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Psst! We're moving!
About half an hour after Di Jiang and Wu Ruian left, it started to rain. The rain was heavy, pouring down relentlessly, and within moments, both were drenched.
They ran for a long time before finally finding a small pavilion to shelter from the rain.
Di Jiang stood in the pavilion, looking at the road in both directions. The rain blurred the view, making the roads seem endless. As she wrung out her clothes, she frowned. “What should we do now? We’ve only come halfway. Who knows when this rain will stop? Going back isn’t an option, and neither is continuing on...”
Di Jiang was soaked through, her hair plastered to her cheeks, giving her a different kind of charm.
Wu Ruian asked, “Are you cold?”
Di Jiang shook her head. “Not cold, just uncomfortable.”
“Well... since we’re already soaked, what’s there to be afraid of?” Wu Ruian looked at Di Jiang with a mischievous smile. Suddenly, he took her hand, pulled her out of the pavilion, and continued walking forward.
Wu Ruian placed his left hand on Di Jiang’s head and held her right hand with his right, pulling her close to him.
The rain poured down, and they were the only two on the street without an umbrella. The sight of a man and a woman walking so closely together drew many curious glances.
Di Jiang had been caught in the rain before, but this was the first time she had been embraced by someone while deliberately walking in the rain.
And not only did she not feel uncomfortable, but she actually found it a little thrilling...
After a quarter of an hour, they finally arrived at a large courtyard in the west of Taiping Prefecture. The courtyard covered a vast area of about a hundred mu.
The plaque above the main gate read “Orphanage.” The gate was painted red, with two rusty copper rings that had lost their original color.
“This is...”
“The Orphanage. It’s a place that takes in infants abandoned by the roadside. These are children who have no one to rely on, either born into poverty, orphaned at a young age, or born with a disability.”
“There’s a place like this?” Wu Ruian’s eyes widened. He thought back, but he had never heard of such a place.
“I’m sorry. I just learned about a place like this today.” Wu Ruian frowned, feeling ashamed of his ignorance.
“I brought you here to help you clear your head. You don’t need to apologize to me,” Di Jiang said with a smile, wiping the rain from Wu Ruian’s forehead and smoothing out his frown.
Her warm palm touched his cool forehead, making Wu Ruian’s body tremble slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Di Jiang froze, looking at him with her wide eyes.
Wu Ruian’s face flushed, and he held his breath.
He gently took her hand, moved it away from his face, and turned his head to look elsewhere.
He cleared his throat and said, “Don’t stand in the rain anymore. Let’s go inside.”
“Okay,” Di Jiang nodded softly and then knocked on the orphanage’s door. “Mother Ci, are you there? I’ve come to see the children.”
“It’s Sister Di! Sister Di is here!”
A chorus of children’s voices suddenly rang out from inside. From their words, it was clear that Di Jiang was a regular visitor here.
The door was quickly opened from the inside, and a thin, middle-aged woman walked out. She was wearing an apron and had a tired but loving smile on her face.
“Mother Ci.” Di Jiang bowed, showing great respect for the middle-aged woman.
Wu Ruian also quickly followed suit, not wanting to be impolite.
“What a state you two are in! Come in quickly.” The middle-aged woman stepped aside, inviting Di Jiang and Wu Ruian inside.
Di Jiang crossed the threshold, and Wu Ruian followed. Under the shelter of the roof, they no longer had to rush.
The courtyard was a large compound with three courtyards on each side. The first courtyard had some wooden stakes, which looked like equipment for practicing martial arts.
“Those are punching posts for the older children to build their strength. They practice martial arts here in the mornings after breakfast, and the girls learn needlework in the rooms next to it,” Di Jiang explained to Wu Ruian as they followed Mother Ci inside.
Along the way, the children’s eyes never left Di Jiang and Wu Ruian.
Besides their anticipation for candy from Di Jiang, they also found the look in Wu Ruian’s eyes as he looked at Di Jiang to be quite suggestive.
Hmm... very suspicious.
“Sister Di, is this uncle our brother-in-law?” a child who looked about eleven or twelve called out to them.
Di Jiang froze and shook her head repeatedly. “Of course not.”
Wu Ruian squinted, stroked his chin, and corrected him, “Not yet, but it will be soon.”
Di Jiang glared at Wu Ruian. Wu Ruian didn’t try to avoid her gaze and instead smiled at her playfully, as if his eyes were saying, “Isn’t it true?”
“Don’t be silly,” Di Jiang said, glaring at him again before turning her head away.
Wu Ruian’s smile grew even wider as he watched Di Jiang’s back. The children around them all had expressions that said, “We understand completely.”
