Light Fortress-Chapter 29 - 27 Welfare Home

29: Chapter 27: Welfare Home

29 -27: Welfare Home

Drizzle.

A steady light rain.

It fell inside the car, covered by the gentle, soothing piano music, everything was very quiet, with only the sound of the windshield wipers slowly moving.

Gu Shen sat in the passenger seat, breathed on his palm through his sleeve to warm it, then wiped the side window, watching the high-rise buildings flow in reverse, the increasingly empty medians.

The car went onto the highway, heading towards the remote, desolate suburbs.

“Wulaoshan…

Why go to such a remote place?”

Nan Jin’s trench coat was taken off and folded on the back seat.

She wasn’t always wearing her tight-fitting battle suit under that coat, like today, for this informal casual occasion where she wore a snow-white shirt paired with washed denim jeans.

Perhaps due to her well-proportioned figure, the shirt was stretched tight; with her red hair bundled up, she looked nothing like a savage fighter; she seemed more like a knowledgeable and gentle senior.

“You’ve seen my file, you should know,” Gu Shen said softly, holding a sleeping orange cat in his arms.

“That’s where I grew up.”

Nan Jin was momentarily stunned.

She certainly knew that Gu Shen was raised in an orphanage…

but the name of that orphanage was…

“Chenguang Orphanage.” Gu Shen scratched his head.

“A very tacky name, it’s normal if you don’t remember.

The gentleman who sponsored the orphanage was named Zhou Chenguang; it was named after him.”

Chenguang Orphanage was located in a very remote area, near the ravines of Wulaoshan—according to the map.

The distance…it was a three and a half hour drive from Da Teng City.

“Didn’t Sister say that those guys from the audit team were coming?

I thought, since we’re hiding…

might as well hide far away,” Gu Shen smiled and stroked the golden fur on the back of the orange cat.

“There’s probably nowhere more remote than Wulaoshan.

Even if they’ve read the file, they probably wouldn’t bother coming all this way.”

“And there’s also…” Gu Shen said in a low voice: “The granny at the orphanage was very kind to me.

I hadn’t made a name for myself in two years, so I was too embarrassed to go back.”

Nan Jin nodded in understanding.

The trunk was filled with packed fresh fruits, organic vegetables, two boxes of milk, and a large basket of eggs.

“Later I thought about it, and I realized I shouldn’t be like that.

No matter how things are going, I should go back and see granny and the others,” Gu Shen said softly.

“But every time, I think of the scene when I left, and I feel ashamed…

Granny was so certain, saying I had a good head on my shoulders and was intelligent.

She said I would definitely do well in the future, that I would stand out.”

“Aren’t you already standing out now?” Nan Jin said seriously.

“Those wage earners in Da Teng City are quite impressive if they can earn ten thousand a month.

You currently have five hundred thousand lying in your account, which is what they’d save in ten years.”

“…When you put it like that, I kind of feel like I’m really something,” Gu Shen adjusted his seat, leaning back, and murmured.

“But really, this money has nothing to do with me…

It’s as random as winning a lottery jackpot.”

“Don’t say that, this is the fruit of your labor, not at all like buying lottery tickets,” Nan Jin raised her eyebrows.

“If you really must compare, you could think of the money as the appearance fee for an Oiran.

The patron who admires the Oiran pays a fortune because they think you’re worth the money, so then you’re worth the money.”

“Five hundred thousand…

I am indeed pretty valuable,” Gu Qian counted on his fingers, then asked with a bit of worry.

“If I don’t get an ‘S’ grade, Mr.

Shu won’t make me spit this money back out, right?”

Upon hearing this, Nan Jin almost laughed out loud.

“Five hundred thousand, it’s just a drop in the bucket,” she waved her hand.

“Just keep on working hard behind your senior brothers and sisters, and this amount of money won’t seem like much.”

“That’s good…”

Gu Shen paused for a moment, then slowly said, “I’m planning on donating all of this money, is that okay?”

As he said this, he kept looking at Nan Jin, his expression a bit anxious.

The badass woman was concentrating on driving and didn’t seem to notice Gu Shen’s apprehensive gaze at all.

She said indifferently, “Of course it’s okay…

That money is already yours, how you choose to spend it is up to you, you don’t need my permission.

But if I remember correctly, you don’t have any savings of your own.

With that money, you could buy a lot of things.

Do you really want to donate it all?”

“Actually, I still have some money in my account, and there’s nothing I want to buy anyway…

Besides, you guys pay the rent and take care of food and drink…”

Gu Shen didn’t say it with much conviction.

He only had a meager few thousand left in his account.

