The orphanage was nothing like Li Chuntao had pictured. When Mu Jianyu"s car stopped in front of the orphanage, she was surprised by what she"d seen. She was expecting to see a stereotypical orphanage that could usually be seen and read in books and tv dramas. The main building of the orphanage was nothing but a tall structure, reminding Li Chuntao of the schools she and Ying used to attend when they were young.
From afar, her ears picked up sounds of children"s laughter. She then followed Mu Jianyu through the entrance while looking around.
There was a large courtyard in the middle with gra.s.sy areas at the front. The steps in front of the dual wooden front doors were made with irregular stones a.s.sembled to fit together. Once inside, Li Chuntao saw a reception area and a wide hallway where children came running excitedly upon hearing Lady Li"s arrival.
"Sister Ying!" A five-year-old girl ran towards her and wrapped her small arms around Li Chuntao"s thigh. Li Chuntao glanced down in shock only to see the girl sniffing, trying to suppress her sobs as she looked up at her with misty eyes.
A young woman who seemed to be in-charge of looking out for the children came running next to the child.
"Su Mei, you get back in here!" She called the young girl but she was ignored. When she saw Li Chuntao, her eyes slightly widened in recognition before bowing her head slightly in a greeting. "Lady Li"
"Sister Ying, are you still hurt? Auntie Chu said you"re sick and have forgotten Su Mei." The girl continued to sob pitifully, refusing to release Li Chuntao"s leg.
She glanced at Mu Jianyu"s way for help but the man couldn"t do anything to save her. Li Chuntao then felt an urge to smack his head for being useless. She should"ve agreed with Shen Zichen when he offered her his company last night.
"Ah, yes. I"m afraid, I"m still not well. Are you Su Mei?" Li Chuntao had no choice but to gently coerce the child to release her. She had no plans of walking around with a kid stuck on her leg like a koala.
The girl nodded her head and her lips quivered in response. Slowly, she released Li Chuntao"s leg and rubbed her eyes with her small fists.
"Sister Ying really forgot about Su Mei?" She asked again.
Li Chuntao knelt down beside the girl and pulled out a hanky to wipe her tears.
"I"m sorry, I have forgotten everyone, but would little Su Mei help me remember the things that I might have forgotten?"
The girl instantly stopped crying and pulled Li Chuntao"s hand to follow her towards the back of the building. Li Chuntao looked back and saw Mu Jianyu waving his hand to her, telling her to go with the flow and he would just be inside for a talk with the orphanage staff.
Stepping outside with the little girl, what Li Chuntao saw was a large yard, divided into several areas for basketball, soccer, and a dedicated playground for the younger children.
"Guys! Sister Ying is here!"
At Su Mei"s shrill voice the other children at the yard stopped what they were doing and turned to look in Li Chuntao and Su Mei"s direction. The children"s faces broke into a smile when they recognized Li Chuntao as their "Sister Ying".
"Sister Ying!"
They abruptly abandoned their respective activities and beamed at her excitedly. It was as if these children had seen their favorite person in the whole world. A dozen children came running towards them, flocking around her excitedly as they tried to engulf her in a group hug.
"Sister Ying, are you feeling better now?" A boy asked her but Li Chuntao wasn"t able to answer any of them as she was being overwhelmed with questions from the other kids. Choruses of "Sister Ying" being uttered at once by the children was making it hard for Li Chuntao to talk.
"Ah, Ying. My dear sister! Where did you get enough patience to deal with these kids!" Li Chuntao felt helpless right then. For someone who was never fond of children, she was facing a real challenge on how to deal with them.
It was easy for Ying to get along with children as she was also hoping to have a child of her own with her husband for years. Unfortunately, her hope was smashed to smithereens by Mu Jianyu himself.
"Sister Ying, we"ve been missing you! That bad driver should be blamed for this! He shouldn"t be driving a broken truck around, now look, he hurt our Sister Ying!" A boy exclaimed and the other children agreed with him.
For them, Li Xiuying was the elder sister who looked after them with love and affection. Of course in their eyes, she didn"t deserve to get hurt or suffer in pain because of someone"s mistake.
Li Chuntao noticed that these children varied in ages. Some of them were under ten years old and some were already in their early teens.
She suddenly felt bad that she had to deceive these children that she was Ying. It wasn"t surprising that these children loved her twin sister. Hou Chen had filled her in on what Ying had been doing for these children these past years and Chuntao couldn"t help but be proud of her twin"s efforts.
"Oh, dear. I"m sorry for being away for too long. I couldn"t even remember what your names are," Li Chuntao said dejectedly. The children were saddened by her words. In a failed attempt to improve their mood, Li Chuntao had no choice but to act as her twin sister.
"But I do hope everyone has been doing well while I was away. Can you tell me what you"ve been doing while I"m not around?"
As if on cue, one by one, the children lifted their hand to get her attention, hoping she would notice them. Li Chuntao patiently listened to them while noticing how these children seemed to be well behaved.
They were also clean and looked well fed. The orphanage and her twin sister had done a great job housing and looking after these children.
For the next two hours, Li Chuntao spent time with the children, memorizing their names and their brief introduction one by one. She was also surprised at how easy these children trusted her to keep their secrets and worries.
Apparently, her twin sister had taken it to herself to listen to these children"s fear and worries. Knowing this, Li Chuntao wasn"t surprised by Ying"s initiative to help. Some of them were already in their early teenage years and it would be hard to get picked by prospective parents looking for a child to adopt.
A younger child had also complained to her about almost being chosen as being adopted a week ago but the parents found out about her medical history and withdrew their decision.
"Oh, darling. I"m so sorry you had to experience something like that, but shouldn"t we look at the bright side? We want to find parents who would fully accept and love for who you are without reservations." Li Chuntao tried to console the child.
It was silly to think that some people rejected this lovely child only because they were afraid that his previous illness will resurface in the future.
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