Chapter 61: Memory
The place Su Min lived at was a little far from Happy House Orphanage. After napping in the car for a long time and waking up, he was almost there.
The sun outside was setting and the sky was beginning to darken. The lights along the seemingly never-ending stretch of road had also turned on.
It looked like the road to death.
The driver saw that he was awake and couldn’t help saying: “If not for this old driver knowing this place, you would probably have spent a lot of money.”
Su Min used this opportunity to ask: “You know the orphanage?”
Seeing that there wasn’t anyone else on the road, the driver sped up, “I know. I used to pa.s.s by that place often, but it has been a few years since.”
Afterall, there wasn’t much left there anymore.
Su Min asked: “Do you know what happened at the orphanage?”
His memory of the orphanage wasn’t very clear. Too much time had pa.s.sed since then.
His character originally only lived at the orphanage for a few years and he only returned occasionally after that. Over the past few years, he only sent money back and didn’t return personally.
As for what the orphanage looked like now, he had no idea.
At this moment, a street sign appeared ahead of them.
Happy House Orphanage.
The distance indicated was 1km so they would probably arrive a few minutes later. Su Min took a deep breath.
The feeling of heading straight towards your place of doom was a rather strange feeling.
It was similar to “Murder Island” but last time it was during the daytime and this time it was at night, so it was significantly more dangerous.
The driver said, “I don’t remember much happening. Nothing much happened at this orphanage. It’s just that there probably aren’t many people there now.”
Su Min also knew that there wouldn’t be many people there.
A horror movie like this could easily become too complicated if there were too many people. For example, the last one was like this. The fewer people there are, the easier it was to set up the story.
There weren’t many stories about orphanages but every one of them left a deep impression. Su Min sometimes felt a little scared when he thought of them all together.
He didn’t know what would happen at this orphanage.
Not many people were mentioned in the script, but he was certain that the male and female protagonist; Yan Jing Cai and Xu Yixiang, were bound to be there.
Su Min still had memories of Yan Jing Cai.
When he entered the orphanage at a young age, Yan Jing Cai was already there. The two of them got along well for a while and then he left the orphanage.
As for the other people, Su Min wasn’t sure if he knew them.
Afterall, he left the orphanage quite early, so it was normal for new people to enter the orphanage after that.
But if things were like this, it would become more complicated. It would be difficult telling whether these people are good or bad, and he couldn’t ascertain what they had done before and whether they were lying.
The most important factor was that there was also the orphanage director.
The director had mentioned that he didn’t have long left to live and had wanted to gather them together. Whether or not that was true was still a question.
“We’re here.”
The driver suddenly spoke up.
Su Min returned to his senses and subconsciously looked out the car window.
At the end of the dimly lit road was a three-storey rectangular building that extended out to the right- and left-hand side. Blocked by the trees, you couldn’t see the ends of it.
Far away, there were lights coming out from several small lattice windows.
The front entrance was clean.
Because this building had a red cross on the top, it made the orphanage look like a church.
Su Min felt a little suspicious inside.
This movie was called “The Last Supper”. It just happened to share the same name as a painting that depicted Jesus and Christianity. Did this cross have something to do with Christianity?
Or was it directly related to that painting?
The driver saw that he wasn’t getting off and once again reminded him: “Stop looking and just get off. I still need to go home.”
Su Min transferred him the money and got off the car with his suitcase.
The fare costed several hundred, but it wasn’t his own money so he didn’t feel bad about it.
The car left quickly and soon only Su Min was left standing by the road.
There were streetlights on both sides of the road but they were a little dim so you couldn’t see very far out.
Su Min dragged his suitcase ahead.
At the end of the road was the orphanage. Perhaps it was because there weren’t many people, there were lots of weeds growing on the sides and there were even flowers blooming from them.
After walking for a few minutes, he arrived at the orphanage.
The gates were made of iron and it hung a sign that said: “Happy House”. The colour on it had turned white after years of exposure to rain and wind.
Behind that was an empty s.p.a.ce and to the left was a lot of play equipment including slides. It was a children’s park.
To the right was a garden but, because it wasn’t taken care of, it looked no different to a wild one.
The gates weren’t locked, and the chain hung from it.
Su Min moved the chain away and pushed open the door. Along with the rusty creaks, he finally set foot inside the orphanage.
And then he couldn’t leave again.
***
“Hey there’s someone in front and he even has a suitcase.”
“Is he here to have an affair? But he doesn’t look like it. He looks a bit young.”
He suddenly heard quiet discussions behind him.
Su Min turned around and saw a man and a woman. The man was handsome, and the woman was beautiful. You could tell with one glance that they were a couple.
The other party also saw him.
The young man quickly walked over: “h.e.l.lo.”
Su Min: “h.e.l.lo.”
The three of them walked on together. The young man asked: “You look like you’re coming back. Were you from this orphanage before?”
Su Min wondered if he was the male protagonist: “Yes, I’m here to see the director. You are too?”
The man and the woman beside him looked at each other. He then said: “My name is Yan Jing Cai. This is my girlfriend Xu Yixiang. I used to be from this orphanage.”
Su Min smiled: “Su Min.”
