When Pei Yueran got home, it was already after 4pm. Thankfully, she didn't have anything scheduled for the rest of the day. She showered and settled down in her small study, planning to do some work.
After a while, she shut down her laptop and took her phone. She was planning to FaceTime with Han Yichen and Director Zhou. As she unlocked her phone, she saw a message on WeChat from "Sunshine" and "Sunshine's Lover". She smiled.
"Sunshine" was Zhang Heying, so it was obvious who "Sunshine's Lover" was.
They had added each other on WeChat earlier, and the two were sending messages to ask if she got home safely. She replied and thanked them. She stood up and did a little dance, complete with a fist pump. She had spent half a day with her mentor, a dream come true.
He and his wife were so kind, gentle and easy to talk to.
The Board of Directors: "....." . You can't be serious!
*****
Han Yichen finished writing the last character, read through it and pressed "publish". His latest post had been uploaded.
He had not published anything for a few weeks, but minutes after his post was uploaded, comments started appearing.
Readerfanatic: "Welcome back Introspective-sama"
Daylightmoon123445: "I haven't read it yet but I'm sure it will be good"
Bla_qaffee12: "It's nice to have you back"
Sweetie11: "The story is good as always. What will happen to Zhili now? I can't wait for the concluding part of the story."
Han Yichen started a blog a few months ago, where he mostly wrote short stories, poems and articles. His latest post was about a young boy who leaves his parents's shelter for the first time to venture into the real world, but the friends and people he meets are different from what he had expected, causing him to feel confused and lost. He eventually finds out that things are not always black and white, and that there is almost always a story behind the way people behave.
His stories and poems were usually well thought-out and wistful, as if the author was stretching out his hands, trying to touch someone. He quickly gained a loyal fan base in a few short months. His articles were few, but mostly about places in city A and his thoughts on issues and recent news.
Pei Yueran was not aware of his blog, though she knew he had a flair for writing and encouraged him. He planned to tell her after his graduation.
"Chen'er, would you come here for a moment? your mother is calling", Director Zhou called out.
Han Yichen came to the living room and sat down with Grandma Zhou.
"Hi Mom, how are you?"
"Xiao Chen, I've missed you", Pei Yueran replied.
Immediately he saw his Mom, he looked at Director Zhou and smiled. She smiled back. Both of them noticed at a glance that Pei Yueran had changed. It wasn't very noticeable yet, but as both of them were very close to her, no change went unnoticed.
Director Zhou in particular, could see a shadow of the old Pei Yueran, the one that smiled very easily and lit up the atmosphere whenever she appeared.
Throughout the duration of the call, Pei Yueran had a smile hanging at the corners of her mouth. They asked her different questions, and she was quick to tell them about her experience so far in the company and with Li Chuanmo's parents.
She also asked Han Yichen about school and how his exams went. He was a straight A student though, so she was not asking about how well he did, but if he rested well and if he wasn't affected by the move. He assured her that he was fine.
She didn't want to ask him if he was okay staying with his Grandma when Director Zhou was present, so she already texted him about that and he assured her that he was very comfortable with her and he was having a great time.
His exact words were, "all good. comfortable. great time."
Sometimes, she wondered jokingly if he was the inventor of telegrams. He wrote messages as if each character cost money!
She also asked when the holidays would begin, to which he said in a week. It was going to last for two weeks, so they decided she would come pick him up in two weeks so he could spend the second week of his holidays in City M with her.
As they talked, she observed his expressions. He sat side-by-side with Director Zhou and neither looked awkward nor uncomfortable. She was happy. She knew Director Zhou would treat him well and look after him, but she had never left Han Yichen alone for so long, and she just needed reassurance that he was fine without her.
They chatted for over thirty minutes before Han Yichen bade her goodnight. She spoke with Director Zhou some more, asking her about the children in the orphanage and if Han Yichen was being a good boy, before hanging up. Director Zhou was filled with smiles.
She and her husband had no biological children, and after he died, she never remarried. Pei Yueran and Han Yichen were her closest family, closer than any other child she had taken care of at the orphanage. She felt gratified to see her happy and blossoming again.
There was hope for her, even if she herself didn't know it yet.
*****
Li Yuchen stood at a corner by the side of his school, kicking stones in irritation. He didn't want to go to school, but he knew his Dad would get yet another letter and might even get called in if he missed class.
He sighed in annoyance. It wasn't that he hated school, he just preferred doing something more "useful" with his time, for example - playing, no, testing games. He also started learning how to codes two months ago, and he was falling in love with it. Now, if he wasn't playing games at home, he was writing codes. He had paid for some online coding courses, downloaded textbooks on programming, and was now working his way through.
He felt like he could just study the school curriculum on his own, without going to school, and write the exam afterwards, but he knew Li Chuanmo would have none of that. He was quite traditional about school.
Another reason he didn't like school was that there was no familiar face. Everyone had formed cliques and only spoke to each other most of the time, so he, a student that transferred when the semester was nearly over, had no place to fit in.
In his former school abroad, even those little children bullied foreigners, and he suffered a bit, though he didn't tell his dad. Added to what his mum did, he just felt fed up of people in general and made no move to make friends. He was a loner through and through. He only got along with family.
Oh well, if he couldn't change it, he would just go through with it. They were having holidays in a few days anyway.
His goal for now was to finish the semester safely without getting any more letters from school, so that his head (that is, his game accessories) would remain where it should be.