Chen Yan knew exactly what was going on, but he didn't expose it. He reached out to open the door for her, and after she got into the car, he took hold of her two hands.
The young girl's hands were a bit cold, feeling like two ice pops in his grip.
Chen Yan chided her, "Why didn't you wear the gloves I bought for you?"
Yu Qiao Qiao said with a smile, "Because today you can warm my hands."
Chen Yan gave her a look, and Yu Qiao Qiao looked back at him with her cute eyes. Chen Yan couldn't help but smile too.
He turned up the heat of the air conditioning, activated the seat warmer for the passenger side, and then said, "Alright, warm up first. We'll head out in a bit."
Yu Qiao Qiao nodded obediently, then she took off her down jacket and fastened her seatbelt.
Yu Qiao Qiao was slim, but the most crucial parts were especially pronounced. So when she fastened the seatbelt, it cinched like a rope, accentuating her deep cleavage.
Suddenly, the parts of her that were already prominent seemed even more so.
It made Chen Yan, who glanced over inadvertently, stare a bit.
Goodness... How did these even grow?
Is it genetic?
It feels almost like a mutation!
While Chen Yan was staring, Yu Qiao Qiao finished fastening her seatbelt and looked up, catching Chen Yan with a silly, infatuated expression.
Her face blushed, and she softly called out to Chen Yan, "Chen...Chen, Chen Yan."
Awoken by Yu Qiao Qiao's voice, Chen Yan immediately snapped back to reality.
He lingered his gaze on those proud peaks for a moment, then, looking at Yu Qiao Qiao, he laughed and said, "Ah, I was just making sure your seatbelt was fastened properly."
Yu Qiao Qiao didn't call him out; her face flushed, and she bowed her head, nearly tucking it into her chest.
She asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, "So... did you check properly?"
Chen Yan gave those soft peaks another serious look, then commented with an air of earnestness, "Mmm... quite good. Feels very tight, and quite big."
"Big...?"
Chen Yan realized he had misspoken, so he quickly coughed and changed the subject, "Shall we go? If we don't leave now, we'll be late."
Seeing Chen Yan trying to cover up, Yu Qiao Qiao couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, "Okay~"
Although she felt a bit shy, being favored by the person she liked made her very happy...
With the navigation system set up by Boss Qiao Qiao, Chen Yan drove very smoothly.
However, as they neared the orphanage, the navigation started to act up a bit.
Maybe because the roads were a bit off the beaten path, the navigation wasn't very sensitive, so it had Chen Yan crossing a river at one point, passing through a wall at another, and then making right turns over and over again.
In any case, it was guiding them weirder and weirder...
Eventually, it was Yu Qiao Qiao who gave Chen Yan directions that put them back on track.
While complaining about the erratic navigation, Chen Yan finally arrived at the orphanage with Yu Qiao Qiao.
They parked the car on the roadside, got out with the down jackets they'd bought, and some other presents they'd picked up on the way.
After locking the car, Chen Yan took a moment to look over the orphanage where Yu Qiao Qiao had lived for more than a decade.
The whole orphanage wasn't very big, only about the size of a yard.
Whether it was the yard walls or the railings, they all seemed to have been around for some time, but they were meticulously clean.
This gave Chen Yan a simple first impression of the matron: she must be a very tidy and hardworking elderly lady...
Carrying their things, Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao walked towards the orphanage. Just as they reached the gate, they heard voices from inside the yard.
The first to speak was a young girl, whose voice sounded young and tender.
She asked the matron with her cute voice, "Matron, what does it mean to 'favor boys over girls'?"
Chen Yan was taken aback and wondered if the little girl had overheard some gossip.
Before he could finish his thought, he heard an affectionate and elderly voice say to her, "Favoring boys over girls? It means boys carry the heavier things and girls carry the lighter ones."
"It's like when Xiao Wu and you move things; since he's a boy and stronger, he'll naturally carry the heavier items while leaving the lighter ones for you."
Chen Yan raised an eyebrow at the old woman's unique interpretation.
Although the term was misconstrued, that gentle explanation seemed indeed more appropriate for the sensitive children of the orphanage...
Chen Yan looked at Yu Qiao Qiao and suddenly understood why Boss Qiao Qiao, despite growing up in an orphanage, was so pure and kind...
Maybe only such a senior could raise such a lovely girl.
With this thought, Chen Yan looked at Yu Qiao Qiao again, and then they smiled at each other and entered the orphanage.
Pushing open the door of the orphanage and stepping into the courtyard, Yu Qiao Qiao completely transformed.
If out in the world she was a wary rabbit, inside the orphanage she became an adorable lamb, as if she had four legs to fly with, "Matron! Xiao Liu! Xiao Qi! I'm back!"
Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao's voice, two people, one older and one younger, who had been sunbathing and chatting in the yard, turned around in surprise.
And when the matron looked in his direction, Chen Yan saw the matron's true face for the first time.
She was a very kindly-looking elderly woman, with deep smile lines on her face. But those smile lines didn't detract from her appearance because they were all traces of smiles.
Chen Yan believed that she must have been someone who loved to smile when she was younger...
Seeing Yu Qiao Qiao and Chen Yan, the matron stood up shakily, the happiness on her face somewhat uncontrollable, "Is Qiao Qiao back?"
The young girl also ran over and flung herself into Yu Qiao Qiao's arms, rubbing against her happily, "Big sis Qiao Qiao!"
While hugging Yu Qiao Qiao, the child's eyes, curious and pure like a little fairy's, sneaked a glance at Chen Yan, obviously curious about this stranger.
Yu Qiao Qiao transferred everything in her hands to her right, and with her left hand free, she patted the girl's head and asked, "Has Xiao Liu been behaving?"
Xiao Liu nodded eagerly and said, "Big sis Qiao Qiao, I've been really good."
Yu Qiao Qiao smiled tenderly, then handed the items to her and said, "Then help big sis bring these inside and call Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi out, okay?"
Since it was a holiday, the children were not at school and were all at the orphanage.
Xiao Liu took the things and uttered two obedient "Okays!" She then ran quickly into the house, calling out as she went, "Xiao Wu! Xiao Qi! Second sister's back!"
After Xiao Liu left, only Chen Yan, Yu Qiao Qiao, and the matron remained in the yard.
Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao hurried over and supported the matron, helping her sit down.
The matron looked quite aged, but her spirit was still lively.
She glanced at Yu Qiao Qiao, then looked at Chen Yan, and with a radiant smile said, "This must be that young man Chen Yan you've been telling me about?"
Yu Qiao Qiao softly "Mm-hmmed."
Chen Yan also hurriedly spoke up, "Hello, Matron. My name is Chen Yan. I'm Qiao Qiao's boyfriend."
Hearing Chen Yan's words, the matron's smile widened. She patted Chen Yan's hand and said, "Good, good."
After chatting for a while, the other two children ran out.
Xiao Liu had apparently already told them about Chen Yan, so upon meeting him, Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi were a bit curious.
Yu Qiao Qiao had no choice but to introduce him again, "This is Brother Chen, the one who bought you guys treats before."
The three little ones exchanged glances and then in unison said sweetly, "Hello, Brother Chen."
Chen Yan couldn't help but laugh and responded, "Hello to you."
After getting acquainted with the little ones, Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao started to distribute the gifts.
At first, when buying these gifts, Chen Yan was a bit worried that the matron would find them wasteful, or would be reluctant to accept them.
But the matron was more perceptive than he thought.
She naturally accepted Chen Yan's gifts as if he were one of her own.
After receiving the gifts, it was during the afternoon chat that she delicately shared her opinion.
She said the children of the orphanage indeed had pitiful backgrounds, so if they wanted to live like ordinary people, they had to work harder than most.
It's not a problem to have a harder life when they're young. That could make them appreciate the difficulty of life more, cherish the future, and have a stronger drive to improve.
Although the matron didn't directly speak about the gift-giving, Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao understood her meaning:
She hoped they wouldn't bring such expensive gifts in the future, as they would improve the children's lives but also make them increasingly dependent on Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao.
For these psychologically immature children, that wasn't a good thing.
Even if Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao would continue to help them out of kindness in the future, the matron still hoped they could grow up to be independent and stand tall on their own.
Looking into the matron's wise eyes, Chen Yan felt she had a long-term vision.
He and Yu Qiao Qiao were only thinking of improving the children's current lives, but the matron was already planning to better their entire future while they were still young...
The children didn't know that their matron had deprived them of a fleeting moment of joy; they were still gleefully trying on the down jackets Chen Yan had bought.
Discovering the jackets to be both beautiful and warm, they rushed out happily and began to chatter around Chen Yan and Yu Qiao Qiao, "showing off" their new clothes.
The matron just smiled kindly and didn't say a word.
Later, after Chen Yan was entangled by several children, the matron's gaze lingered on him for a while, and then she withdrew her gaze and gently signaled to Yu Qiao Qiao, beckoning her for a private chat...
...
...showing off" their clothes.
The matron just smiled amiably and kept quiet.
Later on, after Chen Yan was surrounded by the kids, the matron's attention rested on him for a moment. Then she took her eyes off him and quietly gestured to Yu Qiao Qiao, indicating she wanted to talk to her privately...
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