Light Barrier

After a three-and-a-half-hour drive through Oto City, they finally arrived at a winding mountain range.

Five Elders Mountains was a mountainous area protected by Oto City. Here, there were no dense clusters of steel structures, and the mountain paths were not rugged. On the contrary, the land was expansive, and the soft cries of birds echoed above. However, the fine drizzle from the sky seemed to cover the landscape with a layer of oilcloth. No matter how hard they tried to look into the distance, all they could see were the hazy shadows of a few mountain peaks.

“It’s too difficult to do business in scenic areas these days,” Gu Shen said. “The signal is weak and slow here. Most people scorn it and think it’s an uncivilized wilderness, but it’s actually just a mountainous area. We should always leave something behind.”

“Uncivilized wilderness… I don’t see it that way.” Nan Jin turned off the music, lowered the car window, and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “This is what nature should be like. Living here allows you to breathe the freshest natural air. Even though the Dadu District is prosperous, and there are high-powered air purifiers everywhere, the air over there… always smells different from here.”

“What you can’t get is always the best.” Gu Shen shrugged. “The upper-class people who occasionally visit places like this also feel that the air in the Dadu District isn’t as good. But in fact, if there’s any difference, the air filtered by purifiers will only be cleaner. After Deep Sea connected the entire world, artificial landscapes are more beautiful and intelligent than natural ones. If not for the poor terrain here, it would have been reclaimed long ago.”

As the car approached the vast mountain shadows at the end of their vision, it started speeding up. This wide mountain path wasn’t climbing up but sliding down. At the foot of the mountains was a basin, with low ground in the middle surrounded by higher ground, forming a ring. A lot of  water accumulated here when it rained.

“Okay, we’re almost there.” Gu Shen took a deep breath. He straightened his shirt collar and checked the balance in his account. He was thinking about ‘returning home rich’, so he had endured the pain and bought a new set of clothes.

In fact, it was just a plain white shirt paired with a work jacket, and he hadn’t changed his pants and shoes.

The car stopped in front of the orphanage. The iron fence creaked from the wind as rainwater splashed on it. Inside were several white-painted brick buildings. Compared to the large apartment in the city center, this place had a very dated construction style.

The plaque at the gate had the words ‘Morning Light’ on it, surrounded by crooked crayon graffiti of balloons, white clouds, the sun, and running children.

Nan Jin gazed thoughtfully at another black car parked not far from the orphanage.

“Senior Sister, you don’t have to come in.” Gu Shen felt inexplicably nervous. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

He got out of the car and opened the trunk. With his left hand, he carried two large boxes of milk and a big basket of eggs. With his right hand, he carried a gift box. Just as he was about to dash through the rain, an umbrella opened above his head.

“I’ll go with you and take a look,” Nan Jin said softly. She was carrying a large bag of vegetables, with the orange cat cradled in her arm, and using her free hand to hold the umbrella for Gu Shen. Perhaps because she had switched her sunglasses for black-framed glasses, her usually fierce expression had softened.

“Oh, okay.” Gu Shen felt flattered. He squeezed under the umbrella with Nan Jin and walked with his head lowered. When he pushed open the iron gate, loud bangs startled him.

The confetti of party poppers flew up and sprinkled down onto the umbrella. Suddenly, from both sides of the fence, the children, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately rushed out and surrounded the umbrella.

“A warm welcome! A warm welcome back!”

Gu Shen found himself surrounded by the children in the rain and felt a bit overwhelmed. He looked at these familiar yet unfamiliar faces, feeling bittersweet in his heart.

When he left, they were much younger. The little ones who could only hug his thighs had grown to reach his chest.

Two years had passed, and they had changed a lot.

But what hadn’t changed was the innocence in their eyes and the childlike qualities on their faces.

No matter how much they grew up, they were still children at heart.

“Welcome home, Brother Shen!” The children cheered and made a fuss around Gu Shen, each one taking something from his hands.

Under the eaves, an elderly woman wearing a knitted sweater waved at Gu Shen. Her hair was snowy white, and her face was full of kindness. “They were thrilled when they heard that you were coming back. These are leftover party poppers from someone’s wedding. San Pao and the others have been saving them for a long time but couldn’t bear to use them. Today, they took them all out.”

Gu Shen had confetti from the party poppers in his hair, giving him a comical look. He shook his head and smiled. “They’ve taken out all their treasures? At least these brats have a conscience.”

San Pao was the youngest of the children, but he was the first to shoot the party popper and grab something from Gu Shen’s hands.

He excitedly opened the ‘gift box’ and wailed, “Brother Shen! Why is it all meat?!”

The gift box was full of plain meat, eggs, and milk.

Realizing that he had forgotten to buy toys in his haste, Gu Shen coughed. “I promise to buy toys next time.”

“It’s good enough to have meat! It means Brother Shen is thinking about your height!” Another child smiled. “You’re the only one who hasn’t grown taller in the past two years.”

San Pao snorted and raised a chicken leg, feigning to hit him.

The children were opening the gift box and having a great time.

“This is…?” The matron looked at the girl holding the umbrella with surprise in her eyes. Such a gentle and elegant beauty usually only appeared on TV.

