Chapter 3267: Chapter 3259: The Healed One

Forty minutes later, the two of them drove back to the orphanage.

Following closely behind were two other delivery vendors.

They all arrived almost at the same time.

Upon seeing them, the children at the orphanage chattered and gathered around.

The older ones helped move things.

The younger ones each received a lollipop and watched from the side.

"Why did you buy so much stuff?"

Seeing the fireworks they bought back, Wang Cuiping and Zhao Quanfu were both startled.

"How much did all this cost?"

"It wasn’t much. It’s New Year, let them have some fun," Lin Yi said with a smile.

"You’re spoiling them. If their studies suffer, it’ll be on you."

Lin Yi couldn’t help but smile wryly, "These two things shouldn’t be related, right?"

"Don’t talk back."

Saying so to Lin Yi, Wang Cuiping called out:

"Everyone, come back and eat, or no one gets to play!"

"Got it."

Reluctantly returning indoors, the family began to eat.

To prevent Little Nuonuo from crying, Ji Qingyan put on a cartoon for her for a while.

Like a little statue, she watched the cartoon without moving, and everyone enjoyed a quiet meal.

After dinner, Lin Yi and Wu Feiyue were dragged out by the kids to set off fireworks with them.

Ji Qingyan, caught up in the fun, took Ning Yue to set off fireworks too.

As for the kids, they were left with Wang Cuiping.

Wu Feiyue grabbed a few bottles of beer and went over to Lin Yi.

The two of them, in tacit understanding, opened the beers, clinked bottles, and each took a big gulp.

"By the way, what happened to Brother Chao? It’s been many years since he left the orphanage. Have you been in touch?" Lin Yi asked.

"No."

"No contact? What happened?"

"I only heard recently. He got involved in a fight and was stabbed. He didn’t make it," Wu Feiyue said:

"After leaving the orphanage, everyone had their own lives. Mom also tried to find them to see how they were doing, but each time she couldn’t, and before long their numbers changed, so we lost contact."

"Brother Chao was just like before, quick to act without thinking through the consequences."

"There’s nothing that can be done, maybe it’s just fate," Wu Feiyue said, holding his beer, "Come, have another drink."

The two of them clinked bottles again.

Looking at the fireworks lighting up the sky, their emotions were mixed.

Slowly, as they drank late into the night, they reminisced about everything from their childhood.

Because of Zhang Dan, their hearts were filled with emotion.

Even though they were close friends in their youth, they grew distant after growing up, wanting to escape the label of the orphanage.

To them, no matter how good the orphanage’s environment was, it was never home.

And so, on and off, they drank deep into the night.

Wu Feiyue patted Lin Yi on the shoulder, "Let’s go to sleep, it’s late."

Lin Yi checked the time and saw it was already 2 a.m., so he stretched.

"I’m not sleeping. I’m cooking tomorrow. Let me check the kitchen and get things ready."

"Let’s do it together."

"Go to sleep. You can’t handle staying up as I can, haha..."

"I’m not stopping you then."

A slightly tipsy Wu Feiyue returned to his room, while Lin Yi went to the kitchen to begin preparing for tomorrow’s lunch.

Just after 6 a.m., Wang Cuiping began to rouse all the children one after another.

It’s an orphanage rule to wake up early during the New Year.

It symbolizes a year of early rising and hard work.

Lin Yi’s cooking skills were well-known, so the responsibility naturally fell to him.

The others stood by and helped.

Lin Yi enjoyed these moments.

It was only at this time that he felt the world was real.

That he was still a person, not just a machine meant for killing.

While cooking, Lin Yi deliberately sped up, finishing all the dishes before noon.

A total of over twenty dishes, three portions each, filled three large tables, a truly sumptuous feast.

After the meal, Lin Yi made an excuse about visiting local officials to maintain relations and offer New Year greetings.

But after he left, he took a cab to the airport to fly back to Zhong Hai.

This was why Lin Yi always flew home by private jet for New Year, for convenience.

Around 5 p.m., Lin Yi arrived at Li Chuhan’s doorstep.

When he opened the door, he saw Li Chuhan in a red pajama set, wearing an apron, holding a bowl of soup.

"Come in quickly."

After putting down the soup, Li Chuhan got Lin Yi a pair of slippers.

"The ribs are almost done, go wash your hands, and we’ll eat now."

"Okay."

Li Chuhan continued her busy work in the kitchen, bringing out the deliciously fragrant ribs.

Then she took out a bottle of juice and a beer from the fridge.

"Which do you want?"

"What about you?" Lin Yi asked with a smile.

"Whatever you have, I’ll have," she replied.

Lin Yi remembered the beer in her hand was likely from the last time Song Jinmin visited.

"I’ll follow your lead. Whatever you pick, I’ll drink."

With a gentle smile as elegant as a lily, Li Chuhan replied,

"Beer it is, it might expire if we don’t drink it."

"Why break the rules today?" Lin Yi asked with a smile.

"It’s New Year, it calls for a special touch."

"True."

Lin Yi opened the beer and clinked glasses with Li Chuhan.

"Cheers, happy New Year."

"Happy New Year."

They softly clinked glasses and then chatted about life’s trivialities.

Originally, Li Chuhan’s plan was to work a night shift on the third day of the New Year.

This way, she wouldn’t miss dinner with Lin Yi and could help others celebrate a better New Year.

But no one at the hospital dared to schedule Li Chuhan for a night shift during New Year.

So her idea was dismissed.

The conversation shifted to each other’s lives and eventually to the orphanage.

Each was a harmless anecdote, sharing interesting experiences.

Li Chuhan even retold the story of the day with the patched-up tattoo in detail.

Every time such topics arose, Lin Yi found them amusing.

It wasn’t the incidents themselves that were interesting, but hearing Li Chuhan complain was delightful.

There was a touch of humorous contrast to it.

Towards the end of their meal, Qin Yingyue video-called Li Chuhan.

There wasn’t anything special to discuss.

It was just that with New Year around, she thought Li Chuhan might feel lonely and wanted to chat a bit for company.

Spotting Lin Yi in the background, she exchanged a few words before ending the call, not wanting to intrude on their time.

After dinner, the two cleaned up and then settled on the couch to watch the dull New Year gala.

Outside the window, stars twinkled as time quietly drifted by.

One person.

A family.

In that moment, Lin Yi felt that he was the one being healed.

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