Chapter 43: Households

The sign of Sunshine Orphanage glinted under the afternoon sun…

Rina stood at the entrance, wearing the striped tank top and lace-trimmed denim shorts she had just bought, clutching the paper bag with the nightgown inside.

She looked up at the sign, a flicker of complexity passing through her sky-blue eyes.

This place had never left her with any good memories.

But right now, she needed it…… her household registration, her ID Card…

“Rin-chan, want me to go in with you?”

Chitose stood behind her, her tone carrying a sense of eager anticipation.

“No. You wait here.”

Without looking back, Rina pushed open the iron gate.

The office looked about the same as she remembered.

A desk, a chair, a set of cabinets, and an old computer, with a faded fire safety diagram taped to the wall.

The Headmistress sat behind the desk, looking to be in her fifties, wearing a washed-out floral shirt with her hair neatly pinned back with a clip.

The moment she saw Rina, she froze for a second, then her eyes immediately turned red.

“Little Rina! You’re back! Where on earth did you run off to! Do you know how long we searched for you!”

The Headmistress stood up, walked around the desk, grabbed Rina’s shoulders with both hands, and looked her up and down.

“You’ve gained weight, and you’re cleaner than before, better dressed too. Where have you been all this time?”

Taken aback by the sudden warmth, Rina leaned back slightly to dodge the Headmistress’s face, which was getting too close.

“Headmistress, I’m here to get my household registration and ID Card.”

The Headmistress froze.

She let go, stepped back, and the expression on her face shifted from excitement to awkwardness, then from awkwardness to a look of hesitation that immediately put Rina on high alert.

The Headmistress wrung her hands.

“Little Rina, come in and sit down first. Let’s talk slowly.”

Rina didn’t sit.

She stood in place, her sky-blue eyes staring straight at the Headmistress.

“What’s wrong with my household registration?”

“Well…… it’s been transferred out.”

Rina felt her brain completely short-circuit for a full second.

“Transferred? What does that mean? How was it transferred without me even being present?”

The Headmistress sat back down in her chair, folding her hands on the desk, striking a pose as if she was about to explain things properly.

“Little Rina, don’t panic, just listen to me. Because you ran off before, we searched for a long time and couldn’t find you.”

“Technically, when someone goes missing for a certain period, we’re supposed to file a report…… but a few days ago, a black-haired woman came to our orphanage.”

Black-haired.

Rina’s eyelid twitched.

“She showed us your photo.”

“In the photo you looked clean and well-fed, smiling happily, and the house you lived in was beautiful too, obviously from a wealthy family.”

At this point, the Headmistress’s tone even carried a hint of relief.

“She treats you very well. She donated a large sum of money to our orphanage, saying it was to thank us for taking care of you.”

“As for the household registration…… she has connections in high places. This kind of matter can be settled with a single word from the higher-ups.”

So right now, legally, Rina had no idea what she was to Hisaki…… her adopted daughter?

Her ward?

Or some kind of legal relationship she didn’t dare think about too deeply.

“How much did she donate?”

Rina’s voice was flat.

“200,000.”

After saying this, the Headmistress’s eyes wandered.

Rina looked at the Headmistress’s face, which practically screamed “this money really helped a lot,” and her inner sarcasm scrolled past like a barrage of bullet comments.

Sold for 200,000.

No wait, it should be that the kidnapper casually donated 200,000 to make things convenient, and then the entire orphanage happily handed her over.

She could even imagine the kidnapper sitting in the Headmistress’s office, chatting and laughing…… gentle, generous, impossible to find any fault with, and after donating the money, she probably didn’t forget to add, “Please keep this a secret, Shiro doesn’t know yet.”

The whole time, she had been kept in the dark.

“What about my ID Card?”

Rina asked with her last shred of hope.

“That was taken by that woman too.”

The office fell silent for a moment.

“Little Rina.”

The Headmistress stood up from her chair, walked over to Rina, bent down, and her tone became earnest and persuasive.

“Don’t throw a tantrum again.”

“It’s rare that someone is willing to take you in, and the conditions are this good. You need to appreciate it.”

“There are a lot of bad people out there, and you’re a kid who likes to run around. What if you get kidnapped by some bad guy?”

Rina opened her mouth, wanting to say “I’ve already been kidnapped,” but ultimately she closed it.

Talking to the Headmistress about this was pointless.

In the Headmistress’s understanding, the kidnapper was a gentle, wealthy kind-hearted person willing to donate 200,000 to the orphanage, while she herself was a “problem child who likes to run around.”

Nothing she said would be believed.

She took a deep breath and changed the question.

“Headmistress, how old am I this year?”

The Headmistress straightened up, turned back to the computer, and typed a few keys.

“Let me check.”

“I happened to look at your file recently.”

“You were born on the last day of June, so you should be 18 this year…… no, wait.”

The Headmistress looked down at the date in the bottom right corner of the screen.

“Today is June 28th.”

“Two more days…… June 30th, that’s your birthday.”

“Happy birthday in advance, Little Rina.”

“In the past, the orphanage didn’t have the conditions to celebrate birthdays for the children. You all deserved better.”

“Now you have such a good family willing to take care of you. You should cherish it and be a good girl.”

Rina stood there in silence.

In her past life, lying on a hospital bed until she was eighteen, she had never felt that age had any meaning…

“Alright, I understand. Thank you.”

Rina turned and walked toward the door.

“Little Rina!”

The Headmistress’s voice chased after her from behind.

“Don’t run off again! There are lots of bad people out there!”

Rina’s steps paused for a moment, but she didn’t turn around, only muttering in a voice so low only she could hear.

“The bad guy already took me.”

Outside the orphanage’s iron gate, Chitose was crouching by the roadside, drawing circles in the dirt with a stick.

She was drawing a simple stick figure of a little girl in a dress…… the skirt drawn especially puffy.

Hearing footsteps, she snapped her head up, threw away the stick, and stood, her green eyes sparkling as she looked at Rina.

“Rin-chan! Did you get the household registration?”

“No.”

Rina’s voice was dry.

“Huh?”

Chitose’s expression shifted from expectation to confusion.

Rina didn’t explain. She just stood at the orphanage gate, looking up at the harsh late-June sunlight, her mind rapidly calculating her next moves.

Her household registration had been transferred by the kidnapper, and her ID Card was in the kidnapper’s hands.

Without an ID Card, she couldn’t check into a hotel… wait.

She turned to look at Nanase Chitose.

This perverted obsessive was tilting her head at her, her ash-blonde hair draped over her shoulders, her green eyes filled with confusion and a hint of lingering excitement.

This person was twenty-three.

She had an ID Card.

She could book a room.

“Chitose.”

Rina’s voice suddenly became sweet and soft.

Chitose’s body visibly shuddered.

“R-Rin-chan…… when you call me with that voice…… I can’t take it…”

“Do you have an ID Card?”

“Then let’s go eat.”

Rina turned and walked off after saying this.

Chitose froze for a second, then quickly caught up.

“Rin-chan! Wait for me! Where are we going to eat? What do you want? My treat! I only make 200,000 a year, but I’ll eat dirt for you, Rin-chan!”

“Rin-chan, you can eat anything you want! Rin-chan…”