Tom Had Always Been Kind and Introverted Around Me

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

Li Weide took the rag from Tom's hand and waved him off.

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

Honestly, Li Weide had no idea what had gotten into himself these past few days. He had been dead set on doing good deeds...

It would have been one thing if he wanted to go crazy himself, but he had actually forced Tom to come help too!

Seriously, Tom had grown up in the orphanage. When had he ever done any work?

Even when chores were assigned to him, he had always made the other children "volunteer" to 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 break precedent and 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 back the rag and put on a perfect smile.

He had no idea what Li Weide was plotting, but as long as he did not do what 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 friendly 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 really am a little tired. I'll have to trouble you with the rest of the work."

Tom obediently handed the rag back to Li Weide, then quickly disappeared around the stairwell corner.

Li Weide was not sending Tom back to his room for no reason. If Dumbledore was going to meet Tom later, it would be better to do so in Tom's room.

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 keep Dumbledore from visiting his room first, he needed to move all the bottles and jars hidden beneath his rug. A wizard of that level could always spot traces others could not see.

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

Those things could all be bought in the wizarding world, so after selectively buying a few potions for emergencies, Li Weide had not purchased anything else.

Over the past few days, Li Weide had discovered something else: 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 wicked the person he forced to do good deeds was, the more Merit Points he received.

Perhaps it was because his actions reduced the chance of that person committing evil in the future?

After all, when the system had given him 100 Merit Points before, it had hinted that he had changed some part 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 Li Weide put Tom through a round of "labor reform"... he had successfully saved up a full 300 Merit Points!

Oh... Tom, may Merlin bless him!

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

Just then, Mrs. Cole emerged from the office with rosy cheeks, Dumbledore slowly following behind her. Clearly, they had finished their discussion.

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

As Mrs. Cole approached, Li Weide caught the scent of gin. So those rosy cheeks were from the alcohol.

"This is Mr. Dumbledore... Sorry, Dumbledore... He's here to find you and Tom. He's here to tell you... forget it, let him tell you himself. 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's changed a lot... 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 sounded deeply moved.

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

Not only had he stopped bullying the other children, he had even begun helping the other children in the orphanage together with Li Weide!

He had not missed any of the orphanage's miscellaneous chores, either.

A bad child undergoing such a dramatic change in only a few days left Mrs. Cole somewhat puzzled, but more than anything, she felt relieved.

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

Yes, Tom had always been kind and introverted around me.

Kind? Introverted? Was she talking about Tom?

Mrs. Cole could not help curling her lip, but with an outsider present, she said nothing more.

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

"Mrs. Cole~"

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

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

"Of course." Li Weide nodded.

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

Just by meeting Dumbledore's eyes, Li Weide knew that although the 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 base... an indescribable sense of pressure that made it seem impossible to climb.

Li Weide said politely, "Sir, this way, please."

With that, he turned and headed 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 two?" 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 a little puzzled. Children this age usually possessed boundless curiosity.

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

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

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

Dumbledore watched Li Weide's small back with interest. He had seen plenty of eleven-year-olds, but he had never seen one as composed as Li Weide.

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

Mrs. Cole guessed that he must have experienced unimaginable pain in the past, so she had not investigated his background too deeply. Yet his manner of speech and conduct showed that his origins could not possibly be ordinary.

That made Dumbledore curious about Li Weide. Perhaps the 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?"

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