🍒 Chapter 50: Extra 5 final

 

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Sunlight spilled across the courtyard where freshly washed laundry was being hung out to dry.

Shen Shuyi followed closely behind Xiao Dan-ge, watching as he twisted the water out of the bedsheet, stuffed it back into the basin, then lifted it up and carried it outside. The weather was good today, so all the clothes washed at the orphanage were laid out to dry in the yard.

Xie Xiaodan dragged over a stool, stepped onto it, shook the bedsheet open, and flung it neatly over the clothes rack. His movements were quick and efficient. Shen Shuyi could not really help, so he shuffled over to the stool and used his small hands to steady it.

Once the sheet was stretched flat and hung properly, Xie Xiaozhou jumped down from the stool.

Shen Shuyi did not know where else to go and silently followed behind him.

Xie Xiaozhou stopped under the eaves. “Don’t follow me.”

“Where are you going, Xiaozhou?” Shen Shuyi asked blankly.

“Don’t call me ‘big brother’. I’m not your brother.”

Shen Shuyi picked at his fingers.

With nowhere else to go, he could only continue following Xie Xiaozhou.

Unexpectedly, Xie Xiaozhou simply found an empty classroom, went inside, pushed several stools together, lay down, and tried to make up for the nap he had missed at noon.

Shen Shuyi did not dare to sleep. He felt anxious and afraid. What he had experienced over the past two days made him feel that this orphanage was not safe at all.

So he quietly dragged a stool over beside Xie Xiaozhou, climbed up, and sat there, his blue eyes like a doll’s opened wide.

“Big brother, you sleep…” he whispered softly. “I’ll stand guard for you. I’ll keep watch.” These were lines he had learned from TV dramas at home.

Xie Xiaozhou did not respond. It was unclear whether he was pretending not to hear or had already fallen asleep.

Over the next few days, no matter what he did, Shen Shuyi stuck closely behind Xie Xiaozhou.

Like a little tail.

There was no choice. He was too scared. In this orphanage, he had already decided that only Xie Xiaozhou was a “good person”. Everyone else might be “bad people”.

Xie Xiaozhou tried to shake him off, but it was useless. He simply could not get rid of this little tail.

Xie Xiaozhou was quiet and withdrawn, but Shen Shuyi was not. At his age, he was at his chattiest. On top of that, he was always afraid, and when he was afraid, he unconsciously wanted to keep talking. The only one who could fill the role of listener was Xie Xiaozhou.

“My dad… my third brother… they probably don’t want me anymore, right?”

“I got lost, and they never came to look for me.”

“I heard that this place only takes in kids no one wants.”

“What about you, Xiaozhou?”

“They say you’re a monster. How could you be a monster?”

Shen Shuyi not only became Xie Xiaozhou’s little tail, but also his most loyal follower.

Sometimes, when the cafeteria auntie gave him too much food, his little stomach could not finish it all, so he would share the leftovers with Xie Xiaozhou.

“Big brother, you’re in the stage of growing taller… is that how you say it?”

Shen Shuyi picked up another piece of radish. He still did not really know how to use chopsticks. “I can’t finish it. I’ll give it to you. You have to eat properly, eat until you’re full, and grow tall!”

Xie Xiaozhou: “…”

He could tell that Shen Shuyi was a picky eater. Most of the time, the food he shared was what he disliked, mainly vegetables like radish or greens. Shen Shuyi seemed to have never eaten those greens before and disliked them the most.

As for things like chicken legs or braised meat, he could not bear to part with them.

It was not that he was unwilling to give them to Xie Xiaozhou. To prove his loyalty, he would still give them, but doing so was always painful and full of hesitation.

“Well… um…” Shen Shuyi stared at the chicken leg in his bowl, swallowing hard. After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind. “Big brother, to grow taller you need to eat more meat. I’m still a little kid, I don’t need that much meat. I still have meat on my tummy…”

As he spoke, he pinched the soft flesh on his belly, took a deep breath, and put the chicken leg into Xie Xiaozhou’s bowl.

Even so, his eyes stayed glued to the chicken leg.

In the past, Xie Xiaozhou would not have paid him any attention.

He would push the food Shen Shuyi gave him to the side with his chopsticks. If he finished his own meal and still had room, he would eat it, which would make Shen Shuyi so happy that he would wiggle around in his seat. If he could not eat anymore, he would simply dump it.

The orphanage was not so poor that the children lacked food. Basic meals were always guaranteed.

At times like this, Shen Shuyi would droop sadly and feel dejected for a long while.

Xie Xiaozhou noticed all of this.

He did not really want to deal with Shen Shuyi. It felt troublesome and unnecessary.

He knew this child was different from the others in the orphanage. He was not abandoned. He was lost.

