228 MRS. XU AND MRS. HUANG
Note: this chapter contains a flashback scene.
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Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt[“So, you are going to adopt Bai Chen, Mrs. Huang? Are you sure you can take care of him?” A middle-aged woman wearing glasses politely asked another woman who looked a bit chubby sitting across from her.
The bespectacled woman sat next to a small child who was probably no more than seven years old. The boy with brown hair and a pair of blue eyes could only remain silent as the two adults spoke to each other, and he just kept staring at his little feet which were covered with a pair of bunny sandals.
“I’m pretty sure about that, Mrs. Xu,” the chubby woman who was called “Mrs. Huang” confidently answered Mrs. Xu’s question. “My husband recently divorced me after we were married for so many years, and the reason behind that was just because I couldn’t give him a child. But, that’s not my fault that I can’t be a perfect woman, right, Mrs. Xu? That’s why I’m so hurt by the decision, and I need someone to accompany me in this situation.”
Mrs. Hang carefully explained the situation as she fiddled with her fingers on her lap, and Mrs. Xu just silently listened to her.
“Putting aside that embarrassing story, I can say that I’m financially stable, and I’m also quite an educated person. That’s why I believe that I will be able to provide the best living environment for this little boy,” continued Mrs. Huang.
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The two women talked about him, and the boy secretly peeked at the woman sitting across from him. He had lived in the orphanage for almost a year after his parents died in a car accident. There, he lived with other orphans of various ages, and because it was too difficult for him to adapt, he remained a quiet child who rarely played with the other children there.
Even the adults who took care of the children in the place were worried about the boy’s condition, and that was why the woman called Mrs. Xu, the director of the orphanage, seemed hesitant when someone suddenly came to the orphanage and said that she would adopt the poor child.
“I don’t mean to pry into your matters, but could you please tell me the details about why your ex-husband couldn’t accept your condition, Mrs. Huang? Why didn’t the two of you adopt a child together to save your marriage?” Mrs. Xu asked again, and Mrs. Huang suddenly sighed heavily after hearing the question.
“It’s not that easy, Mrs. Xu,” replied Mrs. Huang. “My ex-husband was a selfish person, and he didn’t want to raise a child that wasn’t his offspring. Maybe that’s just his excuse because he was already bored of me, and that’s why he insisted on divorcing me.”
Mrs. Huang could not even look at Mrs. Xu as she recounted what had happened in her life, and the look on her face was somehow very pitiful in Mrs. Xu’s eyes. It seemed that Mrs. Xu felt sympathy when she heard the chubby woman’s words, and it seemed that she was considering what she should do after seeing how pathetic the woman was.
Her pair of eyes that were framed by glasses suddenly shifted towards the little boy sitting next to her, and the boy also turned his head towards her until their eyes met.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmA small smile formed on her face as the two of them continued to stare at each other, and then she used her hand to stroke the boy’s brown hair before she said to the boy, “Do you want to have a new parent, ChenChen? You will have a mother again, and you won’t have to sleep with the other kids anymore if you agree to the plan.”
It seemed the woman wanted to give the boy a chance to decide. But, how could a small child make decisions for himself? In the end, the brown-haired boy just innocently blinked at Mrs. Xu, and not a word escaped his thin lips to answer the woman’s question.
It was very difficult to get an answer from an innocent child, and that was why Mrs. Xu patiently smiled at the boy before she turned to Mrs. Huang again. “I have read the documents about you, Mrs. Huang. I read that you lived alone after your ex-husband divorced you, and you only had a few dogs living with you, right? The environment where you currently live is quite good, and I think our little ChenChen will be able to grow well in that place.”
In the end, it was Mrs. Xu who decided on the little boy, and Mrs. Huang looked very happy after hearing the decision made by the director of the orphanage. She even smiled brightly at the boy, but the boy was too shy he couldn’t bring his blue eyes to look at the woman.
The two women then continued to talk to each other, and the boy could only listen to their conversation without wanting to interrupt. He didn’t understand most of what the two women were saying, but he could roughly guess that he would soon start living outside the orphanage, and the person who would be living with him would be a woman named Mrs. Huang.
Mrs. Xu even told him that Mrs. Huang would be his parent from now on, and he was even asked to address the woman with the word “Mother.” The little boy was very obedient, and he immediately obeyed the order. Even Mrs. Huang looked very happy after hearing how he called her, and the boy somehow felt more at ease after seeing her reaction.
It was less than a week since their first meeting at the orphanage, and Mrs. Huang was finally able to bring Bai Chen from the orphanage. She arrived at the orphanage in a luxury car, and Bai Chen was gently asked to get into the car before the woman started driving to leave the orphanage.
Bai Chen thought that he would live a better life from then on, but he was wrong because his normal life turned into Hell after he followed Mrs. Huang to her house.”]