A Young Woman's Heart

The principal and Teacher Su walked at the front, followed closely by the girls.

Mo Xueyao looked around and found the place to be quiet and comfortable, with all kinds of greenery planted everywhere.

The entire children's welfare home is divided into different sections by various artificial mountains and arches. The scenery is well-arranged and has a different feel from different angles, so you will never get tired of it. It is clear that it was designed by a master.

After walking a few steps, you'll see a black stone tablet standing in front of a fountain, with small gold characters engraved on it.

It's basically about telling the history of this welfare home.

It is said that after the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, many children lost their parents and families and were displaced. Among them were many children under the age of five who were unable to take care of themselves. So the head of the Su family, who came to Hangzhou from J province, established a children's welfare home in the area. After receiving donations from the community for many years, the welfare home was renovated and expanded. However, due to some inconveniences, a new site was selected in 1993, and a children's welfare home ten times larger than the original was built. All the staff were locals, while a small number of managers and high-level talents were transferred from the Su Group.

Su Group?

I haven't heard of Mo Xueyao much, and it doesn't seem to have any particularly famous products. Maybe it doesn't make its own products and mainly focuses on investment?

They've always been behind the scenes, so ordinary people don't know about them?

Actually, none of that matters. It's a good thing that such a large welfare home was built with such care.

Speaking of which, Teacher Su's surname is also Su...

Could it be a business related to her family?

Mo Xueyao muttered to herself, noticing that the expressions on other people's faces were somewhat puzzled, as if they shared the same curiosity as her.

Instead of wandering around, the group followed the principal directly to a building.

This is the tallest and most 'luxurious' building in the entire welfare home.

The entire building is almost entirely covered with glass, so you can imagine that every room must be very well lit.

This isn't a place for children to attend classes; rather, it seems to be a dormitory...

It's as spacious as the dormitory at Yukong High School.

"Ms. Su." The receptionist, dressed in a uniform, bowed respectfully to Ms. Su.

“Yes, we’re here to see Aishu’er today,” Teacher Su said, taking a step forward.

I thought the principal would be in charge of negotiating.

Mo Xueyao was somewhat surprised. It seemed that Teacher Su really did have some connection with this orphanage.

"Yes, I know, it's been arranged for you in advance." The staff member handed over a list, "but please register along with the others."

"Yes, of course, that's the rule," Teacher Su replied with a smile. "Come on, everyone, please fill in your names."

After all the students had filled in their names on the list, the principal and Teacher Su wrote theirs on the list.

Then, a woman in a nurse's uniform stepped out of the elevator and smiled at everyone—or rather, at Su Yuqing: "Miss Su, I just finished washing up Ai Xiuer. Please come with me."

So everyone went up to the elevator together.

Actually, the building isn't particularly tall; the so-called top floor is only the ninth floor.

But that depends on what kind of building you're comparing it to.

With a soft "ding," the elevator doors opened, and Teacher Su and the principal walked in front, while the others followed curiously behind.

The corridors here are very clean, the floors are made of marble, and even the walls are smooth, making it hard to tell whether they are metal or stone. The bright lighting and fully automatic room doors give the place a high-tech feel.

"Is this done according to international standards?" Mo Xueyao muttered to herself uncertainly, while Ye Banxia nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, it looks really high-end."

"I'd believe you if you told me this was a research institute," Cha Li whispered in agreement.

Even the usually mature Xuan Anyi showed an expression of being completely unsophisticated—in fact, everyone had the same expression.

Then, everyone stood in front of a room at the end of the corridor. The nurse took out a card and swiped it at the door. The room door, like an elevator door, gently slid open to the side.

Apart from the sound of the pulleys rolling, there is almost no noise.

This is a room that looks very comfortable.

The interior was clean and tidy, with light gray floors and pure white walls.

They used materials that resembled both metal and stone.

A wooden bed, larger than a regular single bed, was placed at the edge of the room, with railings on both sides, seemingly to prevent people from falling off while sleeping on it.

Besides the two windows directly opposite the door, there is also a floor-to-ceiling window on the left side, which occupies half of the wall, because it is the room at the very end of the corridor.

