Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

"Is that so... Since you put it that way, Zixiao, then that must be it..."

After this back and forth, Zixiao lost the desire to go back. Upon reflection, she realized that her brother had indeed said he wanted to "talk alone."

I'm so annoyed. I'll definitely have to ask them about this when I get back.

With a sigh, Zixiao sat down on an old-fashioned wooden chair next to her, looked at Minghe standing beside her, and pointed to another wooden chair across the coffee table.

"Minghe, please sit down. This is perfect. I also have something I'd like to talk to you about in private. It's been so long since we last met."

"Can I sit down?"

Zixiao was very surprised: "Minghe, why do you ask that?"

“Because you see,” Minghe said, counting on her fingers, “that terrifyingly handsome young master outside is your brother, Zixiao. Even if we’re not related by blood, Zixiao, you’re practically a young lady from a wealthy family. I don’t think sitting here will make you uncomfortable…”

“Minghe, if you say that again, I’m going to get angry.”

Zixiao was clearly a little angry at this sentence. What? In just a few years, people have become so far apart?

However, Minghe smiled happily and quickly sat down in another chair.

"I was just kidding! Seriously, even if you're a young lady, Zixiao, I'm still your older sister, hmph. And with that relationship, wouldn't I be able to do whatever I want outside?"

"As long as you watch where you're going and don't bump into telephone poles, you can walk sideways as you please."

"Haha, Zixiao, you haven't changed at all. You're still the same as before, always making sarcastic remarks."

Is that a compliment?!

After laughing a few times, Minghe said thoughtfully, "You say you haven't changed, but you've actually changed a lot."

"Hmm? What do you mean? I don't feel like I've changed much."

“Of course!” Minghe said decisively. “Look, at the very least, Zixiao, you’ve become even more beautiful, and you have more poise than before, and also…”

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Zixiao quickly made a pause gesture: "Stop flattering me. As for temperament, Minghe, you're just as good. Among our group, you're the oldest and most reliable. Aren't you even more mature now?"

Hmm... if you're not always so easily startled, you could probably be described as composed... I guess.

"Zixiao, you flatter me too much. But what I really want to talk about is not these things. The most important change should be your eyes."

"Eye?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Minghe looked at Zixiao’s beautiful red eyes with relief. “When you were in the orphanage, you seemed to get along well with us kids on the surface, but I could see from your eyes that you were always lonely.”

Minghe knew that Zixiao was more mature than her peers back then. When Minghe, the oldest of the children, played wildly with them every day, Zixiao participated as well. But now that she thinks about it, she was probably just trying to make sure everyone else felt comfortable.

Seeing that Zixiao did not deny the question, Minghe continued, "But now, your eyes are different from before. Although they were beautiful before, like a calm lake, they are now like stars, sparkling."

Zixiao herself was unaware of these things, but after hearing Minghe's explanation, she could indeed guess the reason behind them.

After all, she has found her true home.

So, Zixiao smiled and said, "Yes, Minghe is right, I am very happy now."

"Okay, then I can rest assured."

She spoke very seriously just now, but then she reverted to her carefree self: "Honestly, everyone here is living such a wonderful life, while I'm still helping out at the orphanage. Sigh, I really want to go out and enjoy life as soon as possible."

Zixiao smiled knowingly: "That's what you say, but Minghe, you stayed here voluntarily, right?"

When Zixiao came last year, she asked about this issue and learned that Minghe was supposed to leave the orphanage to live on her own when she came of age, but she decided to stay and continue living there without pay, taking care of the homeless children who came to the orphanage as an adult, just like how she herself was cared for by Grandma Mo and the others back then.

Gu is the same.

Minghe smiled and said, "Yes, it's a way for me to repay you. I'll help you here until I'm twenty-three, and then I'll go out and live my own life!"

I heard that most of those kids did quite well after they left; some became teachers, some became designers, and some became police officers.

But the most fantastical one has to be Zixiao. Who would have thought that a child from an orphanage would suddenly become the young lady of the city's largest family?

Thinking of this, Minghe's gossipy nature was ignited.

She asked with a mischievous grin, "Hey Zixiao, so many years have passed, you're this age now, is there anyone you like? Oh, of course, you don't have to say if you don't want to..."

"Yes, I have someone I like." Zixiao answered immediately before Minghe could finish speaking.

This was completely unexpected for Minghe. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she continued to press, "Really?! Can you tell me who it is, sister? I'm so curious!"

"There's nothing wrong with that..."

After saying this, Zixiao pointed in the direction of the next room, and Minghe looked in the direction she pointed.

"The person I like lives next door, it's my brother. Saying I like him isn't quite right... I think I deeply love him..."

"..."

Minghe was completely stunned. Who am I? Where am I? What did Zixiao just say?

5. The world is vast (Vote needed at the end of the month!)

The room fell silent for several seconds.

When the sound came again, it was Minghe's wry smile and guess.

"Um... I think Zixiao, you definitely didn't understand what I meant. The 'like' I'm talking about here refers to the 'like' between lovers. You just said... Oh, I get it! You mean the kind of admiration you have for your older brother, right!"

Minghe suddenly felt enlightened. What is this?

