"I really don't understand why those little kids all like her."

Ince chuckled, knowing that most children have almost zero resistance to a gentle neighborhood sister.

He suddenly became interested in this little boy and aimed the camera at his face, "So, buddy, look at the camera."

Faced with the camera, the boy became somewhat stage-frightened and lowered his head, muttering:

"Obviously, she's not as good as Sister Themia."

"Themia?" Ince raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that it indeed all revolves around the big sister.

Just then, a blonde girl who had been teaching in the classroom came out. She smiled gently and greeted them, and the surrounding children all flocked to her as soon as they saw her.

"Sister Themia!"

"Sister Themia, I still have a lot of questions I don't understand, can you teach me?"

"Is she Themia?"

"Yes, she just got transferred to our Iris Foster Home. Sister Themia is very smart; she can solve all those sudoku puzzles." As if he had found a theoretical support, the boy clearly spoke more confidently in front of the camera.

For some reason, Ince shivered involuntarily upon meeting Themia's calm ice-blue eyes.

What is going on with this person named Themia?

Soon enough, the children at the foster home seemed to split into two factions, one standing by the blue-haired girl, and the other by Themia, glaring at each other in a subtly tense atmosphere.

Under countless curious gazes, Themia walked over to Tang Xin.

"Hello, Miss Sevia, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Xu Xiaoyou's eyes reflected the slightly astonished blue-haired girl, and her gentle tone was reminiscent of the murmuring of a stream at night.

"My name is Themia, and I am a kindergarten teacher at this foster home."

Tang Xin stared into the girl's somewhat familiar eyes, unable to snap out of it until a cold wind blew between them, making her realize her lapse and quickly retract her hand.

So strange...

Even though she clearly doesn't know this girl named Themia, whose appearance and demeanor were undoubtedly unfamiliar to her, why was her heart racing like this?

This familiar yet intense heartbeat almost made her blurt out the syllables in her throat.

"You don't look well, is something wrong?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.

"Sorry." Tang Xin hurriedly pulled her hand back as if electrocuted. "I'm fine."

Xu Xiaoyou shook her head indifferently. Indeed, she wanted to meet her once, and immediately rushed to the foster home after setting things up through her connections.

Clearly, the real Themia doesn't exist, and for the children here, Themia was just a figment of their imagination.

For this disguise, she used multiple skill cards such as [Scent Disguise], [Disguise Card], [Invisible Traits], and yet even in this situation, the other party recognized her to some extent.

"May I ask where Dean Elia is currently?" Tang Xin asked.

"She has already arrived."

The kindly faced woman slowly approached, wearing a floral dress, and Ince easily noticed that apart from the calluses on her hands, this woman maintained herself reasonably well.

In such chilly weather, she bore barely any signs of chapping, her skin hydrated, clearly from using various skincare creams daily, which starkly contrasted with the snot-nosed little brat beside her and those children with chapped faces, hands, and feet.

As a photographer, he had seen many directors of foster homes in the Piano Key District, most of whom were like this lady. Who knows how much of the government funding goes into their pockets each year, and how much actually reaches these children?

Looking at the thin clothes, dirty little faces, and dusty eyes, Ince silently turned his head and clicked his tongue.

They claimed to promise these little ones a better tomorrow, yet they improved their own lives after receiving donations.

"A bunch of hypocrites."

Yain genuinely felt it was unworthy of these children and his lady's goodwill.

His voice was not loud, yet the woman clearly heard it. There was no fluctuation in the loving expression in her eyes, but upon long gazes, Ince saw traces of a deep, lingering deathliness.

"Themia, Sevia," Elia said with a smile.

"Madam Dean," Tang Xin nodded.

"Bring the children and follow me."

Elia didn't say much and turned to walk to the other side of the hallway.

The two of them, seeing this, led the children silently behind them.

They passed silently through a long corridor, where light shone in from the misaligned windows, and the first thing to come was a refreshing cold breeze that invigorated the spirit.

Ahead, where the hallway light converged, stood a young girl, surrounded by several caregivers and security guards from the foster home. The expressions of the people weren't particularly pleasant, even somewhat pale.

Upon seeing the woman approach, the lead girl took two steps forward, tears welling in her eyes, and urgently said, "Mom..."

After noticing there were others behind Elia, the girl quickly corrected herself, "Dean Elia, come quickly and see this."

Saying this, the girl gave a meaningful look, and the caregivers around her understood, moving to block the curious, peeking children, maintaining order.

Xiaoyou and Tang Xin exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and after seeing the scene before them, their expressions changed.

In a drainage ditch covered by shrubs lay a hideous corpse, resting in the trapezoidal channel. Water flowed over his swollen face, light obscuring his dull eyes.

It was Chris. Tang Xin had met him just last night at the foster home. His right eye socket was stabbed through with a paintbrush, and a spilled paint bucket lay not far off. The paint inside was diluted by the channel water, with only a small amount left.

From the slightly twisted features, it wasn't hard to tell that perhaps the young man had foreseen his death, and wanted to return to the place he thought of as home to say goodbye, falling into helpless exhaustion during the process, starting to "fade", and ending his life before becoming a monster.

With that paintbrush, the one Dean Elia had personally handed to him.

"Take him away, don't let the children see," Elia said kindly.

"Dean?" Tang Xin looked up, meeting those kind eyes, not understanding why her reaction was so indifferent, why she was still smiling kindly like before...

"Sevia, the activities must continue, don't let him delay the children. They still need to wear warm clothes before the colder weather arrives."

Elia left, the foster home's caregivers stepped forward, lifted the body from the drainage ditch, and soon cleaned the scene thoroughly. It was impossible to imagine that not long ago, someone died lonely and cold in this corner of the foster home, and no one cared.

"Mel, what's wrong?"

The children who gathered around stood beside Mel, not understanding why the girl's eyes were swollen, not understanding why she was crying, and no one knew how to comfort her.

"I often saw Mel and Chris secretly meeting in the backyard," a boy with a runny nose suddenly spoke up, revealing the truth that even if hidden, one of the children saw.

This child, not even eight years old, had seen the young man's tragic death, yet did not show anxiety or fear, only recounting what he had seen in the past.

Ince looked complexly at the boy beside him, squatted down, and asked seriously, "Buddy, what's your name?"

"My name is Berick," the boy answered truthfully.

A gray haze loomed over the corridor, Tang Xin silently led the children to the backyard, while Xiaoyou stood in place, in the shadow of the building, watching the scene unfold not far away.

A girl named Mel was pulled aside by a woman, not very kindly, losing a few buttons in the dragging process.

Her eyes were red, her voice hoarse, "Mom..."

Her response was a crisp, loud slap, along with that incessant face of kind affection.

"What do you call me?"

"Mom..."

Another loud slap, this time Mel's entire face swelled up, and she lowered her head desperately, covering her face, her voice weak,

"Dean Elia."

A choked sobbing.

"Chris, he's dead..."

Elia did not respond to her, turned, and walked away, leaving Mel behind, screaming in a heart-wrenching voice, "You emotionless, cold-blooded devil, it was you who personally led Chris to his death, it was you who drove him out, I will never forgive you!"

After venting, Mel ran away. Due to long-term malnutrition, the girl was so slender that most people could not notice she was already pregnant.

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