[10 Old Photo]
The man smirked as he noisily unwrapped the lollipop and popped it into his mouth. As he saw the girl still standing beside him, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out to pat her head. "Thanks, kid."
The girl beamed up at him. "Uncle, if you want more, you can ask Sister Xin. I have to go! My sister is waiting for me!" With that, she darted off to join her friends.
Ethan watched the girl go. He couldn't help but wonder if the girl was so foolish to give away her things to strangers so easily.
…
Outside…
"These for you, you, darling, here you go!" Li Yi's cheerful voice and the sound of children's laughter filled the air as she handed out candies and chocolates to the excited kids.
The moment Ethan walked out of the building, he noticed a young woman distributing treats to the children. He assumed she must be the person the little girl mentioned earlier.
He checked his watch, and realised he had only been there for less than half an hour. He stared at Li Yi for a long time. After a while, instead of heading to the entrance, Ethan took a different route.
As Li Yi was handing out candies, she noticed a good-looking man looking at the kids from a distance. Initially, she didn't mind, but as he started to walk towards a deserted area, she felt uneasy. Thinking she should warn him, she shouted, "Mister, you may be going down the wrong path."
Ethan gave her a side glance and coldly turned his gaze ahead, leaving Li Yi embarrassed by his frigid demeanour.
Seeing his rudeness, Li Yi snorted. Soon after , her attention quickly shifted to Yuexin's arrival.
"Let's meet the director before we leave," Mu Yuexin said to Li Yi. The latter nodded in agreement, and they walked towards the office together, leaving behind the children who were merely playing.
…
The man silently appeared behind the tall building of the orphanage and found a familiar structure.
He silently made his way to the worn-out small house. As he saw spider waves and heavy dust, his eyes twisted in disgust. It was evident that no one had taken care of it for several years.
He retrieved his handkerchief, covered his hand with it, and gently pushed the door open.
Creak~
It was pitch black inside. His action caused the dust to fly around.
"Cough!" He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and threw the dusty handkerchief away.
After fiddling with the wall, he realised the switches did not work. So he resorted to his lighter that revealed several boxes scattered on the floor.
This house was once used to let the children stay but now that they got buildings it was abandoned. This place was once where he had lived for a few months. Seeing it now evoked painful memories.
Ethan turned to leave only to see a familiar box with a crooked flower painting on it. That was an ugly flower and noticeable. There was nothing special about it but the moment he saw it he paused.
He looked down at the box. Through the years it had collected nothing but dust. Ethan stared at it for a few seconds and then picked it up.
He found a dirty black and white photo, a memory of his childhood with a girl who was crying while two streams of snot were flowing out her face.
Ethan rubbed the photo's surface, and it became much clearer. Ethan crooked his head and wondered, "I wonder how much you have grown up..."
…
Few minutes later…
As Ethan was crossing the entrance of the orphanage, someone bumped into him. The man's eyes, which were warm under his sunglasses a moment ago, chilled instantly.
"Li Yi, are you okay?!"
The man heard a familiar voice coming from behind, which he had just heard yesterday. The young man's expression hardened further.
'Scammer.' he thought.
Yuexin helped Li Yi to get up from the ground. The girl had soil on her bright white dress and her palms. Instantly, Li Yi was angered. She glanced at the man who had just stopped abruptly at the entrance and caused her to drop to the ground.
"Hey mister! Are you blind?!" Her angry voice instantly made the air around them heated.
"Li Yi, forget it. Let's go." Mu Yuexin glanced behind and saw some children looking at them curiously. She did not want to create a scene here.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. His gaze fell on the enraged Li Yi and then at the lady beside her. He smirked and said, "Scammer, we meet again."
"..." Li Yi's anger vanished instantly as she became stunned.
"..." Mu Yuexin was stunned to hear the familiar sarcastic voice and upon checking him carefully, she realised, "That pervert!"
"Pervert?" His eyes deepened as he glanced at her chest again. Mu Yuexin had a bad feeling about it.
"You…"
"Poor woman, don't delude yourself. The one beside you is average, but you… out of my league!" Ethan spoke mockingly and turned to leave.
Li Yi finally processed what just happened. She glanced at Mu Yuexin with shock, and upon watching her looking at her own buns with a painful expression, she nearly laughed. But before teasing her, she had a much more important thing to do.
"You scoundrel, who do you call average?! You wait for me!" Li Yi scolded him and ran out to catch him to teach him a lesson, but the man had already gone inside his car and shut the door on her face.
"Boss," the driver looked at him.
"Drive." Ethan put on his sunglasses and folded his hands on his chest. Then he looked at the women outside indifferently.
"Yes, sir."
Li Yi kicked at the car as it drove away. Her kick was not enough to leave a scratch, though.
"Damn! I missed him! Or else I would have beaten him until he cried out for his mama!" Li Yi swore. There was no image of a wealthy family's lady in her as she showed a middle finger towards the black car.
Ethan saw this and smiled. While nudging his sunglasses, he said, "Women here are so advanced." His eyes fell on the woman who looked a little familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.
…