong Xue’s body. "R-Really?"
Wu Chen said, "It’s probably true, Hong Xue. Don’t forget, before we came here, someone told us that we’d be living with the Bai family and having one-on-one lessons with tutors they hired. You never have to go back to that hellhole again."
"But..." Hong Xue’s long eyelashes fluttered nervously. ’How can she be sure the Bai family are good people?’
Fang Meiqing quietly emerged from the kitchen. "I was about to drop out of school to work and pay for my mom’s medical bills, but Bai Jiao helped me."
"And look at Xiao Yunduo. She might seem a little out of it, but look how well she’s being raised. How could someone who loves Bao Bao so much be a bad person?"
Hong Xue finally confessed, "At night, the orphanage would light up a whole hallway with red lanterns, and those people would come in... They’d joke that our place was a red-light district. The children are all broken now, just trying to get by day to day."
’I remember now! Hong Xue once told the female lead that when the extreme cold apocalypse arrived, all her playmates froze to death. The ground was covered in bodies. She only survived because, in a moment of extreme desperation, she killed the man who was on top of her.’
’The scalding blood saved her life.’
"I’ll report this to the government and have them assign a new director. But that’s for tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to have someone beat them all up," Bai Xi seriously promised Hong Xue.
"I’ll have the thugs wear cameras so you can watch it with your own eyes."
Hong Xue said, "That sounds like a fairy tale."
"It’s not a fairy tale. It’s a reality that’s about to happen," Bai Xi said with a smile.
’Normally, she wouldn’t dare do this. But with the apocalypse just around the corner, no one would be investigating them anytime soon. Might as well let the kid have some fun.’
Once Hong Xue had calmed down, Ye Yunyun was about to fall asleep.
"Is there something wrong with the little baby?" she asked softly.
Bai Xi said, "She rarely shows any expression, and she doesn’t talk."
Hong Xue asked, "Does she react if you tickle her?"
She explained, "Some of the kids at the orphanage had problems, so we would tickle them."
Bai Xi beckoned to her. "You can try."
Hong Xue lifted a corner of the small blanket and tickled her little foot.
Still groggy, Ye Yunyun immediately pulled in her arms and legs.
’Mmm...’
After a moment, she relaxed them again.
Hong Xue tickled her again.
The little one curled up into a ball again.
Wu Chen said in a low voice, "Bao Bao is sleeping. Maybe we should wait until she wakes up."
Hong Xue immediately nodded. She was also afraid of hurting someone else’s precious baby.
She knew from her time at the orphanage that children with parents were different from them.
Bai Xi shrugged. "Alright, then I’ll do it myself."
She tickled her rapidly, again and again, until once, the child only pulled back one foot.
’Haha, what’s Mom doing?’
Bai Xi used both hands and started tickling in earnest.
"Hehehehe-honk." Ye Yunyun started laughing, her voice a little hoarse from disuse. Her eyes curved into crescents, revealing sweet dimples.
’This is so fun! Mom’s playing a game with me!’
Bai Xi picked up Ye Yunyun. "Does Bao Bao like it?"
’It’s so weird. It’s ticklish and uncomfortable, but I like it!’
From everyone else’s perspective, Ye Yunyun didn’t say a word, but she started planting fierce kisses all over Bai Xi’s face, covering her mom in drool.
That night, a group of people carrying sacks and rolling pins entered the orphanage.
They had planned to hack the surveillance system, but it turned out the orphanage didn’t even turn the cameras on at night.
The masked thugs deftly split up, entered the rooms one by one, and quickly threw the sacks over their targets. Then, they started beating them!
Some of the more energetic children even helped, grabbing chairs to join in the smashing. Thanks to the thugs’ merciful hearts, they told the kids not to aim for the head, leaving the scumbags a sliver of life.
Even though many were seriously injured, the matter couldn’t be made public. They could only go home quietly for treatment and, while they were at it, put pressure on the director.
The court’s verdict arrived faster than the director’s explanation.
By the time Ye Yunyun had fully recovered from her illness, the outside temperature had already dropped below zero.
The villa had been renovated, and the Bai family moved back in.
Fang Meiqing took time off to be with her mother, while the owner of the wonton shop that Wu Chen cared about was invited to the Bai family’s home.
Although wontons and dumplings sold very well in the cold weather, the Bai family needed a cook (?), and the owner could also check on how Wu Chen was living there. So, she swiftly hung up a "Closed" sign and rushed over to the Bai family’s home.
Most importantly, the salary offered by the Bai family was even more than what she earned during her peak season, ahem.
There were few pedestrians on the streets, aside from office workers.
The Bai Family had negotiated with the higher-ups. Although they couldn’t reveal everything directly, their euphemistic expressions were enough for the authorities to keenly sense the undercurrents surging beneath the cooling temperatures. Work and school began to be suspended in various regions.
However, to ensure the operation of basic infrastructure, some people still had to work. In the southern regions, faced with sudden ice on the roads, many people riding electric scooters slipped and fell.
At a time like this, Ye Jun finally remembered his wife.
[Xiao Xi, the nanny said it’s inconvenient to go out, so she’s not coming to work. When are you and Yunyun coming home?]
Bai Xi asked Ye Yunyun, "Does Bao Bao want to live with Daddy?"
Ye Yunyun quickly shook her head.
After Hong Xue and Wu Chen came to the villa, Hong Xue, with her many mischievous ideas, had managed to draw Ye Yunyun out and make her much more lively.
’If Mom goes to see them, she’ll just end up being a free nanny for that scumbag dad and his mistress!’