The man didn't come in. "New volunteer, show him around."
The woman laughed, "That's unusual; it's been a long time since we've had any volunteers."
Yan Heqing nodded politely, "Hello, my name is Yan Heqing."
The woman smiled back at him, "Just call me Auntie Zhang."
The man handed the remaining snacks and milk to Yan Heqing, saying, "You and Sister Zhang keep an eye on things on the fourth floor. When you're done, come find me on the second floor."
The man went downstairs first. Yan Heqing stepped through the iron gate, and Auntie Zhang locked the gate again. She walked ahead and explained, "The children are in art class now. You can go in and distribute the things after class."
"Okay," Yan Heqing replied.
Unlike the bustling third floor, the fourth floor was very quiet. In a particularly large classroom, there were about twenty easels, and about ten children were quietly painting inside. At the front of the classroom stood a tall and slender woman in her early forties. She was wearing an apron and holding a palette of paints, teaching a little girl how to color.
"That's Teacher Xu from the school, she teaches art." Standing at the door, Auntie Zhang shook her head slightly. "Now she's the only teacher left at the orphanage. She's been there for over ten years, rain or shine, and she doesn't ask for a salary."
Through the glass, Yan Heqing quietly gazed at the woman.
Xu Qiaoyin, Lu Muchi's biological mother.
Half an hour later, class finally ended. A rumble of thunder started again. Auntie Zhang gently knocked on the door. " Teacher Xu, volunteers are here to give the children milk."
Upon hearing a stranger, Xu Qiaoyin immediately lowered her head and quickly packed up her art supplies. Auntie Zhang, used to this, greeted Yan Heqing, "Come in with me."
Yan Heqing entered the classroom.
The children on the fourth floor are quieter than those on the third floor because most of them are deaf or mute.
Following the easel, Yan Heqing distributed bread and milk to each of them one by one. When she reached the last girl, Yan Heqing handed her something, but she didn't eat it; instead, she carefully put it into her pocket.
"Aren't you hungry?" Yan Heqing gestured.
The girl stared intently at Yan Heqing's lips and nervously began to use sign language.
"You... want to... take... to your... good friend?" Yan Heqing carefully examined the object.
The girl's eyes sparkled, and this time she nodded vigorously.
Just then, Auntie Zhang came over. Seeing the little girl's bulging pockets, she smiled and said, "She's good friends with a little girl on the fifth floor; she's keeping this for her."
Yan Heqing's expression softened slightly, and he gave the little girl another bread and yogurt. "One for you, and one for your best friend. You can eat now."
The little girl blinked happily and gestured in sign language, "Thank you, brother!"
All of this was observed by Xu Qiaoyin.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. When Yan Heqing returned to the second floor, it was already past five in the afternoon, and it was completely dark. All the lights were on.
"You've finished your tour," the man asked Yan Heqing. "Now tell me your answer: will you be coming back regularly?"
"Yes," Yan Heqing nodded, "I can come once a week."
The man was quite surprised, but also delighted. The orphanage was desperately short of supplies and manpower. He extended his hand, "Welcome to the team."
The phone rang, and the man answered it. After listening for a few seconds, his excitement was palpable. "Dean, you're not kidding me, are you?"
"Haha, no, I'm just so happy."
"No problem, I'll compile the statistics and send them to you right away."
After hanging up the phone, the man sat down, turned on his computer, and typed for a while before remembering that Yan Heqing was still there. He slapped his forehead, "Look at me, I forgot about you because of the corporate sponsorship. Nothing's wrong today, you can go back now. Just come once a week from now on."
He opened a drawer and handed Yan Heqing a blue work ID, saying, "Take this and fill in your name and photo yourself."
Yan Heqing took the work pass, said goodbye, and left the office.
The corridor had no glass, only wire mesh. The torrential rain seeped through the wire mesh into the corridor, and a lot of water had already accumulated on the floor.
Yan Heqing walked down the stairs close to the wall. When he got close to the first floor, he saw Xu Qiaoyin's back.
Xu Qiaoyin stood under the eaves, carrying her bag, quietly watching the heavy rain.
Suddenly, she stepped into the rain.
Yan Heqing jogged forward, " Teacher Xu," and opened his umbrella to shield Xu Qiaoyin's head.
Crackle, crackle.
Raindrops pattered on the top of the umbrella.
When Xu Qiaoyin saw Yan Heqing, her pale face showed a hint of bewilderment.
She remembered the boy; he was a new volunteer who had arrived that day, and he looked... a few years younger than her son.
Thinking of Lu Muchi, Xu Qiaoyin momentarily forgot to run away, so Yan Heqing first stuffed the umbrella into her hand, saying, "It's raining heavily, please walk slowly, I'm leaving now."
After saying that, Yan Heqing put on his hat and ran into the rain.
"You..." Xu Qiaoyin tried to chase after him, but the boy ran very fast and disappeared into the rain in an instant.
Xu Qiaoyin silently gripped the umbrella handle, stepped into the rain, and slowly left.
At the same time, the door to the dean's office on the first floor opened, and the dean bowed and scraped as he saw Lu Lin out. " President Lu, thank you so much for your generous support of Rainbow Bridge. We've been lacking a library and a clinic for many years, especially the clinic, in case of an emergency..."
The dean stopped, following Lu Lin's gaze into the heavy rain. He could only vaguely make out a figure flashing into the distance. The dean called out softly, " President Lu?"
Lu Lin withdrew his gaze. "My assistant will follow up on this. Contact him if you need anything."
The dean was so happy his eyes practically disappeared. "This is wonderful!"
The Maybach stopped in front of the dormitory building, and the driver got out and opened an umbrella to pick up Lu Lin.
The dean saw Lu Lin off to his car and left, finally putting his mind at ease after a day of great anxiety.
With hundreds of millions in funding, children will have access to education when they are sick!
With another new dormitory building, we can take in even more orphans.
The dean touched his chest and thanked Lu Lin once again.
When Yan Heqing came out of the orphanage, he was soaked to the bone. The rain was so heavy that he ran to a convenience store and bought a jam bread and a bottle of water. He then stood under the eaves of the convenience store to take shelter from the rain.