Sun Heng called her name with such natural ease, as if she had always addressed her that way. Shen Moran froze on the spot.
Sun Heng touched the tip of her nose with a smile and asked, “Do you mind that I call you that, or should I continue calling you Miss Shen?”
Shen Moran looked away, feeling uncomfortable. Although she felt it was slightly presumptuous, it was just a name; her colleagues often called her that. Sun Heng using her first name did not seem particularly strange, and after meeting so many times, calling her Miss Shen would have felt too formal.
“I do not mind,” Shen Moran said calmly. “I will call you Sun Heng as well.”
“Great.” Sun Heng was thrilled. She quickly opened the door and said, “You came at the right time. Su Nian took a tumble earlier and is crying in the infirmary. I cannot seem to coax her out of it, so please come and take a look.”
Hearing that her younger sister was hurt, Shen Moran followed Sun Heng upstairs without delay.
In the infirmary, Shen Moran found Su Nian sobbing in a chair. The girl was busy complaining to Sang Nian, who had never seen such a delicate girl cry over a minor scrape. Sang Nian was blowing on the wound, trying to soothe the pain.
“Phew,” Sang Nian blew on Su Nian’s palm, looking at her with wide, dark eyes, and asked in a low voice, “Does it still hurt a lot?”
Su Nian’s eyes darted around, and she let out a soft moan. It was unclear whether she was truly in pain or just acting.
Shen Moran’s expression remained calm, but her eyes betrayed her impatience. Sun Heng leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed, watching the drama unfold.
“Su Nian.”
As soon as Shen Moran spoke, Su Nian trembled. She turned her head and looked at Shen Moran in surprise, forgetting the pain in her hand. She stood up instantly, looking pale. “Sister? Why are you here?”
She saw Sun Heng leaning against the door frame, then looked back at Shen Moran. Understanding dawned on her, and she said angrily, “Did you call Sun Heng? Otherwise, how would you know I am here?”
Talk about a thief crying stop thief.
Shen Moran frowned as she looked at her sister, who was covered in dirt. She had instructed Su Nian to dress warmly before she left, yet here she was, wearing a short skirt and frolicking around Sun Heng. What was she thinking at such a young age?
Who would even look at those skinny arms and legs?
“What happened?” Shen Moran stared at Su Nian’s hand. “Did you not say you were going to the bookstore with classmates? How did you end up here? What is wrong with your hand? Is it broken? If it is, I need to tell Mom so she can find you the best orthopedist, and maybe have them check your brain while they are at it.”
Shen Moran scolded Su Nian with biting sarcasm. Su Nian whined in grievance and threw herself into her sister’s arms, crying while holding up her injured hands.
Shen Moran might have been scolding her, but she still felt protective. She could not resist the girl’s tears and held her, scolding and comforting her at the same time.
Sun Heng watched from the side, feeling a pang of jealousy. She wished she could be the one held in Shen Moran’s arms.
“Alright, alright.” Sun Heng stepped in to break up the sisters, explaining to Shen Moran, “Su Nian was playing in the flower field. She was teasing a gosling and got chased by the adult geese, then tripped. It is nothing serious; she will be fine by tomorrow.”
Su Nian looked up at Shen Moran. “That is right, Sister. It is just a skin abrasion.”
Shen Moran sighed. “Do not be so reckless next time. You go around provoking cats and dogs, and now geese. If you are that bored, I will sign you up for some tutoring classes.”
Terrified, Su Nian jumped out of her sister’s arms, hid behind Sun Heng, grabbed her clothes, and shouted, “I do not want to go to tutoring!”
Shen Moran was angry, but seeing Sun Heng’s bright eyes, she did not want to stay. Remembering she had a client to meet in the afternoon, she said, “Hurry up and come home with me. I have things to do this afternoon.”
Su Nian did not want to leave. She liked this place with its flowers, water, geese, and the company of Sang Nian and Sun Heng. She did not want to go back to the city to take classes.
“I am not going back. If you want to leave, go by yourself,” Su Nian said while hiding behind Sun Heng.
Shen Moran was furious and felt like hitting the child, but since they were in public, she kept her temper in check and said gently, “Come here, do not force me to drag you.”
Su Nian hid even deeper.
Sun Heng, surprised by Shen Moran’s ability to speak so fiercely in such a gentle tone, chuckled. She received a glare from Shen Moran and coughed to explain, “It is already noon. You should eat before you leave, or else it will take over an hour on the road back.”
Shen Moran frowned. “No need. We can just buy something to eat on the way.”
Sun Heng disagreed. She stepped forward, stood in front of Shen Moran, and smiled. “Since you are already here, you cannot just leave like this. Let us eat first, and then you can take Su Nian back. It will not interfere with your afternoon plans.”
Shen Moran was about to refuse when Su Nian popped her head out. “The cafeteria? Do you have a cafeteria here?”
“We do.” Sun Heng smiled and turned to Su Nian. “There are other children here, and we all eat in the cafeteria.”
Su Nian asked, “Is the food in the cafeteria good?”
