Chapter 253
"Order?" Feng Ling savored the word and couldn't help laughing. "Come to think of it, it was pretty interesting. She established all sorts of rules and order for us kids, but she also wanted us to be as free as the wind and had us take the surname Feng. So what exactly did she want...?"
Li Qing asked, "Was her surname Feng too?"
"No one knew her original name. I heard that from the day the orphanage was founded, she changed her own name, and everyone called her Mother Feng." Feng Ling spoke slowly as she reminisced. "We secretly gave her lots of nicknames—Witch Feng, Old Lady Feng... Kids could be pretty vicious, couldn't they?"
Li Qing pondered. "Children... are like a pack of ignorant little beasts. Their sense of good and evil is vague. They need to develop an awareness of order before they can adapt to life in society."
He raised his eyes to Feng Ling. "You said she was very strict with you. In fact, that was also a form of resistance against genetics. She was afraid the violent genes of criminals would lead you astray."
"How could I have understood any of that as a child? I only thought she was awful, always finding fault with me." Feng Ling turned to look at the Phantom beside her, sounding somewhat wistful. "I resented her, but I was also afraid of her, because she held all the power and could control my food, clothing, and shelter. For a long time, I refused to call her Mother Feng. I thought she didn't deserve to be called Mom by me. Strange, really. I didn't even know what a mother was supposed to be like..."
"You don't resent her anymore," Li Qing said with certainty.
He could tell, because