Chapter 118: What Happened Back Then
Chapter 118: What Happened Back Then
For a moment, Chen Jing’s attention was successfully diverted.
She looked at the report in front of her, and her expression underwent a significant change.
After a long pause, she murmured, “There’s too little information here. It doesn’t prove anything.”
“Agreed,”
Professor Bai nodded. “It’s too long ago, and it seems some things were deliberately covered up. It’s very difficult to find solid evidence now. We’re just speculating about all possibilities. However, if that Orphanage truly has ties to the Escaped Laboratory incident back then… then there should still be at least one person alive who knows the truth.”
Chen Jing jerked her head up abruptly. “Zeng Xiaolu?”
Professor Bai gave a single nod. “Therefore, if you insist on handling work now, I suggest you focus on this.”
“As for how the Ability Users from Outside the City smuggled weapons in and managed to probe for information about the Xu Family Father and Daughter in the Main City… Old Shen is more skilled than you at dealing with that kind of thing, and he’s also more ruthless in his methods. So, you needn’t worry about that. Feel free to hand it over to him.”
“But regarding this Orphanage matter… it absolutely must be handled by you. I wouldn’t feel at ease entrusting it to anyone else.”
“…”
Chen Jing listened in silence, then after a moment said, “What are the principles, or the bottom line?”
Professor Bai also seemed to ponder seriously for a moment before chuckling. “When you start thinking about setting a principle or bottom line for yourself, it often means panic has already set in within you. Actions taken in that state won’t be thorough. So, I’m not inclined to set principles for you.”
“Do what you should do!”
“That, is the principle, the bottom line you ought to uphold!”
“…”
Chen Jing listened intently, pondered briefly, then nodded. “I understand.”
……
……
Due to the sudden outbreak of large-scale Chaos in Satellite City No.2, everyone was affected to some degree.
However, the Orphanage located relatively close to the Guard Bureau managed to avoid this disaster quite well. By the time Chen Jing’s car stopped beside the Orphanage, she could even faintly hear the sound of children reciting in unison from the upper floors.
Chen Jing got out of the car. She nodded to a soldier stationed near the Orphanage and walked directly up the narrow staircase.
In just a few days, the walls here had become covered in children’s doodles.
Yet, these doodles appeared to have been modified by someone else. Originally messy scrawls, they were now transformed into adorable little paintings.
Chen Jing herself was skilled at sketching, so she naturally had a discerning eye.
She could tell that the person who modified the doodles must be a very gentle soul.
Her heart was filled with curiosity about this Orphanage’s little dean, who held significant weight in Lone Soldier’s file.
Simultaneously, she felt a touch of relief about her earlier decision to order the Orphanage personnel relocated here for protection.
Her initial thought at the time had simply been to allow Lone Soldier to work on the hidden Source of Contamination investigation in the Satellite City without worries. However, after connecting all the dots from beginning to end, she realized her decision had, unwittingly, been a great help.
If the Orphanage hadn’t been moved back then, it very well might have met with disaster.
After all, Professor Bai’s words confirmed that the Knights Order from Outside the City knew of this Orphanage’s existence.
……
……
Reaching the third floor, she saw an elderly man sitting on a folding stool at the stairwell landing. He wore a pale blue Security Guard’s uniform and was holding a newspaper. Peering over his reading glasses, he scanned her as she approached.
Chen Jing was in plain clothes, but she was tall and slender. Her leisure suit was well-tailored, and with her short hair, she exuded a sharp, formidable air.
Clearly, she didn’t look like someone who belonged here.
“I’m with the Guard Bureau. I’m here to see Dean Zeng,” Chen Jing stated.
She knew this old man was the Orphanage’s gatekeeper. When the Orphanage moved, he moved with it. Though the location here was slightly better than the previous one at Red Moon Elementary School, his dedicated Security Booth was gone; now he just kept watch from this stairwell corner.
The old Security Guard merely glanced at Chen Jing and said, “Class isn’t over yet. Wait a minute.”
Chen Jing looked at him too. “Alright.”
Then, neither spoke further. One continued holding the newspaper, while the other waited quietly at the top of the stairs.
After about ten minutes, the lively sounds of children playing erupted from above.
Chen Jing ascended the steps. Upon reaching the fourth floor, she saw a girl sliding out in her wheelchair, surrounded by children. A stack of textbooks rested on her knees. She looked about Lu Xin’s age, with her hair tied in a ponytail, presenting a very pure, gentle appearance – the kind of quiet, trustworthy girl who instantly inspires confidence. She seemed even more endearing than in her photograph.
A smile appearing on her face, Chen Jing stepped gently forward. “Hello, my name is Chen Jing. I’m Lu Xin’s colleague.”
“Colleague?”
Teacher Xiaolu looked slightly surprised. She tilted her head up to look at this woman who was probably one hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall, wearing high heels. Amazement flickered across her face, and after a brief pause, the words spilled out: “So you’re the one paying him that much?”
Chen Jing hadn’t anticipated her focus landing there. She let out a light chuckle. “The work he’s doing earns that compensation.”
Teacher Xiaolu nodded quickly, seemingly a bit nervous. “Alright. What did you come to ask about?”
Chen Jing spoke plainly, “I’d like to ask you about some things from the past.”
“Okay!”
