Chapter 2

PS: New books are not easy, dear readers, please encourage me with a favorite and a recommendation, I would be very grateful!

Ami's funeral was as simple as it could be, with almost no one knowing about it, because Jihao had no means to give his mother a grand funeral. She was hastily cremated by a Korean welfare agency and buried in a communal cemetery.

Jiyen, who was still too young to understand death, would cry uncontrollably to her brother Jihao, saying she wanted her mother. Seeing Jiyen shouting and crying for her mother, Jihao felt a deep pain in his heart. He held Jiyen in his arms, tears in his eyes, and told her that their mother was no longer here, that she had gone to a faraway place to be with their father because their father was lonely and needed her.

When the young Jiyen heard that her mother had gone to be with their father, she stopped crying and pitifully asked Jihao, "OPPA, I miss Dad too. Can I go with Mom to be with Dad?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Jihao hugged Jiyen and said, "But OPPA needs someone to stay with him too. Now that Mom is with Dad, Dad is no longer lonely. Can my Yen stay and keep OPPA company? If both Mom and Yen leave, OPPA will miss you every day." After saying this, Jihao cried helplessly.

Hearing Jihao's words and seeing his tears, Jiyen stopped crying and wiped Jihao's tears, saying, "OPPA, don't cry, okay? I'll stay and keep you company! Dad already has Mom, so Yen will stay and keep OPPA company!" She even gave Jihao a small smile.

"Um...!" Jihao nodded, crying.

...

In the days without their mother and father, Jihao took on the responsibility of raising his sister. To support his sister, the 14-year-old Jihao was willing to endure any hardship. He gave his sister the best of everything, while he ate the worst. Every resident of Moon Street was moved by Jihao's dedication. An apple, Jiyen ate the flesh, Jihao ate the skin; a bowl of instant noodles, Jiyen ate the noodles, Jihao drank the broth. This 14-year-old brother devoted himself entirely to his sister, something even biological parents might not do.

But even so, there were people who had designs on the two siblings. The two small houses they lived in became a target for others.

On the coldest day in Seoul, Aunt Luo, Jihao's neighbor, colluded with the head of the Moon Street district to call a Korean welfare institution, claiming that there were two underage children in Moon Street who needed the welfare institution's care. If Jihao and Jiyen could be sent to the welfare institution, Aunt Luo could, through the district head, take possession of their small house. In her mind, she had done nothing wrong. If Jihao and Jiyen could be sent to the welfare institution, they should thank her. Most importantly, if the house was in her possession, she could rent it out and earn some rent.

This selfish Korean thought only of her own benefit, but she didn't realize that her selfish thoughts would lead Jihao and Jiyen to a life away from home.

The children's welfare institution came, and the investigation concluded that Jihao and Jiyen met the conditions for admission. Normally, the welfare institution wouldn't take in orphans like Jihao and Jiyen, but Jihao's genius made them make an exception. At 14, Jihao was already self-studying high school, and such a talented individual had a bright future, so the welfare institution couldn't let him go.

A group of selfish adults used every means to get Jihao and Jiyen into the welfare institution. Just an hour after Jihao and Jiyen left, Aunt Luo immediately transferred the ownership of their house to herself. The small house no longer belonged to the two children.

...

The welfare institution was not the so-called children's paradise. There was a strict hierarchy, and the staff were very harsh. If they were dissatisfied, they would beat or kick the children. Fortunately, because Jihao was a learning genius, the director liked him, so the staff rarely beat Jihao and Jiyen. This allowed Jihao to be willing to struggle and live on in the welfare institution.

But things did not go as planned. Soon, an event occurred that would separate Jihao and Jiyen. A foreign man came to the welfare institution, donated $100,000, and showed interest in adopting Jiyen. The leaders of the welfare institution immediately agreed without hesitation, promising the foreign man that if he came the next day, they would complete the procedures and let him take Jiyen away. Jihao went mad; he couldn't bear to be separated from his sister. He rushed to his sister's room, tightly hugged her, and cried out, "Please don't take my sister away, please don't take my sister away!"

However, $100,000 was far more valuable to the director than Jihao's genius. Seeing Jihao crying and hugging his sister, the staff who rushed over were not moved at all. Instead, they all had a hint of excitement on their faces. Soon, a woman who looked like a secretary came over and said to the male staff, "The director said to make him let go. As long as he's not killed, you can do whatever you want!"

As soon as she finished speaking, one of the male staff hit Jihao's back with a stick. Jihao immediately felt a burning pain, and he involuntarily cried out, but he still did not let go of Jiyen.

"Damn...! This kid is tough. Brothers, hit him together. I want to see if he lets go after his back is beaten to a pulp!" the first male staff member shouted angrily.

In fact, after two hits, Jihao was beaten unconscious and involuntarily let go of Jiyen, falling to the ground. Seeing her OPPA fall unconscious, Jiyen immediately started crying in fear, calling out to her OPPA pitifully. But instead of comforting her, she received a slap. With a 'slap,' Jiyen was knocked onto her bed, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

This made the secretary immediately shout in shock, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? The American will be here tomorrow, be careful he doesn't get angry!"

"Hehe...!" the man laughed, "I'm not afraid. Who doesn't know that the American has a fetish for abusing children? This girl probably won't live long. This is already the fifth one."

"Shh... Don't say that. Do you still want your bonus? Now that the kid is unconscious, carry him back to his room and lock him in. Make sure he doesn't escape!"

"Got it... Miss Jeong!"

The calm conversation, but what they didn't know was that the unconscious Jihao had already woken up due to his 14-year-old body. Their words made the awakened Jihao make a shocking decision.

At night, in the pitch dark, Jihao slowly got out of bed. A small flashlight appeared in his mouth, and he quickly gathered some essentials. At this moment, Jihao's face was filled with hatred.

He walked to the door, looked at the time on his watch—3:00 AM—and listened to the guard's snoring. Jihao relaxed, took out a screwdriver, and quickly removed the lock on the door. He had long thought about escaping from the welfare institution because it didn't feel like home, and here he always felt that his fate was in others' hands.

He quietly opened the door and looked at the guard sleeping in the chair. Jihao suddenly and quickly inserted a needle into the guard's body, hitting the Yuzhen point, which is located one inch and three points to the side of the brain. Hitting this point would usually cause the person to fall into a deep sleep. Jihao had learned this to treat his mother, but unfortunately, his mother had already passed away by the time he had mastered it.

The guard's head tilted, and he fell into a deep sleep!

In the dead of night, Jihao secretly entered the kitchen. Since the welfare institution was far from the city, the kitchen stored many gas cylinders. Jihao first put ten eggs into the microwave, set the timer for 10 minutes, then opened all the gas cylinders in the kitchen, and sealed the doors and windows. After doing all this, Jihao ran frantically to the room where his sister was being held.

Just as Jihao reached the room where Jiyen was being held, a loud explosion echoed throughout the welfare institution, waking the guard standing outside Jiyen's door!

"The kitchen is on fire and has exploded. You must quickly go save the director because his room is close to the kitchen. If you don't hurry, he will be burned to death!" Jihao quickly and urgently shouted at the guard.

Perhaps because Jihao's words were too convincing, or perhaps because the explosion was too terrifying, the guard didn't think twice and immediately said to Jihao, "You stay here, I'll go save the director!"

"Um...!" Jihao responded without any emotion.

...

Looking back at the welfare institution, which was now engulfed in flames, Jihao, carrying Jiyen, looked back and silently said sorry. Then, without looking back, he climbed towards another small mountain!