Volunteer Service Routine (Epilogue)

When Xiao Ling and Sigrika returned to the center of the courtyard, Aemeath and the other children had been waiting for them for a long time.

"Xiao Ya, A-Yu, Xixi, you're back!" Aemeath greeted them with a bright smile. "A-Yu and Xixi, you two are really something! I had to search for you for ages. If it weren't for Yaya, how long were you planning to hide?"

"Are you afraid I'll run away with Sigrika halfway through?" Xiao Ling joked nonsensically.

"If you really run away with Xixi, you'll be in for a good night tonight~" Dania teased in a languid voice.

"Who begged for mercy first last night?"

"I was just letting you win!" Dania retorted stubbornly.

"Then let's have a showdown tonight until dawn. Whoever admits defeat is a little dog," Xiao Ling said cheekily.

"Who's afraid of who!"

Sigrika, who was standing to the side, was already blushing, but after hearing Dania and Xiao Ling's meaningful conversation, her face turned even redder, as if it could bleed.

"A-Yu!" Aemeath couldn't stand it anymore and angrily grabbed Xiao Ling's ear. "There are so many children watching, behave yourself!"

Fortunately, their conversation wasn't loud, and the children were chatting amongst themselves, not paying any attention to them.

"Sister Ai, sister Ai, I was wrong, I was wrong, let go, it hurts!" Xiao Ling begged for mercy while trying to pry open Aemeath's claws.

Dania was watching Aemeath punish Hajiling, secretly gloating, when Aemeath a sharp rap on the head.

"You too! Xiao Ya! Be more reserved!" Aemeath, sounding a little annoyed.

"Waaah..." Dania immediately became aggrieved, covering her forehead and letting out pitiful, soft whimpers.

After this little incident, Xiao Ling and her group played hide-and-seek with the children a few more times until lunchtime, when they finally left the courtyard, hungry, and returned to the orphanage.

backyard.

"Is the heat right, Chisa?" Xiao Ling asked Chisa, who was cooking, while fanning herself with a fan to control the heat.

"It suits you perfectly. Thank you for your help, senior." Chisa nodded with a smile, her fair face still smudged with charcoal ash.

Actually, Chisa didn't want to trouble others, but she couldn't manage to control the heat and cook all by herself. Fortunately, Xiao Ling offered to help, which solved Chisa's urgent problem.

After all, the children were eagerly waiting for their meals, and the other volunteers were busy preparing; she couldn't fall behind.

The stir-fried green peppers and pork in the large iron wok, cooked with Chisa's skillful cooking, exuded an irresistible aroma that made one's mouth water.

"Senior, could you please try the taste later?" Chisa asked.

"Then I'm in for a treat," Xiao Ling said with a smile.

While Xiao Ling and Chisa were preparing meals for everyone at the orphanage, the others were also busy, each finding their own assigned tasks.

"Sister Aemeath! Your voice sounds like one of my favorite singers!" The speaker was a cute girl with pigtails, her voice brimming with undisguised joy, as if she had discovered some rare treasure.

"Hey~ tell me, whose singer does your voice sound like?" Aemeath with a squinting smile.

"It's that... fly... fly..."

"You mean Sister Wooly, right?" Another little girl, about ten years old, with a high ponytail, answered. She had a brand-new Wooly badge pinned to her old T-shirt. "I love her songs! Whenever I'm in a bad mood, humming a little bit of her music always cheers me up!"

"Yes, yes, Sister Wooly's songs are really beautiful, they have a heartwarming power!"

The children gathered around Aemeath and began sharing their impressions and feelings about the song "Wooly," which secretly delighted Wooly herself.

Music transcends borders and dimensions. These children draw strength from their singing, which is a sincere compliment to Aemeath.

"What songs would you like to hear? I can try singing one, okay?" Aemeath offered with a bright smile.

Surprisingly, this time the children didn't chatter amongst themselves; instead, they all focused their attention on the girl with the single ponytail.

"Let me choose?" the girl with the single ponytail asked, flattered.

"It's okay, after all, A-Ling has always taken care of us~"

"Can I listen to Limit Disco?"

"Okay~" Aemeath agreed with a smile.

Then, she cleared her throat and began to sing a cappella in her sweet voice.

"Dancing until overload. You should let it go."

