Chapter 123 True Friends

"Oh, Xiao Zhou, you're here. Are you staying for dinner tonight?"

The person speaking to Shen Qingzhou was an aunt named Yin Honghui. She was a plump, kind-faced woman whom the children at the orphanage liked to call "Auntie Fatty." She was a very kind and gentle person.

As for Aunt Cui and Aunt Zhao, they will be off this week.

"Okay, I'll go back after dinner. By the way, have you seen Accountant Jiang these past few days?" Shen Qingzhou didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

"Oh~"

Daidai, who was in the yard, spotted him, immediately ran over, hugged his leg, and sat on his feet.

Shen Qingzhou gently lifted her foot up, raising her to the air and then bouncing her around a few times.

"Hia~"

The little one let out her signature laugh, appearing extremely happy.

Aunt Yin glanced down at Dai Dai before saying, "She came by a few days ago."

"Did she say anything?" Shen Qingzhou pressed.

"No, she just told us to take good care of the children," Aunt Yin said after thinking for a moment.

"Didn't she give any special instructions?"

"Special?" Although she didn't understand why Shen Qingzhou asked that, Aunt Yin still said, "Oh, she gave us two months' living expenses."

"Two months?"

The daily expenses for living in the welfare home are usually paid to the caregivers at the beginning of the month when they receive their wages, with any overpayment or underpayment from the previous month being refunded or supplemented accordingly.

It's clearly abnormal that Accountant Jiang is giving the money to the aunties in advance.

Aunt Yin wasn't stupid. Seeing Shen Qingzhou keep asking these questions, she seemed to sense something was wrong, so she frowned and asked, "Has something happened?"

"It's nothing, it's just that Accountant Jiang is getting old and might want to resign," Shen Qingzhou said casually.

"You're not doing it anymore?" Aunt Yin was a little surprised. Why would she suddenly stop doing it when everything was fine? But she didn't think too much about it.

"Yes, last time I talked to Aunt Cui about taking the children on a trip. Have you discussed where to go? Has Accountant Jiang booked you a tour group?"

Shen Qingzhou recalled what she had talked about with Aunt Cui during her last visit to the welfare home.

"We've discussed it and are planning to take the kids to Dali. The scenery there is beautiful, and the climate is pleasant, making it a good place to travel with children. Accountant Jiang said she would register us, but she didn't mention it this time, and I didn't ask..."

"Okay, I understand, Auntie, you can go about your business."

Shen Qingzhou lowered his head and looked at Daidai, who was still clinging to his leg and straddling his feet, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Okay, I'll call you when it's time to eat." She said, turning around and going inside to get busy.

Seeing her leave, Lin Yunong, who hadn't returned to the Soul-Nourishing Tablet, asked worriedly, "Did she run off with the money?"

"Maybe."

Shen Qingzhou looked up at the setting sun in the sky, his voice sounding very faint.

Lin Yunong bit her lip, unsure how to comfort her.

She was heartbroken to lose 200,000 yuan, let alone more than 5 million yuan. He must be very upset right now.

Shen Qingzhou is not just sad, but more disappointed.

There's a feeling of trust being betrayed, of collapse.

Being betrayed by someone you consider a mother figure would be painful for anyone.

But we must get this money back, not just for ourselves, but also for the children in the welfare home.

"Brother Xiaozhou, what's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Song Xueying came up and asked.

The little girl had a keen intuition. When she saw Shen Qingzhou standing in the yard in a daze, she subconsciously kicked her leg to tease him, and she sensed that he was probably not in a good mood.

"It's nothing, just some things happened." Shen Qingzhou rubbed her little head and looked down at Daidai again.

The little guy sat on his shoes, his face pressed against his legs, his arms tightly wrapped around himself, curled up like a little sloth, tiny and very cute.

Shen Qingzhou suddenly raised his leg, reached out and "plucked" her off his leg, and hugged her in his arms.

He kissed her on the cheek, then took Song Xueying's wrist and walked towards the roof.

Lin Yunong looked around the orphanage with curiosity, and she finally understood what her father meant by helping her accumulate good deeds.

"So, my 200,000 yuan was also donated to the welfare home?"

Lin Yunong, with her hands behind her back, caught up with Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou nodded silently.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yunong suddenly felt less upset, and her admiration for Shen Qingzhou grew even stronger. It turned out that he had used all his money for charity.

Thinking of this, her gaze towards Shen Qingzhou became even more moist and gentle.

What woman wouldn't love such a young, handsome, capable, and kind-hearted man?

Shen Qingzhou held Daidai in his arms and sat on the steps under the eaves. Song Xueying stood beside him without saying a word, just quietly keeping him company and watching the other children in the yard playing with each other.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Qingzhou suddenly asked Song Xueying, "Yingying, do you have any very close friends at school?"

"Yes, Du Wanfang, Feng Xiaowen, and Zhu Jinxuan are all my good friends, especially Du Wanfang, she and I are the closest."

When talking about her friends, Song Xueying's face was full of smiles.

"Have you ever had any conflicts or arguments?"

"Of course we made up, but we made up quickly," Song Xueying said.

But then she asked curiously, "Brother, did you have a fight with someone?"

"Yes, a very good 'friend' did something that made me very uncomfortable," Shen Qingzhou said.

"Did he know it would make you unhappy before he did this?" Song Xueying asked.

Shen Qingzhou nodded.

"Then don't be friends with him anymore, because he doesn't consider you a friend at all," Song Xueying said seriously, even a little angry.

Shen Qingzhou was greatly surprised to hear this. She had thought that Song Xueying would say that the other party should apologize and then continue to be friends. According to a child's logic, that should be it.

Seeing the surprised look in Shen Qingzhou's eyes, Song Xueying said, "If he really considered you a good friend, he wouldn't do anything to make you uncomfortable."

Shen Qingzhou laughed upon hearing this, and lifted Daidai up. The little guy was in mid-air, kicking his short legs wildly.

"Our dazed one should be going to kindergarten soon, right? She'll definitely make lots of good friends."

"Hia~"

Whether or not Shen Qingzhou understood what Daidai said, a silly smile appeared on his face.

Shen Qingzhou put Daidai down, stood up and walked to the sycamore tree in the courtyard. Xiao Qiu was hugging the trunk and trying to climb up, while Wu Ying squatted beside her watching her.

Shen Qingzhou walked over and patted Wuying's head. Wuying, who was already in sync with him, immediately understood his meaning, barked twice at Xiao Qiu, and then turned and sped away from the courtyard.

As long as the person is still in Huinan City, Wuying will definitely be able to find them.

But this wasn't foolproof, so Shen Qingzhou called Chang Shengli, whom he hadn't contacted in a long time. Nowadays, people leave traces of their whereabouts, making it very easy for the police to track someone down.

After resolving these matters, Shen Qingzhou finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Dinner's ready!" Aunt Yin called out into the yard, and the children rushed to the kitchen in a flurry.

It took her quite a while after the children left before she finally realized what was happening. She said "Oh," and then toddled off to the kitchen, with Shen Qingzhou following behind her at a leisurely pace.

But Daidai, who was running ahead, suddenly stopped, turned around, grabbed his hand, and continued running.

When Shen Qingzhou picked up his rice bowl, he suddenly remembered something.

Will he lose a friend because of this?

Probably not. I'm such a nice person, if I were to stop being friends with him because of this, it would definitely be his fault.

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