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墨書 Inktalez
Little Boss twitched his little mustache, and despite his small eyes straining to widen, they remained small. He looked surprised for a long moment and asked, "What do you want with Xiong Biao?"
Ye Chenfeng sensed from his tone that he seemed to know Xiong Biao, and felt a surge of joy as he replied, "I have something to discuss with him."
"Something to discuss?"
"Yes."
"What could you possibly want with him?"
Ye Chenfeng liked to help others, even though such a big incident had happened at home and everything was still chaotic. However, since he had taken on the responsibility of helping the spirit, he felt he must assist. He thought that once Xiong Qisheng saw his son Xiong Biao, he would be able to leave that place in peace and reincarnate in the Underworld, thus resolving his worries.
After all, he was a fake Taoist! He specialized in dealing with these Ghostly matters, so helping a spirit was only natural.
To Ye Chenfeng, this was a trivial matter. Finding someone was not difficult; as long as that person was in Purple City, he would surely be able to locate him.
The questions from the little mustached boss were quite strange.
"Do I need to tell you what I want with him?" Ye Chenfeng thought that this Little Boss was rambling too much. He had come here to get things done, and this Little Boss was just wasting time with unnecessary chatter. Annoyed, he emphasized, "Can you just call him out for me? If not, then just say so."
Seeing Ye Chenfeng getting angry, the Little Boss felt uncertain. He didn’t know the other party's intentions or what they did for a living. In this line of work, one had to be cautious not to offend someone powerful by accident. So, he dared not provoke him lightly and forced a smile, saying, "I’m not sure what you need Xiong Biao for."
"Just go ahead and call Xiong Biao out for me!"
"Alright, alright..." The Little Boss cast a suspicious glance at Ye Chenfeng, then suggested they talk inside and led him to the back room of the internet café.
In the back room, a small child was playing with water.
The child had a stylish haircut shaped like a Z.
"Little Boss," he called out.
The one named Biaoer immediately looked up, sweetly smiling as she exclaimed, "Daddy."
Is this Xiong Biao a child?
Ye Chenfeng froze, momentarily stunned.
The little mustached boss chuckled and said, "This is my son, Xiong Biao. What do you want with such a little kid?"
"I’m not looking for a child named Xiong Biao; you’ve got it wrong." With that, he turned to leave.
The little mustache was left bewildered. How strange was this person? He came looking for someone, found them, and then claimed he was mistaken.
Ye Chenfeng felt frustrated. Where could Xiong Qisheng's son, Xiong Biao, have gone? Why wasn’t he visiting his sick father in the hospital? What unresolved issues could exist between them that led to such estrangement?
With the already chaotic situation compounded by Xiong Qisheng's search for his son, Ye Chenfeng felt overwhelmed.
He wandered aimlessly, lost in thought. It wasn't until he heard the vendor calling out for roasted chestnuts that he subconsciously walked over. He didn’t particularly like roasted chestnuts, but Sun Xianger did.
"I'll take a pound of roasted chestnuts."
"Sure thing."
A pound of steaming roasted chestnuts landed in Ye Chenfeng's hands. He intended to visit Sun Xianger but realized he had unknowingly returned to University Road. Just as his irritation peaked, his phone rang. He answered it and saw it was Qin Keqing calling.
"Ye Chenfeng, what are you doing?"
"Nothing much. Is there something up?"
"How is Xiang'er doing at your place?"
"Not much, she went to the welfare institute." Ye Chenfeng was reluctant to revisit the topic of his family. He feared that Qin Keqing would dig deeper, so he quickly informed her that Sun Xianger had gone to the welfare institute and decisively hung up the phone, turning it off.
Sun Xianger, what exactly is your background?
Ye Chenfeng recalled the first time he saw Sun Xianger and instinctively looked at his palm.
A scar remained on his palm from a torn wound, resembling a wriggling centipede, looking particularly gruesome and terrifying.
This scar was left by Sun Xianger.
At that time, she was very pitiful. She couldn't speak, her eyes filled with terror; she had an inexplicable connection with fire. She had escaped from a sea of flames—did something reside within her?
This thought stirred Ye Chenfeng's mind and quickened his pace as he ran toward the station.
Ye Chenfeng was heading to the welfare institute.
Purple City Welfare Institute. It primarily cares for orphans without guardians, abandoned infants, and disabled children—a social welfare organization.
This place is where taxpayers and kind-hearted individuals offer their love.
The welfare institute accepted Sun Xianger.
However, Sun Xianger was not happy; she preferred solitude, enjoyed quietly staying in her room, silently gazing at the world outside.
Regarding the Ye family incident, Sun Xianger could not be ruled out as a suspect, but there was no evidence linking her to Ye Chenfeng's mother's death.
A minor girl had no motive for committing a crime and lacked the ability to ignite a fire that burned from within. Thus, she ultimately became an uninvestigated subject and was settled into the welfare institute.
Sun Xianger was small but spirited, unwilling to refuse the memories of what had happened before her eyes.
No matter who asked her a question, she remained silent.
The teachers at the orphanage suspected she might be autistic or possibly mute.
No one knew whether she could speak until Ye Chenfeng appeared. With tears streaming down her face, Sun Xianger cried out, "Chenfeng Brother." It was then that the adults and children in the orphanage realized that Sun Xianger was not mute; she could indeed speak.
"Do you want to eat some chestnuts?" Ye Chenfeng offered her a bag of roasted chestnuts.
