Chapter 995 - Orphanage
An hour later, Yuan arrived at the orphanage that he and Chu Liuxiang used to call home.
"Wow, this place looks worse than it does in my memories…" Yuan was surprised by the poor condition of the place.
"Well, it's been over a decade since we lived here, and this place never had any money to begin with." Chu Liuxiang said.
And she continued in a sighing voice, "Even though the Chu Family had offered to give them donations multiple times, they would always refuse it."
"Why would they do that?"
"I have no idea." She shook her head.
"So this is where you two came from…" Meixiu was focused on the orphanage, as she considered this place as Yuan and Chu Liuxiang's true origins.
"Let's see if they are still in service." Yuan said a moment later.
They approached the worn building and knocked on the door.
A few moments later, the door opened, and a middle-aged woman appeared before them.
"How may I help you fine ladies and gentleman?" The middle-aged woman asked them with a gentle smile.
Yuan's eyes widened when he saw this woman's face, and he muttered in a low voice, "Sister Ellis…? Is that you?"
"Hm? Do I know you, handsome young man?" The middle-aged woman asked with a puzzled face.
"It's me, Yuan. Do you remember me? I used to play the harmonica all the time for you and the other orphans."
The middle-aged woman's eyes widened with surprise after hearing his words.
She covered her mouth and spoke in a trembling voice, "Y-Yuan…? Is that really you? My god… you've grown into such a fine young man… I couldn't recognize you at all!"
"Sister Ellis, what about me? Do you remember me?" Chu Liuxiang spoke next.
Ellis turned to look at her.
"Lulu? You look almost the same as the day you left. Your beautiful hair and hazel eyes— it's hard to forget about you even if I want to, especially since you were always the loudest one."
She turned to look at Meixiu next and asked, "Were you also from this orphanage? Sorry, but I don't recognize you."
"No, I am not." Meixiu quickly shook her head.
"I see… Anyways, what brought you two back to the orphanage?" Ellis asked them a moment later.
"We're just visiting," said Chu Liuxiang.
"How are you and the orphanage doing nowadays, Sister Ellie? If there's anything we can do to help…" Yuan asked her.
"Unfortunately, the orphanage is no longer in service. In fact, we shut down just last week. I am still here just to finish closing this place down."
"What?! The orphanage is no longer in service?! What happened?" Chu Liuxiang exclaimed.
"Well, we ran out of money, so we can no longer operate."
"Seriously? My father told me that he'd tried donating to your orphanage, but you guys would always refuse. Is there a reason why even though you clearly needed the money?"
Ellis sighed and said, "The owner of the orphanage is a corrupt bastard. Any money that gets donated to this orphanage will be stolen by him, so I refused the Chu Family's donation, as I don't want to give him any more money even if it means shutting this place down."
"..."
Yuan and Chu Liuxiang frowned after learning the truth.
"Who is the owner of this place? I want to have a word with him." Yuan said.
"What? I appreciate your thoughts, but there's no point in doing that. The orphanage is already closed. Furthermore, the owner sold it. This place will be demolished soon. There is nothing you or I can do about it."
"We won't know for sure until we try it. I made a small name for myself, so I should be able to help. Please, Sister Ellie. I don't want this place to disappear in such a manner." Yuan said in a dispirited manner.
Ellie sighed.
"All right. I will give you the name of this person. Just don't do anything rash, okay?"
"Of course." Yuan nodded with a smile.
Ellie handed him a business card that had all of the information they needed on it.
"Thank you. Give me a moment while I make a call." Yuan took the business card and proceeded to call Chairman Lee.
"Hello, Chairman Lee. If you don't mind, I'd like to trouble you again."
"What happened?"
"You see…"
Yuan began telling Chairman Lee about the situation and the owner's information.
"How dare this scoundrel steal money from an orphanage that helps children? Unforgivable! Don't worry, I will make sure he's taken care of before the day ends!"
"Thank you."
After hanging up, Yuan returned to Ellis.
"Sister Ellis, if you had the chance, would you become the new owner of this orphanage?" He suddenly asked her.
"Well… It's always been my passion to help those in need, especially children… If I can manage the orphanage, I would definitely do it. Why are you asking?"
"You will see in a bit." Yuan smiled.
"While we wait for the results, can we take a look around the building?" He then asked.
"Of course."
Yuan and the others followed Ellis into the orphanage shortly after.
"The interior is exactly like how I remember, but it's a lot smaller." Chu Liuxiang said.
"You're much bigger now so it's only obvious that this place would seem smaller." Ellis chuckled at her silly remarks.
"Hey! Yuan! Do you remember this spot? You would always sit on the table here and play the harmonica for us!" Chu Liuxiang pointed at an empty spot that used to have a table.
"I do, and you would always shake the table whenever you ask me to play another song." Yuan smiled.
Yuan and Chu Liuxiang would reminisce about their life as an orphan as they walked through the old and empty building.
Shortly after their tour ended, Chairman Lee called Yuan to let him know of some good news.
"I see… Thank you very much, Chairman Lee. I will return this favor in seven days." Yuan said to him.
After hanging up, he turned to look at Ellis with a wide smile on his face.
"Yuan…? What's the matter?" She asked in a nervous voice.