Why it never ends

Chapter 1138 Curiosity

In the evening, Kiki sat alone in her room, which she shared with Eleven and two other children from the south.

The names of those two children were a little difficult to pronounce, and Kiki still hasn't remembered them - the difficulty of pronunciation was certainly a reason, but if she really wanted to remember them, there was a way... It's just that she didn't like these friends very much, just like they didn't like her very much either.

She can now use the language of the Third District for daily communication, but Eleven is still a little reluctant. The children from the South cannot understand what the teacher says at all. They are experiencing the step from zero to one - but Eleven has no problem communicating with them.

Yes, Eleven conquered everyone on the first day. Kiki could roughly understand this. She was attracted by Eleven's character and immediately became friends with her in the orphanage in District 14. But she couldn't fully understand why, because while these people liked Eleven, they almost unanimously showed contempt for her.

She was able to handle the situation on her own for the time being, as their behavior wasn't excessive and Eleven could be mean to them sometimes.

But things were a little different today. When those girls laughed deliberately, Officer Si Lei seemed to notice it. Moreover, she vaguely felt that Si Lei might reveal this to Sister Xiao He.

It was almost time for dinner, and the children had already gone to the restaurant to sit and wait for their meals, but Qiqi's instinct told her to stay in the room. A secret wish was growing in her heart: If Officer Si Lei had really told Sister Xiao He, then she... might come over to talk to her alone -

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Qiqi? Are you in the room?" Hesta's voice.

Qiqi turned her head suddenly, with an almost exaggerated movement. She covered her mouth with both hands, jumped twice quickly on the spot, and then strode towards the door.

"Yes." Qiqi opened the door. She looked up with a bit of restraint and anticipation. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Um..." Hesta carefully considered her words, thinking about how to speak to the person in front of her in the shortest way possible. She half squatted down and asked, "Has anyone bothered you recently?"

Qiqi was stunned for a moment. She thought for a long time, almost pursing her lips tightly, and finally shook her head.

"I understand." Hesta frowned. "Uh... I also need some time to think about what to do. If you need to talk to someone during this process, come to me... or any adult on the farm, okay? Do you understand?"

Qiqi nodded.

"…Then let's go eat. It's almost time to eat."

Qiqi immediately took the hand that Hesta extended. Although she was a little nervous, she had been looking forward to this scene for a long time. She tried to keep silent and not say too much, but on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel excited.

The two of them went down the narrow staircase in the middle of the palace to the first floor, where the restaurant was. Qiqi wanted other children to see this, but she was afraid. She struggled to walk up all the stairs, and when she stepped on the last step, she suddenly let go of Hesta's hand, ran forward a few steps, and then turned back to say thank you.

Hesta watched her run away in surprise. Not far away, the seat next to Eleven was empty.

… That night, the chef of the palace prepared a standard menu of the 12 districts to welcome all the guests. The main ingredients did not change much, but the spices were different. The texture of the aroma was moist, even the spiciness was the same. The roasted goose and half-cooked beef slices were served in large green leaves, and the sauce was served in a wooden bowl. The spiciness of the children's table was reduced by half, but this caused them to protest strongly.

Lai Lin sat next to Stella that night. She heard a shocking gossip from Eleanor this afternoon - Stella had her uterus removed just to avoid menstruation!

She had seen some women who claimed not to get married or to be DINKs, but she had never seen anyone around her do such a ridiculous thing, so her first reaction was to disbelieve it. However, Eleanor and several other colleagues of Stella also said so, so Lai Lin had to be skeptical.

"What's wrong with you? You look worried." Stella looked at Hesta, "You don't even enjoy your meal?"

"I'm thinking about something." Hesta whispered about the phenomenon Si Lei observed in the afternoon and Qiqi's denial not long ago. "What do you think?"

"Is it the 'Qiqi'?" Stella stopped eating and temporarily left the half-eaten ribs in her hand in mid-air, "Is it the one that wrote 'If it doesn't kill me, it might kill someone else' last time?"

"I don't know," Hesta said, "but it sounds like something she could write."

"It should be her," Lai Lin said, "We don't have another Qiqi here."

"First of all, there is no big problem with Officer Si Lei's observation," Stella said with a smile, "Secondly, this phenomenon is too normal. Any precocious child - especially the kind that teachers like very much, generally finds it difficult to get the same recognition from their peers, and may even suffer a little extra bullying because of it... You can't just leave her alone. You must take the initiative to intervene in this situation."

Lai Lin looked at Stella: "...You seem to like children very much."

"Huh?" Stella turned around, "How did you know that?"

Lai Lin paused for a moment and blinked again: "You... care about Qiqi a lot."

"I am concerned about whether fairness and justice still coexist under our common roof." Stella frowned, "and this situation is indeed easy to be ignored. The teacher will think, ah, so-and-so, she is very good, good here and there, what? She was bullied? How is it possible, she is so likable-"

Having said this, Stella turned to look at Hesta again, "Don't wait until things get to this point before you take action. You should go to Pacat to discuss this matter immediately."

Hesta looked at Stella: "...Can I leave it to you to do it?"

"I'm very busy." Stella said, "But it's okay. It's just a matter of asking for you."

"I mean you will follow up on this matter," Hesta said. "I just told Kiki that if she needs anything, she can find any adult on the farm - but this is too broad and may not be effective. I can tell her that she can find you if she encounters this problem next time."

"Don't do that!" Stella knocked the plate with the ribs. "Look carefully at who is sitting in front of you - I'm not Ximoya!"