Fu Qingqing and Tang Xiao instantly showed a look of concern: "But we don’t know anything."
"It’s okay. At that time, you can just sing songs with the kids," Yu Liantao said.
She had studied the violin for a while before and felt confident it was enough for such a small event.
She looked at Yun Shifei, who had been quiet all along: "Shi Fei, do you know how to play anything?"
"I know... a little piano."
In this lifetime, she hadn’t touched a piano. Sometimes musical instruments really could be a good stress relief.
In her past life, whenever she was in a bad mood, she would often play the piano, but in this life, she hadn’t tried it for a long time.
Because of Mu Chengzhu, she had intentionally avoided this passion.
But now, since she had already walked far away from Mu Chengzhu, whatever she chose to do had nothing to do with him anymore.
Thinking of this, Yun Shifei suddenly felt a weight lifted off her chest.
She could do anything. She no longer needed to fear Mu Chengzhu, nor would she be affected by those people from her past life.
Now that she was here, this was truly her rebirth.
Upon hearing that Yun Shifei could play the piano, Yu Liantao clapped her hands: "Wow, that’s awesome! They even have a piano over there."
Yu Liantao looked at the girl before her, her gentle demeanor like flowing water, and said, "I think the kids will especially love a pretty sister like you."
Yu Liantao wasn’t wrong. When Yun Shifei and the others arrived at the welfare home, the children all surrounded Yun Shifei to talk to her.
Even little kids liked pretty sisters. And this pretty sister seemed so gentle, her voice soft and sweet, truly adorable.
The children all liked this kind of sister.
But Yun Shifei, not knowing how to interact with kids, could only hand out snacks for them to eat, ask them about fun activities in the area, and even read stories to them in a rote manner.
The children at the welfare home ranged from one to six years old. Many had been abandoned at birth by their parents and were taken in by the welfare home.
Yun Shifei felt deeply for them.
She thought about the monthly 1,000 yuan living allowance Yun Tiancheng sent her, a generous amount for her expenses. He worried that she might not have enough to eat or wear in Beijing and even wanted to mail clothes to her, but she had firmly stopped him from doing so.
She used to save this money for her little stash, but now she thought it would be better to some of it regularly to the welfare home. Though it wouldn’t be much, it could still buy some milk, clothes, and improve the kids’ lives.
As she played with the kids, she found herself chatting more and more.
"We love watching Journey to the West! Sun Wukong is amazing at catching monsters!" one child said.
"I love Sun Wukong too!" Yun Shifei chimed in, "He’s really great. Without him, Tang Seng wouldn’t have been able to reach the Western Heaven to retrieve the scriptures."
The children all agreed enthusiastically, so Yun Shifei told them a story about what happened after Sun Wukong became a god, a part not included in Journey to the West.
It was from a TV show she had watched in her past life, and she remembered the gist of it.
The kids listened intently.
Seeing how welcomed Yun Shifei was by the children, Xu Yue’s impression of her changed.
Honestly, at first glance, seeing Yun Shifei’s delicate and beautiful appearance and knowing her family was wealthy, Xu Yue assumed she was the pampered daughter of a rich household, likely difficult to deal with.
But after spending time with her, she realized Yun Shifei was genuinely kind.
She looked at Yu Liantao: "Where did you find this gem?"
"She’s my roommate! Isn’t she amazing?"
Later, they played piano and sang songs for the children.
When Yun Shifei first touched the piano, she felt a little rusty.
Of course, this wasn’t the high-end piano she used to play—it was just a simple electronic keyboard.
But it was good enough.
Yun Shifei played accompaniment for several children’s songs while Fu Qingqing and Tang Xiao sang along.
The charity event turned out to be a big success.
However, Yun Shifei noticed a little boy sitting quietly in the corner, not saying a word.
As they handed out candy to the kids at the end of the event, all the children dashed forward to grab some, except for that boy, who stayed frozen in place, just quietly sitting nearby.
After it ended, Yun Shifei couldn’t help but ask the welfare home’s director about the boy’s situation.
The director shook her head: "This boy’s story is very tragic. Most of the other children were abandoned when they were still infants, so they don’t have memories of being discarded. While unfortunate, it’s still better for them."
"But this boy came here just a year ago. His parents got divorced and neither of them wanted him. Initially, the court awarded custody to his father, but his father, when drunk, almost beat him to death. His custody was revoked and granted to his mother. But his mother refused to take him, saying she couldn’t afford to raise him anymore. She already had children in her new household. Their family was poor, too. With no one willing to adopt him among his relatives, he was sent to us at the welfare home."
A six-year-old boy, almost ready for primary school, was old enough to understand what was happening.
He must have known his parents didn’t want him anymore, which explained his depression.
In that moment, Yun Shifei suddenly thought of Cheng Lie.
She remembered that when Cheng Lie came to the Cheng Family, he had been about the same age as this boy. Newest update provided by novᴇlfire.net
That place was actually worse than the welfare home.
Yun Shifei walked over to the boy, crouched down, looked at him, smiled, and said, "Xiao Yi, why don’t you play with the other kids?"
Fang Kaiyi gazed at the pretty sister in front of him. He recognized her—she had just told stories and played the piano. She seemed like a very good sister.
But he still kept his face cold, lips pressed tight, refusing to speak.
He really was just like Cheng Lie.
A little Cheng Lie, perhaps?
If she could befriend the grown Cheng Lie, then surely she could connect with a child-size Cheng Lie.
Yun Shifei dug into her pocket and pulled out a handful of candy, handing it to Fang Kaiyi: "Don’t think I forgot about you. Here, this is secretly saved for you."
The colorful assortment of candy dazzled Fang Kaiyi’s eyes.
He hesitated, tempted to take them, but still restrained himself.
No, he shouldn’t take her things.
He didn’t care for it at all.
"I don’t like candy," he said, turning his face away.
Oh? So young, yet already having his own principles.
Yun Shifei smiled gently: "Really don’t want it? That’s such a shame. This chocolate with the creamy center is super delicious, it melts in your mouth and tastes so sweet."
Yun Shifei grabbed Fang Kaiyi’s hand, placing the candy in his palm: "Take it. You can eat it little by little."
Then she stood up: "I’ll visit you again when I have time, okay?"
He watched Yun Shifei’s departing figure, unable to understand why she was being so kind to him.
But at that moment, the coldness in his heart seemed to waver slightly.
This sister made him feel warm inside.