Chapter 80
Chapter 80
After leaving the “Activity Room,” Jiang Li and the other three put on their transparent raincoats and headed to the cafeteria as a group.
Outside the wooden house, the sky remained thick with dark clouds.
The rain fell heavily, a constant pitter-patter accompanied by occasional flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder.
On the way to the cafeteria, they passed the small fork in the road.
Jiang Li instinctively glanced toward the intersection.
Once again, she saw that man.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, and there was blood on his clothes.
He still wasn’t wearing a raincoat, standing there stiffly in the downpour, staring unblinkingly in Jiang Li’s direction.
Jiang Li found it increasingly strange.
She wanted to take a few more looks, but Yingying suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her line of sight.
Yingying’s gaze always felt inexplicably sharp.
With her back to the two boys ahead, she deliberately lowered her voice as she spoke to Jiang Li.
“Hey, Lili, do you want to be adopted? If you really want to, just beg me, and I might give my chance to you.”
Yingying spoke with shameless arrogance, adopting the posture of someone superior.
Jiang Li looked at her and curled her lips into a slight smile.
She then pulled out a slip of paper and shook it open.
On it was written: “Thank you. You really are a good person.”
Jiang Li gave a fake, cold smile, her eyes narrowing slightly.
This move completely baffled Yingying.
Yingying had assumed Jiang Li had a stubborn temper and would never accept charity from others.
Her original plan was to provoke Jiang Li into an argument, then pretend to be the victim to stab Jiang Li in the back.
She never expected Jiang Li to agree so readily!
Yingying felt a surge of irritation.
Having already said the words, it was hard to take them back now.
However, she didn’t actually want to give the chance to Jiang Li.
She had no choice but to suppress her temper and put on an air of indifference.
“Oh well, there are plenty of chances like this. I’m in no rush.”
After saying that, Yingying turned around and walked away quickly.
She broke into a light jog to catch up with the Little Shota and the Black Kid to start a conversation.
Watching Yingying’s back, a cold sneer played on the corners of Jiang Li’s mouth.
Yingying’s claim that she was “in no rush” was obviously a lie.
Jiang Li could tell from her tone that Yingying was actually dying of anxiety.
Everyone knew that in this Sunshine Orphanage, none of the orphans lived past the age of seven.
Though the reason was unknown, seven was definitely the cutoff point.
Before seven, you were either adopted or you died here.
This was also why the teachers and Caregivers had been secretly shedding tears during the birthday party earlier.
Because this early birthday celebration was very likely the last time these children would ever celebrate a birthday.
The four children reached the entrance of the cafeteria together.
Yingying’s Caregiver was waiting for her at the door.
Yingying took the Caregiver’s hand and went straight inside.
When it was the turn of Jiang Li and the two boys, the Black Kid was about to head in when Jiang Li reached out and stopped him.
The Black Kid looked at Jiang Li in confusion. “What’s wrong, Lili? Aren’t you going in to eat?”
This Black Kid had clear, innocent eyes, but he wasn’t very bright.
Jiang Li pointed to a note posted by the door.
It was a new set of rules.
[Sunshine Orphanage – Activity Rules] Rule 1:
[To enter the cafeteria, you must be accompanied by a Caregiver. Otherwise, your safety cannot be guaranteed.]
This rule was written very clearly.
In most cases, the Caregivers would wait for the children to finish class and then bring them over.
But Jiang Li’s Caregiver had already died the previous night.
The current Caregivers didn’t care at all whether children like Jiang Li lived or died.
Naturally, they wouldn’t faithfully wait to enter the cafeteria with Jiang Li and the others.
The three of them stopped in their tracks.
While they were waiting at the entrance, they happened to run into Aunt Xiaoyu coming out.
Aunt Xiaoyu was with the Little Fatty Girl.
The Little Fatty Girl greeted them enthusiastically.
“Sister Lili! And Brother Yangyang, Brother Zhuangzhuang, what are you all doing here?” the Little Fatty Girl asked in surprise.
The “Brother Zhuangzhuang” she mentioned referred to the Black Kid.
