The blind boss's nanny

His mother held him and cried for a long time, but in the end, with trembling hands, she handed him over to the unfamiliar foreign couple.

My younger sister chased after me out of the alley, crying and screaming. She even lost one of her shoes in the process, her cries heart-wrenching.

"I pressed my face against the car window and watched her get smaller and smaller until she disappeared from sight."

Codonopsis pilosula's voice was calm.

Lin Xiaoman dropped all her joking expression, sat up straight, and asked softly:

"And then what? How were you doing during those years abroad?"

Upon hearing this, Dang Shen gave a very faint smile. His answer was something Lin Xiaoman could never have imagined.

The white couple never mistreated him materially. They housed him in a beautiful three-story villa in the suburbs and hired a Filipino maid to take care of his daily needs.

Bills were paid on time, and supplies were plentiful.

But that's all.

His legal parents almost never appeared. The villa was empty, and the Filipino maid, aside from performing necessary tasks, never spoke to him, spending most of her time on the phone with relatives in her native language.

At just over five years old, Dang Shen began her life alone in a spacious villa in a foreign land.

Lin Xiaoman's eyes widened in disbelief:

"If...if that's all there is to it, why did they adopt you?"

This is illogical.

Codonopsis's expression remained unchanged:

"They adopted seven or eight children like me. Different skin colors, different countries."

He paused, then uttered the chilling truth.

"It's all for legitimate tax avoidance, and... to maintain a certain charitable image."

Lin Xiaoman covered her mouth and gasped.

Codonopsis pilosula continued her narration, her tone remaining steady, yet every word was like an icicle.

After starting school, things got worse. His Asian features, quiet personality, and aloof demeanor that didn't match his status as a "rich man's adopted son" made him a perfect target for school bullying.

Discrimination, ridicule, isolation, and even physical shoving... have never stopped.

Home is an empty and cold house.

Schools are battlefields rife with malice.

There was no warmth, no sense of belonging, not even a trace of genuine protection from the adult world.

"This kind of life continued until I became an adult."

Dang Shen finally turned her gaze from the window to Lin Xiaoman. In those eyes, which were always like ice, a deep, unfathomable weariness and desolation were clearly reflected.

"I have never felt that I have truly lived even a single day."

A long silence fell over the room.

Dang Shen noticed that there had been no sound from the other side for a long time.

He glanced at it unintentionally, and then froze... Lin Xiaoman was already in tears.

Codonopsis was startled and instinctively switched back to English, her tone somewhat urgent:

Did I say something wrong? Have I offended you?

He should have kept quiet until he asked. Lin Xiaoman's suppressed sobs suddenly grew louder and turned into heartbreaking whimpers, her shoulders trembling violently.

The commotion immediately alerted Leng Feng, who was guarding outside the door.

The door was flung open, and Leng Feng's tall figure appeared in the doorway. His gaze swept over the tear-streaked Lin Xiaoman, then locked onto Dang Shen. Without hesitation, his right hand swiftly reached for his waist...

"No! Wait! It's not what you think!" Dang Shen's expression changed, and he hurriedly shouted in English, raising his hands in a harmless gesture at the same time, speaking very quickly.

He never expected that his few words would elicit such a reaction, and he certainly never expected that the girl's tears would attract armed bodyguards!

Lin Xiaoman was also taken aback by this sudden turn of events. She hurriedly raised her tear-blurred face and made a clear, urgent "stop" gesture to Leng Feng. While trying to calm herself, she turned to Dang Shen and, sobbing, apologized in English:

"Excuse me… I'm so sorry… It's not your fault…"

Her English pronunciation was standard and fluent, a stark contrast to her previous "awkward" manner.

Codonopsis understood immediately.

A sense of absurdity and bewilderment, akin to being fooled, welled up inside him. He took a deep breath, his voice unconsciously rising:

"You can clearly speak English! You've been faking it, haven't you?"

Lin Xiaoman nodded, tears still streaming down her face. She wanted to explain, but her throat was choked with sobs.

Looking at her like this, Dang Shen was speechless, feeling both annoyed and amused, but mostly bewildered by the absurdity:

"Then may I ask... what exactly are you crying about right now?"

He pointed to himself, his tone a mixture of self-deprecation and disbelief.

"What new trick are you using now? Shouldn't I be the one crying?!"

Lin Xiaoman shook her head vigorously, wiping her face haphazardly with the back of her hand, trying to stop her tears. The thought of the children she had once cared for possibly facing the same fate as Dang Shen abroad filled her with an overwhelming sense of unease.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed, a bitter pain accompanied by a tremendous sense of powerlessness, causing me to completely lose control of my tears.

"I'm sorry... I'm just... very sad..."

She answered in broken Chinese, her voice fragmented.

"Thinking about them... they might also..."

She couldn't continue, and covered her face again, tears seeping through her fingers.

Seeing her genuine sorrow, all the sarcasm and questions he had prepared stuck in his throat.

Leng Feng looked at Lin Xiaoman with concern, unsure of what to do.

"So, that's why you've always wanted to go abroad?"

Lin Xiaoman nodded.

The two grown men were stunned, completely at a loss.

It turns out that there are people in this world who can shed such sincere tears for the pain of others.

Even though that pain was not directly related to her.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Xiaoman finally composed herself. She sniffed and said to Dang Shen:

"I can help you find your mother and sister when you were little."

Dang Shen's expression flickered noticeably for a moment. That sentence stirred something deep within him, something he had buried deep in his heart.

Deep down, a voice says: It's unnecessary. What good will finding it do? It will only add to your troubles.

But another voice quietly peeked out at that moment, carrying a hint of longing.

He lowered his eyes, remaining silent and building a defensive wall with his silence.

Lin Xiaoman was not discouraged. She took a deep breath, stated her conditions, and looked him directly in the eye with honesty:

"The condition is... you must help heal the chairman's eyes."

Codonopsis remained silent, concealing all her emotions beneath her expressionless face.

Lin Xiaoman waited for a long time, so long that she began to doubt whether she had been too naive, whether she had misinterpreted his momentary emotion. She unconsciously held her breath, and just as she was about to give up hope...

Codonopsis finally spoke.

"In medicine, there is no 100% success rate."

The tone was cold and objective.

All I can say is... I'll try my best.