Am I a Kamen Rider or the real young master who was switched at birth?

(Oh dear comrades, I've also just finished my botany exam. (ʘᴗʘ) I want to ask, which teacher came up with this insane exam paper? Short answer and essay questions combined are worth 60 points out of 100! How am I supposed to pass?! You should just write the questions yourself!!! Anyway, I'm already prepared to try again next semester. No wonder the upperclassmen said the failure rate for this subject is high; I couldn't write a single word, I'm going to fail (╥_╥) Waaah. I just got promoted to department head this semester, and the other day the teacher said in the meeting that department heads fail fewer subjects (╥_╥))

The playroom is at the end of the corridor on the second floor of the orphanage. It used to be an old storage room used to store miscellaneous items.

Three years ago, Ye Yang spent an entire summer with Aunt Zhang, drawing blueprints, moving wooden boards, painting walls, and then leading a few older kids to clear out the old shelves inside.

They used old carpets they found to cover the floor, the walls were covered with drawings by the children themselves, and several strings of origami cranes made of colored paper hung from the ceiling.

A handwritten wooden sign hangs crookedly next to the window, with the words "Secret Base" written in large characters and a thumbs-up smiley face drawn next to it.

At that moment, several young children were lying on the old carpet, with several piles of building blocks in front of them, but none of them were interested in building anything.

A little boy, about seven or eight years old, was lying near the door, his chin resting on the back of his hand, his eyes fixed on the doorknob. He muttered, "Is Brother Ye Yang not coming back?"

His name is Xiaoshu, and he is one of the children in the orphanage who is most attached to Ye Yang.

At this moment, a little girl with pigtails immediately shook her head.

Her name is DouDou. She is XiaoShu's best friend and, besides YeYang, the most reasonable person here.

She pushed the building blocks aside, then turned around and looked at the sapling with a very serious expression, saying firmly:

"Impossible. Brother Ye Yang promised he would come back. He told me this morning before he left—'Dou Dou, don't worry, I'll be back this afternoon to teach you how to fold origami cranes'—he said it clearly, not a single word was wrong."

The younger children in the corner weren't listening at first, but the word "come back" triggered their radar.

A little girl, about four or five years old, looked up from the pile of building blocks. She pouted, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She tugged at the sleeve of a slightly older girl named Xiaohe next to her and asked softly, "But... will Brother Ye Yang really come back?"

The older boy is called Little Stone. He is ten years old and is the oldest among the group of children besides Ye Yang.

He was putting together a very complicated castle block model. He put it together crookedly, and everything from the foundation to the tower was just his own guesswork. Ye Yang had said before that he would give him extra points if he could finish it.

"Don't overthink it. When has Brother Ye Yang ever lied to us?"

A six-year-old boy suddenly crawled over from the other end of the carpet.

His name is Xiao Le. He was transferred from another welfare institution two months ago. When he arrived, he didn't speak all day. Ye Yang pried his mouth open with a clay doll.

He climbed up to the small stone and stopped, then poked the stone's block castle with one finger. Then his mouth twitched and tears fell down his face.

Xiao Le said haltingly, "My... my good friend, he was adopted and never came back. The day he left, he told me he would come back to see me, and he even said he would take me to eat ice cream—he lied. He never came back. Brother Ye Yang... did Brother Ye Yang lie to us too?"

The moment he said that, the atmosphere in the game room completely collapsed.

Upon hearing the word "lie," the youngest children reacted as if a switch had been flipped, and they all started crying at the same time.

A girl pushed the building blocks aside, hugged her knees and curled up into a small ball, her shoulders shaking.

Another boy lay on the ground and cried, burying his face in his crossed arms, sobbing so hard that snot bubbles came out of his nose.

There was also a little one who had just learned to speak not long ago. She didn't know what had happened, but seeing everyone else crying, she started crying too.

"No—" A little girl tugged at Xiaohe's sleeve, crying so hard she could barely speak, "I don't want Brother Yeyang to leave—I don't want to—"

"Brother Ye Yang promised—he promised—"

Little Stone put down the building blocks he was holding.

He turned around and looked at the children who were crying their eyes out. His mouth moved, but he didn't know what to say.

He was usually not very talkative. When Ye Yang was around, he would always follow behind and help Ye Yang. When Ye Yang was not around, he could only try his best to act as an "adult". But in the end, he was just a ten-year-old child.

