Chapter 58: Red Roses

The letter was indeed sent by Teacher Xiaolu from the Red Moon Orphanage. The phone at home was only used by Mother; Lu Xin didn’t even know the number himself. Naturally, Teacher Xiaolu couldn’t reach him by phone either, so if she had something to say, she would always send a letter.

The letter said that recently, the Orphanage’s license had been approved, so the children would have the chance to go to school in the future; she was very happy.

Coupled with the previous invitation to Lu Xin, she decided to make dumplings and asked Lu Xin to come over to eat.

……

“It actually got approved…”

Lu Xin was somewhat surprised.

Actually, he was very clear on what the current Red Moon Orphanage was really like. There were too many aspects that didn’t meet the Administrative Hall’s standards. The place was small, the conditions were poor. There was only her—one teacher—and one security guard. How could such conditions possibly qualify for an orphanage license? And without a formal license, it was even more impossible to receive funding support from the Administrative Hall.

Although Teacher Xiaolu had often gone to petition before, she had returned disappointed many times.

At times, even Lu Xin felt her efforts were useless, but Teacher Xiaolu’s answer was:

It’s not like I had anything else to do anyway…

Helpless, Lu Xin could only let her be. But who would have thought she actually succeeded now.

“Could this have something to do with me?”

Lu Xin recalled Colonel Chen, who seemed quite influential within this Satellite City, but he wasn’t sure.

He could actually sense the Special Contaminant Cleanup Division’s regard for him, their wariness, and their complicated attitude—wanting to be close yet careful.

He usually maintained a calm, slow demeanor, but this was precisely because he was sensitive to it.

……

“Anyway, this is good news. I still need to go over…”

Having made his decision, Lu Xin looked up and saw that the door to Mother’s bedroom was already tightly shut.

The entire house was silent, as if he were the only one there.

“Sigh…”

He had originally wanted to ask properly, but she had slipped away again.

Lu Xin had no other choice. He finished drinking the water silently, then got up and returned to his room.

The next day, Lu Xin finished his work at the Business Company early. He called Han Bing using the satellite phone to let her know, then boarded the bus early, intending to get to the Orphanage ahead of time to help Teacher Xiaolu cook.

Nearing the district where the Red Moon Orphanage was located, he got off the bus ahead of time and walked leisurely along the road.

Heading towards the Orphanage was always the most relaxing time for him.

Because his family members almost never went to the Orphanage with him, including Little Sister.

After walking for a while, Lu Xin thought he should buy them some gifts, so he entered a shop with a flickering neon sign.

Like most other shops in the Satellite City, though small, this store was quite well-stocked. The goods were broadly divided into two categories: one type was currently produced—packaging rougher but looking completely new; the other had noticeably refined packaging but looked somewhat worn. The former were often produced in other Satellite Cities or the Main City; the latter were usually brought in by Scavenger Teams from Outside the City. Naturally, the latter were past their expiration dates, but many didn’t affect the taste at all.

After picking for a while, Lu Xin bought several packets of biscuits and one large bag of sweets. Carrying the bags, big and small, he walked out.

Gifts for the children were easier to choose. It was deciding what to give Teacher Xiaolu that he hesitated about.

By now, the sky was growing dark; night had fallen heavily.

Not far away, under a dim streetlight, a young boy was squatting. His body was thin and frail, but his head seemed a bit large. He wore dull, grayish clothes, his hair looked dirty, and he carried a basket woven from grass. Inside the basket lay a bunch of trimmed roses, their stems varying in length, looking somewhat wilted. He called out in a low voice, “Does anyone want to buy any?”

When Lu Xin passed by him, the boy looked up, his dark eyes fixing on Lu Xin:

“Big Brother, do you want to buy my roses?”

Lu Xin looked at the boy’s thin, little face and dusty clothes, subconsciously slowing his pace. “How much for one?”

The boy looked a bit hopeful. “Ten bucks!”

Lu Xin, who had already put his hand in his pocket, took it out again. He shook his head. “Not buying.”

The boy looked nervous, pleading as he stared at Lu Xin. “Big Brother, please buy one?”

“My roses have magic. If you buy one and give it to your sweetheart, she will definitely fall in love with you…”

“……”

Lu Xin glanced at the roses in the basket, shaking his head slightly. “No, she would scold me for wasting money.”

Saying this, he took a coin from his pocket, placed it in the little boy’s basket, and continued walking forward.

……

The little boy stared blankly at Lu Xin’s retreating back, then looked down at the one-yuan coin in his basket.

A bit puzzled.

“Don’t follow me anymore…”

A commotion came from afar.

A girl wearing round glasses, dressed in youthful and fashionable clothes, walked quickly in this direction while vigorously shaking her hands, her face full of impatience.

Behind her, a young man carried a few apples; he wore glasses, a jacket, and jeans.

Wanting to catch up with her but not daring to, he could only jog along behind her.

“Yuanyuan, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?”

But the girl just kept walking quickly, repeating what she had said before: “Don’t follow me anymore, it’s annoying, okay?…”

The little boy lowered his head and shouted listlessly: “Anyone want to buy roses?…”

“Gift it to your girlfriend, she’ll fall in love with you…”

…

A man and a woman walked swiftly in front of him.

After a few steps, the young man suddenly remembered something and hurried over, panting: “How much?”

The little boy looked up at him and said: “Ten yuan!”

“So expensive…”

The young man glanced in the direction the girl was walking, gritted his teeth, and pulled out a paper bill: “Give me one!”

Then he picked up a rose and quickly chased after where the girl had walked off.

“I said I don’t want your apples, and I don’t want to see you again, so just stop annoying me…”

No matter how fast the girl walked, she couldn’t outrun the boy.

He finally caught up with her in front of an apartment building, which brought an expression of deep disgust over her face.

As if worried he would follow her upstairs, she decided to settle things downstairs: “Your behavior is so irritating, okay? We broke up; it’s over. You’re a grown man—can’t you stop acting so shameless?”

“I’m not shameless, really I’m not…”

The young man’s face showed anger and confusion: “I just don’t know how it suddenly got this way…”

“It was all so good last night, how did it change so quickly?”

…

“That’s how feelings go; what more do you want to ask?”

The girl looked at him with disgust: “If you keep this up, I’m going to shout…”

“I…”

The young man instinctively backed away: “What do you take me for? How has it come to needing… you to shout?”

The girl just frowned deeply, looked at him coldly, and said: “I’m going upstairs!”

As if her expression finally brought the young man to his senses.

He weakly lifted the apple in his hand but lowered it again, then silently offered the rose forward, whispering: “Then… could you accept this rose? I promised it to you before…”

“I know I don’t deserve it now, but at least take this flower…”

…

The girl glanced at the rose, then at the young man, and with a cold face, snatched the rose into her hand.

The young man raised his head to look at her, arms slightly open.

The girl immediately stepped back cautiously, her face cold: “What are you trying to do?”

The young man also moved back a step and slowly squatted down.

Only after the girl turned and went upstairs, slamming the door shut with force, did his voice come out, choked with tears.

“I just don’t understand, why was everything fine yesterday? Today, when I wanted to hug you, you were so guarded?”

…

The girl, now upstairs, wore a look of disgust and casually prepared to throw the rose away.

But just as she was about to toss it, she caught sight of the rose out of the corner of her eye.

Its faded red-purple color suddenly stirred her heart.

For no reason at all, she suddenly felt reluctant to part with it.