Teacher Xiaolu fell silent for a moment, pointed to the office diagonally opposite, and said, “Then, can you wait for me for a bit?”
“I need to put away my books.”
“…”
“Alright, I’m not in a hurry.”
Chen Jing agreed softly and walked directly into the office diagonally opposite.
The room was about twenty square meters in size. Though it was called an office, it only contained a desk and an office chair. In one corner, toys and soccer balls were piled up, making it seem more like a break room. Unhurried, she sat down in the office, casually picked up a homework assignment done by a child, and began to read. The writing was childish but showed great earnestness.
“When I grow up, I’ll become a scientist and invent a chicken with ten legs, so people can eat drumsticks every day…”
“Later, I will build a spaceship, fly into the sky, and blow up the moon…”
“Later, I want to marry Teacher Xiaolu…” (Side note: Teacher says no!)
“…”
After reading for a while, the corners of Chen Jing’s mouth couldn’t help but lift in a slight smile:
“Are the kids here all so… ambitious?”
“…”
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Teacher Xiaolu pushed the door open, her wheelchair rolling slowly into the room. She smiled apologetically at Chen Jing. “Would you like some tea?”
“Please don’t trouble yourself.”
Chen Jing put down the homework, leaned back against the desk, and said with a smile, “I’m just here to chat casually with you.”
Teacher Xiaolu closed the door and nodded, her expression turning serious. “I’m not sure what you would like to ask?”
“It’s about Lu Xin.”
Chen Jing stated frankly. “You both grew up in the same orphanage, didn’t you?”
Teacher Xiaolu nodded. “Yes. He left when he was around thirteen, but he often comes back to help me.”
She thought for a moment, then added with a smile, “He’s quite foolish, always bringing his wages over to me. Sometimes, I’d see him reluctant to wear thick clothes in winter, yet he’d hand over his saved wages, telling me to buy clothes and coal for the children… But honestly, if it weren’t for him, this orphanage probably wouldn’t have stayed open this long. We… might have starved to death…”
“…”
“He really is a very good person.”
Chen Jing smiled faintly. “However, what I’d like to understand more about this time is what happened during his time at the orphanage.”
Teacher Xiaolu lowered her voice. After a pause, she said, “Back at the orphanage, he was a very good child too…”
She paused slightly, raised her eyes to look at Chen Jing, and asked quietly, “Why bother asking about this at all?”
Chen Jing regarded her quietly, speaking softly. “The orphanage had an incident one year, didn’t it?”
Teacher Xiaolu fell silent.
After a long while, she suddenly whispered, “What exactly do you want to ask?”
Chen Jing slowed down her speech. “I just want to understand some things that happened at the orphanage back then…”
“For example, what Lu Xin was like at the time.”
“And also, during that explosion incident, the two of you were…”
“…”
Suddenly, Chen Jing’s gaze focused slightly, and she stopped speaking.
Because she saw Teacher Xiaolu suddenly draw a gun from where she had tucked it beneath her clothes.
She pointed the gun towards her own chin, looked up at Chen Jing, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.
Chen Jing felt startled internally, but did not rush to speak, merely casting an inquiring look her way.
“I don’t know what you want to ask. I know nothing about what happened back then.”
Teacher Xiaolu’s voice trembled slightly, tears brimming in her eyes, yet there was an uncharacteristically resolute feeling in her tone:
“But I know I can’t let you harm Lu Xin!”
“Our lives now… they are good…”
“He is such a good person… this peacefulness he has now is something he deserves…”
“So, don’t think you can trick anything out of me. I won’t allow you to hurt him!”
“…”
As she spoke, she clenched her teeth, gripping the gun tightly. “I know you people have many strange ways to make me talk…”
“But if you force me… I’d rather… shoot myself!”
“…”
Chen Jing looked at Teacher Xiaolu calmly.
Her hand holding the gun trembled, but her slender fingers pressed forcefully against the trigger.
The entire Satellite City banned guns now; it was unclear how this wheelchair-bound orphanage teacher had gotten hold of one.
And judging by the rust on it, it was very old indeed.
So, when she said she needed to put away her books earlier, she was actually going for this gun.
After a long moment, Chen Jing slowly shook her head. “This gun hasn’t been maintained. It won’t fire.”
Then she stood up slowly, wrote a number on a page from a nearby homework book, and said, “I don’t know what has made you view everything with such distrust, but what I want to tell you is, not everyone in this world is like that. You cherish this peaceful life, you want it to continue for him, and what I aim to do… is precisely to protect this very peace.”
“My purpose here today is achieved.”
She tore off the piece of paper and turned towards Teacher Xiaolu. “My main purpose was to confirm Lu Xin’s safety, to build greater trust in him. And you, at the very least, have told me in this manner that he is a trustworthy person…”
“…At the very least, he is someone worthy of you placing your life in his trust.”
“…”
She placed the number on the table. “This is my number. You can call me directly if anything comes up in the future.”
Teacher Xiaolu listened to Chen Jing, seeming slightly dazed, unsure of how to respond.
Chen Jing simply walked past her towards the door.
As she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned her head and smiled. “Also, I saw the notice downstairs. The utility bills for water and electricity are overdue…”
“Out of consideration for Lu Xin, I can overlook your issue of possessing an unregistered firearm.”
“But the utility bills and the rent… you’ll still have to pay those yourselves…”
…