He saw the youngest girl crying so hard that snot was running down her nose, and he instinctively reached out to wipe it for her, but his own eyes were also red.

DouDou's eyes were also red, but she was still trying her best to hold them back.

She bit her lower lip, pushed the half-finished block model aside, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "No—Brother Ye Yang wouldn't lie—he promised—"

Just then, the door opened.

A slow, unhurried footstep came from outside. The children all turned to look at the door, and several of the crying children didn't even bother to wipe their tears.

Aunt Zhang pushed open the door and walked in. She is fifty-six years old this year, and almost half of her hair has turned white.

She was wearing a slightly faded floral shirt, and one of her hands still had water droplets left from washing vegetables.

She entered, slightly bending over, and first glanced around the game room. Then, a smile that was both heartache and amusement appeared on her lips: "Oh dear—why are you crying, darlings?"

She walked over quickly and patted DouDou's head with her other clean hand. "Did you two have another fight?"

Little Stone looked up at Aunt Zhang, pursed his lips, then wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"They—they just said that Brother Ye Yang isn't coming back, and then they cried. Xiao Le said that his old friend was adopted and never came back, and everyone is afraid that Brother Ye Yang will too..."

Aunt Zhang nodded, her gaze shifting from Xiao Shitou's face to Xiao Le, who was huddled in the corner.

Xiao Le had her face buried in her knees, her shoulders twitching.

Instead of immediately going over to comfort her, she stood up and walked to the middle of the game room.

She bent down and picked up a few of the scattered building blocks, putting them into a box. Then she clapped her hands to get all the children's attention.

"Come here, babies," she said, opening her arms as if beckoning a group of chicks.

The youngest children immediately scrambled to their feet and stumbled toward her.

The youngest one was unsteady on her feet and almost tripped over the edge of the carpet. Aunt Zhang stepped forward, scooped her up, and held her in her arms.

Xiao Le walked over slowly and stood next to Aunt Zhang with his head down.

Aunt Zhang, holding the youngest child, used one hand to pat Xiao Le's head and said softly, "You don't need to worry about this."

She looked down at Xiao Le, then at the children surrounding her. "Brother Ye Yang just called me—he said he'll be there soon."

"Really?" DouDou asked, her voice trembling with a hint of tears.

"Really? Really? Really? Really?!" Several children asked in unison, like a group of light bulbs that had been suddenly turned on.

"That's right." Aunt Zhang nodded, then lifted the little girl in her arms up a bit, and the little girl's hands naturally wrapped around her neck.

"Brother Ye Yang wouldn't lie, would he? Think about it yourselves, when has Brother Ye Yang ever failed to keep his promises?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chubby little boy raised his hand, as if he were answering the teacher's question in class.

"Last time, Brother Ye Yang said he would give me candy—he said he would put the candy under my pillow—but when I went to look for it at night, there was nothing there—he also tricked me out of three strawberry-flavored candies—and he still hasn't returned them to me—"

Aunt Zhang opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, a little girl next to her also raised her hand:

"And my cookies! Brother Ye Yang said he'd give me cookies if I helped him move books, and I carried a whole stack! I didn't get any cookies, and he even said I moved the wrong ones!"

Another boy raised his hand, "And my milk tea! He said he'd buy me milk tea! But he didn't!"

Aunt Zhang's lips twitched. She held the little girl in her arms, her eyes glancing towards the ceiling.

But she quickly regained her composure, coughed lightly, cleared her throat, and put on that gentle smile again.

"Haha—Ye Yang, that kid, although he's usually a bit unreliable—but! He never lies to you when it comes to important matters, right?"

The children quieted down and then looked at each other.

Dou Dou was the first to speak. She stood on tiptoe and raised her hands above her head to show her name: "Last time I flew a kite, it flew up into a tree, so high—and Brother Ye Yang climbed up to get it down for me. His knees were scratched by branches, but he kept smiling and said it didn't hurt at all."

After Dou Dou finished speaking, another little boy immediately chimed in, "Brother Ye Yang remembers everyone's birthday! My birthday is March 15th, and he made me a chocolate cake! He even drew a smiley face on it with strawberry jam. Although it was a little ugly, it tasted amazing!"