And “Brother Yangyang” was presumably the Little Shota.
Jiang Li only just learned the name of this somewhat mysterious Little Shota.
Hearing the Little Fatty Girl’s question, the Little Shota said with a deadpan expression:
“We’re waiting for Aunt Xiaoyu. Aunt Xiaoyu, take us inside to eat.”
Aunt Xiaoyu, who was nearby with a lollipop hanging out of her mouth, scanned the Little Shota from head to toe.
Then, she shook her head decisively.
“No. Why should I sacrifice my break time just to take you guys to eat? If you want to eat, go in yourself. It’s not like anyone’s stopping you.”
After saying this, Aunt Xiaoyu put her arm around the Little Fatty Girl and walked away without looking back.
Jiang Li wasn’t surprised.
It was expected that this fake Caregiver would abandon them.
What Jiang Li cared about wasn’t that, but… the lollipop in Aunt Xiaoyu’s mouth!
Jiang Li had seen a similar candy in the Black Kid’s small iron box.
She was certain it was something from the Candy House.
Furthermore, Jiang Li noticed that a layer of fuzzy brown fur had appeared on the Little Fatty Girl’s arm.
The Little Fatty Girl was contaminated.
Could the Pollution Source… be related to the Candy House?
“Lili, are we really not going in?” the Black Kid asked, staring longingly into the cafeteria.
“If we don’t go in to eat soon, the cafeteria will close.”
Jiang Li thought for a moment but didn’t respond.
Just then, a Caregiver came rushing through the rain.
Judging by his build, this Caregiver was a man.
He was bundled up extremely tight.
He wore a mask, a hat, and gloves.
From head to toe, the only things visible were a pair of bloodshot eyes.
His overall aura gave off a fierce and sinister vibe.
This fierce Caregiver walked to the entrance and shook the rainwater off his body.
As he passed Jiang Li, he shot her a sidelong glance.
Jiang Li couldn’t tell if it was just an illusion, but she felt like she had seen that gaze somewhere before.
The fierce Caregiver strode into the cafeteria.
Without any hesitation, Jiang Li followed him immediately.
Like a little shadow, Jiang Li stayed close to that somewhat dangerous-looking Caregiver.
Rule 2 of the [Sunshine Orphanage – Activity Rules]:
[You can trust any Caregiver in the orphanage. They may not help you, but they will certainly not harm you.]
This rule was true.
That was why Jiang Li was bold enough to follow this shady-looking Caregiver Uncle into the cafeteria.
As Jiang Li entered, she reached behind her and made a gesture to the Black Kid and the others.
She signaled for them to follow her in.
The rules stated:
[Entering the cafeteria requires accompaniment by a Caregiver.]
This rule only emphasized the action of “entering.”
It didn’t say a Caregiver had to accompany them the entire time.
Therefore, Jiang Li and the others only needed to comply with the regulation at the moment of entry.
The Caregiver Uncle walked ahead, seemingly aware of them.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Instead, he pulled the brim of his hat lower, hiding the gratified upward curve of his lips.
After the three of them followed him inside, they quickly distanced themselves from him to go get their food.
The three of them sat down after getting their meals.
Coincidentally, that fierce Caregiver Uncle from before actually found a spot near Jiang Li’s group.
He sat at the table right next to them.
During the meal.
The Black Kid asked the Little Shota curiously, “Yangyang, the adoption this afternoon… do you plan to try for it?”
The Little Shota shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth and lowered his head.
“Of course I want to go, but they might not necessarily take an interest in me.”
The Little Shota thought of his cleft lip and palate, feeling dejected for a few seconds.
Then he asked the Black Kid, “What about you? Are you going?”
Hearing the Little Shota’s question, the Black Kid glanced at Jiang Li.
He remembered that Lili had mentioned this morning that she wanted to go.
After hesitating for two seconds, the Black Kid said awkwardly:
“I’m… not too sure. But Lili wants to go. Anyway, if one of us goes, we can keep Lili company.”
As soon as the Black Kid finished speaking.
The sound of a meal tray being overturned came from the neighboring table.