Gu Shen wanted to introduce Nan Jin, but he was unsure of how to introduce her. Should he tell the matron that she was the benefactor who saved his life and was now half his sworn big brother?

He scratched his head without saying anything.

“Hello, Ma’am. I’m Gu Shen’s senior. We’re currently working at a research institute in Oto City. This is my business card.” Nan Jin smiled gently and handed over the card. “Gu Shen has excellent academic performance and outstanding skills. He caught the eye of my mentor. You can think of it as… guaranteed admission.”

“Guaranteed admission?” The matron took the business card, stunned, and looked at Gu Shen in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s right… guaranteed admission…” Gu Shen hurriedly said. “I accidentally got into a research institute…”

The orange cat, watching lazily in Nan Jin’s arms, sneered.

Gu Shen, who was usually good at acting, almost stumbled over this matter.

“I don’t understand the business card.” The matron squinted and looked at it carefully. She couldn’t understand the complicated job titles and only remembered the name Nan Jin.

“Thank you, Miss. Gu Shen must have caused you trouble, right?” The matron handed the card back with both hands and said meaningfully, “Little Gu, I knew you’d definitely be able to do well after leaving this place. But it’s not easy to meet people who treat you well. You have to cherish it.”

“Granny, what are you saying…” Gu Shen let out a long sigh, unable to explain.

He completely understood what the matron was thinking.

Who wouldn’t like such an understanding, gentle, knowledgeable, and beautiful elder sister? Who could imagine that this beautiful elder sister’s usual appearance was actually a ferocious wicked woman with three sabers at her waist who would start a fight at the drop of a hat?

“I came back this time to repair the orphanage.” Gu Shen took out a bank card and said seriously, “The professor at the research institute is very good to me and gave me a large scholarship. Granny, you mentioned that the orphanage often leaks, and San Pao and the others need to study. There are all sorts of expenses that the government subsidy can’t cover. In short, I’ll take care of all of it!”

He sounded rich and imposing. The feeling of returning home with riches… is wonderful.

But Gu Shen didn’t receive the expected response. The matron just smiled at him without much reaction.

Gu Shen waved the bank card. “Granny, what’s with your reaction?”

The matron smiled apologetically at Nan Jin. “Miss, I need to have a quiet chat with Little Gu. There are fruits and freshly brewed tea in the hall. Please wait a moment. Thank you for your patience.”

“You’re too polite.” Nan Jin smiled. “Coincidentally, I was just thinking of taking a stroll.”

The moment she turned around to leave, the orange cat in her arms meowed and darted out. Nan Jin was surprised, but the orange cat slipped away too quickly and disappeared from sight in an instant.

…

The matron led Gu Shen upstairs.

“Granny, why are you being so mysterious?” Gu Shen was puzzled.

“Little Gu, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a beautiful girl. Your senior is as stunning as a movie star.” When they reached the second floor, the matron’s eyes were full of smiles. “You have to treat her well. You can’t bully a delicate girl like her.”

Gu Shen: “???”

Delicate? It’s this supposedly delicate girl who beats me up a hundred times a day! A hundred times!

“She’s really just my senior sister.” Gu Shen wanted to explain it, but he knew that the smile in the matron’s eyes clearly meant that she thought otherwise.

Which senior sister would drive you all the way here?

“I already have a girlfriend!” Gu Shen had a flash of inspiration, and his face was earnest as he boasted, “She’s even more beautiful than those celebrities on TV. I’ll bring her to see you next time.”

“Oh my, I misunderstood.” The matron immediately understood. She was surprised and delighted, her eyes beaming with joy. “Little Gu, you really have… surprised me. I’m relieved.”

Finally, everything was cleared up.

Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief and smiled bitterly in his heart. Coming back this time, he had thought that the money would make the matron happy, but he didn’t expect her to be more concerned about his ‘lifetime affair’.

“Regarding repairing the orphanage, you don’t need to help. I can handle it myself.” The matron’s eyes sparkled with a pleased smile. “A few days ago, a gentleman contacted us and said that he wanted to sponsor a sum of money to help renovate and repair the orphanage. He happens to be visiting today for an inspection. Nowadays, who would take the trouble to inspect things in person? He must be serious about making a difference. If we can secure his sponsorship, we won’t have to worry about the orphanage’s expenses in the future.

“In addition…” At this point, the matron lowered her voice. “I can tell from his appearance that he’s very wealthy. You’ll see in a bit.”

“Sponsorship… Inspection…” Gu Shen was stunned. Only now did he recall that there was a second car parked outside the orphanage. At the time, he had been too nervous about the upcoming meeting to notice this detail.

“This gentleman is on the roof. I’ll bring you to see him.” The matron smiled, picked up her coat, and led Gu Shen up the stairs.

The red brick building had a total of four floors, and the roof usually had some flowers and plants.

The rain drizzled down like water from a pitcher.

A man in a suit with a briefcase and holding an umbrella was standing in the middle of the roof, gazing at the mountains and fog in the distance.

The matron’s laughter came from behind. “Mr. Han, sorry for the wait.”

The man in the suit slowly turned around, the glint of his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the figures of the elderly woman and the young man.

He smiled. “It wasn’t too long.”