His parents might one day come looking for him. Unlike Xie Xiaozhou, who would never have such a day.

But today, Xie Xiaozhou suddenly picked up the chicken leg and put it back into Shen Shuyi’s bowl.

Shen Shuyi’s eyes widened.

“Big brother… you… you don’t want it?” He swallowed again.

“From today on, don’t follow me anymore,” Xie Xiaozhou said.

“Wh… why?” Shen Shuyi instantly forgot about the chicken leg.

He could not stop following Xie Xiaozhou.

Xie Xiaozhou was his only source of security in this orphanage.

He was about to cry.

Dad did not want him. His brothers and sisters did not want him. Now even Xie Xiaozhou did not want him.

Seeing the grievance in his eyes, Xie Xiaozhou rarely explained. “In a few days it’s the orphanage’s open adoption day. A lot of adults who want to adopt children will come to visit. To stop others from stealing their spotlight, Xiaoshui and Anbao will cause trouble behind the scenes.”

“You’d better not follow me. I’m the one they hate the most.”

So that was it.

Xiaoshui and Anbao were the leaders among the older kids who had talked behind Shen Shuyi’s back in the cafeteria before.

The incident about Shen Shuyi and Xie Xiaozhou wetting the bed also involved them.

Shen Shuyi knew that from the day he entered the orphanage, Xiaoshui and Anbao had been planning to “teach him a lesson”.

It was only because Shen Shuyi had been following Xie Xiaozhou these days that they had not found the chance to bully him yet.

But their malice toward Xie Xiaozhou had never stopped.

Shen Shuyi saw this clearly.

He knew that most of the kids in the orphanage secretly called Xie Xiaozhou a “monster”, apparently because his pheromones were very strong.

Sometimes, Xie Xiaozhou would fight with the older kids.

When he fought, he was always the most ruthless, grabbing onto people and beating them mercilessly.

Because of this, Xie Xiaozhou was also the child who received the most punishments from Teacher Xiaohua.

He was often locked in solitary confinement.

But Shen Shuyi had never thought Xie Xiaozhou was a monster.

He knew that it was because he had been following Xie Xiaozhou that Xiaoshui and Anbao had not bullied him.

Maybe it was because he was by Xie Xiaozhou’s side and they could not find the chance. Maybe it was because all their attention was on Xie Xiaozhou.

On top of that, Xie Xiaozhou fought so fiercely and hurt people so badly that they could not spare the energy to target Shen Shuyi.

Xie Xiaozhou had protected him.

But.

Shen Shuyi could not always be the one being protected.

He did not want to be a coward.

That was what TV said.

Good friends protected each other.

He also wanted to protect Xie Xiaozhou.

Xie Xiaozhou could get hurt too.

Every time he fought with Xiaoshui and Anbao, Shen Shuyi saw new wounds appear on him. But he never cried out in pain. He always healed silently on his own.

That day, Shen Shuyi suddenly felt like he had grown up a lot.

He wanted to be the one who protected Xie Xiaozhou.

Shen Shuyi did not know exactly why he felt this way. Maybe he was afraid that if he kept following Xie Xiaozhou and doing nothing, one day Xie Xiaozhou would abandon him. Or maybe it was simply because he wanted to protect him.

In any case, the next day, Shen Shuyi really did stop following Xie Xiaozhou.

The night before, curled up under his blanket, he had already decided that he was a big kid now. If Dad and Third Brother did not want him, then he would be on his own. He would learn from Xie Xiaozhou and become independent, figuring out solutions by himself when he faced trouble.

The solution he came up with was this: if Xie Xiaozhou was bullied, he would go find Teacher Xiaohua for help.

Although Teacher Xiaohua always tended to side with Xiaoshui and Anbao because they were more seriously injured, she was currently the only adult in the orphanage who could help Xie Xiaozhou.

As long as he ran fast enough, just a bit faster, he could bring her over before everyone got badly hurt.

That way, Teacher Xiaohua would not be able to put all the blame on Xie Xiaozhou.

He wanted Xiaoshui and Anbao to experience punishment and confinement too.

The next day, Shen Shuyi went from being Xie Xiaozhou’s obvious shadow to a sneaky one.

He no longer stuck close to him. Instead, using his small size, he hid nearby and observed quietly.

He realized there was another advantage to doing this. He could secretly overhear other people’s conversations without attracting attention.

He crouched beneath the window of Teacher Xiaohua’s office and heard her talking with Grandpa Director about how the adoptive parents would arrive in a few days, how the orphanage lacked manpower, and how they needed volunteers.

He saw Xiaoshui and Anbao constantly huddled together these days, whispering to each other, their eyes occasionally darting toward Xie Xiaozhou.

Shen Shuyi clenched his small fists.