A little girl nestled against Aunt Zhang's legs and said in a soft voice, "Brother Ye Yang knows we're afraid of thunder. Every time it thunders on a rainy day and we can't sleep, he comes to our dormitory to tell us stories. He falls asleep while telling stories. That day, he was sitting in a chair and snoring louder than the thunder."

"Brother Ye Yang cooked porridge for me when I was sick. I had a fever that day and vomited several times. He stayed with me all night and kept changing my towels."

"He also taught me to write—he said my handwriting looked like earthworms crawling—but he was so patient when he taught me. If I didn't understand the first time, he would teach me twice, and if I still didn't understand the second time, he would teach me three times—"

"Brother Ye Yang also said that each of us is special."

As Aunt Zhang listened to the children chattering away, the corners of her mouth curved into a wider smile.

She put the little girl down from her arms, and the little girl automatically ran to the other children.

Aunt Zhang knelt down, reached out and wiped away the last trace of tears from Xiao Le's eyes, then said softly:

"So, I'm telling you, Brother Ye Yang will definitely come. When he sees you all crying like little kittens, he'll laugh at you again."

"I didn't cry!" Baozi immediately denied loudly, then rubbed her face haphazardly with her sleeve, but the more she rubbed, the more messy it became.

"I didn't either!" DouDou wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, puffed out her chest, and tried her best to make a "I'm very brave" expression.

Aunt Zhang laughed, then reached out and pulled the several children who were still sobbing together, wiping their tears with her sleeve.

Little Stone stood up, took a few tissues from the shelf next to him, and clumsily helped Little Le wipe his nose.

Although Xiao Le was still sniffling, she had stopped crying.

Just then, the door opened again.

The wooden door slammed against the wall with a crisp sound, followed by a familiar voice coming from the doorway: "Sorry I'm late today!"

Ye Yang stood at the door, a magenta camera hanging around his neck, and a strangely shaped large object wrapped in cloth in his arms.

Two girls stood behind him. Lin Xingran had his hands in his pockets and glanced around arrogantly, while Lin Ying stood quietly to his side.

But the children didn't notice the two strangers behind him at all; everyone's eyes were fixed on Ye Yang's face.

Ye Yang's gaze swept across the game room, and the corners of his mouth immediately curled up, revealing a gloating smile.

He pointed at the children and said in a drawn-out voice, "Ah—you're crying. You're actually crying. Crybabies aren't brave."

The game room was silent for a second.

Then it exploded.

Baozi was the first to rush forward. He ran like an angry little ball, shouting as he went, "I didn't cry! You're the one who cried! You still owe me three candies!"

He rushed up to Ye Yang and gently punched Ye Yang's thigh with his fist.

DouDou rushed up too: "You said you'd be back in the afternoon! It's already dark! You lied!"

Her fist landed on Ye Yang's other leg, and she kicked his shoe as she punched him.

Xiao Le squeezed in from behind. Instead of hitting Ye Yang, he hugged Ye Yang's waist.

He buried his face in Ye Yang's clothes and mumbled something.

Ye Yang's smile paused for a moment, then he removed one hand from the cloth bag and gently pressed it on the back of Xiao Le's head.

Several other children also gathered around. Ye Yang was surrounded by a group of children, and he was like a tree being attacked by a group of squirrels, unable to move at all.

"I didn't cry—"

"Give me back the candy from last time—"

"My cookies! Brother Ye Yang is a big liar!"

"My milk tea! It's been three days!"

Ye Yang was knocked off his feet by the children's punches. He raised his hands high above his head in a gesture of surrender.

Lin Xingran stood lazily by the door, her arms crossed as she watched the scene unfold before her.

The Ye Yang who was surrounded and punched by a group of children while still laughing like a flower is completely different from the Ye Yang who stood in the sunlight this afternoon and said, "Just a passing Kamen Rider."

As she watched, the corners of her mouth unconsciously began to turn upwards: "He really wasn't bragging. He really is the boss of the orphanage."

Lin Ying stood quietly beside Lin Xingran, her hands clasped in front of her. Her light gray eyes followed Ye Yang's every move, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly: "I... think it's great."

Lin Xingran turned her head to look at her, then turned back to look at Ye Yang.

She nodded slightly, then said affirmatively, "Yes, he's much better than those real young masters in novels."