The Strange Song Xiaoyu

About half an hour later, the taxi pulled up in front of the orphanage.

There were still forty minutes left before visiting hours ended, but it seemed someone had already informed the guard on duty. After Shen Xing arrived and explained why he was there, he was allowed in without any trouble.

He crossed the garden and entered the same building as last time. Along the way, Shen Xing noticed that the entire orphanage was unusually quiet.

A male volunteer he didn't recognize met him at the entrance on the first floor. The volunteer was probably on duty today and responsible for this building at this time of day, much like Song Xiaoyu had been last time.

The other children were still having class in another building, so it was exceptionally quiet here. As Shen Xing made his way upstairs, he only occasionally saw other volunteers or cleaners in their uniforms.

The volunteer said, "Feifei hasn't gone to any of her afternoon classes. She's been staying in her room and won't come out. I finally managed to persuade her to go for a walk, but she asked to call you. My phone had run out of battery, so she went over to the office building to call you."

Shen Xing nodded. "Do you know why she isn't going to class?"

The volunteer shrugged. "She said her stomach hurt, but she won't take any medicine. It's obviously an excuse, but I didn't want to call her out on it. You know, Feifei is actually very sensible. She wouldn't skip class for no reason."

"Who did she see at lunchtime?" Shen Xing asked.

The volunteer thought for a moment. "I think it was Xiao Yu. Another volunteer, Song Xiaoyu, came by. It wasn't her shift today, so I don't know what she was doing here."

"Did the two of them talk?" Shen Xing asked.

The volunteer nodded. "Probably, but I didn't see them."

"Where's Song Xiaoyu now?" Shen Xing glanced around.

"I don't know. Maybe she's already left."

As he spoke, the volunteer walked up to the door of Room 307 and knocked gently. "Feifei, your Uncle Shen is here. Can we come in?"

Anyone who volunteered here, man or woman, first and foremost had to care about the children. They also had to be able to get along with them.

"Come in," Feifei's childish voice called from inside.

The volunteer opened the door and let Shen Xing go in first. He held the door open from the doorway and asked Feifei, who was sitting on the bed, "Do you need me to come in?"

"I want to talk to Uncle Shen alone. Sorry, Big Monster!" Feifei said.

Seeing Shen Xing look at him in surprise, the volunteer explained sheepishly, "That's my nickname here. The kids all call me that."

Shen Xing smiled.

The volunteer nicknamed Big Monster gently closed the door and walked away.

Lin Feifei immediately jumped off the bed and ran to Shen Xing, grabbing his hand.

"Uncle Shen..." Terror was plain on Feifei's face. It was clear that the composure she'd shown while sitting on the bed and saying those things had been an act.

"What happened?" Shen Xing crouched down and asked, puzzled.

"Xiao Yu came by out of nowhere today, and she seemed to keep finding ways to get close to me," Feifei said.

"Did you ask her why?"

Though Shen Xing found it strange, if Song Xiaoyu had something to discuss with Feifei, Feifei could simply ask her. There was nothing unusual about that.

Feifei nodded. "I did. She said she missed me a little, and then... then..."

"Then what?"

"Then she just kept smiling at me." Feifei shuddered. "Xiao Yu's smile is usually really sweet, but today it suddenly scared me. I couldn't help asking her what she was smiling about..."

"What did she say?"

"She said she... wasn't smiling." Feifei shuddered again, then asked Shen Xing, "Can you imagine her saying that while she was still smiling?"

She paused, her face full of fear, then clung tightly to Shen Xing again. "Uncle Shen, I'm scared!"

"Did you tell any of the other volunteers or teachers about Xiao Yu's strange behavior?" Shen Xing asked with a frown.

He could feel Feifei trembling in his arms. She wasn't putting on an act.

Before arriving at the orphanage, Shen Xing had still wondered why Feifei had called him over. She'd said Song Xiaoyu was acting strangely and had scared her, but Shen Xing had been more inclined to think Feifei was trying to appear vulnerable in front of him, hoping to stir his pity and persuade him to adopt her.

He couldn't help it. It wasn't that Shen Xing was reading too much into things; Feifei really was much more mature than other children her age. Some of her thoughts and plans might be far beyond what one would expect from a child her age.

But now he could tell that Lin Feifei was genuinely afraid.

"I told the teachers' office, but they didn't believe me, because... because Xiao Yu talked with them too, and she seemed completely normal. She wasn't smiling then."

"Has Song Xiaoyu left?" Shen Xing asked.

Feifei shook her head. "I don't know. I pretended my stomach hurt and kept Big Monster in the room with me. Maybe she realized I wasn't alone, so she left."

The male volunteer who had just left came to Shen Xing's mind.

"It's okay, it's okay," he said, comforting her as he patted her shoulder.

"Other than smiling at you, did Xiao Yu do anything else strange?" Shen Xing asked again.

"No," Feifei replied.

He carried Feifei back to the bed and poured her a glass of warm water. To distract her, he said softly, "I've already submitted the adoption application to City Hall. Now we just have to wait and see if it's approved."

Feifei's eyes lit up. For the moment, she forgot her fear, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with life. "Really?"

She clasped her hands to her chest, her face full of anticipation. "I hope they approve it right away, so I can leave here!"

Shen Xing smiled faintly and brushed her nose with his index finger. Feifei's face felt a little cold, and her hands had felt cold when she'd grabbed his.

"Do you have a cold?" Shen Xing asked, feeling her forehead.

Feifei shook her head. "Maybe I was just really scared."

Shen Xing told her to lie down, then pulled over the thin, cool blanket and draped it over her shoulders. He chatted with her for a while, asking about her studies, classmates, friends, hobbies, and so on, deliberately trying to ease her fear.

Before long, a knock came at the door. The male volunteer nicknamed Big Monster opened it and poked his head in with a smile. "Mr. Shen, visiting hours are over. Sorry."

After reminding them, the volunteer gently closed the door and tactfully left.

"Get some sleep. I'll let Big Monster know to keep an eye on you when I go," Shen Xing told Feifei.

Feifei grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it up until only her eyes showed. She nodded without saying anything.

She seemed to understand that no matter how frightened she was, she couldn't keep Shen Xing there with her forever, or have Big Monster watch over her in Room 307 every moment.

Her bright eyes followed Shen Xing all the way to the door.

Out in the hallway, Shen Xing looked around and saw that the male volunteer had already gone downstairs.

He glanced back. The hallway was completely deserted, so he headed downstairs.

Just as he reached the second floor, he saw someone in a light blue volunteer uniform walk into the corridor on the right. The person was a thin woman with loose hair, and her back looked somewhat familiar.