This time, he would definitely protect Big Brother Xiaozhou.

On the day the orphanage opened to adoptive parents, all the children woke up especially early.

Under the guidance of the caretakers, they neatly folded their blankets, placed their pillows properly, then lined up to go downstairs for morning exercises.

Shen Shuyi stood at the very end of the line.

He was too short. Standing at the back, no one could see him.

Usually, Teacher Xiaohua would require him to stand in the front row, but today she had been called away early by Grandpa Director to prepare for receiving guests. No one supervised the morning exercises.

No one noticed that Shen Shuyi was not standing in the front as usual.

No one cared.

Shen Shuyi saw Xiaoshui and Anbao standing near the back as well, secretly discussing something.

After morning exercises, everyone walked toward the classrooms.

Xiaoshui and Anbao, however, turned toward the restroom at the end of the hallway.

Shen Shuyi’s heart pounded as he followed them uneasily.

He had a bad feeling that they were going to hurt Big Brother Xiaozhou.

Because Xiaozhou himself had said so.

All the children in the orphanage hoped they would one day be adopted. Being adopted meant having a “home” and no longer being a child no one wanted.

In the orphanage, healthy children were the most desirable.

Next were younger children.

Xie Xiaozhou was one of the few healthy Alphas in the orphanage. Compared to Betas, adoptive families preferred Alpha and Omega children, and among them, Alpha was the top choice.

Most of the younger children in the orphanage had illnesses. Shen Shuyi did not.

But these days, Xiaoshui and Anbao had learned from Teacher Xiaohua that Shen Shuyi was a special case and would not participate in adoption.

That meant the biggest competitor who was similar to them was Xie Xiaozhou.

This was all Xie Xiaozhou’s analysis.

That was why, after learning Shen Shuyi would not be adopted, Xiaoshui and Anbao stopped targeting him.

On top of that, Shen Shuyi was too young. Bullying him would look bad and get them mocked by the other kids.

They preferred bullying Xie Xiaozhou.

Repeatedly bullying the same person might have been one of the few sources of pleasure in their dull orphanage lives.

Shen Shuyi did not know all of this. He only knew he did not want them to keep bullying Xie Xiaozhou.

Inside the restroom, Xiaoshui and Anbao stopped a child who had come to use it and told him to go notify Xie Xiaozhou, whispering something in his ear.

The child ran off without a word.

Soon, Shen Shuyi saw Xie Xiaozhou approaching from the far end of the corridor.

Now was the perfect time to find Teacher Xiaohua.

Shen Shuyi bent low and ran around through the other side of the hallway toward her office.

But there was no one there.

Where could she be?

He thought of Grandpa Director’s office upstairs.

He ran across most of the open area and huffed and puffed his way upstairs.

The director’s office was empty too.

But he heard noise coming from the meeting room next door.

Could Teacher Xiaohua and Grandpa Director be there?

Shen Shuyi ran over, stood on tiptoe, and peered through the window.

There were so many adults inside.

It was the first time he had seen so many adults in the orphanage.

Were these the “adoptive parents”?

What were they talking about?

Grandpa Director stood at the front, explaining the orphanage’s situation.

Shen Shuyi could not understand. He dropped his hands from the window and ran to the meeting room door, trying to knock.

But the door was thick and heavy, unlike the broken wooden classroom doors. The noise inside was loud. Even if he slapped his hands raw, no one would hear him.

He tried several times. No one responded.

Teacher Xiaohua sat at the very back, staring at the projection screen showing videos for the adoptive parents.

Shen Shuyi did not know what they were watching, nor why Teacher Xiaohua ignored him.

He only knew that his plan had failed.

With nowhere to turn for help, he had to hurry back.

He was afraid Xie Xiaozhou would fight Xiaoshui and Anbao again and get badly hurt, and then no one would want to adopt him.

He did not even know what “adoption” meant. He only knew that Xiaozhou said being adopted meant having a “home”.

Xiaozhou had no home.

Shuyi had no home either.

He wanted Xiaozhou to have one.

Shen Shuyi rushed downstairs, his short legs pumping hard. Big drops of sweat rolled down his forehead, but he did not stop.

When he returned to the restroom area, there were more people inside.

They had Xie Xiaozhou pressed to the ground. One child even held a rope and stammered, “T… tie him up. He hits r… really hard!”

Shen Shuyi recognized him. His name was Xiaoji, one of Xiaoshui and Anbao’s group.

Several kids worked together to restrain Xie Xiaozhou.

Xiaoshui had completely lost his fighting ability. He seemed affected by Xie Xiaozhou’s pheromones, crouching in pain, covering his ears with his four-fingered hand.