"Dancing until overload. I don' t wanna know."

Led by Aemeath, the surrounding children began to sing along in unison. The clear female voices and the tender children's voices intertwined, adding a unique touch to the busy atmosphere in the backyard.

"Sister Sigrika, it sounds like they're singing over there?"

Sigrika looked in the direction the girl was pointing and saw that Aemeath was already singing with the children around her.

"Ah, it's this piece!" Sigrika's eyes lit up immediately. "I love this piece!"

"The atmosphere seems quite cheerful," the girl said with a smile.

"Should we go and join them?" Sigrika suggested.

"No, I want to hear more stories from Sister Sigrika," the girl said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Okay~" Sigrika said with a smile, "Where were we?"

"Hmm... we've gotten to the part about the Riling."

"Then I'll continue!"

Sigrika was telling the children around her about her experiences, the Roy Tribe's customs and history, and even a little about the Riling.

The camera pans to Lynae, who is currently using her spray paint to create her own mark on a somewhat worn wall.

"Okay, it's done!" Lynae nodded in satisfaction as she looked at her masterpiece.

"Wow, Lynae is amazing! She's just like a real kitten!"

"It's alright~" Lynae said modestly, then invited the children around her, "Would you like to try it too?"

"Is it really okay? I'm afraid I'll mess it up..."

"What does it matter? This wall is already so old anyway, he won't blame you for giving this old guy a little color," Lynae encouraged.

Encouraged by Lynae, the children eagerly took the spray paint from Lynae and left their marks on the old wall.

As for Dania...

"Sister Dania, why do you like sleeping so much?"

Dania, who was basking in the sun with her eyes half-closed, slightly opened them. Looking at the little girl staring at her with wide eyes, she thought for a moment before saying in a clear voice, "Because sleeping makes me happy."

(After all, if sleeping is meant to be a rehearsal for death, it would scare a child...)

But that's not entirely true, because Dania's mindset has changed long ago. Now, sleeping is simply about wanting to sleep and enjoying sleeping; there's no longer that heavy tone.

But she seemed to smell the aroma of food.

"Dinner's ready! Come on, let's go!" Dania immediately got up from the ground, grabbed the little girl next to her, and ran to Xiao Ling and Chisa.

Xiao Ling was already wrapping up the work, couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Dania running over with the little girl in tow.

"You came right after smelling it, are you that greedy?" he teased the other person.

"I'm starving!" Dania pouted. "Hide and seek isn't an easy game, and these kids have endless energy."

"No problem, we're cooking a communal meal today, eat as much as you want." Xiao Ling playfully pinched Dania's nose, then called out to Aemeath and the others, "Hey, you beautiful ladies over there, lunchtime is here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, led by Aemeath, Lynae and Sigrika each brought their children over to eat together.

The children wolfed down their food, their faces beaming with satisfaction, which pleased Xiao Ling and Chisa greatly.

"Chisa, why do you seem a little unhappy?" Xiao Ling asked, noticing Chisa's slightly furrowed brows.

"It's nothing, it's just that I can't quite recreate the taste of what you made, senior." Chisa shook her head helplessly.

"But I think you've already made it very delicious," Xiao Ling affirmed. "Besides, everyone has their own style of cooking, so it's impossible for everyone to be exactly the same. As long as it tastes good and the diners are satisfied, that's all that matters."

"Look, don't these little customers all really like the food you cook?"

Chisa smiled sweetly as she watched the young diners smear grease on their lips.

"You're right, senior."

In the afternoon, the orphanage was suddenly visited by an unannounced guest.

"Why is Professor Morning here too?" Xiao Ling asked in surprise, looking at the pretty Morning standing in front of her.

"I heard from Principal Roccia that you were volunteering here, so I came over," Morning said with a smile.

"Roccia didn't come with you?"

She said she was busy and couldn't come.

(Is it really something that's inconvenient?)

Xiao Ling thought to herself, "I guess it's because of what happened in the office that day that she doesn't want to run into him."

"So Morning, what brings you here today...?"

"Has the senior forgotten that I am still a professor?" Morning asked with a smile that did not diminish.

"Is the professor planning to come here to teach the children?"

That's right.

"Then let's not delay. Let me introduce you to your students today." Xiao Ling smiled and led the way. "Let's go."

