Lin Chu could no longer muster up the energy to be angry. As she read Lu Weining"s message, she only felt speechless.
She felt that Lu Weining was like some mental patient that was wrong in the head and was talking to herself.
She was lost in thought for a moment when another message from Lu Weining came in. "Lin Chu, I know it"s hard for you to accept all of this at once. As long as you calm down and think about it properly, you"ll realize that what I"m saying makes sense."
Lin Chu rolled her eyes; this Lu Weining was quite a speedy typist.
Afraid that she would send more messages, Lin Chu quickly blacklisted Lu Weining"s phone number.
Finally, her phone fell silent. Not at all affected by Lu Weining"s words, she calmed down and concentrated on her work.
When Yan Beicheng came by to pick her up that night, she did not mention this incident at all.
Mentioning it would only upset Yan Beicheng. The fact that she could not help with Yan Beicheng"s work much was a fact she could admit was true, so there was no need for a trivial matter like this to cause Yan Beicheng stress outside of work.
Since he had gotten off work, then there was no need to mention things that upset him anymore.
Lu Weining was nothing more than a small disturbance and she could deal with her just fine. If it does escalate to a point where she can no longer deal with it, it would not be too late to tell Yan Beicheng then too.
However, Lin Chu did not know that the old princ.i.p.al had received a letter from Supervisor Yang of the sub-district office, who had delivered the letter to her personally.
When Supervisor Yang had arrived, the old princ.i.p.al was elated and had pa.s.sionately welcomed Supervisor Yang.
However, it did not take long for the old princ.i.p.al to notice that Supervisor Yang"s expression was amiss.
Usually, when Supervisor Yang visited, she would be all smiles and would immediately ask about the children once she entered the door. However, this time around, Supervisor Yang"s expression was one of hesitance, as if she was having difficulty explaining something that was on the tip of her tongue.
She kept sneaking glances at the old princ.i.p.al only to quickly look away each time like she did not dare face her.
"Xiao Yang, come sit." The old princ.i.p.al pointed at the couch. "I"ll pour you some tea, I just boiled some water."
"There"s no need." Supervisor Yang stopped the old princ.i.p.al and continued, "You should sit down as well. I"ll be truly ashamed if I drank your tea today as well."
The fact that Supervisor Yang had said such words made the old princ.i.p.al"s heart stand still for a second and she immediately had a bad feeling.
Dispensing with the pleasantries, she immediately sat down and looked towards Supervisor Yang nervously and confusedly. "What"s happened? Is it serious?"
Supervisor Yang glanced at the old princ.i.p.al and opened her mouth, yet only a sigh came out before she retrieved a letter from her bag.
The old princ.i.p.al asked, "Is it for me?"
Supervisor Yang said nothing and merely nodded her head with a heavy expression.
The old princ.i.p.al placed her hand on the side of the couch and prepared to get up. "I"ll have to go get my reading gla.s.ses then otherwise I won"t be able to read it clearly since the words are too small."
"There"s no need for that, I"ll explain to you," said Supervisor Yang. Since they were already going to talk about it, it would no longer be too difficult for her to explain it.
The old princ.i.p.al settled back into her seat and looked at Supervisor Yang apprehensively.
Supervisor Yang felt extremely terrible as the old princ.i.p.al was already well into her years yet something like this had to happen to her. Her eyes had already begun to water and she still had not spoken yet.
"Our area around here… Isn"t there a residential area around the orphanage and that place is only filled with some old houses? The houses are old and small, yet they have extremely large yards. It would be nothing if they were located in a more deserted area, but unfortunately, they"re located in quite a good area, which makes them a waste of a lot of s.p.a.ce. The government has plans to restructure the area and build new commercial and residential buildings. These buildings will all be high-rise buildings since that means more people will be able to stay there. They"re saying that piece of land is very expensive so they can"t afford to waste even a tiny bit of land. So—"
"So the orphanage is going to be demolished as well?" asked the old princ.i.p.al, her eyes wide. She could not help the shaking that wracked her entire body, her hand and feet went cold.
Once Supervisor Yang nodded her head solemnly, the old princ.i.p.al asked with trembling lips. "If this place is going to be demolished, then what about the children? Where will they go?"
"It seems…they"ll be moving to the suburbs. There"s an orphanage there so all the children will be sent there, but as for you and the staff… I"m afraid following them isn"t an option since they have more than enough personnel there." As Supervisor Yang spoke, she could not help the heaviness in her heart. The a.d.u.l.ts were fine, but the old princ.i.p.al was well into her years, although, she could live anywhere since she had her pension.
If it were not for the children, there was truly no need for the old princ.i.p.al to even be here.
As for the other staff, they were all a.d.u.l.ts, though they were not all that young. As long as they did not have high expectations, it would not be difficult for them to find another job at this time of the year.