Sun Xianger's eyes sparkled with excitement as she revealed a rare smile. Casually, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a still-warm chestnut, popping it into her mouth and crunching down on it, savoring its sweetness.
"Are they good?"
"They're delicious! Chenfeng Brother, take me home," Sun Xianger pouted, wanting to leave with Ye Chenfeng instead of just having chestnuts.
"Xiang'er, it's not that I don't want you. It's just that so much is happening at home right now. I need to sort things out before I can come to get you," Ye Chenfeng said sincerely. He hoped that the truth he uncovered would have nothing to do with Xiang'er; if that were the case, he would be more than happy to keep her by his side.
"Chenfeng Brother, do you not want me anymore?" Sun Xianger's voice trembled as tears welled up in her eyes, staring at Ye Chenfeng.
He couldn't bear to look at her and turned his head away. "That's not true. I'm here to see you, aren't I? Once I take care of everything, I'll come back with Ding Li Sister to take you shopping."
"I don't want to go shopping! The place Auntie took me to wasn't fun at all. There were so many fires, and there was someone whose eyes were also on fire," Sun Xianger spoke clearly, leaving Ye Chenfeng stunned.
Wasn't he looking for something related to fire?
It seemed that Xiang'er had seen it.
"Do you remember the name of the place you went to with Auntie?"
Sun Xianger thought for a moment, her expression innocent and harmless as she said, "University Road."
"University Road..."
Why is it again University Road? Ye Chenfeng nodded and asked for confirmation, "What else did you see on University Road?"
Sun Xianger seemed reluctant to recall the incident. She frowned and said, "Chenfeng Brother, I don't want to think about that. It's scary. Please take me back! I promise I'll behave in the future."
From the moment Ye Chenfeng received that strange phone call, he had a vague feeling that their opponent was too formidable. To commit a crime right under his nose and then slip away without leaving a trace was no ordinary feat.
The key issue was that Sun Xianger was unwilling to think about it, unwilling to cooperate with him in searching for clues, which troubled him greatly.
Hearing that Sun Xianger had spoken, the Director of the Welfare Institute came to see what was going on.
She entered the room, smiled warmly at Ye Chenfeng, her kind eyes calmly gazing at Sun Xianger as she said, "This child is quite well-behaved but doesn't like to play with other kids or talk much. It seems she misses you, Chenfeng Brother."
Ye Chenfeng had brought Xiang'er to the welfare institute, and since the director handled the paperwork, she knew Ye Chenfeng's name and had some understanding of his family situation.
"Ye Chenfeng, come out. We need to talk privately."
The Director of the Welfare Institute was named Director Shen.
Director Shen led the way outside, and Ye Chenfeng followed behind, signaling for Xiang'er to stay inside and not move around.
In Director Shen's office, she maintained her kind demeanor and asked, "Ye Chenfeng, is Xiang'er really an orphan?"
"Yes."
"Does she have no other relatives?"
"No."
"The little girl has nightmares. Here, only I know she isn't mute. In the middle of the night, she talks to herself. From the side, it looks like she's discussing something with an invisible person, but clearly, there's no one in the room."
Ye Chenfeng was startled by Director Shen's words and quickly asked, "What did she say?"
"She said it's all your fault; you caused their deaths. It has nothing to do with me."
"Director Shen, are you sure you didn't mishear?"
"No..." As Director Shen replied, his brow furrowed slightly, as if feeling uncomfortable. He forced a smile and said, "It's an old problem of mine. You'd better communicate with Sun Xianger; I'm afraid such a good girl would be wasted."
"Alright." Ye Chenfeng agreed but glanced at Director Shen again. He suddenly felt that Director Shen's complexion was poor; compared to just a few seconds ago, it was truly concerning. There was a scent of death about him that hadn't been there before.
"Director Shen, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. People get old; it's normal to have various ailments. Go see Xiang'er and communicate well with her; it's clear she likes to listen to you," Director Shen said the last few words with apparent difficulty.
"Do you need medication? I can get you something," Ye Chenfeng said anxiously, feeling that something might happen.
Director Shen, however, grew impatient and emphasized, "I'm fine; you go ahead and busy yourself." He then stood up to close the door and see Ye Chenfeng off.
Since he was being shown the door, even though there were matters at hand, Ye Chenfeng had no choice but to stand up helplessly and say, "No need to see me off; take a rest. I'll leave now."
Ye Chenfeng went to find Xiang'er.
Xiang'er had gone to the courtyard and was playing harmoniously with other children for the first time.
She was a very beautiful little girl; when she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her cheeks.
According to Director Shen, Sun Xianger is of the age to start her education, so she will begin studying soon.
There are teachers at the orphanage who teach reading and writing.
Although it's just a basic elementary level, it's much better than not being able to write her own name.
If a good family comes to adopt a child from the orphanage, they must meet certain adoption criteria. Under social scrutiny, the adopted children will be sent to the city for schooling.
Director Shen mentioned that as long as Sun Xianger opens her heart, being such a well-behaved girl, there should be many families interested in adopting her.
Therefore, Ye Chenfeng must help Xiang'er open up about her feelings.
The key lies in who she was arguing with in the middle of the night.
Ye Chenfeng waved at the playing Sun Xianger.
Xiang'er walked over obediently, her smiling face truly adorable.
"Chenfeng Brother, are you going to take me home?"
Ye Chenfeng took Xiang'er's hand and led her inside, smiling as he said, "If you tell your brother the secret in your heart, then he will prepare to take you home."
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