My wife is a witch princess.

After exiting the station, Song Che hailed a taxi.

It was still quite a distance to the orphanage. The driver, a talkative local uncle, started grumbling as soon as he heard they were going there: "That place is remote. What are you going there for? To visit relatives?"

"I'm volunteering," Song Che replied briefly, not wanting to talk any further.

The middle-aged man glanced at him and Xia Li in the rearview mirror with a curious look, but didn't ask any more questions, because neither of them seemed very easy to talk to.

It's cold and intimidating.

Song Che leaned back in his chair, staring out the window, lost in thought.

The streetscape is becoming increasingly remote, with fewer buildings and more fields.

The car drove for more than twenty minutes before finally stopping in front of an iron gate. A newly installed sign hung on the wall next to the gate: Taixi Social Welfare Institute.

Song Che paid the fare and got off the bus with Xia Li.

The building in front of me is a bit older than in the photos, a three-story building, but it looks like it has just been renovated. The yard is also clean, and there are children's play facilities in the corner.

It was more like a proper organization than he had imagined.

This put his mind at ease a little.

"You wait here," Song Che said to Xia Li. "I'll go in and check, and I'll be out as soon as possible."

He didn't want her to wait outside for too long, especially since it was cold in winter.

Xia Li nodded.

Song Che forced a smile, trying to appear relaxed.

I walked to the guardhouse and knocked on the window. An old man sitting inside, listening to the radio, slowly opened the window.

"what's up?"

"Hello, sir, I'm a student from Nanhui No.1 Middle School. I called this morning to inquire about the welfare home and do some social practice." Song Che tried his best to appear sincere, reciting his prepared remarks. "Could I go in for a visit, or talk to the person in charge?"

The old man sized him up a few times, his eyes scrutinizing him: "Do you have a letter of introduction?"

“…Yes.” Song Che took out a file folder from his backpack, pulled out a letter of introduction, and handed it over.

My palms are a little damp.

The old man took it, squinted at it, and Song Che suspected that he didn't understand because he was holding it upside down.

“Nanhui No.1 Middle School… it’s missing a stamp, it won’t do.” He handed the letter back and waved his hand. “We have regulations here that non-relatives can’t just come in. If you really want to put it into practice, contact the civil affairs department.”

Well... this doesn't make sense, we agreed on this beforehand.

He wanted to say something more, but the old man had already closed the window, and the radio started playing again.

He walked back to Xia Li's side, shrugged, and tried to keep his tone light: "Can't get in, this old man is too stubborn."

Actually, I felt quite frustrated.

Despite all the preparations, we couldn't even get through the door.

The main problem is that I was stood up!

Xia Li showed no surprise. She glanced inside the orphanage and suddenly asked, "What do you want to know?"

"I mainly want to see how it actually works, the containment standards, and... if I said I found a lost child, how would I replace Tao Yao with you?" Song Che paused, his voice lowering, "In your case, if you were discovered, it would be quite troublesome."

Xia Li remained silent for a while.

Song Che looked at her, feeling a pang of sadness. She should have been living her own world as the Witch Princess, but now she was here worrying about an identity document.

"Will I be sent in and locked up?" she asked calmly, but Song Che sensed uncertainty in her voice.

"No, not at all." Song Che smiled, trying to ease the tension. "You look to be at least eighteen or nineteen years old. You'd usually be sent to a shelter, or you'd stay with the police for a while."

"I don't want to be sent in."

Xia Li gazed at the buildings of the orphanage, her profile appearing somewhat fragile in the afternoon light.

This is not like her.

She always stands tall with a straight back and clear eyes, as if she can face anything.

“No,” he said. “I won’t let that happen.”

Xia Li turned her head back, her blue eyes looking at him.

"This clause wasn't written in the contract."

"I'm writing now." Song Che took out a water bottle from his backpack, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

The water was cold, and drinking it calmed him down a bit.

“Then I’ll add one more clause: you can’t be sent to a shelter.”

Xia Li didn't speak, but Song Che saw her lips twitch—as if she wanted to laugh.

Finally, Xia Li revealed a smile that made everyone cringe, a smile even sillier than a silly grin.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

Song Che checked the time; it was a little past two in the afternoon.

The sunlight was shining on the wall, and it was clearly beginning to set in the west; it was actually getting late.

We can't just be stood up like this; we've already come all this way.

"I'll make another call and ask. Maybe the old man just doesn't understand."