The children would be taking it the worst; suddenly being s.h.i.+pped off to an unfamiliar place to face unfamiliar people.
There was no way of finding out the characters of the staff that worked there or the personalities of the children that stayed there either.
Besides, bullying would happen anywhere, especially among children. Bullying between a.d.u.l.ts was usually never blatant, mostly just petty actions behind your back. Besides, a.d.u.l.ts have always been more calculative, so bullying could be rebuked or tolerated.
Be that as it may, Mo Jinxi and the rest had grown up here, since they were all children, so how would they have experienced things like that? Everyone had never had to bear any wrongdoings here, they were all as close as family.
However, n.o.body would care about them if they were wronged there. They might even have to scramble for food and clothes or they might go hungry if they were just a little late.
Moreover, Supervisor Yang had heard that the staff over at that orphanage were not as benevolent as the ones here. The old princ.i.p.al supervised things here, not to mention they had all spent more than ten years with each other, so there were definitely bonds between the staff so they treated the children kindly and sincerely. Things were different there; most of the staff treated their work as nothing more than a job so they would never give their all into treating the children properly.
If Mo Jinxi and the rest were to be s.h.i.+pped over, they would definitely suffer. Supervisor Yang"s heart was already hurting for them, so the old princ.i.p.al must be feeling the pain tenfold.
Fortunately, the children were not around today, they were all at school. The younger ones that were not of school-age yet were together with Teacher w.a.n.g, so they could not overhear the conversation here.
"If that"s the case, what"ll be of the children?" The old princ.i.p.al"s eyes were beginning to water. "This orphanage has been here for years and it has never been slated for demolis.h.i.+ng before, so why now? All to earn money, do these people not have a conscience or humanity any more? Have they ever thought about the children? They always make us go through all that trouble for our funds, so thankfully we still can rely on the support of kind people. Now they think we"re being a bother, this is too—"
Supervisor Yang could not help sighing. "But what else can we do about it? We"re nothing but common citizens, so we"ve always been unable to do anything. Other than accepting this, what else can we do? The developer in charge of the entire thing will be coming by in the afternoon to talk about the details with everyone."
As the orphanage did not count as personal property, there will be no compensation for demolition either.
"Wait." Supervisor Yang suddenly felt hope arise in her. "Isn"t Lin Chu dating some capable man now? Why not tell Lin Chu about this and see what her boyfriend can do for us?"
The old princ.i.p.al opened her mouth before closing it again. It was obvious she was troubled and could not make a decision immediately.
Lin Chu must feel tremendous pressure dating Yan Beicheng. When they were celebrating Yan Ningbai"s birthday the last time, she could tell not everyone accepted Lin Chu.
Yan Beicheng"s mother and younger sister did not accept her, and there was that Lu woman who had her greedy eyes cast on Yan Beicheng.
Although Yan Beicheng"s mother did not attend the party, it was obvious from Yan Zhiqing"s words that Yan Beicheng"s mother did not like Lin Chu and even wanted to break them apart.
Thus, the old princ.i.p.al did not want to pressure Lin Chu even more and cause her more trouble. It would make it seem like the orphanage would be extra baggage on top of her dating Yan Beicheng.
Although Yan Beicheng has never had any opinion about this, what if he did? What if, by extension, the Yan family did not like it either?
However, she could not let the children suffer just because of something like this either. The old princ.i.p.al was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
At this moment, the doorbell rang once more. The old princ.i.p.al looked through the windows in the living room to check on the gate out in the yard, only to see three women standing there. The old princ.i.p.al"s eyesight was not as sharp as it used to be, so she could only faintly tell that the middle one was slightly older than the rest.
The old princ.i.p.al was just about to stand up to answer the door when Teacher Yuan appeared to stop her. "It"s okay, I"ll get it."
She was in the kitchen just now and she had heard everything Supervisor Yang had said. In all honesty, she was worried about her own future as well. She originally thought that this would be a stable job, and despite the lower than usual pay, it was a comfortable job that was not tiring in the slightest.
Everyone was happier together, and their bonds were stronger than anything else.
At the same time, her heart hurt for the children as well. This was practically the same as kicking them out of their home and s.h.i.+pping them away to strangers.
They were all orphans with no family, so despite looking lively and cheerful, there were also times of vulnerability since none of them had a real home. Now, they suddenly could no longer stay in the place they grew up in and had no choice but to move away to a foreign place where they knew no one, far away from the life they once knew and the people that accompanied them.
Teacher Yuan could see just how lost and bewildered the children would be. She could see Tian Tian crying out of fear, could see s.h.i.+ Tou and Mo Jinxi desperately holding back their tears as they comforted Tian Tian with their watery eyes and their runny noses.
She could no longer continue picturing it or she just might cry. She did not know how to face the children later on.
