BDBE 34

Chapter 34 Starlight Welfare Home

The Qiongying City Bus Station was crowded all year round, and it was even more packed with people near the holidays. The crowds were so dense that they almost burst the entire station. 

Lin Anyi was very sensitive to smells, especially after entering puberty and his glands began to develop. He disliked crowded places with complicated smells. 

He sat in the waiting room for almost half an hour, and finally managed to squeeze onto the bus with a pale face. 

Although the bus was prohibited from overloading, there were still dozens of people crammed into the stuffy carriage. The smell was like pickled cabbage. 

So, sitting down on the bus was not a relief for Lin Anyi, but the beginning of a new round of torture. 

He hugged his schoolbag to his chest, trying his best to shrink himself and avoid the people around him by even the smallest distance. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a window seat this time. 

The bus swayed and bumped along the road, making people dizzy and drowsy. 

Suddenly, his phone rang. Lin Anyi opened his eyes, and after a moment of reflection, he took his phone out of his pocket. 

The moment he saw the caller ID, he flinched. 

[Uncle Shen] 

Lin Anyi was stunned for a long time until the aunt beside him impatiently asked if he was going to answer the phone or not, saying it was too noisy. Only then did he come to his senses and answer the phone. 

“Xiao Yi, what are you doing? Have you eaten?” 

Shen Wanchao’s voice came through the phone. 

“Uncle Shen…,” Lin Anyi tried to make his voice sound normal, “I’ve eaten.” 

Shen Wanchao didn’t dwell on his form of address and continued, “Our family’s two kids are going to Xiaoli City for a few days this holiday. I was wondering if you wanted to come along? If so, they’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.” 

“Me?” 

Lin Anyi’s gaze passed over the uncle next to him, who was sleeping with his mouth open and drool dripping down his chin, and looked out the window at the receding highway and the lush green newly planted rice paddies beside it. 

He then replied to Shen Wanchao, “I’m already on the way to Xiaoli City.”

“Oh, I see.” Shen Wanchao sounded somewhat surprised. “Then be careful, and wait for them to come to Xiaoli City to visit you.” 

“Okay.” 

The call ended quickly. Lin Anyi lowered his eyes, then slowly raised his hand and pressed it to his heart. 

Ah, how pathetic, it’s just a phone call. 

He had already decided not to have any expectations anymore. 

…

The next morning, Shen Wanchao and Zhou Mingchen got in the car to Xiaoli City. 

Xiaoli City didn’t have a high-speed rail, and the regular trains were too slow and the environment wasn’t good, so Shen Wanchao chose to rent a car, which would be more comfortable and convenient. 

Zhou Mingchen searched for Xiaoli City on his phone while still complaining. His lips pouted so much they could hang an oil bottle. 

“This place is too small, there’s nothing fun to do, I’d rather stay home and play games.” 

Shen Wanchao confessed helplessly, “This is Lin Anyi’s hometown.” 

“What!?” Zhou Mingchen exclaimed in surprise, “His hometown is here?” 

“Yes.” Shen Wanchao nodded, “I know you and he don’t get along. If you really don’t want to, you don’t have to see him, but I want to go see him and spend half a day with him.” 

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingchen looked at the tourist information about Xiaoli City on his phone again. He suddenly found the place not so boring after all. 

“It’s okay, I’ve already made up with him,” Zhou Mingchen said. “So he’s from here.” 

“Make up?” 

Shen Wanchao was taken aback. 

But he quickly recalled that Zhou Mingchen had mentioned this matter last time at Qiongye Hills. 

Had the two children really talked things out? 

“Hey, I heard the chestnuts here are delicious, let’s go try some sometime.”

Zhou Mingchen scrolled through his phone, his interest much higher than before. 

Three hours later, Shen Wanchao and Zhou Mingchen arrived in Xiaoli City. 

Han Zhen sent Xiao Zhao to pick them up. 

Xiao Zhao was a male Beta of medium build and average appearance, a reliable and hardworking man who offered to help the boss’s two children with their luggage. 

