PTYS Chapter 53

When Xiao Muyu mentioned Qu Muxi, the children’s expressions lit up. Even the usually quiet, introverted ones lifted their heads slightly.

Xiao Han, full of admiration, earnestly said, “Of course, Sister Qu is the best. She’s very good to me and to everyone, always protecting us… we all listen… listen to her.”

As Xiao Han excitedly tried to express his feelings, he took a small breath, and his voice unconsciously lowered towards the end.

“Sister?” Hou Liang was a bit surprised. He turned to look at Qu Muxi, who was sitting alone quietly eating. Qu Muxi’s maturity and poise often made them forget that she was not that old. For a director, she was excessively young. Calling her “sister” seemed somewhat inappropriate, but if the children thought she was beautiful and sweet-talking, calling her sister was understandable.

“Don’t you call her Director?” Huang Junfeng asked curiously.

“Breakfast time is regulated. Only eight minutes left. Stop chatting and hurry up to eat.”

Before the other children could answer, Xiao Mei looked up at the adults and reminded the still-talking children to eat properly.

Huang Junfeng was taken aback: “Is breakfast time regulated?”

He glanced at the clock; it was 7:42, meaning they had to finish breakfast by 7:50.

Qu Muxi didn’t specifically remind them, but no one knew if this timing was also a restriction, so they quickly stopped their questions and focused on their porridge.

The freshly served porridge was still hot, making it hard to eat quickly within eight minutes.

Those who had envied Shen Qingqiu for triggering the plot glanced at her bowl of porridge, silently sweating for her. Liu Pei sneered, obviously a bit gloating.

His reaction was subtle, but Xiao Muyu’s sharp eyes caught it. She quietly stirred her bowl of porridge, her expression somewhat cold.

She preferred not to meddle too much in others’ affairs; any helpful hints were because she also needed them. However, she never harbored harmful intentions, unless someone sought trouble. If it were people like Su Jin or Zuo Tiantian, she wouldn’t mind lending a hand. But for people like Chen Dong and Chen Xi, she could watch indifferently if they got into trouble.

Xiao Muyu stood up and walked to Aunt Jiang, who was cleaning up, and asked, “Aunt Jiang, can I have another bowl?”

Aunt Jiang, caught off guard, glanced at her breakfast. “You already have one. Why do you need another?”

“Aunt Jiang’s porridge is delicious, but it’s too hot to gulp down. I want to cool it down and eat it quickly,” Xiao Muyu replied with a pure and sincere expression, even licking her lips.

Liu Pei: …

Shen Qingqiu was also taken aback. It was the first time she saw such a soft and somewhat coquettish Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu’s face was inherently harmless, but her usually aloof demeanor suppressed her gentle and serene beauty, making her like a monochrome ink painting—plain yet enduring. Now, with this demeanor and expression, the painting seemed to ripple, flowers blossoming, and even in ink, one could see its brightness and warmth—a starkly different Xiao Muyu.

Shen Qingqiu felt disoriented, unable to perceive the astonishment around her. Even Huang Junfeng muttering about Oscar-level acting didn’t reach her ears. She kept staring at Xiao Muyu, but it was as if she wasn’t looking at her. Even when Xiao Muyu returned with a bowl and sat beside her, she couldn’t retract her gaze.

Normally, Xiao Muyu would have rolled her eyes and indifferently continued her own tasks, but Shen Qingqiu’s gaze was strange, not the usual playful teasing, but as if she had found someone she had been searching for after a long separation.

Yet, as she approached, it felt like Shen Qingqiu was looking through her at someone else.

Mixed with surprise and joy was a sense of melancholy and bitterness, making this version of Shen Qingqiu seem unlike her usual self.

Unable to hold back, Xiao Muyu frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Shen Qingqiu snapped out of it. The fog in her eyes was suddenly blown away by the morning breeze, leaving her a bit dazed. “You remind me of someone.”

Xiao Muyu had been dividing Shen Qingqiu’s large bowl of porridge when she heard this and paused, setting down the spoon and saying flatly, “Now is not the time to reminisce about the past. There are six minutes left. Hurry and eat your porridge, I’ve separated it to cool down.”

She lowered her head and quickly ate her own porridge.

Shen Qingqiu, no ordinary person, quickly recovered from the fleeting emotion. She thanked Xiao Muyu, divided her porridge, and started eating.

In truth, she was wrong before. Xiao Muyu didn’t remind her of someone; rather, she couldn’t say who Xiao Muyu resembled. It was more that this side of Xiao Muyu felt familiar.

Those who had intended to probe further were now busy gulping down their porridge. The men especially, embodying their masculine spirit, disregarded the heat and ate quickly.

Xiao Muyu glanced at the children; despite having smaller portions, they also ate as if the heat didn’t bother them, shoveling the porridge into their mouths.

Xiao Muyu didn’t eat slowly herself. Seeing Shen Qingqiu still had half a bowl left, she used her left hand to stir it with chopsticks.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her, smiling slightly.

The men finished first, followed by Xiao Muyu and Yang Rui. With one minute remaining, everyone, including the children, had finished.

Qu Muxi, claiming to have something to do, had also finished and left. Yang Rui hurriedly ate her egg, struggling as she tried to maintain her image, only for Shen Qingqiu to be the last one still eating.

After Aunt Jiang cleaned up breakfast, she came back with a completely different demeanor. She was holding a large bone-cutting knife, the kind you’d see at a butcher’s stall, gleaming coldly. Her expression was no longer dull but crazed.

“Hurry up and finish eating. I have a lot to do and need to clean up the dishes soon!”

The other five people were so frightened they jumped up and stepped back quickly. Just as she was about to approach, Shen Qingqiu finished her porridge in one gulp and handed the bowl to the now entirely different Aunt Jiang.