“Granny messaged me a few days ago, said the orphanage’s walls are still leaking, and the roof has collapsed again.

I was six years old when the roof was still made of adobe, and it often leaked.

If we were unlucky and it broke during the rainy season, then we couldn’t read or sleep all day,” Gu Shen sighed.

“Sister, you were born a rich girl in the Dadu District; you won’t understand this feeling…

It’s just very bad.

Back then, I would often shovel water while grinding my teeth, thinking that someday when I had money, I would build the biggest, most beautiful house for granny and install the best roof!”

“…”

Nan Jin remained silent for a while.

She was going to say something to refute Gu Shen’s words… freёweɓnovel.com

but then she realized she had nothing to say because Gu Shen was right.

She was born in the most prosperous and richest district of East Continent, Dadu District, where the land was worth its weight in gold with towering skyscrapers reaching into the clouds.

In that cold steel jungle, it was impossible to find the kind of crude mud-brick house Gu Shen spoke of.

“Doesn’t the council allocate funds every year?” Nan Jin asked in a low voice.

“And there are some foundations…”

“So you see, Sister, you just don’t understand the suffering and hunger…” Gu Shen laughed carelessly.

“I believe all those funds are well spent.

But in this world, there are always places that light doesn’t reach.”

“The year I left, Granny was thrilled to tell me that someone had donated a large sum of money to the orphanage.

Thanks to that money, the house was rebuilt—white bricks and red tiles, looking quite picturesque.

But unfortunately, the quality wasn’t as good as imagined.

If it gets too cold, the water pipes are likely to freeze and burst, so leaking is still a common issue.” Gu Shen counted on his fingers again.

“I’ve helped Granny do the math.

Hiring a reliable construction team to check and repair everything inside and out is not better than adding a little more money…

With a bit more money, all problems could be sorted out.”

He rambled on earnestly, and Nan Jin listened attentively.

“Money is indeed a wonderful thing…

With more money, everything can be taken care of.” Gu Shen sighed contentedly.

“The money on this card is just about right to fulfill the promise I made.”

“If it’s not enough, I can help.

Consider it a modest contribution,” Nan Jin said softly, eyes lowered.

“Actually, I’m a bit richer than you think.”

Gu Shen was taken aback.

Was this the legendary beauty with the powerful financial ability of a rich woman?

Just a bit too fierce for me to mess with, though.

“No need, no need, the money I’ve earned is more than enough.

If I were to owe you a favor, I wouldn’t know with what to repay it.” Gu Shen declined with a smile.

“But thank you for your kindness.”

Nan Jin said nothing more, just kept driving.

The lazy cat on Gu Shen’s lap, which had been dozing off, slowly opened its eyes at this moment, revealing a faint glimmer in its slender pupils.

It flicked its tail and meowed softly.

Nan Jin glanced at the orange cat and smiled, “Awake?”

Contrary to its usual behavior, the cat didn’t respond to her but instead buried its head in Gu Shen’s embrace.

Gu Shen laughed awkwardly.

His body felt stiff because the meow he’d just heard sounded to him like Chu Ling’s voice, tinged with annoyance.

[“Tsk!”]

Due to the special training of the past few days, Gu Shen had been out during the day and returning late at night.

The cat at home waited boredly every day.

Finally, when Gu Shen came back in the evening, after finishing its cat food and analyzing information, Gu Shen would be asleep within minutes from exhaustion.

Now that the special training had ended and they could go out, Chu Ling specifically requested Gu Shen to take…

to be exact, to take the cat with him.

It wanted to go out for a walk with Gu Shen.

Although the apartment was theoretically safe, due to a previous incident where it had been attacked by a Transcendent during the fire case, Gu Shen decided to take the cat with him.

At that moment, within Gu Shen’s sleeve on his forearm, the Truth Ruler was firmly bound with two loops of tape…

The ruler had now become an indispensable personal item for Gu Shen.

Except for the inconvenient times at the training ground when it could easily be discovered, he would always carry it with him.

With the “Truth Ruler,” he had the confidence to confront sudden Transcendent incidents.

And he could also translate the cat’s language into human speech.

Gu Shen was surprised at how quickly Chu Ling had come online.

On second thought, the conversation he had just had with Nan Jin…

she had heard it all.

That tsk, she hadn’t misunderstood something, had she?

Gu Shen stroked the orange cat’s head.

[“Hmph!”]

The cat ignored him, decisively shaking off Gu Shen’s hand.

It jumped onto his shoulder and scurried away, swiftly moving to the back seat to claim the entire space for itself and nestle down comfortably.