"Good."

Inside the classroom.

Looking at the dilapidated tables and chairs and the old, peeling walls in front of him, Xiao Ling couldn't help but wonder if this could even be considered a classroom.

"Senior, is this... a classroom?" Morning asked, looking troubled.

"I think so..." Xiao Ling said solemnly.

At this moment, the orphans are sitting upright on the dilapidated table and chairs, their sparkling eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

"Senior, I'm going!" Morning said solemnly.

"Keep it up, Teacher Morning." Xiao Ling gently patted her shoulder.

Watched by Xiao Ling, Morning stepped onto the platform made of bricks and cement, her boots treading on it.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm your math teacher today, Morning. Today we'll be discussing...

Morning's lecture proceeded smoothly and methodically.

To be honest, with the widespread use of multimedia teaching equipment today, teaching methods like chalk and blackboard are gradually fading from public view.

But at this very moment, Morning is using an old blackboard and chalk in his hand to draw a door to knowledge for the children in front of him.

Xiao Ling stood at the back of the classroom, watching Morning shine with his own scholarly brilliance on the three-foot-high platform.

The children were very enthusiastic, answered questions eagerly, and were quite adept at creating a lively and interesting atmosphere in the classroom.

After finishing a class, Morning let out a long sigh and stepped off the podium, only to bump into Xiao Ling, who was holding a thermos.

"Have some water. Your throat must be dry after giving a lecture." He smiled and handed over his thermos.

"Thank you, senior, that's very kind of you." Morning said with a slight blush, taking the thermos and taking a small sip.

How are you feeling?

"I was a little nervous. At first, I was worried that my teaching style might be boring for them, but it seems that it turned out well."

"The children are very cooperative with you," Xiao Ling nodded.

"Hmm, but I still don't think this environment is very suitable for studying." Morning looked at the classroom in front of her, her brows furrowing slightly. "First of all, there's the safety issue. This place has been in disrepair for years, and the falling plaster is bad for the children's health if they inhale it. Secondly, the desks and chairs have unstable supporting structures, and there are too many sharp points. If they accidentally fall, they could easily get injured..."

Morning offered his suggestions for improvement one by one, Xiao Ling silently recorded them in her phone's memo app.

After taking another sip of water to moisten his throat, Morning continued, "Speaking of which, senior, there's been progress on building the teleportation channel between Solaris and the Otherworld."

"How is the situation?"

"It wasn't entirely smooth sailing, but it's still a breakthrough," Morning nodded. "I've successfully opened the passage, but it's very unstable, and putting it into use now would be too risky."

"You mean...?"

"We can go back, but we might not be able to come back," Morning explained. "And energy consumption is also a problem; in the worst-case scenario, we might need to replenish the energy from our remaining Forte Circuit."

"Isn't it a good thing to be able to go back? Why are you still worrying about coming back?" Xiao Ling said gently.

"Is the senior a real blockhead or a fake blockhead?" Morning suddenly blurted out.

"Um?"

"My initial intention in building this teleportation channel wasn't just to go back, but to find a way to connect the two worlds, so that we could return to see our predecessors at any time while dealing with affairs in that world."

"Therefore, stability is very important. I need it to be usable for a long time and effectively, not just a disposable item."

"Finally... if we go back like this... we... we'll all be very reluctant to leave our senior."

Morning's thoughts were simple: she finally had a chance to be with her senior openly, and she was extremely unwilling to be sent back to Solaris.

"I'll miss you all so much too~ You wouldn't bear to leave me here alone as a lonely old person for the rest of my life, would you? www!"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ling childishly picked up the petite Morning and kept rubbing his face against hers, making the latter blush instantly.

"Senior...!" Morning was a little taken aback, her cheeks flushed as she tried to push the other person away, "The children are all here..."

Xiao Ling snapped out of her daze and noticed that a bunch of little heads had popped out from the classroom door, seemingly watching the drama unfold.

"Cough cough."

Xiao Ling calmly put Morning down, and the latter blushed and began to straighten her clothes.

"Well... I need to continue teaching the children," Morning said in a barely audible voice.

"Okay, go ahead, Teacher Morning!" Xiao Ling grinned and gently nudged her from behind. "Good luck!"

"Yes, I'm going!" Morning nodded seriously.