Aunt Jiang’s expression was still fierce, but Shen Qingqiu calmly pointed at the clock.

“I’ve finished eating, and there’s still time left.”

Aunt Jiang glanced at the clock, snorted angrily, and took the bowl and cutlery away, knife still in hand.

Xiao Muyu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Shen Qingqiu, who appeared unconcerned. This made Xiao Muyu frown, inexplicably not wanting to engage with her.

The others were quite shaken. If they hadn’t finished their food last night, would they have been chopped up?

Huang Junfeng gagged at the thought. “The meat we ate… wouldn’t be…” He remembered someone saying that human flesh tasted sour, and his face turned pale.

“We’ve finished. We need to go study now.” The children, ignoring the adults’ reactions, were led out of the dining hall by Xiao Mei, a little girl who spoke up.

Xiao Muyu and the others hurriedly followed.

Shen Qingqiu walked beside Xiao Muyu and whispered, “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.”

Xiao Muyu glanced at her and then looked straight ahead. “You don’t need my concern, and I’m not worried. Let’s get to work quickly.”

The eight children indeed needed to study in the morning, but there was no dedicated teacher; they studied on their own in a classroom.

The older children, who knew more characters, taught the younger ones how to write, making them copy down new words.

This was a perfect opportunity for Xiao Muyu and the others to discuss with Qu Muxi about teaching the children reading and writing. Qu Muxi readily agreed.

The seven of them divided the eight children among them. Yang Rui, Huang Junfeng, and Hou Liang took turns teaching basic math and literacy, while Xiao Muyu began to examine the classroom.

Both the front and back of the classroom had blackboards. The one at the back was covered with a glass panel, displaying the children’s hand-copied newspapers and some photos.

The photos showed well-dressed men with the children, about ten or so in total.

From the donation plaques and sashes some of the men held, it was clear these were donors to Ren’ai Orphanage.

But as Xiao Muyu looked closer, she felt something was off about these photos. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, despite reviewing them several times.

Among the eight children, only Xiao Jiao had no one daring to approach her, so Shen Qingqiu chatted with her alone.

Xiao Jiao seemed entirely unaware of her actions the previous night, remaining as innocent and a bit slow-witted. Shen Qingqiu noticed Xiao Jiao’s developmental delays.

After some casual chatting, Shen Qingqiu suddenly asked, “Do you like dolls, Xiao Jiao?”

Xiao Jiao’s round face lit up with a bright smile, nodding vigorously. “Yes, I love dolls.”

Shen Qingqiu continued, “If you love dolls so much, where’s your doll? I saw you playing with it yesterday. Why didn’t you bring it today?”

At this, Xiao Jiao looked sad. “She’s mad at me. The doll is mad and doesn’t want to play with me anymore.”

Tears began to well up, and she cried, “Doll, I want my doll, my pretty doll.”

Shen Qingqiu, uneasy around crying children, felt a headache coming on. However, Xiao Jiao suddenly stopped crying, surprising Shen Qingqiu. She quickly sensed a gaze from the other side of the room, where Xiao Yue was working on problems with Xiao Mei and Yang Rui.

Xiao Yue, usually silent, wasn’t looking at Shen Qingqiu but at Xiao Jiao.

Xiao Jiao, pouting, looked at Xiao Yue. Xiao Yue’s gaze softened slightly, evidently reassuring Xiao Jiao.

The two children seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement, making Shen Qingqiu smile. She probed, “Are you close with Xiao Yue?”

Xiao Jiao nodded, smiling foolishly. “Besides Sister Xiao Mei, only Xiao Yue shares her toys with me. Hee hee, doll, doll.”

Shen Qingqiu pondered her words. Among the children, she might correspond to Xiao Mei, Hou Liang to Xiao Han, and Xiao Muyu to Xiao Jiao. However, Xiao Muyu and Xiao Jiao seemed to have no common traits, puzzling Shen Qingqiu.

Xiao Yue’s cold demeanor resembled Liu Pei’s, but she couldn’t decipher the rest.

While observing, she noticed Xiao Muyu focused on the photos, her expression serious, suggesting she encountered a problem.

Shen Qingqiu approached, glancing at the photos and instinctively asked, “Do you think something is wrong?”

Without looking at her, Xiao Muyu murmured, “I feel something is off about these photos.”

Shen Qingqiu examined the photos closely, her expression darkening. “The poses are odd, and the children in the photos don’t seem right.”

Xiao Muyu fell silent, then her eyes flickered, and she whispered, “They’re all girls, and they’re all quite beautiful.”

Indeed, in the photos, the men varied in appearance and demeanor, but the girls they held were all uniquely beautiful, with a pure, shy charm typical of newly maturing girls.

“Xiao Mei appears four times, along with four other girls around her age.” Shen Qingqiu pointed out several photos, then leaned in to scrutinize the men closely.

After a moment, Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow and flicked her finger forcefully against the glass, causing the photo to slip down, revealing another picture beneath it.

Xiao Muyu had encountered all sorts of people and was adept at reading emotions from facial expressions. Both of them leaned in closer to examine this newly revealed photo, which depicted Xiao Mei shaking hands with a handsome, scholarly-looking middle-aged man.

Unlike the other more formal photos, the man’s gaze was unsettlingly out of place, not at all appropriate for an adult looking at a child. Upon closer inspection of their clasped hands, both Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu had a bold conjecture.

In addition to the glass display, the classroom also housed something resembling a filing cabinet, a two-door unit. However, it was locked, and they didn’t have the key.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at Xiao Muyu, her eyes sparkling slightly. Xiao Muyu’s heart also stirred. Speaking of keys, she knew exactly where to find one. Moreover, she had a gut feeling that this cabinet held crucial information.