Sure enough, he was the male protagonist. With him meeting the protagonists first, they could team up and their level of trust could increase. This way problems wouldn’t arise so easily.
When he heard the name, Yan Jing Cai didn’t react. He took a few steps and finally realised, “It’s you! I still remember you!”
He then mentioned some trivial matters that happened in the past.
When Su Min first arrived, Yan Jing Cai had regarded him as a girl and would always pick flowers to put on his head. After the truth was revealed by the director, he was in disbelief. He cried for a whole month before accepting that Su Min was a boy.
This was something Yan Jing Cai remembered clearly.
Yan Jing Cai said emotionally: “I didn’t recognise you. We haven’t seen each other for more than a decade now and this is our first-time reuniting.”
Su Min said: “Long time no see.”
Yan Jing Cai then turned over to introduce Su Min, “This is a friend from when I was a child.”
Xu Yixiang stretched out her hand, “h.e.l.lo.”
She was here to see the director and it was equivalent to meeting the parents. Since he was an old friend of her boyfriend, she wanted to leave behind a good impression.
And she herself had a good impression of Su Min.
After Su Min and Xu Yixiang greeted each other, the three of them walked over to the small building. Yang Jing Cai pushed open the door and saw that it was locked from the inside.
Xu Yixiang said: “Knock on the door. The lights are on so there should be someone.”
Yan Jing Cai knocked a few times.
Half a minute later, the slow sound of footsteps could be heard. It sounded very heavy, like a giant’s footsteps.
Su Min raised his vigilance.
There was a sound behind the door and then it was opened. An old man appeared behind the door with a smile on his face.
Old director: “You’re back.”
Su Min’s first impression of him was that he was old.
Because he hadn’t seen him for more than ten years, his memory of the director stopped ten years ago. At that time, he still looked like a middle-aged man.
Yan Jing Cai didn’t find it strange, “Director, I’m Yan Jing Cai.”
He pointed at Su Min and Xu Yixiang and said: “This is Su Min, that very beautiful boy back then and this is my girlfriend Xu Yixiang.”
The old director narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Min for a long time before turning to Xu Yixiang.
Xu Yixiang stood there nervously.
His voice was hoa.r.s.e: “I remember Su Min. You’ve always been sending money to the orphanage. It was all thanks to your help that we could get by these past few years.”
Su Min responded politely: “It’s fine.”
The old director then turned to Xu Yixiang, “Jing Cai has a girlfriend now. I still remember him as the crybaby hahaha.”
Yan Jing Cai laughed.
The old director stepped back and said, “Quickly come in. It’s just about time for dinner. Have you eaten?”
The aroma of food travelled over to the door.
Su Min didn’t have an appet.i.te.
The movie’s name was related to their last meal. No matter how he thought about it, he was certain that the food on the first day probably wasn’t safe.
And so, he had eaten something simple before he came. In any case, it was fine as long as he didn’t starve himself. He had also filled his suitcase with things he could use to fill his stomach.
He had no intentions to die from hunger.
The old director turned around and led the way. His body was a little emaciated and his pace was very slow so they could only follow slowly behind him.
Soon, they reached the dining room.
A long table was placed in the dining room along with two high backed chairs on either end.
Su Min rarely ate at a table like this.
It was a little like the long cafeteria tables that extended infinitely. It enabled them to both save s.p.a.ce and be able to accommodate for a lot of people.
It was done to allow for the children to eat together.
This table had appeared in Su Min’s memory. His favourite moment when he was a child was when it was time to eat.
Su Min noticed that there were only a few dishes placed on the table along with two or three bowls of rice. He didn’t know if this was because the others have eaten or if there was another reason.
The old director turned around and asked with a smile: “Since you’re here so early, do you want to eat first, or do you want to check your room first?”
After asking that, Yan Jing Cai said: “Let’s go to the rooms. We can drop our luggage off and take a look at the place we used to stay in. It’s been more than ten years now.”
Su Min followed up and said: “Let’s go to the rooms.”
The old director nodded and took them over.
Yan Jing Cai had a talkative personality. Since he hasn’t seen the old director for a long time, he chatted with the director the entire way there.
Xu Yixiang and Su Min just listened on.
The orphanage was designed so that there are rooms on both sides, but it was only like that many years ago when there were many people here. Now that there weren’t many, there were only a few rooms being used.
Back then, they lived on the left side. The old director revealed that the current children staying here are now living on the right side.
Because the left side of the building had not been used for a long time, everything had become rather dusty and the facilities were old. It looked like a house that was a few decades old.
Su Min could even see white paint peeling off the walls.
Taking advantage of Yan Jing Cai’s silence, Su Min asked tentatively: “Director, did you only contact us?”
The old director continued to smile. You couldn’t see his eyes or his teeth: “No. I contacted many children this time.”
Many.........Looks like it’s going to be a blood bath.
Su Min thought for a moment and then asked: “Many years have pa.s.sed now. How many children are here now?”
They just happened to reach the first room.
The old director lowered his head and pulled out a keychain from his pocket. Dozens of keys clanged with each other emitting a crisp sound.
“There are only seven now. Alas, the orphanage is not doing very well. It might end up closing in the future.”
He sighed. He sounded very down.