Although Xiaoli City was only a county-level city, apart from its small size, it looked no different from other cities. There was also a four-star hotel in the city, which was where Zhou Hui and his group would be staying. 

Xiao Zhao looked around and asked, “Didn’t Mr. Shen say he was coming? Where is he?” 

Shen Wanchao had already prepared his answer: “He’s still abroad and hasn’t made it back yet, so it’s just the two of us.” 

Xiao Zhao understood; he wasn’t asking for any visit our siteother reason than to confirm the number of people. 

Then Xiao Zhao told them that Zhou Hui was still out on business and wouldn’t return to the hotel until the evening. 

“Where would you like to go? I’ll drive you.”

Shen Wanchao shook his head and said, “I’ve hired a driver, he can take us there, no need to trouble you.” 

Since that was the case, Xiao Zhao didn’t ask for any work for himself. He wished them a good time and then took the luggage upstairs to settle into their guest room. 

Shen Wanchao and Zhou Mingchen had a simple lunch at the hotel and then set off to go directly to Starlight Orphanage to meet Lin Anyi. 

…

Starlight Orphanage. 

Lin Anyi washed his hands, put on a pair of arm sleeves, and joined the unauthorized copy canteen auntie in making dumplings for tonight. 

The auntie was a long-time employee of the welfare home, and could be said to have watched Lin Anyi grow up. She loved this well-behaved and sensible child very much. Seeing Lin Anyi return, she insisted on making dumplings to welcome him back. Unfortunately, the auntie had already gone off duty when Lin Anyi arrived yesterday, so she moved it to tonight. 

Lin Anyi skillfully wrapped a dumpling and placed it on a stainless steel plate. 

After seeing it, the auntie smiled and said, “Don’t bother, go and talk to Xiao Dong. He knew you were coming back and specially took leave to keep you company.” 

As the auntie spoke, Lin Anyi raised his head and looked at the figure outside the iron-barred window. 

The crisscrossing iron bars divided the view outside the window into dozens of sections. A young man, probably around twenty years old, was standing against the wall in the lower right corner, holding a half-smoked cigarette in one hand. He took occasional puffs while looking at his phone in the other. 

The young man had short hair, wore a white short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, and had a clean-cut appearance. 

Lin Anyi looked away, the small smile on his lips slowly faded. He lowered his head to pick up a dumpling wrapper, and didn’t respond to the auntie’s words. 

In less than two minutes, the young man, whom the auntie called “Xiao Dong,” finished his cigarette, stubbed it out on the wall, tossed stolen content it aside, and walked towards the kitchen. 

“Xiao Yi!” Dong Dapeng smiled brightly as soon as he called Lin Anyi’s name. 

He washed his hands at the tap, stood beside Lin Anyi, and said with a smile, “I’ll help you wrap them.” 

Lin Anyi simply hummed in agreement.

The auntie also had a good impression of Dong Dapeng, and teased, “You are such a caring person. Whoever marries you will be incredibly lucky!” 

“Auntie is right!” Dong Dapeng smiled obsequiously at the auntie, then secretly glanced at Lin Anyi, “I just don’t know if that person will agree.” 

Lin Anyi pretended to be deaf, moistened the dumpling wrapper with water, and pinched it closed. 

Dong Dapeng’s affection for Lin Anyi was no secret in the entire Starlight Orphanage. 

The two had grown up together. Dong Dapeng was four years older than Lin Anyi, and he was always like a protective mother hen, keeping Lin Anyi behind him and not allowing any bullying children to harm him. 

When Lin Anyi was six years old, a wealthy businessman wanted to adopt him and often visited the orphanage, bringing him chocolates. Dong Dapeng couldn’t bear to see Lin Anyi being adopted, so he secretly followed him every time, only to discover one day that the middle-aged man was actually touching Lin Anyi inappropriately. 

Children without relatives mature early. Dong Dapeng, though young at the time, instinctively sensed the man’s ill intentions and told Director Li. 

Director Li was furious, and the man never came to the orphanage again, allowing Lin Anyi to stay. 