Once Mo Jinxi and s.h.i.+ Tou returned from school, she did not know how to break this news to them.
With the children"s faces in her mind, her heart felt heavy. When she arrived at the entrance to the orphanage, she could see the three women that stood outside through the iron fence. The middle one was slightly older than the other two.
She shared similar features with another woman so she guessed they might be mother and daughter.
The oldest of the three had maintained herself quite well, looking nothing like someone that had such a grown-up daughter.
From the way they were dressed, it was obvious they were from a rich household. The younger woman, who shared similar features with the older woman, had an arrogant look as she constantly scanned the orphanage with a proud gaze, as if the orphanage was a slum.
She looked as if she felt everything was dirty and there was no place for her to stand or lay her gaze upon, as if her being here was an embarra.s.sment.
Teacher Yuan"s mood plummeted upon noticing the woman"s att.i.tude. She originally had a polite but enthusiastic smile on her face, but it was all but gone now; she did not even want to invite them in.
She looked towards the older woman, and although the arrogance in this woman"s face was not as p.r.o.nounced as the younger woman, there was obvious scorn in her eyes that were looking towards the orphanage.
It was as if…
As if the orphanage was a worthless object that she could deal with as she saw fit. She carried herself confidently, like she held the life and death of the orphanage in her hands.
Teacher Yuan had a bad feeling in her heart. She sized up the pair and asked cautiously, "And you three are—"
Jiang Changdai smiled conceitedly and looked at Teacher Yuan with scorn in her eyes. "We"re here to meet with the princ.i.p.al of this orphanage to discuss the details of the demolition."
It was clear now; they were Jiang Changdai and Yan Zhiqing, and Lu Weining was together with them.
Teacher Yuan felt her heart drop and her expression fell. She coldly said, "Come in."
Once her words fell, she opened the gate and brought Jiang Changdai, Yan Zhiqing, and Lu Weining into the house.
The old princ.i.p.al and Supervisor Yang looked towards the trio that had just entered the orphanage. Teacher Yuan was not around during the birthday celebration, so she could not recognize Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining, but the old princ.i.p.al could.
She was sure she had never seen Jiang Changdai before, but she could definitely recognize Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining.
However, both Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining had not spoken to her that day. One of them was Yan Beicheng"s younger sister who disliked Lin Chu and would constantly threaten her. The other was a woman that was obviously l.u.s.ting after Yan Beicheng, so she not a good person either.
With that said, it would not be difficult to guess the ident.i.ty of the middle-aged woman next to Yan Zhiqing. Add that onto the facial features that were similar to Yan Zhiqing"s, the old princ.i.p.al could roughly ascertain the woman"s ident.i.ty.
"So you"re the princ.i.p.al of this orphanage." Jiang Changdai walked towards the coffee table and looked directly at the old princ.i.p.al as she spoke with an arrogant tone.
The old princ.i.p.al did not rise from her seat while Teacher Yuan walked over before she whispered to the old princ.i.p.al, "They said they"re here to talk about the details of the demolition."
The old princ.i.p.al"s donned a solemn expression and looked towards the three women facing her before pointing towards the couch. "Take a seat."
Jiang Changdai sat down before Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining took a seat to both sides beside her.
Jiang Changdai glanced at the letter that the old princ.i.p.al was holding and smiled. "h.e.l.lo, nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself, I"m Yan Beicheng"s mother, my surname is Jiang."
The old princ.i.p.al calmly nodded her head. "Miss Jiang."
Some people were just not pleasant to be around no matter what. Even despite the fact that she had never met Jiang Changdai before, and even if she did not practice the concept of maintaining a good first impression, the old princ.i.p.al could not bring herself to like Jiang Changdai despite them meeting for the first time today.
A person"s personality could always be seen from the way they carried themselves.
The old princ.i.p.al was well into her years now, so there were plenty of things she could no longer do personally. However, she used to go to all sorts of places when she was younger to collect donations for the orphanage and the children, so she has seen all types of people and has received both pa.s.sion and apathy.
As she studied Jiang Changdai, she could see her personality clearly.
"I trust that you already know the orphanage and the huge yard beside it is to be demolished soon." Jiang Changdai sneered mockingly in the old princ.i.p.al"s calm face, no longer even bothering to put on an act.
Noticing the old princ.i.p.al pulling her lips into a displeased line, Jiang Changdai proudly straightened up and continued, "The developer in charge is a company belonging to the Jiang family. Originally, I had no plans to demolish this place, but Lin Chu insists on dating Yan Beicheng despite the fact that I disapprove of her and don"t want her as my daughter-in-law. I had spoken nicely to her but she wouldn"t listen, so I had no choice but to come looking for you."
