Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Chapter 124 I want to build them a new building

Before the laughter had even subsided, Tiger pulled out two more little girls, saying he wanted to sing "The Wind Rises."

Two little girls stood in front, their faces flushed, heads down, pushing each other for a long time, neither willing to speak first.

Finally, Tiger waved his hand and shouted, "One, two, three, sing!"

"We traveled this route, stopping and starting along the way—"

Surprisingly, he didn't sing off-key in the first two lines.

Shen Nian sat up straight, her eyes brightening.

But by the third line, the two girls sang in different notes; one went up high and the other down, completely out of tune.

The two looked at each other, one covered her mouth and laughed, while the other simply stopped singing and turned away to hide.

Tiger got impatient and clapped his hands from behind, yelling, "Sing! Why aren't you singing?!"

Shen Nian couldn't hold back any longer and stood up to walk among the children.

"Come on, let me sing it with you."

She cleared her throat and began to speak without any accompaniment.

"We traveled along the way, stopping and starting, following the trail of the boy's drifting journey..."

The children looked up at her, mouths agape, forgetting to sing along.

When the song reached its chorus, Shen Nian put her hand on the little girl's shoulder and walked slowly, following her melody.

"I once poured my youth into her..."

The two little girls slowly caught up, and if they sang something wrong, they would peek at Shen Nian's lip movements and sing it again.

After the song ended, the courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

Then applause broke out.

Two little girls rushed over and hugged Shen Nian's waist.

"Your sister sings so well! Even better than on TV!"

Shen Nian squatted down, hugged the two little girls in her arms, and smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into slits.

Fang Xiulan looked at Shen Nian, who was surrounded by children, and said something to Jiang Fan.

"To be honest, this girl... is really nice."

"Um."

Fang Xiulan glanced at him.

"What 'hmm'? If you dare to bully her, I'll skin you alive."

The sun has set.

The lights in the courtyard have already been turned on.

Fang Xiulan held Shen Nian's hand and chatted with her under the eaves for a while.

Jiang Fan recounted how he wet the bed as a child and how he secretly climbed over the wall when he was fourteen—

Jiang Fan, who was listening nearby, turned green with rage.

"Fang Ma—"

"Don't interrupt." Fang Xiulan patted him and continued to nag Shen Nian, "Another time, he somehow got hold of a harmonica and said he wanted to learn music. He played it in the corridor for three days, and all the kids in the building couldn't sleep at night and came to me to complain."

Shen Nian laughed so hard she almost fell over, stealing glances at Jiang Fan every now and then.

Feeling embarrassed, Jiang Fan made an excuse to go to the yard to tidy up the table.

Fang Xiulan muttered to his retreating figure, "Why are you running? It's not like it's anything shameful."

Shen Nian covered her mouth and laughed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Before leaving, Fang Xiulan stuffed a bag of steamed buns and sugar triangles she had made herself into Shen Nian's arms.

"Take it home and eat it."

Shen Nian held the bag, her lips pursed for a long time.

"Aunt Fang, I will come to visit you often."

Fang Xiulan nodded vigorously and patted the back of her hand.

Just as Jiang Fan and his group were about to walk towards the door, a figure darted out from behind the locust tree.

Xiao Mei.

She ran up to Shen Nian and stood there, holding a piece of drawing paper in her hand, and held it up in front of Shen Nian.

Shen Nian paused for a moment, then took it.

There are three people drawn on the paper.

A tall girl, a girl with long hair, and a little person in a red dress holding their hand in the middle.

The background is a large house, much like an orphanage, with windows painted crookedly, but each window is painted a warm yellow.

Shen Nian looked at the painting, squatted down, and hugged Xiao Mei.

"I'll come see you again next time."

Xiao Mei didn't say anything, but nodded vigorously, then turned and ran back to the locust tree.

Fang Xiulan wiped her eyes from behind: "This child... has been here for more than half a year, and this is the first time I've seen her take the initiative to get close to someone."

"Let's go, Aunt Fang."

The car started and slowly drove out of the courtyard gate.

In the rearview mirror, Fang Xiulan stood in front of the iron gate, surrounded by a group of children waving in the direction of the car.

Tiger had the loudest voice, shouting, "Brother Fan, come again next time—"

Shen Nian looked back for a long time until the car turned the corner and she could no longer see it.

She turned back and rested her face on Jiang Fan's shoulder.

The carriage was quiet.

Streetlights swept past the window one by one, casting shadows on Shen Nian's face.

Li Cheng drove very steadily, and no one said a word.

After a long while, Shen Nian said something in a low voice.

"When I've earned enough money, I'll build them a new building."

Jiang Fan looked down at her.

She buried her face in his arm, her voice muffled.

"Every child should have a room with a large window that lets in the sun. The activity room should also be large, where they can draw and sing."

Li Cheng glanced in the rearview mirror, his throat bobbed, and he cracked open the car window.

A breeze blew in, carrying the scent of fresh grass from the countryside.

Jiang Fan didn't reply, but simply placed his hand on her head and patted it gently twice.

It was almost eight o'clock when we got back to the city.

Li Cheng dropped the two off at their apartment building, rolled down the car window, said "See you tomorrow," and drove off.

The taillights disappeared as they turned into the intersection.

Shen Nian carried the steamed buns Fang Xiulan had given her and walked down the stairs, with Jiang Fan following behind.

Upon entering the house, Shen Nian first put the steamed buns into the refrigerator.

She turned around and went to take a shower.

Jiang Fan sat on the living room sofa and took out his phone to deal with messages.

Hsu Ching-ya: "Aren't you coming to the concert tomorrow?"

He thought for a moment and replied, "I'm really busy. I'll celebrate with you when you get back."

Xu Qingya replied with an unhappy emoji: "You better keep your word."

Su Yuyan also sent a WeChat message: "There are still two details in the arrangement of 'Sigh'. Come over tomorrow and check them with me."

He replied "Okay," then left and placed his phone on the coffee table.

I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes for a while.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom.

After more than ten minutes, Shen Nian came out.

Her hair was half-wet and draped over her shoulders; she was wearing a loose nightgown.

She walked over barefoot, took Xiaomei's painting out of her bag, spread it on the coffee table, and gently ran her fingers along the edge of the painting a couple of times.

"I need to frame it and hang it at home."

She spoke very softly, as if talking to herself.

Shen Nian turned her head to the side, then leaned to the side and rested her head on Jiang Fan's lap.

His hair was loose on his knees and smelled of shampoo.

"Jiang Fan".

"Um."

"Aunt Fang said you were eight years old and still wet the bed, is that true?"

Jiang Fan's expression froze for a moment.

"...You'd better forget about it."

Shen Nian laughed, her shoulders swaying as she sat on his lap.

Jiang Fan picked up his hand and gently patted her head.

Stop laughing.