Ch 153: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

This episode of Donghai TV went viral online.

Originally, this program was already quite popular in Donghai City, but the viewers were usually local uncles and aunties. Young people weren’t interested, and it barely made a splash on the internet.

But the welfare home interview with Mu Xing was simply too outstanding.

Many students on summer break, chatting with their parents in the living room at night, happened to see this show—happened to see Mu Xing…

Then they completely forgot about chatting.

That very night, countless people’s social media in Donghai City was flooded with posts about this excessively beautiful little genius living in the welfare home.

On Weibo, people started sharing, and one topic trended on the hot search:

#TheGapBetweenMeAndAGenius#

Clicking in, there was a clip from the interview.

Geniuses are rare enough, but if this little genius also happens to look like a delicate, manga-style bishounen stepping out of fiction into reality?

And soon, local Donghai netizens added background: this child, Mu Xing, was abandoned by his biological parents in a trash heap, and then abused by his adoptive parents. Only after those scum were sentenced did he enter the welfare home.

He had suffered so much, and yet in front of the camera he didn’t show even a hint of gloom or resentment.

Instead, he was the little sun of the welfare home.

The very definition of beautiful, strong, and tragic!

Netizens instantly began both cheering for the genius and crying over his backstory.

[This kid I know—he’s in my daughter’s class. My daughter said he’s always ranked first in the school exams. Didn’t expect his background to be so tragic.]

[His biological parents and adoptive parents???? If I had such an outstanding child, I’d burn incense at the ancestors’ graves in gratitude! What kind of scum are those two sets of parents? Lock them up forever.]

[As a useless slacker I can only wonder how top students’ brains grow… I’ve been memorizing “Song of Everlasting Regret” for a week and still can’t get it down, wuwuwu.]

The buzz kept spreading.

At a violin tutoring class in Changping City, someone suddenly cried out, “Xiyang, Xiyang, quick look! Isn’t this you?”

The boy resting nearby raised his head. His face was exactly the same as the “little genius” trending online.

The classmate who called his name compared carefully again and confirmed: “No mistake! It’s really identical!”

He handed the phone to Xu Xiyang.

At first, Xu Xiyang thought his classmate was joking, but the moment he saw the screen, he froze.

He skipped class, went home in a daze, his mind in chaos.

Meanwhile, in another city, a couple also saw the hot search.

The woman widened her eyes in shock: “How could this be? We’ve only missed seeing him for a short time, and he’s already in a welfare home? And… was he always this smart?”

The man had already rewatched the interview video several times. When he looked back at his wife, his eyes were full of delight and excitement: “His personality has changed dramatically. Probably because of a different environment. The talent he’s showing now far surpasses what he ever had before—and far surpasses his twin brother.”

“We’ve cultivated a genius! Even if we don’t understand how such a mutation occurred, our experiment has already gone beyond the point of meaning. The talent Mu Xing is displaying can no longer be limited by environment.”

His expression carried a kind of fanaticism: “A child accidentally abandoned by his biological parents, rediscovered years later through a news broadcast—that’s a storyline many people will love.”

…

Director Mei had been especially busy lately.

Ever since Mu Xing’s interview went viral online, more and more people had reached out to the welfare home.

Many kindhearted people donated a lot of supplies.

But even more came asking about Mu Xing.

In just two days, she had already received dozens of calls. Most offered to sponsor all of Mu Xing’s expenses until adulthood.

Five or six couples even expressed their desire to adopt him.

After asking Mu Xing, Director Mei politely turned them all down.

Mu Xing made it clear: he didn’t want to leave the welfare home.

But Director Lin also came.

And he brought two people with him.

A middle-aged couple, around forty, warm and gentle in temperament, clearly well-off by their attire.

As soon as Director Lin saw Director Mei, he laughed heartily: “Director Mei, where’s little Xingxing? I must thank him properly!”

He hadn’t expected Mu Xing to mention his amusement park in the interview, but the effect had been tremendous.

Just yesterday, reporters had come riding the trend to interview him.

Of course, though they claimed to be interviewing the amusement park, most of their questions were about the welfare home.

Director Lin understood the situation well. That child was so grateful, keeping every little kindness in mind. Naturally, he reciprocated—he carefully shared what he had seen and learned, praised Hope Welfare Home to the skies, and even showed the reporters many photos from that day.

In fact, many locals in Donghai who saw the news were moved:

[Good Friends Amusement Park? I used to beg my dad to take me there when I was little—it’s still around?]

[I remember it was one of the earliest amusement parks in Donghai City. It felt so new and exciting back then, but later I never went again.]

