The story of how he met that noble young lady was not complicated at all.
Remember how Mo Fei took Aiwen and one other child to the West End every week to sell bread on the streets?
It was this way of selling bread that led Mo Fei to meet the kindhearted girl by chance.
That day, they had gone rather late, arriving in the afternoon.
There were far fewer pedestrians on the streets, but that was to be expected.
Mo Fei did not always come in the morning. He kept changing the time, trying to find the best time and place to sell.
It was partly to sell more, and partly for the children's safety.
Eventually, the children would be handling this work themselves.
Still, there really were more opportunities in the West End. Even though they never came at a fixed time, they managed to sell all their bread every time. The only difference was how long it took.
That day, Mo Fei and Aiwen had been selling bread rather slowly, so they still had two loaves left as the sun was about to set.
Just then, a carriage rolled slowly down the middle of the road.
A breeze blew past, allowing the girl inside to see Aiwen selling bread.
Because of the angle, she did not see Mo Fei.
Perhaps it was because, despite his ragged clothes, Aiwen's face and hands were clean, there was no unpleasant smell around him, and his calls rang out clearly.
Or perhaps she happened to be hungry, or had felt a sudden surge of sympathy on her way to see a play,
Whatever the reason, she suddenly called out to the coachman.
"Stop a moment..."
Though puzzled, the coachman quickly brought the carriage to a halt.
The ordinary people nearby quickly drew back a little, worried that the noble young lady was about to cause some sort of trouble.
In Britain at the time, rash fools who rushed up to nobles to show off were hardly people who could easily get by.
The girl's maid stepped down first. She glanced at their surroundings and the mud underfoot, frowned, then addressed her mistress, who seemed about to get out. "Miss, please stay inside. It only rained yesterday, and there's still water on the ground. If your hem gets soaked, it will be ruined. Aren't you going to see a play shortly...?"
In the end, the maid's advice stopped the noble young lady.
Indeed, losing her poise over a momentary impulse would give the other noble young ladies something to laugh at.
So she merely lifted the carriage curtain and pointed at Aiwen, who was selling bread. "Then have that child come over. I'm a little curious..."
The maid nodded in understanding.
As she saw it, her mistress was simply feeling charitable. There was nothing wrong with that. After all, a reputation for kindness was quite a good thing to have in noble circles.
So she called out to Aiwen a short distance away.
"You there, the boy selling bread. Come here a moment..." She beckoned as she spoke.
At this, Aiwen actually felt rather unsure of himself. Right at the beginning, Mo Fei had told them that if they encountered members of noble households in the West End, the best thing to do was stay well away rather than approach them.
The bread they sold was hardly worthy of those people's status. Approaching them would only provoke disgust.
But he had never encountered a situation like this before.
So he could not help turning to look at Mo Fei a short distance away.
The maid also noticed the grown man.
Mo Fei's clothes were much like the child's: very worn, but clean, unlike a tramp's attire.
Nor did his overall bearing have that air of shabby poverty. Though poorly dressed, there was something distinctive about him. He seemed less like an ordinary person than someone who had once been a noble.
Still, no matter what, having a child approach was entirely different from having an adult approach.
The maid thought that if the man came closer, she would simply have the coachman drive them all away.
Putting herself in danger for a little charity was not something a competent maid ought to do.
Fortunately, Mo Fei understood the noble young lady's concerns better than anyone. He did not approach, merely soothing Aiwen's unease in a voice just loud enough for him to hear. "Aiwen, go on. See what the kind noble young lady would like..."
Having received Mo Fei's approval, Aiwen relaxed considerably. Carefully skirting the puddles one step at a time, he came over to the carriage.
The maid had evidently heard the man's words as well, and his good sense earned him a little of her goodwill.
Seeing how careful Aiwen was, and how he even straightened his clothes as he approached, she felt still more satisfied.
She had accompanied her mistress in helping homeless children before, but those filthy children sometimes made her feel like throwing up merely by coming near them.
The sour stench on them was something she could not forget for a long time.
Still, her strict training in etiquette meant she had never shown the slightest displeasure in front of outsiders.
Of course, to keep her mistress from being affected as well, she had never allowed such children near the carriage.
Aiwen's cleanliness did make the maid breathe a sigh of relief. All she could smell on this child was bread and earth. It was not exactly pleasant, but it was not nauseating.
Thus, with her tacit permission, Aiwen was allowed unusually close, to a distance almost no outsider had been permitted to approach before.
At last, the young lady lifted the carriage curtain and leaned her head out.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes at the sight of Aiwen so close. Once she had a clear look at his shabby clothes and the innocent, clear look in his eyes, she felt much more pity for him.
"Child, how old are you? Why are you selling bread here? Did you make this bread yourselves? How much is it?"
The girl's gentle voice made Aiwen a little shy, but he had sold bread many times by now, so he was long prepared for these common questions.
"My name is Aiwen. I live at the Mo Orphanage in the East End, and I'm twelve this year. Our director makes all our bread himself, and it isn't expensive at all." He uncovered the basket. Though the bread had cooled somewhat, it still gave off a rich, floury aroma and looked quite appealing. He picked up a skewer with a piece of bread on it. "A loaf this size costs just ten pence. It's just right for one person..."
He should have continued his sales pitch, but it suddenly occurred to him that the young lady before him was a noble girl, and his words faltered.
How could such inferior bread possibly be sold to a noble young lady? They ate delicate white bread every day. How could they?
At that thought, he felt he had overstepped.
Yet both the maid and her mistress noticed his hesitation, and their fondness for the child grew.
Knowing his place was a rare quality in an orphanage child, and by extension, their opinion of the director standing nearby improved as well.
"How many do you have left? I'll buy them all. Go home with your director a little earlier. It's getting late..."
With that, she gave her maid a look.
The maid took out a pound and handed it over.
Aiwen carefully accepted it, wrapped the bread in greaseproof paper, then handed it back along with the change.
At this, even the maid's gaze softened considerably.