There were other Alphas present, slumped on the ground, muttering, “Monster… really a monster…”

Only the Betas Xiaoshui had called over were still moving.

After a while, Shen Shuyi heard Anbao shout, “Brother Shui! Hurry! Pull yourself together! I’m almost done tying him up!”

Shen Shuyi did not know where his courage came from. He took a deep breath and charged forward like a tiny cannonball, ramming his head into Anbao’s stomach and shouting, “Let go of Big Brother Xiaozhou!”

“I already went to get Teacher Xiaohua and Grandpa Director! They’ll be here any moment!” Shen Shuyi waved his arms. “Get lost! Get lost!”

“This kid went to get the director?” Anbao froze.

“I think the adoptive parents have already arrived,” another older kid asked. “What do we do now?”

“Tie him up too,” Anbao said. “Throw them into the storage room and lock the door. We’ll let them out after the adoptive parents leave.”

“Okay.”

Several kids immediately lunged at Shen Shuyi.

They did not care whether Shen Shuyi really was not participating in adoption. As long as they got rid of competitors, they would benefit.

If an adoptive parent really took a liking to them, Teacher Xiaohua and the director would be more than happy to let them go early and would never tell the adoptive parents what they had done.

Shen Shuyi was pinned down, his small limbs flailing uselessly. His strength was far too weak. Soon, he was lifted off the ground.

“Let him go!” Xie Xiaozhou shouted from the floor. “He’s not being adopted. Tying him up is pointless. Just tie me up!”

“Oh, so you can talk? I thought you were mute,” Anbao sneered maliciously at Xie Xiaozhou. “If we don’t tie him up and he causes trouble and tattles to Teacher Xiaohua or the director, what then? What if we can’t get adopted?”

“Let him stay with you, you monster, and behave. Once the adoptive parents leave, we’ll let you out.”

Anbao ordered them to take Shen Shuyi away first.

Shen Shuyi shouted, “Big Brother Xiaozhou isn’t a monster! You are! You’ll never be adopted! You’re all bad people!”

Anbao was enraged.

For orphanage kids, the most untouchable topics were “adoption” and “home”.

Shen Shuyi had crossed the line.

Anbao walked toward him.

Suddenly, he heard a painful howl from Xiaoshui, who collapsed unconscious. The Alphas who had been slumped nearby also lost consciousness.

Anbao finally realized how serious things were.

It must be that monster again.

That monster was doing something again.

Terrified, afraid someone might die, Anbao abandoned his companions and ran out of the restroom.

Seeing him flee, the others panicked and scattered.

The incident caused an uproar.

The adoptive parents all learned about it.

In the end, none of the troublemaking children, including Xiaoshui and Anbao, were adopted.

Xie Xiaozhou was not adopted either.

Xie Xiaozhou told Shen Shuyi that he would never be adopted.

Because he really was a monster, just as Xiaoshui and Anbao said.

Shen Shuyi insisted that he was not.

“If you can’t be adopted, then you can’t be adopted!” Shen Shuyi said. “If even family members treat you like a monster, then it’s better not to have a family at all!”

This was the most sensible thing Shen Shuyi ever said at the age of three.

From then on, Xie Xiaozhou came to terms with it. He had never been particularly attached to the idea of having a family, but somehow, through this three-year-old child, he experienced the warmth of having one.

He was grateful to Shen Shuyi.

Shen Shuyi was a powerful child. Life in the orphanage was dull, but he was always unconsciously trying to pull Xie Xiaozhou forward.

He would loudly tell everyone, “Big Brother Xiaozhou is not a monster!”

He would pat Xie Xiaozhou’s arm with his soft little hand and say, “Don’t be afraid, Big Brother Xiaozhou. From now on, Shuyi will protect you!”

Even after Shen Shuyi was found and taken home by his family, and Xie Xiaozhou grew up, left the orphanage, and changed his name back to Xie Chenzhou, he always believed that in this world, there was someone named Shen Shuyi who was his only family.

That belief never changed.

*****THE END*****

📌 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE  📌

And just like that, we’ve reached the end 🥹

Thank you so, so much for reading and for staying on this journey with me until the very last chapter. Translating this story was honestly such a ride, with tears, warmth, and many “I need to take a break” moments 😭💙 Watching Shen Shuyi and Xie Xiaozhou grow, protect each other, and slowly become each other’s family was something really special to me.

Goodbyes are always a little sad, but I hope this story brought you comfort, happiness, and that soft feeling in your chest that lingers after a good read 🫶 If you laughed, cried, or felt emotional even just once, then I’m truly happy.

Thank you for your patience, your support, and for choosing to read my translation. Every bit of love and encouragement meant the world to me 💕📖

Until we meet again in another story, take care, and thank you for reading. 🌸

Merry Christmas 🎄✨

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