“Sorry, little An Qing, it was Aunt Chen’s fault. I can’t believe I never realized they were bullying you…”
Dean Chen squatted down, holding An Qing’s thin shoulders in both hands, her expression full of apology.
An Qing lowered her head to look at the dean squatting before her, long lashes casting a delicate shadow across her face.
You’re only saying this now—what good does it do?
Where were you when they were bullying me?
When I wanted to complain to you before, why didn’t you believe me? Why did you believe them instead?
It was all Zhixian. It was Zhixian who saved me when I was bullied. It was Zhixian who made sure those who hurt me were punished, it was Zhixian.
“It’s alright, Aunt Chen. I don’t care anymore.” The black-haired girl shook her head, her face expressionless.
Anyway, having Zhixian is enough for me.
Zhixian will always stay by my side.
The girl silently added in her heart.
“Ah…”
Dean Chen gazed at the little girl in front of her, who was always so quiet and alone, and whom she didn’t know very well, feeling a pang of emotion. Hearing her speak, she seemed so well-behaved and sensible.
Ah, why didn’t I realize before that An Qing was actually such a good, obedient child?
Just because she was abandoned by several adoptive families, the staff and I paid her less attention, even ignoring her feelings, and blindly believed Zhou Guoqing and the others.
That’s how today’s disaster happened.
In the end, it was my fault too.
Thinking of this, the guilt in the dean’s heart deepened even further.
“An Qing, don’t worry. I will make sure to discipline those people. Even if they only went along with Zhou Guoqing, they should still be punished as they deserve.”
“And I promise you, from now on, no one will ever bully you again.”
Dean Chen patted her chest, earnestly promising the thin, black-haired girl.
***
After some time, accompanied by a grating creak, the rusted storeroom door was pushed open once more.
“Zhixian, Aunt Chen and the others have all left. You can come out now.”
The bob-haired little girl came into the storeroom again, calling softly into the empty, silent room.
“Whew, I can finally come out.”
Behind a pile of old desks and chairs, a fluffy golden head peeked out. Ruan Zhixian looked around, then hugged her walkie-talkie and dashed over to An Qing, her emerald-green eyes shining brightly.
“So? An Qing, did your Aunt Chen punish all those bullies like we hoped?” the blonde girl asked excitedly.
“Yeah.” An Qing nodded.
“Aunt Chen made them copy the orphanage rules and had them all apologize to me.”
“Really? That’s awesome! It means our operation was a total success!”
Ruan Zhixian happily grabbed the black-haired girl’s hand, bouncing in place, as if she herself, not An Qing, had been cleared of a grievance.
“But, Zhixian…”
The black-haired girl stared down at the storeroom floor, not daring to look at the bright smile in front of her.
“But I don’t want to forgive them. I don’t want to accept their apology…”
“I don’t want to hear anything they say. I don’t want to let go of the past and try to be friends with them again.”
“Does that… make me a bad child, too…?”
“Of course not!”
Ruan Zhixian suddenly let go of An Qing’s hands and reached up, gently cupping the other’s cheeks.
“An Qing, listen to me, you are not a bad child at all.”
The blonde girl’s voice carried an unusual seriousness. Her emerald eyes stared, unblinking, at An Qing.
“The An Qing I know is a rare and wonderful kid.”
“She shares her few toys, she treasures the gifts I give her, and she always keeps the promises we make.”
“An Qing is cute, kind, and genuine—a truly good child! My best friend!”
“So what if you don’t forgive them? Why should people who did bad things, bullied you for so long, be let off the hook just because they said a few words? That’s way too shameless!”
“If you don’t want to accept their apology, then don’t. After everything you’ve been through, why should you have to smile and say it’s okay, and force yourself to play with them again?”
“If you don’t have anyone to play with, I’ll play with you. If you don’t have other friends, then I’ll always be your best friend!”
Forced to look up, An Qing stared blankly at the golden-haired girl before her.
The little tufts of hair above her brow gleamed like gold in the sunlight, and in her clear, emerald-green eyes, An Qing could almost see her own tiny reflection.
An Qing was momentarily entranced.
But, Zhixian, I don’t want to just be friends with you.
If we’re only friends, we won’t always be together.
A sudden ache twisted in her chest, and she wanted desperately to voice the longing tangled up inside her, the vines of desire clawing up her throat. She opened her mouth, but what she finally said was:
“Mm, okay. I want to be with Zhixian forever, too.”
In the end, the girl, feeling a little inferior, couldn’t say everything in her heart, but only half of it, choosing words that would surely let that smile in front of her keep shining.
I’m not strong enough yet…
I’m just a clueless, crybaby, useless little orphan…
Will someone like me really be able to marry Zhixian when I grow up?
The smile blooming at the corners of the girl’s lips was brilliant, but if you looked closely, deep in her glassy eyes, there was always a trace of darkness that wouldn’t fade—
A shadow of inferiority, seeping out from her very bones.
Somehow, An Qing’s last smile today feels a little odd.
In the bedroom at dusk, the night light cast a warm yellow halo on the open workbook. The golden-haired girl lowered her head, absently scribbling on the margins with her pencil.
Usually An Qing’s smile is even cuter, isn’t it?
Today it felt like she was a bit timid—what happened, I wonder?
Ruan Zhixian scratched her head in frustration, messing up her already unruly golden hair even further.
Does An Qing have some kind of trouble she can’t talk about?
Hmm… An Qing’s troubles…
The blonde girl fell into endless thought again, her pencil gradually sketching a little bob-haired girl in a dress on the page.
Ah, that’s right!
The blonde girl suddenly sat up with realization and slapped her pencil down on the desk.
Isn’t An Qing an orphan? Then she must really want a family, right?!
Ruan Zhixian felt that her super-brilliant self had found the key to the whole problem.
“Dad—Mom—”
The golden-haired girl leapt up from her desk, dashed for the door in three quick steps, and sprinted out of the room:
“Do you two want another daughter—?”
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