Sun Heng gave a thumbs up. “It is delicious.”
Su Nian’s eyes lit up. She looked at Shen Moran, and Sun Heng looked at her as well. The combined gaze of the two left Shen Moran feeling exhausted, and she had no choice but to agree.
The orphanage’s cafeteria was small, just the size of a standard classroom. The prepared food was brought over in carts and served to the children waiting in line. Some caregivers and staff took their meals back, as many children could not come to the cafeteria and ate in their dorms.
Su Nian stood behind Sang Nian, holding an aluminum tray. She was surprised to hear that this was an orphanage. A place so beautiful was an orphanage?
She watched the children queuing up quietly. They were well-behaved, not noisy, and sat down to eat after getting their food without shouting. It was very orderly.
Teacher Chen was also serving food and nodded when she saw Sun Heng.
“Teacher Chen.” Sun Heng introduced her. “This is Shen Moran, my friend and Su Nian’s sister.”
Shen Moran nodded. “Hello, Teacher Chen.”
Teacher Chen smiled and served Su Nian a generous portion. “Our food is not as good as what you find outside. Please do not mind.”
“Not at all,” Shen Moran said with a smile. “It smells delicious.”
After getting their food, the four sat down. Lunch was simple: tomato and eggs, stir-fried yam, soybeans with pork, and a bowl of soup with a chicken leg each.
The food was simple but tasty. Su Nian praised it while eating, her eyes shining as she claimed it was better than restaurant food.
Sun Heng said proudly, “It took me a long time to find this chef. The children here have already suffered enough, so they deserve to eat well. Everything the children use in this orphanage is the best, especially their meals. The vegetables and meat are all fresh.”
Shen Moran kept her head down and ate. She realized that Sun Heng loved to show off and constantly bragged about her contributions. Although the food was indeed good, Shen Moran did not like women who boasted about everything. She remained silent throughout the lunch, eating slowly. Sun Heng eventually stopped talking when she realized Shen Moran was uninterested, and she saw them out after the meal.
“Be careful on the road.” Sun Heng stood by Shen Moran’s car, bending down to speak to them. “Send me a message when you get home.”
“Okay!” Su Nian waved at her. “Sister Sun Heng, we are going back now!”
“Go on, go on.” Sun Heng waved back, adding with a meaningful look, “Come back and play when you have time.”
Shen Moran cast a brief glance at her, then turned the car around and drove away.
Sun Heng stood at the end of the road, watching them leave. Shen Moran glanced in the rearview mirror for a long time before looking away. Once they were past the bumpy road and onto the paved one, Shen Moran let out a sigh of relief.
They had finally made it through.
She would never come back here again. She was too lazy to scold Su Nian for now; she would punish her when they got home.
Su Nian was playing on her phone when she suddenly said, “Sister, your hair tie fell at the orphanage. Sister Sun Heng asked if you still want it, and said she would bring it to you another day.”
Shen Moran thought of her hair tie. It was not valuable, and there was no need for Sun Heng to make a special trip to return it. Besides, Shen Moran did not want to see her again, fearing she might tempt her sister. She said, “Forget it. Tell her to throw it away.”
Su Nian replied with an “Oh” and went back to tapping on her phone.
Shen Moran glanced at her and frowned. “Are you chatting with Sun Heng every day now?”
“Not really, just occasionally,” Su Nian said without looking up. “I took a lot of photos with Sang Nian in the flower field today, and Sister Sun Heng said she would find someone to edit them and send them to me later.”
Shen Moran was displeased. She recalled the look in Sun Heng’s eyes before they left and the motive that led Su Nian to lie just to go out with her. Su Nian was young and could not distinguish character, but Shen Moran could tell Sun Heng was up to no good. Her sister was a naive and bright girl; if she were led astray by that woman, it would be a true loss of both heart and body.
With that thought, Shen Moran said coldly, “I told you not to associate with her. Why do you never listen to me? She is not a good person.”
“That is not true.” Su Nian smiled, holding her phone. “Sister Sun Heng is super kind. She was so worried when I got hurt and comforted me when I cried in pain.” She looked up at her sister, puzzled. “Sister, why do you not like Sister Sun Heng? She is so nice; I am sure you could be friends.”
“Friends?” Shen Moran sneered. “Only you are blind enough to treat her as a friend.”
Su Nian muttered unhappily, “You are so mean. I am not talking to you anymore.”
Shen Moran glanced at her, thinking that she had to find something for Su Nian to do so she would not spend all her time with a hoodlum of a woman. It was too dangerous.
Meanwhile.
Sun Heng played with the golden-orange lemon hair tie, twirling it around her index finger. She saw the crying cat emoji Su Nian sent, informing her that Shen Moran did not want the tie and told her to throw it away. For some reason, Sun Heng was in a great mood.
“Throw it away? Why throw it away? What a waste.” Sun Heng held the hair tie up to the sunlight. It sparkled brightly, just like the beautiful eyes Shen Moran had occasionally cast in her direction.
She curved her lips into a smile. “Then it belongs to me now.”