Chosen

Compared to the difficulty of being selected by the Choir, Li Wei was currently looking at Feng Zi with a look of astonishment.

At this moment, she had black hair and was wearing simple, plain linen clothes. Her originally fair and delicate face had been dotted with small freckles since last night, and her azure eyes were covered by black contact lenses.

Although she was still outstanding in appearance and possessed a unique temperament, it was impossible to tell what she had originally looked like.

What truly surprised Li Wei was her legs; ever since waking up this morning, Feng Zi had suddenly stopped limping!

Even before Li Wei applied her makeup, her complexion had remained pale—even paler than usual—but she now appeared to be a person with perfectly sound limbs.

"You weren't faking a limp the whole time, were you?"

Li Wei looked at her with suspicion.

Hearing this, Feng Zi couldn't help but grit her teeth, and the hand gripping Li Wei's arm tightened even further. Her fierce expression looked as if she were chewing on his flesh.

"You're the one faking a limp! Your whole family is faking a limp!"

Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, Li Wei just shook his head indifferently and didn't press the matter.

Everyone has their own little secrets, more or less. Just like Li Wei himself, he wasn't completely transparent with Feng Zi; in fact, one could say he had kept quite a lot to himself.

"Let's get this straight: even if you aren't limping anymore, I'm not changing how I address you."

As he spoke, he scanned his surroundings and soon spotted a middle-aged woman in a nearby alley who also seemed to be looking for someone.

Li Wei led Feng Zi, who was still clutching his arm, toward the woman. The woman spotted them as well; she didn't speak first, merely looking them up and down.

It wasn't until Li Wei spoke up that she responded.

"Sent by Zhou the Third?"

Upon hearing this name, a smile appeared on the woman's face, and she became much more enthusiastic.

"Yes, yes, contacted by Uncle Zhou next door. Zhao Huan and Zhao Ling, right? Here are your ID cards. The information was pre-registered; they're the old-fashioned certified type, no photo verification needed."

Li Wei took the ID cards she handed over and passed the one for "Zhao Ling" to Feng Zi.

"Uncle Zhou should have told you I had extra requirements. You still need to cooperate with us today."

The smile on the woman's face grew even warmer.

"I know, I know, but he also said the payment for this part would be yours."

As she spoke, Li Wei pulled ten hundred-dollar bills from his pocket and, under the woman's gleaming gaze, counted out seven of them.

"Seven hundred for now. Once everything is finished, I'll give you the remaining three hundred."

Li Wei couldn't carry that much cash on him at all times. He had rented a room near the church to temporarily store items that were inconvenient to carry, keeping only a small amount of money on his person.

After receiving the agreed-upon payment, the woman—who clearly had experience with this kind of work—naturally stepped into the role of Li Wei and Feng Zi's "mother," leading them into the line to sign up for the church Choir.

The line was indeed long, consisting mostly of mothers bringing their children to register. The church Choir had strict age limits, recruiting only teenagers between 8 and 18, with an equal ratio of boys to girls.

But after all, it was a Choir that required public appearances.

It was said that every year, the Bishop used the White Tower choir performances to help the laborers of the Afterglow District secure significant subsidies and funding, which was why the selection criteria during registration were particularly rigorous.

Children living in the Afterglow District were often malnourished, and their parents, being laborers, had no time to attend to their personal hygiene. Very few of the children were even literate or had received any formal education.

This meant that although many came to sign up, the vast majority were rejected on the spot.

In terms of his true age, the original body Li Wei inhabited in this world had turned eighteen just three months ago, and Feng Zi was already nearly twenty.

However, the ages on their current ID cards had been modified to seventeen and sixteen.

Judging by their appearances, it was indeed difficult to tell their true ages.

After waiting in line all morning, it was finally Feng Zi and Li Wei's turn shortly after 11:00 AM.

The priest responsible for registration and on-site screening was already feeling somewhat numb. He lowered his head to register their ID cards first, but when he looked up and saw their faces, he was visibly stunned.

"Father, I'm not bragging! Back in my youth, I was the belle of the village, and my son and daughter take after me! They're both obedient and sensible. When they were little, my late husband even taught them how to read. They absolutely meet the church's requirements!"

The woman was quite professional, not forgetting to praise Li Wei and Feng Zi while boasting about herself.

The priest nodded upon hearing her, but after scrutinizing Li Wei and Feng Zi for a moment, he didn't say anything immediately. Instead, he took out two photographs from the side, compared them carefully against the two, and then silently shook his head.

The woman hired by Li Wei thought the priest was dissatisfied, which made her nervous; she feared that if the two weren't selected, she wouldn't get her final payment.

"What do you find lacking? Is their hair too long? Or are their nails not trimmed? Please, don't just shake your head!"

The priest put down the two wanted posters. Without answering the woman's question, he lowered his head and placed a large checkmark next to their information on the registration form.

"Your two children are fine; they meet the selection standards. But this is only a temporary admission. The church will arrange unified training for them later. If any issues arise that do not meet our requirements during that time, we will still eliminate them."

Hearing this, the woman finally let out a long sigh of relief, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"Take a look at this employment contract. If there are no issues, have your son and daughter go inside directly. They won't be able to return home for a while, but you can visit at any time. The church will provide unified room and board and ensure they are well taken care of."

The woman signed the contract without the slightest hesitation. At the same time, she looked at Li Wei and Feng Zi with feigned reluctance, earnestly urging them to be obedient in the church, just like a real mother would.

Of course, taking advantage of this moment, Li Wei quietly slipped the remaining three hundred into the woman's hand. The two exchanged a knowing look, signaling the success and conclusion of this transaction.

Finally, a nun led them into the church, where dozens of other selected children were already waiting.