Chapter 5

While sorting through their grandmother's belongings, the children unexpectedly discovered a row of storage cabinets, each compartment labeled with a child's name. Inside were filled with memories from their past, perhaps a bouquet of paper flowers, or a perfect score on a test—things that the children themselves might have forgotten. Seeing these items, even those who hadn't cried during the wake couldn't help but shed tears. A few boys who had previously hung out with Jiaojindi knelt in front of the cabinets with their names, crying so hard they couldn't even speak.

Fiyue and Qin Yue shared a cabinet. From it, they found only a small brocade-wrapped package. Not daring to open it on the spot, Fiyue pretended to find nothing and, with a disappointed look, pulled Qin Yue back to their small room. A group of children watched them leave; normally, someone would have mocked them for being unpopular, but clearly, no one had the heart to do so at that moment.

After locking the door, the two siblings opened the package. Inside were two beautiful light purple dragon-shaped jade pendants. Each had a large, strange character carved on it. Fiyue barely recognized the character "Yue" on one of the pendants and realized that these pendants were likely the origin of their names.

Fiyue solemnly handed the pendant with the "Yue" character to Qin Yue. Just as he was about to give some instructions, he saw little Qin Yue grab the pendant and thread it onto the colorful silk cord around her neck. The cord was something Fiyue had bought from a street vendor for a dime a year ago, and it was the only piece of jewelry Qin Yue owned, which she always kept close to her. Seeing how much Qin Yue valued the pendant, Fiyue kept his nagging to himself.

The two siblings hid their pendants close to their bodies and then began to study the brocade cloth. The cloth didn't seem to have anything special about it, just a pretty pattern. After studying it for a while, Fiyue, finding nothing mystical like a martial arts manual, handed the cloth to Qin Yue.

At this point, their grandmother had completely left their lives, gently, without taking a single cloud with her.

========================= The Line of Departure =========================

Perhaps because they felt that a death in the area was a significant event, the government paid considerable attention to the orphanage that had lost its director. They quickly found new homes for the orphans, and the old orphanage was reclaimed by the government due to the death of the owner and was soon demolished.

The orphans were placed in the Qingming Orphanage in the southern part of Daihe District on Shihuang Island. This orphanage was newly built and had a much better environment than the old Bright Orphanage, but it also had more residents, with over fifty children already living there.

When Fiyue and the others were sent there, the director of the orphanage came out to greet them. He was a fat man in his fifties with a receding hairline, and he waddled as he walked, which was quite amusing.

The director's surname was Du, and he was a very kind person. At least, that's how Fiyue and Qin Yue saw him, as he personally helped them move their bedding and luggage and allowed the two siblings to continue living in the same room.

Thus, Fiyue and Qin Yue's short life at the Qingming Orphanage began with a deep, exhausted sleep.

========================= The Line of Sleep =========================

Although the director was very kind, the other children were not so welcoming. After all, Fiyue and the others had taken what should have been theirs, and since their arrival, the snacks and toys had become less plentiful. The "old residents," dissatisfied with this, vented their anger on the new arrivals.

The children from the old Bright Orphanage, being in the minority, had no choice but to try to integrate with the old residents. Gradually, they formed bonds with the children already living there, and the hostility from the old residents diminished.

However, there were exceptions, and our two protagonists were among them. The tradition of distancing the two siblings from the group was passed on, and they were once again isolated. Fortunately, they were already used to such unfair treatment and were content to continue their island-within-an-island lifestyle.

The good news was that their new room was much larger than their old one, large enough to keep the harp inside. Now they didn't have to go far to play, which made the two siblings very happy.

Fiyue also noticed that on the first Sunday of every month, some people would come to the orphanage—men, women, and couples. They were there to adopt children. On these occasions, Director Du would order the children to put on their best clothes and line up for the parents to choose from. If a child was chosen, the others would look at them with envy and offer insincere congratulations, as it meant the child was about to have a new, complete family.

This adoption program was something the old Bright Orphanage didn't have, and Fiyue thought it might be because the old director was too old to manage it. However, this didn't concern the two siblings, as Qin Yue had been chosen twice but no one wanted to adopt two children at once. After that, they stopped attending such events.

Thus, 2012 was pushed into its final month in peace.