He pulled Xia Li around the welfare home's perimeter wall, found a sheltered corner to sit down, took out his phone, and found the phone number of the social worker in charge that he had previously noted down.

He has all the necessary documents. Even if he hasn't received any training and comes alone, at least let him in to take a look.

My finger hovered over the dial key for a moment, then I pressed it and dialed the number.

"Try again," he said to Xia Li.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

It was a younger female voice, and she sounded easier to talk to than the old gatekeeper.

Song Che explained the situation again, speaking a little faster than usual, but trying to remain clear.

He emphasized that he had a letter of introduction from the school, had just obtained a health certificate from the hospital, and also had a certificate of no criminal record. He had come all the way from Nanhui just to see the place in person and do what he could, even if it was just helping to organize books or clean.

Later on, he himself felt that the reason was a bit weak, having come all the way to visit the welfare home.

But there's nothing we can do; these are the only cards we have.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then the female voice said, "Wait a minute, let me ask. It seems that Song Che is volunteering."

I heard a few voices talking through the receiver, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

After a while, the female voice spoke again: "Student, our director said that this is true. It's almost Chinese New Year, so everyone's quite busy. If you could help look after the children in the activity room and play with them for a while, that would be great. But the security guard said your classmate..."

Song Che immediately said, "She's my sister, and she wanted to help too. She's very quiet and won't cause any trouble."

There was another pause on the other end.

"...Alright. Come in all of you. When you get there, just tell the security guard you're looking for Social Worker Liu."

After hanging up the phone, Song Che breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that he had been holding his breath the whole time.

He raised an eyebrow at Xia Li, trying to appear relaxed: "It's done. Let's go."

When the old man knocked on the window of the guardhouse again, his attitude changed upon hearing the name of social worker Liu. He muttered, "Why didn't you say so earlier?" and pressed the button to open the small iron gate on the side.

The iron gate creaked open.

A young woman who looked to be in her late twenties, with a ponytail and wearing a light blue down jacket, was waiting inside the door.

She was social worker Liu, a very kind person with a smile on her face. The moment Song Che saw her smile, he felt a little relieved.

At least, he seems like an easy person to talk to.

"Song Che, right? And this is your sister?" She looked at Xia Li.

“Yes, Xia Li.” Song Che nodded and stepped aside to let Xia Li step forward a little. He noticed a flash of surprise in Liu social worker’s eyes when she saw Xia Li’s hair, but it quickly returned to normal.

"Hello, welcome." Social worker Liu led them towards the main building while giving a brief introduction, "The facility is a bit busy today. A few children have colds and are resting. There are also four or five younger children in the activity room, being looked after by a caregiver alone. Please go over and tell her to take a break and play games with the children. But please be careful and don't let the children bump into anything... You should also be careful and avoid bumping into anything."

Song Che listened and nodded, thinking that taking care of a child didn't sound difficult.

The activity room is on the first floor. It's a fairly large room with foam mats on the floor, cartoon patterns painted on the walls, and some fairy tale picture books piled up in the corner.

Three little boys and two little girls were chattering and making noise around an older woman. The woman looked a little tired, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw social worker Liu bring people in.

"Xiao Liu, are these the students who came to help?"

"Yes, Aunt Li, this is Song Che and his sister Xia Li. Song Che, Xia Li, this is Aunt Li. Please keep an eye on the children for me. I have to take care of some other things and will be back in a bit."

Social worker Liu gave a few instructions and then left in a hurry.

Aunt Li briefly told Song Che and Xia Li the names of the children and their general situation before leaving, probably to attend to other matters.

Suddenly, only Song Che, Xia Li, and the five children remained in the activity room.

The children stared curiously at the two newcomers, especially Xia Li's silver hair.

A little girl, about five or six years old, with pigtails, was quite bold. She approached Xia Li, looked up, and asked, "Sister, your hair is...like snow!"

Xia Li looked down at her and gently touched the ends of her hair that were hanging over her shoulder.

Another little boy with a runny nose tugged at Song Che's trouser leg: "Brother, are you here to play with us? I want to play with building blocks!"

"Okay, let's play with building blocks." Song Che squatted down, his eye level with the little boy's, and took a bucket of colorful building blocks from the toy basket. "What do you want to build?"

"castle!"

"Rocket!"

"A big car!"

"Ultraman!"

"Idiot, Ultraman is fake, I want Armor Hero!"

"Armor Hero is fake, I want to fight Magical Girl!"

The children immediately cheered and started chattering away.