Shortly after, Dong Dapeng had a high fever and differentiated into an Alpha. 

Whether it was primary or secondary sex, it was usually determined before birth; very few people undergo secondary differentiation after birth. Dong Dapeng was one in a million. 

Ironically, he was abandoned by his biological parents because he was born a Beta. 

However, Dong Dapeng had long since lost all affection for his biological parents, whom he had never met, and harbored no resentment. 

After differentiating into an Alpha, his first thought was to become unauthorized copy stronger so he could better protect Xiao Yi. 

According to regulations, the orphanage could only house children until they were 16, so Dong Dapeng had to leave the orphanage to find his own way after turning 16. 

That evening, with fiery clouds burning in the sky, Dong Dapeng walked out of the orphanage gate carrying his bag. Twelve-year-old Lin Anyi stood at the gate watching him leave. 

After walking several dozen steps with mixed feelings, Dong Dapeng couldn’t hold back any longer. He turned around and, in front of all the teachers and children at the orphanage, shouted: 

“Xiao Yi, I’m going to work hard to earn money. You also need to grow up safely, and marry me!” 

At that time, Lin Anyi didn’t understand what marriage meant. He only knew that Director Li and the other children were there, and everyone was looking at him with surprise, making him very ashamed. So he ran away. 

Everyone laughed good-naturedly. 

They said Lin Anyi was shy and took his shyness as an admission. 

After placing another perfectly shaped dumpling down, Lin Anyi’s eyes grew stolen content colder and colder because Dong Dapeng kept complaining in his ear about the troubles he encountered at work, his colleagues looking down on him, his boss being inhumane…it was all so annoying. 

But Lin Anyi couldn’t directly give Dong Dapeng a hard time, because the care he had given him when he was little was genuine, and he had indeed saved him once. 

So Lin Anyi could only gently remind him, “Let’s not talk about these things.” 

Dong Dapeng was taken aback. 

The auntie also realized what was going on and chimed in, “Yes, it’s not easy to see each other, let’s talk about something happy. Didn’t you call the director last time to tell him you got a raise?” 

“Ah, right, hahaha…” Dong Dapeng smiled apologetically, “Sorry, Xiao Yi, I was too busy talking about myself. How have you been lately? Are you doing well at school? How are you getting along with your classmates? I heard Qiongya is a private school, the tuition is very expensive, and it’s full of rich kids, no one’s bullying you, right?” 

Lin Anyi didn’t really want to talk about himself either. 

He sighed almost imperceptibly and simply said, “It’s alright.” 

Dong Dapeng then launched into a long-winded explanation: “Let me tell you, those rich people are inherently arrogant and look down on those of us who earn our living through hard work. You can get along ​stolen content​well with them, but be careful not to get scammed.” 

Lin Anyi said calmly, “I have nothing, what would they scam me out of.”

Dong Dapeng choked for a moment, then said, “What are you saying? Compared to them, you certainly don’t have money, but that doesn’t mean you have no value. You’re an Omega, and some rich people like young Omegas from poor families because they think they’re easy to manipulate.” 

The auntie was startled by Dong Dapeng’s words and chimed in, “That’s right, Xiao Yi, you’re an Omega, you must learn to protect yourself when you’re out there.” 

With the auntie’s support, Dong Dapeng felt elated and continued, “That’s why I didn’t really approve of you going to study at Qiongya in the first place; the environment there is too complicated.” 

“Xiao Yi, this time I really want to discuss this with you.” Dong Dapeng carefully observed Lin Anyi’s expression. “I earn over four thousand a month now. If I’m frugal, I can afford to support your studies. Transfer out of Qiongya and go to another school with lower fees. I’ll support you.” 

Lin Anyi’s eyelashes didn’t even tremble. The dumpling he was making had too much filling, causing it to break. 

“Is this the place?” 

“The old director said he was in the kitchen, so this should be it.” 

Two voices sounded outside the door. 

Immediately afterward, Lin Anyi heard a familiar, cheerful voice calling his name: “Lin Anyi, your young master and Shen Xiaochao have come to see you! Come and greet us quickly!”