========================= The Line of December =========================

December 2, 2012, was a sunny day. The early winter sun hung lazily in the sky, emitting a pale orange glow that turned the solitary cloud on the horizon into a strange shade of orange, like a large orange peel hanging in the sky.

This was the last day of 2012 that the Qingming Orphanage would receive visitors for adoption. A lucky little girl with a bobbed haircut was chosen by a coal boss and had already been taken away after the paperwork was completed. After the coal boss's car left, the orphanage fell silent, like a sleeping calf lying quietly.

At this moment, the phone in Director Du's room rang. Du, who was in bed, reached out twice before finally managing to grab it and answered the call with some impatience.

"Hello, this is Du Shanlin from the Qingming Orphanage."

"Uh, the adoption time has passed."

"Ah! Oh, oh, oh (Du's hand trembled, and the phone fell to the ground. He fumbled to pick it up) What, you, could you repeat that?"

"Ah, yes, yes, no problem, no problem, very welcome."

"Okay, 10 minutes, right? No problem, no problem, I'll prepare right away. That... uh, hello, hello?" Clearly, the caller had hung up, but Du had no ill feelings and immediately leaped out of bed, not even bothering to put on his underwear, and rushed to the guard's room in his best suit. Soon, the orphanage was filled with Du's excited and somewhat distorted voice.

"Children, quickly get dressed in your best clothes and gather in the square. We are welcoming a very important person. Whether you can rise to the top and become a phoenix depends on you."

The orphanage was silent for a moment, then erupted into a cacophony of surprised screams, the sounds of borrowing things, running, and seeking help, more chaotic than a market.

A few minutes later, a row of children stood neatly in the square in front of the orphanage. In front of them was Du, dressed in a suit and looking very formal. He was staring intently at the road in front of the orphanage, his nervous sweat soaking the black and white striped handkerchief.

A few minutes later, a military-licensed Audi A6 drove up, and Du hurried over. Just as he was about to open the door, it popped open on its own. A fully armed soldier stepped out, looked around, nodded, and pulled out a walkie-talkie to say "safe" before standing at attention. He didn't even glance at Du.

At this moment, another car, a Hongqi, drove in. This time, the car had no license plate, just a small blackboard.

Du was still confused when a man and a woman stepped out of the Hongqi. They looked very kind and benevolent, but the man was a bit short, which was due to his hunched back.

The man smiled and extended his hand. Du, nervous, wiped his hand on his pants before shaking it.

"Hello, Director, I am Du Shanlin, the director here."

The man smiled and nodded. "I am Chu Chen. I am here to adopt a child. You don't need to be too formal; I am just an ordinary old man."

"Yes, yes," Du wiped his sweat and forced a bright smile. "The children are all here. Please choose."

The old man frowned and looked at Du for a moment without looking at the children. "I have some specific requirements. Not every child will meet my standards."

"First, they must have never done anything bad. Second, they must have a special skill. Third," the old man paused, "they must already have the surname Chu. If a child meets all three conditions, I will take them."

"Um," Du was stumped. A special skill was easy to find, but in the environment of the orphanage, it was rare to find someone who had never done anything bad. Moreover, they had to have the surname Chu. As far as he knew, there were only two children with the surname Chu in the orphanage, and they were siblings. Both were very cute and had been chosen before, but they refused to be separated and ultimately stayed. They were also not very sociable and never participated in such adoption events, as if they had decided to live in the orphanage for life.

"Is there no one?" The old man was getting impatient, as it was the first time someone had been so hesitant after he asked a question.

"Ah, yes, yes." Du quickly pulled himself together and decided to introduce the two siblings, hoping that the old couple might be able to persuade them. He led the two elders toward the main building of the orphanage. "Please follow me."

On the way, Du explained the special circumstances of Fiyue and Qin Yue, but to his surprise, when he mentioned that they were siblings, the old woman excitedly pinched her husband. The old man quickly grabbed his wife's hand, but the excitement on his face was impossible to hide.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the third floor, where the siblings' room was the corner room, number 334, a bit of a distance from the stairs.

At this moment, a sound like a clear spring began to ring out, the melody being "High Mountain and Flowing Water," but it was definitely not played on a guqin.

"This?" The old woman stopped and listened intently, and the other two also stopped.

A few moments later, the music stopped, and the sound of enthusiastic applause could be heard from the corner room. At the same time, the old woman opened her eyes and murmured softly.

"Genius, what a genius..."

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