Jiang Changdai looked towards the empty coffee table before her. Ever since they entered, this old princ.i.p.al and the teacher that had opened the door for them had made no moves to pour them some tea.
Jiang Changdai has long been accustomed to being poured tea out of courtesy every time she visited other people"s homes. The fact that she did not receive the same treatment here made her displeased.
However, she did not realize that with an att.i.tude like hers, n.o.body would willingly pour tea for her at all!
Supervisor Yang noticed that this entire situation involved Lin Chu"s personal matters. The old princ.i.p.al was practically considered Lin Chu"s mother, and although she was quite curious about what would happen, she knew she should not stay.
Thus, she said, "Old princ.i.p.al, since you have guests, I"ll take my leave first."
She then got up and left.
The old princ.i.p.al did not stop her and instead sent her to the door. "Do drop by the next time you"re free."
She had said it out of habit since every time a friend who stayed nearby came over to visit, the old princ.i.p.al would always say this when they had to leave. She was not saying it out of courtesy but out of sincerity for she truly hoped they would drop by again soon.
However, the old princ.i.p.al"s expression only fell upon uttering those words.
Supervisor Yang knew why; once the orphanage is demolished, how will she drop by again?
She also did not know how many more visits she had left.
Once this thought occurred in her mind, Supervisor Yang"s face was one of defeat for she could no longer find any words to speak. She lifted her head to see the old princ.i.p.al"s wrinkled face and suddenly felt a sadness in her heart before her eyes started to water.
The old princ.i.p.al was getting old so even if she had the heart, she lacked the strength to fight for the orphanage.
Supervisor Yang was afraid she would cry if she opened her mouth to speak, so she turned quickly and left.
The old princ.i.p.al sighed and watched Supervisor Yang"s back disappear beyond the gate before she slowly turned.
Once she entered the living room, she straightened up once more, unwilling to show weakness before Jiang Changdai and her posse.
The old princ.i.p.al sat down before Jiang Changdai once again. Jiang Changdai was interrupted by Supervisor Yang just a moment ago so she could not finish what she was speaking and now she had no idea how to continue.
The old princ.i.p.al did not want Jiang Changdai to waste any more time and wanted her to state her business and leave quickly.
Thus, she said straightforwardly, "You never got to finish, so go on."
Jiang Changdai picked up from where she left off and continued, "Where was I? Oh, yes, we were talking about Lin Chu. I told Lin Chu that I wanted her to break up with Yan Beicheng but she didn"t listen. Isn"t she just after Beicheng"s money? She probably thinks that breaking up with him won"t be worth it so she might as well become his wife and make Beicheng entirely hers. I know all her sneaky plans. What"s worse is that when I told her to break up with Beicheng, I had offered her 1 million, not only had she accepted my money and had immediately withdrew it, she still didn"t break up with Beicheng after. Did she take me as some foolish person with more money than sense?"
The old princ.i.p.al stayed quiet. "…"
She thought of the 1 million that Lin Chu had given her before and pieced together that the money was from this Miss Jiang before her.
"Because of all she has done, I"ll never approve of her being together with Beicheng." Jiang Changdai pulled her lips into a thin line, an action resembling Yan Beicheng, though the curve of her lips was softer and not as strong as Yan Beicheng"s own.
Despite this, Jiang Changdai"s expression was far harsher.
It could be because she did not like Lin Chu, or because her age was catching up to her.
"I heard Lin Chu grew up and thinks of this orphanage as her home and you as her grandmother?" asked Jiang Changdai.
The old princ.i.p.al furrowed her eyebrows, unable to ascertain why she had been asked such a question, and did not answer.
She only heard Jiang Changdai click her tongue sharply before saying, "In the end, she"s still an orphan. Not only is she an embarra.s.sment, she even thinks of an orphanage as her home."
The old princ.i.p.al tucked her lips inwards. She knew Jiang Changdai had nothing but bad intentions, and she could about guess the purpose of her visit today. Since being polite and courteous to Jiang Changdai would only prove pointless, the old princ.i.p.al felt that there was no longer a need for her to be civil.
The old princ.i.p.al, for the first time, donned an ugly expression and a rude tone. She curled her lip into a sneer and said, "That"s just because Lin Chu cherishes old memories, unlike some people, who"ve had their morals eaten by dogs."
Jiang Changdai"s expression immediately started s.h.i.+fting between one of surprise and doubt.
Did this old princ.i.p.al know of what she did in the past? Otherwise, she would never say something like that to mock her!
However, the Yan family would never let a family scandal be known to outsiders. Unless, was Lin Chu the one who told her?
The old princ.i.p.al was indeed mocking Jiang Changdai, yet it was not what Jiang Changdai thought she was mocking about. The old princ.i.p.al was actually insulting Jiang Changdai because she made a move against the orphanage because of some personal grudge, not once thinking of the poor children that lived in it.