Chapter 478: The World of Adults
Xu Huo had never shown his real face to Dr. Deng, and he had no intention of doing so for now. Dr. Deng was not a trustworthy person, but his knowledge of pharmacology was something Xu Huo needed.
Whether to kill or spare this man was not an urgent matter. For the time being, he could ignore him and first see what he planned to do.
After brushing off the meeting agreement with an unspecified time, he set the matter aside.
Next, he prepared to deal with the ghostly shadow he had brought back from the Deep Blue Laboratory.
He asked Mr. Dong to prepare a sealed room. Once inside, he took the ghostly shadow out of the luggage compartment.
This thing could cling to a face, so he first put on the "Oxygen Supply." While it was in the luggage compartment, the ghostly shadow had been relatively well-behaved. But the moment he let it go, it exploded like a burst balloon, darting wildly around the room. Finding nowhere to go, it slapped itself against the wall. When Xu Huo moved one step, it moved one step.
The ghostly shadow looked like an unfinished painting. At first glance, it seemed quite realistic, but it couldn't withstand close scrutiny. It was only good for a momentary scare.
Xu Huo knocked twice on the door panel, and the room began to shrink.
The ghostly shadow sensed this and started running all over the walls. Unfortunately, no matter how it ran, it couldn't escape, and it was getting closer and closer to Xu Huo.
Noticing that it was mainly evading and had no intention of actively attacking, Xu Huo paused and said, "You can only exert your strength in that laboratory, can't you?"
The ghostly shadow clung lifelessly to the wall, as if confirming his words.
"Then what's the use of catching you?" Xu Huo said with displeasure, as if he had made a very bad deal. He then spoke to the door again, "Lock it up."
The room, which had already shrunk to only accommodate three or four people, suddenly split in half from the middle, trapping the ghostly shadow on the other side. Hearing the banging sounds from behind the wall, Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "It's got some energy after all."
After leaving, he said to Mr. Dong, "Please lock it up for a few days."
Mr. Dong nodded. As he closed the door, he asked Xu Huo, "Should I prepare the meal for Lady Butterfly today?"
Xu Huo could tell from his question that he wanted to see him leave. However, at that moment, the sound of a car pulling up came from outside. Xu Huo smiled and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to prepare it as usual. Prepare normal meals. Maybe if she has nothing to oppose, she'll leave."
Mr. Dong looked a bit reluctant but quickly indicated that he would do as Xu Huo said.
Downstairs, it was indeed Bai Kou who had returned. She had brought back a large pile of shopping boxes with her, all of them her clothes and shoes, and she unceremoniously spread them all over the living room sofa.
Seeing Xu Huo and Mr. Dong come downstairs, she took out one of the boxes. "This is your formal wear."
Xu Huo was quite surprised. "There's no need to be so formal. I can prepare my own."
"Don't thank me." Bai Kou said with a smile. "Duke Tal chose it for you."
Xu Huo opened it and immediately knew why the duke had been so kind as to prepare formal wear for him. It was a bright red suit with leather shoes. Even a normal person getting married wouldn't dress like this.
"Are you going to wear it?" Bai Kou asked casually.
"Do you even need to ask?" Xu Huo put the box down casually and asked her, "Are you interested in taking a trip to the welfare home?"
Bai Kou immediately understood his intention. "You want to use charity to open the door to the noble circle in District 011?"
"It depends on the situation." Xu Huo took his coat and umbrella from Mr. Dong.
Bai Kou wasn't very interested in this. She deliberately made things difficult for Mr. Dong by ordering a lot of troublesome dishes before going upstairs.
Xu Huo didn't mind. He went to the welfare home alone.
Previously, when he had sent those children to the welfare home, there were many people and the situation was chaotic. The welfare home staff didn't want to take in more children, so things hadn't gone well. But when he came today, he saw that the welfare home was clean both inside and out.
He stopped a passing staff member. "Where have all the children gone?"
"There are visitors today. They've gone to the auditorium." The staff member seemed to remember him. "The two children you brought are hiding in their room and won't cooperate. Are you here to take them away this time?"
Xu Huo shook his head. The staff member frowned and hurried off towards the auditorium.
Xu Huo turned around and went to the dormitory to find them. Welfare homes were usually funded by nobles, so the living conditions were decent. When he reached the door, he saw the two children squatting in front of the bed, staring blankly at the sky outside. Some scattered mechanical parts were on the bed and the floor.
The younger one noticed him first. He exclaimed happily, "Uncle Clown!"
The older one also immediately turned his head, but was more restrained, simply calling him "Uncle."
Xu Huo put down the daily necessities he had bought for them. "What are you doing here?"
"Doing handicrafts." The older one, Yang Qing, said. "We can exchange these for money."
"Why didn't you go to the auditorium? I heard the visiting guests are preparing gifts for every child." Xu Huo said.
"They're all just flashy, useless things." Yang Qing said. "And even if they were valuable, the welfare home staff wouldn't let us keep them in the end."
"Uncle Clown, I don't want to live here. I want to go home." The younger one, Lu Sihao, asked nervously, "Has my dad come back?"
When a child enters a welfare home, their identity information is checked. If they still have family, they won't be admitted.
"Wait until you're a bit older and go see for yourself." Xu Huo finished speaking and then looked towards the door. Someone was coming.
"...This is the children's dormitory. Every standard is strictly in accordance with the government's requirements. And to make the children more comfortable, we have prepared different kinds of incense, rotating from Monday to Sunday, to ensure they can sleep peacefully."
The speaker was the welfare home's director. He was smiling obsequiously at a middle-aged noblewoman. When his eyes fell on the people in the dormitory, his expression immediately soured, especially when he saw the things on the bed that hadn't been cleaned up yet.
"What is this?" The noblewoman looked at the items on the bed and asked. "Do the children need to do handicrafts on a regular basis? Are the government funds and our donations not enough for these children to go to school and study?"
The director quickly apologized, saying it wasn't the case, that it was just a hobby of the children, not something required by the welfare home.
"Madam, are you truly concerned for these children?" Xu Huo interrupted the director at this point, looking at the noblewoman.
The noblewoman looked at him. "You are?"
"A passerby." Xu Huo stepped forward and said with a smile, "Instead of asking about the truth of this matter, Madam, why not consider replacing the director? After all, if you don't change the person in charge, even if he promises not to make the children work to subsidize the welfare home in the future, he'll find other ways to make up for it. And if he takes his anger out on the children, wouldn't they be even more innocent?"
"Losing their parents is already pitiful enough. I'm sure you, Madam, also feel that these children have suffered the pain of losing both parents at such a young age, which is why you came here in person to care for them. Since that's the case, why let the children experience the world of adults so early?"
(End of Chapter)