Tom Has Always Been Quite Kind and Introverted Around Me

"Tom, I can handle things here. Go back to your room and rest."

Li Weide took the worn rag from Tom's hand, then waved him away.

Tom abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief as he stared at Li Weide.

To be honest, Li Weide had no idea what had gotten into himself these past few days, obsessively doing good deeds...

It would have been one thing if he had gone mad on his own, but he had actually forced Tom to come help too!

Seriously, Tom had grown up in the Orphanage. When had he ever done chores?

Even when work was assigned to him, he made the other children "voluntarily" help him!

But...

Who told him he couldn't beat Li Weide?

Still, after enduring humiliation and following Li Weide around doing odd jobs for several days, he had never expected this bastard to actually let him go back early to rest today?

Something was wrong! There had to be a scheme!

"No... I'm not tired at all, really. I can keep working." Tom silently took the rag back and put on a perfect smile.

He had no idea what sinister plan Li Weide was plotting, but as long as he did not do as Li Weide said, he definitely would not lose out!

"Hm? I was thinking about something else and didn't hear you clearly. What did you just say?" Li Weide looked at Tom.

Under Li Weide's kind gaze, Tom's smile gradually vanished...

Fine. He did not know whether disobeying Li Weide would make him suffer later, but right now... he would definitely suffer!

"I mean, I am indeed a little tired. I'll have to trouble you with the rest of the work."

Tom obediently returned the rag to Li Weide, then quickly vanished around the stairwell corner.

Li Weide was naturally not sending Tom back to his room for no reason. If Dumbledore was going to meet Tom later, Tom's room would be the better place.

After all, Li Weide wanted to witness the famous scene of Dumbledore setting the wardrobe on fire.

Li Weide put down the rag, turned, and hurried toward his own room.

To prevent Dumbledore from coming to his room first, he had to move all the bottles and jars hidden beneath his carpet. A great wizard of that level could always see traces others could not.

The System Shop had not refreshed anything particularly good over the past few days. Most of it had been potions and strange-looking materials.

Those things could all be bought in the Wizarding World, so after selectively purchasing a few potions to keep on hand, Li Weide had not bought anything else.

Over the past few days, Li Weide had also discovered something: when he did good deeds himself, the increase in Merit Points was negligible.

But if he dragged Tom along to do them... the results were completely different!

Li Weide guessed that the more evil the person he forced to do good deeds was, the more Merit Points he would receive.

Perhaps it was because his actions had lowered the chances of that person committing evil in the future?

After all, when the system had given him 100 Merit Points before, it had mentioned that it seemed to be because he had changed some of Tom's life trajectory...

Of course, that was only a guess. Li Weide planned to find another villain to test it on later.

But because of this, after putting Tom through a round of "labor reform"... Li Weide had successfully saved up a full 300 Merit Points!

Oh... Tom, may Merlin protect him!

After hiding the potions, Li Weide casually returned to the stairwell corner and picked up the rag again.

Just then, Mrs. Cole emerged from the office with a rosy complexion. Dumbledore followed slowly behind her, clearly having finished their discussion.

"Oh... Weide." The moment Mrs. Cole saw Li Weide, she called him over.

As Mrs. Cole approached, Li Weide caught the scent of gin. So that rosy complexion was from the alcohol.

"This is Mr. Dumbleton... sorry, Mr. Dumblebee... He's here to see you and Tom. He's here to tell you... never mind, let him explain it to you. Where's Tom?"

Meeting Dumbledore's gentle gaze, Li Weide answered, "Tom went back to his room to rest."

"What excuse is it this time? Sigh... forget it. Ever since he started playing with you, he has changed so much... What more can I ask for? Good Lord, when have I ever seen Tom help the other children? Dear, this must be your doing." Mrs. Cole was deeply moved.

Ever since Li Weide had arrived, the withdrawn and strange Tom had seemed like a completely different person.

Not only had he stopped bullying the other children, he even went with Li Weide to help the other children in the Orphanage!

He had not missed any of the odd chores around the Orphanage, either.

For a bad child to undergo such an enormous change in just a few days, Mrs. Cole was somewhat puzzled, but far more relieved.

"Mrs. Cole, I actually didn't do much. Tom was kind to begin with. He was just a little introverted in the past and didn't really know how to communicate with others," Li Weide said with a smile.

Well, Tom has always been kind and introverted around me.

Kind? Introverted? Was she talking about Tom?

Mrs. Cole could not help pursing her lips, but with an outsider present, she did not say anything more.

"I still have a lot to do. Since this gentleman is looking for both of you, take him to Tom's room..."

"Mrs. Cole~"

Before Mrs. Cole could finish speaking, Ellie's call rang out from afar again.

"I'm coming!" Mrs. Cole called back loudly, then looked at Li Weide helplessly. "You'll be all right on your own?"

"Of course." Li Weide nodded.

After Mrs. Cole hurried away, Li Weide looked at Dumbledore. This was his first time being alone with Dumbledore.

With just one glance into Dumbledore's eyes, Li Weide knew that although this man appeared gentle, he was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

It was an instinctive feeling, like looking up at a towering mountain from its foot... an indescribable pressure that made it seem impossible to climb.

Li Weide politely said, "This way, sir."

As he spoke, he turned and took the lead toward Tom's room.

Dumbledore immediately followed. Li Weide keenly sensed that Dumbledore's gaze had remained fixed on him the entire time.

"Aren't you curious why I'm looking for you?" Dumbledore suddenly asked from behind him.

"Of course I am."

"Then why haven't you asked me anything? You don't seem like an introverted child."

Dumbledore was indeed somewhat puzzled. Children of this age generally had boundless curiosity.

Now that he knew Dumbledore had come looking for him and Tom, this child had not asked a single question along the way?

"Since you are looking for both Tom and me, it should be for the same matter. In that case, it would be better to wait until we meet Tom and explain it together, so you won't have to repeat yourself."

"Hmm... that is true, but I don't actually mind repeating myself a few more times. After all, what I'm about to tell you isn't something that can be explained in just a sentence or two."

Dumbledore watched Li Weide's small back with great interest. He had seen many eleven-year-old children, but he had never met one as composed as Li Weide.

Moreover, according to Mrs. Cole, this child with an Eastern face had been picked up from the street by her, and he had always refused to speak about his past.

Mrs. Cole had guessed that he must have suffered unspeakable hardships in the past, so she had not investigated his origins too deeply. However, his manner of speech and behavior showed that his background was anything but ordinary.

This made Dumbledore curious about Li Weide. Perhaps this child came from an Eastern Pure-blood Family?

"I heard... that before Tom met you, he did quite a few bad things. But after meeting you, he suddenly changed? How did you do it?"