Can I still be saved? [Transmigration] - Chapter 8
Tonight, Song Wenqian hand-rolled some noodles, served in a rich broth made from an old hen.
Su Yunjing had been coughing frequently at night lately, so to nourish him, Song Wenqian simmered a chicken broth for over three hours and used it to make a few bowls of handmade noodles.
The old hen was torn into strips and stir-fried with shredded shiitake mushrooms until crispy and fragrant.
Fu Hanzhou didn’t like ginger. Even though the noodle soup only had a faint aroma, the ginger flavor was still unmistakably present.
He ate with a constant frown on his face.
“You have to add ginger when simmering chicken soup. It gets rid of the gaminess. Just add more veggies to your bowl to balance out the ginger taste,” Su Yunjing said as he poured the plate of chicken and mushrooms into Fu Hanzhou’s bowl.
Since the noodle soup was light on salt, the ginger taste stood out even more.
Fu Hanzhou looked at the extra chicken and mushrooms in his bowl, his eyes lowered with unclear expression.
“The orphanage cleaned our place from top to bottom today. They dug out several rat nests.”
Fu Hanzhou said suddenly.
Su Yunjing: …
Was that really something to bring up over dinner?
“Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Su Yunjing replied half-heartedly, using a tactical brush-off.
He had just eaten dinner, and his stomach was still digesting. He really didn’t want to talk about rat nests with Fu Hanzhou right now.
“Does this have anything to do with you?” Fu Hanzhou’s dark eyes stared at him.
Su Yunjing paused, not understanding why Fu Hanzhou would even think that.
Ever since Fu Hanzhou had given Su Yunjing a unique “gift,” Su Yunjing had been bringing sausage every day and crumbling it near the dorms.
Not only that, Fu Hanzhou had overheard the orphanage staff mentioning multiple times that they’d been getting calls complaining about the increasing rat problem.
Today, the orphanage suddenly called in a bunch of people to catch rats near where they lived, it was hard for Fu Hanzhou not to connect the dots back to Su Yunjing.
This was indeed partly due to Su Yunjing contribution.
But he wouldn’t dare take full credit for it. Everything had just happened to line up perfectly.
If the principal hadn’t been nominated for one of the “Top Ten Most Moving Individuals” and the TV station hadn’t been planning an interview, there’s no way Su Yunjing could’ve convinced Principal Wang to greenlight a donation that quickly.
You could say Fu Hanzhou had that second male lead aura working in his favor.
Still, this was a great chance to score points and close the distance between them, and Su Yunjing wasn’t about to let it slip by.
“Our principal’s going to be on TV, so I told him there’s an orphanage near my place. He happened to want to do something charitable, so we organized a donation drive for you guys.”
“It’s not good for you to keep living in such a messy place. Now that the rats are gone, you’ll be able to sleep better at night.”
Fu Hanzhou looked at Su Yunjing’s kind smile. His already pitch-black eyes seemed to darken even more, becoming a deep, poisonous fog from a wretched land where even wild beasts would not dare to tread.
Clouded, impenetrable, no one could truly discern the emotion in his gaze.
It wasn’t an expression a seven-year-old should have.
In truth, Fu Hanzhou didn’t like Su Yunjing.
Nor did he understand why Su Yunjing was so obsessed with meddling in other people’s business.
Just because they sat together and he ate the food Su Yunjing brought didn’t mean he had accepted him.
He was simply observing, watching coldly to see how long Su Yunjing’s so-called ‘kindness’ would last.
Fu Hanzhou said nothing more and continued eating.
On the day the TV station came to visit the school, Principal Wang brought along students from fifth and sixth grade, all Young Pioneers, to the orphanage carrying donated supplies.
They also spent the whole day doing volunteer work.
They handed out new backpacks and drawing books, and even told stories to the kids.
Some students with special talents sang or played the keyboard.
When Su Yunjing went to the orphanage after school to look for Fu Hanzhou, all the kids had new gifts and were overjoyed.
No one was interested in his candy anymore and his status plummeted instantly.
At that moment, Su Yunjing felt the sting of tragedy.
Su ‘CEO’ Yunjing had lost control over the orphanage’s (candy) economic lifeline.
