After school, the siblings first returned home, then stood in front of a small courtyard, laden with bags.
The courtyard looked quite old, with vines climbing the walls and a slightly rusty iron gate, though it was very clean.
A sign next to it read: Sunshine Welfare Institute.
This was a small welfare institute, established over thirty years ago by Granny Qin, the director, using her demolition compensation.
Due to its small size and limited resources, it could only accommodate a handful of children at a time.
Jiang Ran, after being abducted and then rescued by Xu Huo, stayed here for a few days. During those days, Xu Huo and Granny Qin comforted her immensely.
In recent years, policies have tightened.
To ensure children receive a more comprehensive education, the state began merging small welfare institutes.
Furthermore, Granny Qin was getting old.
She originally wanted to send all the children away, but some of the children were too young, and an abrupt change of environment would only be counterproductive.
So, after negotiations, this current group would be the last.
Once they grew older and could calmly accept reality, this welfare institute would be torn down to make way for a future shopping mall.
“Granny Qin! I’m back!”
Jiang Ran was like a joyful bird, still more than ten meters from the welfare institute.
After pushing open the door, Granny Qin, who always sunbathed in the courtyard, wasn’t there today. Instead, there were a few children kicking a ball, the tallest of whom only reached Xu Huo’s thigh.
Xu Huo watched the ball, preventing Jiang Ran from being suddenly hit in the head.
Jiang Ran lacked this awareness, which is why girls walking on the field were often hit by soccer balls at school.
“Sister Ranran!”
A little loli happily ran over.
Xu Huo rubbed his ears; the tender voice made his ears feel a little itchy.
Jiang Ran’s mouth naturally curved into a smile.
She picked up the little loli and asked, “Xiao Xue, where’s Granny Qin?”
“In her room.”
“Then you all play, I’ll go find Granny Qin…”
Jiang Ran said, putting the little loli down, then beckoned to the remaining group of little rascals.
They exchanged glances and immediately scurried over, one of them having a slight limp.
“Sister Ranran!”
Jiang Ran crossed her arms, feigning anger, “Is playing with the ball that much fun? Only Xiao Xue came to say hello to me… What about you all?”
“Sister Ranran~~ Sister Ranran~~”
Chirping.
“Hmph! I know you all! Quiet down!”
Hearing this, everyone excitedly covered their mouths, then stood up straight obediently, eagerly watching as Jiang Ran, as if by magic, took out several boxes of ice cream from the bag Xu Huo was carrying.
Visibly, their facial expressions underwent an astonishing change, their spirits soaring like splashing water, so much so that Xu Huo felt their drool was about to start flowing any second.
“Ice cream!!”
“There’ll be fried chicken tonight too, so everyone only gets one serving. If you eat too little for dinner later, Granny Qin will definitely know that my brother and I bought you snacks again.”
“I’ll definitely eat a lot tonight!”
“Me too.”
“You’d better, you always betray me.”
Jiang Ran helped them tear open the lids and handed out spoons one by one.
The little loli named Xiao Xue scooped a big spoonful of ice cream, her fair little hand wobbling as she extended it towards Jiang Ran, “Sister Ranran, you eat first!”
“I’m not eating, you all eat.”
After saying that, she grabbed the tiny hand and helped her rub the dirt out from under her fingernails.
“Eat! Eat!”
***
“Oh, I can’t say no to you.”
Jiang Ran opened her mouth and ate the ice cream, which was full of affection.
Seeing that the other little ones also intended to share, she quickly waved her hand and said, “No, really, I’m not feeling well today… You all eat. I’m going to find Granny Qin.”
Hearing this, the little ones relaxed and started eating their ice cream.
As if soaked by the ice cream’s sweetness, their faces also became sweet.
Walking a little further away, Xu Huo sighed, “Kids are so cute…”
Jiang Ran stifled a laugh, “Why didn’t you say that earlier, in front of them?”
“Gotta save face.”
“What about me?”
“You’re cute too.”
“Then why can you say it now?”
“I have no shame.”
“Hahahaha!”
Jiang Ran laughed happily, her moist eyes sparkling, and faint dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth.
Perhaps only here, she would act more like a reliable older sister.
“Granny Qin!!”
As they got closer, a kind voice answered from the room.
“Ranran?”
“It’s me…”
Jiang Ran pushed the door open and happily entered the room.
But the very next second, her voice trembled, and a cold tear suddenly rolled down her cheek, landing on the back of her hand.
She paused slightly, then nervously wiped it away, rushing forward.
“Granny… What happened?”
Xu Huo was a couple of steps behind.
Following her, he saw the old lady sitting in a wheelchair, her lower leg in a cast.
Perhaps she had caught a slight cold due to the temperature drop these past two days.
The old lady covered her mouth and coughed a couple of times, then looked up kindly at Jiang Ran and said, “It’s nothing, I just accidentally fell…”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Weren’t you preparing for the college entrance exam?”
“But I could still come back and see you!”
“Seeing me wouldn’t make me better, and besides, you’ve seen me now anyway…”
“How could this happen?”
Jiang Ran asked, her voice choked with tears.
Granny Qin wiped the tears from Jiang Ran’s face, then smiled and looked at Xu Huo behind her, “Xu Huo is here too?”
Xu Huo nodded, acknowledging her, “If I didn’t come, who would help her carry things? Granny, I have good news for you. Ranran got direct admission!”
It should have been Jiang Ran announcing the good news, but given the situation, Xu Huo had to speak for her, gently patting her back to help her compose herself.
“Is that so? Which school did she get into?”
“S University. Actually, with her grades, she could have gone to Beijing, but it’s too far, and the family was worried, and she didn’t want to…”
“That’s very good.”
“And these are the gifts we bought for you all.”
Granny Qin was a bit displeased, pinching Jiang Ran’s ear, “Wasting money again!”
Jiang Ran scrunched her nose, sniffling, “This is my prize money from the competition. I didn’t give it all to you; I kept half for myself…”
“…Well, that’s better.”
“Here, Granny, this is your favorite butterfly pastry. I specifically waited in a long line to bring it back, and there’s also this…”
“I’m very happy if you just come back to visit occasionally.”
Granny Qin sighed.
Once Jiang Ran had shown everything, she beckoned to her, “Come, Ranran. Sit here.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ran immediately obediently moved a small stool and sat next to Granny Qin.
Granny Qin gently stroked Jiang Ran’s head, just like when she was a child, “Tell me about what you’ve been up to lately?”
Jiang Ran nodded repeatedly, a joyful glint in her eyes, then looked somewhat awkwardly at her brother behind her.
Xu Huo was also understanding, “Old man’s in the kitchen, right? I’ll go see if there’s anything I can help with…”
“Mm.”
Jiang Ran waved vigorously.
Granny Qin had watched the entire exchange with an unruffled expression.
Only after Xu Huo had walked away did she gently smile and say, “You’ve truly met a good family.”
Although it was just an ordinary sigh of emotion, Jiang Ran’s little face immediately flushed crimson.
She lowered her head, fidgeting with the corner of her shirt, and softly mumbled, “It’s… it’s alright…”
Lowered head, red face, fidgeting with shirt corner…
As someone who had been through it all, Granny Qin knew this meant she was genuinely very happy.