“Wait a minute...” Wu Ruian suddenly paused. He turned to the children, pointed at Di Jiang, and said, “Why do you call her ‘Sister Di’ but call me ‘uncle’? Do I look that old?”
The children burst into laughter, scratching their heads with sincere expressions.
They didn’t have any specific intention; the names just came out naturally.
Mother Ci led Wu Ruian and Di Jiang to her room and gave them a fresh set of clothes to change into.
Wu Ruian changed in the room next door and then ran out awkwardly to show Di Jiang.
He was wearing the clothes of the oldest boy in the orphanage, but they were still a bit too small for an adult. His arms and legs were sticking out a good amount, making him look a little comical.
“Do I... look a bit undignified like this?” Wu Ruian looked at his limbs, feeling a bit self-conscious.
Di Jiang shook her head and smiled. “These are the most handsome clothes you have ever worn.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Sigh, I am indeed a naturally handsome man. It’s hard to hide my charm. I bow to you,” Wu Ruian said, cupping his hand in a salute.
Di Jiang rolled her eyes at him again and walked out of the room.
The two of them played with the children in the courtyard for a while, and soon it was dinnertime. Di Jiang went to the back courtyard to help Mother Ci with the cooking.
Wu Ruian looked around the kitchen and couldn’t help but frown. “This is all you eat?”
Mother Ci nodded. “The children in the orphanage get a bowl of taro or potato soup every day. We boil the water, put the vegetables in until they’re soft, and then add some salt. That’s their meal for the whole day. It’s not enough to fill them up, but it’s enough to keep them alive.”
Wu Ruian clicked his tongue and sighed.
It truly was a situation where “the gates of the rich reek of wine and meat while the roads are littered with the bones of the frozen.”
The food he had wasted in the past would have been enough to feed thousands of people, wouldn’t it?
Feeling dejected, Wu Ruian left the kitchen and went into the courtyard, transforming his frustration into strength. He helped Mother Ci chop seventy pounds of firewood.
After they had dinner with the children at the orphanage, the rain finally stopped. The setting sun shone on the eaves, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
At that moment, Di Jiang took a handful of candies from her sleeve and waved to the tallest child. The child immediately ran over, smiling and holding out his hand to Di Jiang.
Di Jiang gave all the candies to the boy and said, “Thank you, Hong’er. Please share the candies with everyone.”
“Hong’er thanks Sister Di on behalf of everyone!” The boy named Hong’er took the candies and immediately ran back to the courtyard, where the other children gathered around him.
The process of sharing the candies was orderly. They were all well-behaved and didn’t fight or push. Some even said, “Lian’er is in the room. She doesn’t have any yet. I’ll go and give her some!”
The children were overjoyed with their candies, and the smiles on their faces showed a contentment that Wu Ruian had never seen on anyone else’s face.
Their happiness came so easily. One piece of candy was enough to make them so happy that the whole world seemed to shine for them.
At that moment, Di Jiang suddenly asked, “Your Highness, do you have any regrets?”
“Regrets?” Wu Ruian was stunned at first, but then he quickly understood. Di Jiang was asking him the very same question he had asked himself many times.
Wu Ruian shook his head gently and said, “I have no regrets.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Wu Ruian nodded. “I know that if I continue on this path, I will lose a lot, maybe even everything. But I also have a lot to gain. Providing medical care, helping orphans, and assisting the poor... these are all things I never would have imagined doing before. But these things make me feel very happy.”
Wu Ruian paused for a moment and then turned to look into Di Jiang’s eyes.
Di Jiang looked back at him.
Wu Ruian said each word carefully, “I also want to live a meaningful life, just like you.”
“That’s great,” Di Jiang said with a gentle smile, nodding firmly. “If you’re willing, I can take you to more places, walk more roads, see different sights, and live a completely different life.”
Wu Ruian took a step forward, leaned down, and his body was almost touching hers.
Di Jiang instinctively took a step back but was embraced by him, unable to break free.
He whispered in her ear, “As long as I’m with you, I’ll go anywhere, to the ends of the earth.”
“Aiya... Uncle is so embarrassing!”
“Sister Di’s face is all red!”
The children saw them and immediately gathered around, teasing them one after another.
Di Jiang gripped her sleeves, no longer looking at Wu Ruian. She soon joined in the children’s games.
Wu Ruian sat back in his chair and watched them play. The unhappiness in his heart actually seemed to have lessened quite a bit... Happiness doesn’t always have to be about a soft bed and silk pillows, or gold and jewels. Sometimes, it can be something as simple as a smile from the person you love, which can chase away all the gloom and give you endless courage to move forward.
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