But Zixiao's next words left her confused again.

"No, I definitely admire him, but I'm referring to the kind of liking that exists between lovers, and I'm very sure of that."

"..."

The room fell silent once again.

Zixiao and Minghe didn't feel there was anything wrong with talking about it. This was her childhood playmate, and she was very innocent. It wasn't a bad thing for her to occasionally confide in him.

But this outpouring of emotions had a huge impact on Minghe!

"Really?!" Minghe quickly accepted the situation, then found it unbelievable. "You actually like Su Yuzhe? No... but you guys..."

"There's no blood relation."

Zixiao said casually, "I like it, I don't see anything wrong with it. Minghe, why are you reacting so strongly?"

"No, no, no, most people would have such a strong reaction."

Minghe found it unbelievable and poured herself and Zixiao a cup of tea to calm down a bit.

It must be that a lot of things happened to Zixiao during the ten years she was in the Su family.

Minghe had heard Zixiao's words earlier, and there was absolutely no joking in them. When she talked about Su Yuzhe, her eyes were definitely filled with the look of someone in love.

While pouring tea for Zixiao, her thoughts became clearer: "So, Zixiao, you're quite certain about this feeling. As your older sister, I'll definitely wish you well and cheer you on. But the problem is... although I don't know for sure, I guess a young master of your brother's stature must have quite a few girls chasing after him..."

Zixiao understands this issue very well; if you count both the cultivated flowers and the wild flowers, there are many.

Then Minghe saw a scene that made her gasp in shock.

Zixiao actually started counting each person one by one on her fingers.

And they still couldn't count all the fingers on one hand!

I told you to count your rivals, not to count cabbages!

But this can be considered both unexpected and reasonable?

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Minghe stopped Zixiao from counting cabbages... ugh, counting her rivals: "Alright, alright, stop counting. I thought there were only one or two at most. Isn't the competition quite fierce for you?"

Zixiao's words were a little hard for her to understand: "No, the competition is fierce among the wildflowers, but we house flowers are all very stable."

"?"

"Well, this is a bit hard to explain. Anyway, Minghe, you just need to understand that my brother and I like each other, and I still need to keep trying!"

"That's a confident yet perplexing statement..." Minghe asked a practical question, "Putting everything else aside, which of your rivals in love do you think poses the greatest threat to you?"

Even if asked, Minghe would definitely not know, but through the relationship between the person who poses the greatest threat and Su Yuzhe, Minghe can offer Zixiao some advice.

Zixiao thought for a moment and said frankly, "The biggest threat...it must be Yuche, right?"

"Who is Yu Che? What is his relationship with your brother?"

"Ah, she is my brother's younger sister."

"puff!"

Minghe sprayed all the tea onto the ground!

"Minghe, are you alright?!"

Taking the towel from the chair that Zixiao handed her, Minghe smiled blankly: "Zixiao, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that there are some things I don't understand at all. Maybe I'm too inexperienced. In short, I have the will but not the ability."

"Haha... It's complicated here, don't worry about it."

Minghe became determined to go out and see the world when she turned twenty-three.

Indeed, the world is vast!

........................... ..

Yu Zhe was definitely unaware of the perplexing conversation taking place in the next room.

He had been talking to Grandma Mo about serious matters, about the future development of the orphanage, since just now.

"Grandma Mo, I have a question for you. Does the orphanage still have the funds to keep it running?"

Is that enough?

Grandma Mo was a little surprised that Yu Zhe asked this question, but after thinking about it, she said, "It's enough, of course it's enough. Yu Zhe, you can see that we have hired so many employees here. We never had this kind of situation before."

"No, I wish you could tell the truth. Why are you forcing yourself to stay? There are so many children here. If the funding chain breaks, these poor children will suffer the most."

A hint of surprise flashed across Grandma Mo's aged face; she felt as if she wasn't facing a child.

After a long pause, she shook her head, her smile gone, replaced by a hint of difficulty: "Alright... the cash in the hospital's accounts has indeed been a bit tight lately, but even so, how did you know, Yu Zhe? No one but me has ever seen that ledger."

"So that's how it was..."

Yu Zhe nodded and explained, "I haven't seen the ledger, but I'm just guessing. When I sent someone to deliver funds last year, they said the orphanage hadn't been expanded yet. But looking at it today, the two rooms on the far east and far west sides should be the last expansion project. However, judging from the weeds around them, it must have been abandoned for a long time after construction started. I don't think such welfare facilities would suddenly stop construction unless the funding chain breaks down."

Before Grandma Mo could even admire his observation skills, Yu Zhe continued, "And when you were talking about cooking earlier, Grandma Mo, you told Zi Xiao that you were cooking because you were free, but it's strange if you hired someone. Also, you called someone over to the kitchen area, so that must be the chef there. And judging from his reluctant expression, did he not receive, or not receive, his full salary for this month?"

Finally, Yu Zhe concluded: "The idea of ​​suddenly expanding and recruiting a large number of employees in the same year to create better conditions for the children is good, but it can easily lead to a temporary break in the cash flow. I was just guessing before, but now, judging from your reaction, Grandma Mo, there is indeed this problem."