[That was my childhood dream! Every time I placed top ten in exams, my reward was going to Good Friends Amusement Park!]

“Xingxing is really wonderful, and the director too. I’m planning to take my child there for a visit.”

“Planning to check out Good Friends Amusement Park +1.”

In the past two days, Good Friends Amusement Park’s visitor numbers had suddenly surged, and Director Lin of course knew the reason why.

After a few pleasantries, Director Lin suddenly said, “Director Mei, these are the friends I mentioned to you before, the couple Han Shan and Li Mengyu.”

The two warmly shook hands with Director Mei.

Director Mei knew their purpose and sighed inwardly. “Xingxing is in the classroom playing with the children, I’ll let you have a chat.”

Every time she met couples who wanted to adopt, her feelings were always a mix of reluctance and joy.

Reluctance, because she had already developed deep feelings for the children she had cared for so long.

But she was very clear in her heart: what the orphanage could provide the children was far too limited.

If they could meet a kind couple to become their parents, the children’s future would be much brighter and more secure.

Li Mengyu handed Director Mei a file folder and politely said, “Director, these are some basic details about Han Shan and me — health status, financial situation, everything we’ve prepared in advance. Please have a look?”

This kind of information was not something that could be prepared in just a day or two, which showed how serious and sincere the Han couple were. They had thought about it carefully and thoroughly, unlike many others who simply saw Mu Xing’s “talent” and approached with the mindset of treating him as some sort of rare commodity.

Director Mei held the documents against her chest, smiled, and said, “Alright, please go on in.”

*

Mu Xing and the Han couple talked for nearly an hour. No one went in to disturb them, and apart from those three, no one knew what exactly had been said.

When Li Mengyu came out, her face still carried a trace of regret.

She truly liked this child Mu Xing.

Not only was she someone who especially loved children in general, but a well-behaved, smart, and sensible child like Mu Xing — what adult wouldn’t like him?

But ultimately, it all depended on the child’s wishes. It could only be said that fate didn’t bring them together.

Suddenly, her calf felt a weight.

Startled, she looked down, and to her surprise, a little dumpling of a boy had appeared out of nowhere, hugging her leg and grinning up at her.

He only had a few teeth, but when he smiled wide, he looked carefree, like a little angel.

Li Mengyu’s heart melted instantly. She carefully squatted down, steadying the toddler who could barely walk, and gently asked, “Little one, why are you holding onto Auntie’s leg?”

Little Jin beamed. “Pre… pretty Auntie!”

Li Mengyu laughed, teasing, “So little, and you already know how to compliment Auntie. Such a sweet mouth…”

“Little Jin!” A boy about ten years old ran over from the hallway, visibly relieved when he saw them.

He rushed over, murmured a quick apology to Li Mengyu, bent down to scoop up the little dumpling, and softly scolded, “I told you not to run around. No one was watching here — what if you fell?”

Little Jin was already at the age where he could hold simple conversations, and he knew his brother was scolding him. But he was naturally good-tempered, always smiling at everyone. Even when being told off, he wasn’t upset. Instead, he happily rubbed his face against his older brother’s.

After a couple of rubs, the older boy couldn’t stay stern anymore. He stopped muttering and carried him back inside.

Li Mengyu also overheard bits of their conversation:

“I help them save spots for lunch in class, fifty cents each time. I’ve saved up some money so when Little Jin’s birthday comes, we can have a cake…”

*

Later that evening, Hope Orphanage welcomed another pair of visitors.

They were a younger couple, soft-spoken and gentle, saying they wanted to meet Mu Xing.

Director Mei politely said, “The children are about to have dinner.”

It wasn’t really appropriate to let strangers in so late, especially when the place was full of kids.

The bespectacled young man grew anxious. “My wife and I saw the news and came straight from Changping City early this morning. We know it’s abrupt, but we’re truly restless and couldn’t wait any longer.”

He took out his phone and handed it to Director Mei. “Please, take a look at this.”

Director Mei glanced at the screen — and her expression froze.

It was a family portrait.

A refined man and a gentle woman sat side by side, and in front of them stood a boy with delicate features.

What shocked Director Mei was that although the boy looked a little younger, his eyebrows and eyes were exactly the same as Xingxing’s!

She stared at the couple in disbelief. “You…”

Were they Xingxing’s biological parents?

Her face instantly grew serious. She hadn’t forgotten what those scumbag adoptive parents had once said — that they had found the boy in a garbage dump!

Realizing her possible misunderstanding, the man shook his head. “No, you misunderstand. We also adopted a child ten years ago. When we saw the news online, we came here specially to find out what exactly is going on.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