Little Fatty, once his loyal lackey, generously gave Su Yunjing two pieces of chocolate and declared proudly that following him meant getting chocolate.
Su Yunjing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Despite only being seven, Fu Hanzhou was incredibly independent.
He didn’t accept anything. His paintbrushes were ones he brought from home, and his sketchbook was a secondhand practice book with the front pages already used.
He didn’t take any of the donated food either.
Not the cocoa butter-filled chocolate, nor the bread, cookies, or fruit.
Watching him from under the shade of a tree, Su Yunjing smiled; this kid’s pride was really something else.
Fu Hanzhou finished the dinner Su Yunjing brought him, including a slice of chilled watermelon.
The weather was getting hotter. Lately, Su Yunjing had been bringing him chilled fruit every day.
Sometimes watermelon, sometimes grapes, apricots, or plums—all seasonal fruit bought by Song Wenqian.
“Do you want some braised prawns? Tomorrow’s my dad’s birthday. My mom’s making some special dishes; I’ll bring you extra.”
Su Yunjing asked as he cleaned up the empty lunchbox.
“Whatever.” Fu Hanzhou’s voice was indifferent.
He was an extremely picky eater, a trait inherited from his mom.
But because he was still young, even if he had preferences, he couldn’t really make his own decisions.
So even if he didn’t like something, he wouldn’t throw a tantrum like other kids.
That said, compared to the other orphans, Fu Hanzhou definitely came off as the pickier one.
“Anything you do want to eat?” Su Yunjing pressed.
He’d been trying hard to get Fu Hanzhou to talk more. After all, communication was the best way to bridge the gap.
“No.”
“Anything you want to play?”
“No.”
Su Yunjing: …
Under this little cold cub’s miserly speech, Su Yunjing’s attempt at connection failed.
Winning over this kid’s heart wasn’t going to be easy.
“Fine, I’ll bring prawns tomorrow. Don’t eat dinner. wait for me.”
Su Yunjing laid down a dramatic promise.
But that very night, Su Yunjing suddenly came down with a high fever, even started coughing up bl00d, and was rushed to the hospital by the Song couple.
The original body’s health had always been poor. These kinds of flare-ups weren’t a first.
That’s why, the last time he showed early symptoms of a fever, Song Wenqian had insisted he stay home from school.
This time, Su Yunjing ended up hospitalized for four full days.
On the first night, Fu Hanzhou didn’t eat dinner, waiting for Su Yunjing’s braised prawns.
But by 8 p.m., when the orphanage locked its iron gate, Su Yunjing still hadn’t come.
The second day, he didn’t show either.
At around 7 p.m., Fu Hanzhou sat under the tree, occasionally glancing toward the gate.
By the third day, even Little Fatty couldn’t hold back and ran over to ask Fu Hanzhou why Su Yunjing hadn’t come the past two days.
To Little Fatty, even though both he and Fu Hanzhou were Su Yunjing’s little followers…
Anyone with eyes could see that Su Yunjing doted on Fu Hanzhou the most. Little Fatty was only the No. 2 underling.
So when the boss went missing, the No. 2 had no choice but to come humbly ask the No. 1 for news.
Seeing that Fu Hanzhou only kept his beautiful face cold and said nothing, Little Fatty got a little annoyed.
“I’m talking to you! Did you guys fight or something? Did you scare him off?”
“What if he’s not coming back anymore?”
The more he thought about it, the more worried Little Fatty became.
To the kids at the orphanage, Su Yunjing was basically a walking candy bank. He was nice, too, and got along with everyone.
Looking at the obvious worry on Little Fatty’s face, Fu Hanzhou’s ink-dark eyes glinted with a trace of mockery.
Back when the donations arrived, Fu Hanzhou had coldly watched the other kids rejoice over handouts.
To Fu Hanzhou, Su Yunjing was the same. a benefactor.
The relationship was unequal. When he was interested, he’d be kind and generous, offering small gifts to win you over.
But when he got bored, he’d end the game without a second thought, never once considering your feelings.
Fu Hanzhou had expected this day all along. He had never held out hope for Su Yunjing.
That way, he wouldn’t end up disappointed like Little Fatty.
In this world, no one would take full responsibility for you. The only person you could rely on, was yourself.