This is a type of window that allows you to see out from the outside but not from the inside. In addition, it can block excessive ultraviolet rays from entering.

Two rattan chairs and a small round glass table were placed by the French windows.

There was nothing on the table except a vase with carnations in it.

If the store hadn't sold this kind of flower, Mo Xueyao definitely wouldn't have known its name.

Carnations are beautiful flowers. The one in front of me has white petals with pink edges, layered on top of each other like an upside-down cake skirt.

A petite girl who looked about the same age as Mo Xueyao sat in a wicker chair by the window, her hands resting naturally on her thighs, her back to the crowd, seemingly looking out the window.

Even though it was just a glimpse of her back, Mo Xueyao couldn't help but hold her breath.

I can't quite put my finger on what it feels like; maybe it's because of her aura?

Or perhaps it's that strangely colored hair?

Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, clearly having been carefully styled.

The roots of the long hair are black, while the color becomes more bluish closer to the ends, creating a gradient from black to blue.

It probably wasn't innate.

Perhaps it was dyed.

However, for the welfare home, isn't this an unnecessary operation?

Or is she being given special attention because of some special reason?

"Aishue, Miss Su has come to see you," the nurse said with a smile.

The latter did not respond.

The nurse, the principal, and Su Yuqing all seemed calm; it was normal for her not to respond.

Could she be a girl with autism?

Mo Xueyao thought to herself.

"Come on, change your shoe covers first." The nurse said, distributing cloth shoe covers to everyone and quickly putting on a pair herself.

The room was fairly spacious, and even with so many people in, it was only slightly crowded. Mo Xueyao curiously moved forward, wanting to see her face.

Speaking of which, people of this age should be able to take care of themselves. Even if they don't go to work, they should be able to go to school, right?

The fact that she's still in the welfare home suggests that the problem is quite serious.

The principal was the first to walk up to her, place a bouquet of fresh flowers on the table, and then turn and walk out, as if he had other things to attend to.

After he left, the atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed.

"Teacher Su, is her name Ai Xiu'er? It sounds like a foreign name," Cha Li asked curiously, her ponytail swaying behind her head.

“Yes, she’s a foreigner,” Su Yuqing replied softly. “In 1997, when I and your principal went to West Asia for tourism, we met a friend’s daughter. Then a terrorist riot broke out, and we took her with us to escape. But her parents and relatives all died in that riot, so we took her back to China and then used some connections to get her a permanent residency permit.”

war.

For people of Mo Xueyao's generation, it seems like a distant memory.

But upon closer reflection, she was born only a little over thirty years after the end of World War II.

Peace is the most precious thing.

"Aishuer~" Teacher Su emerged from her reverie, smiling as she dangled a bell in front of her. "Aishuer? I'm here~"

Aisha did not react.

Xuan Anyi seemed to understand something and nodded slightly.

Cha Li curiously moved closer, which finally made Mo Xueyao unable to resist joining in as well.

She was indeed looking out the window, but her eyes were lifeless.

Rather than saying she wanted to look out the window, it's more accurate to say her seat was deliberately adjusted to face the window.

She had skin as fair as Mo Xueyao's.

Her face was somewhat thin, and her eyes were a deep blue, like a night sky partially illuminated by the moon and stars.

"Oh, right, these are my students. They're here as volunteers, and I brought them to see Aishuer." Su Yuqing waited for a while but didn't get a response from the girl, so she turned to the nurse to explain.

"Yes, I knew some students were coming." The nurse smiled at the students. "Aishue has a special condition. She can react slightly to pain and touch. She can even chew and swallow automatically when fed. She also makes gestures when she has physiological needs. Unlike a person in a vegetative state, she doesn't respond to what others say. She's like a living...doll."

"There's such a disease?" Ye Banxia couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Although Mo Xueyao was surprised, she didn't find it strange. The world is vast, and all sorts of strange illnesses can exist.

Perhaps her condition doesn't fall under neurology, but rather psychiatry?

Aisha, who was meticulously groomed yet remained silent and inactive, truly resembled a lifelike doll, allowing one to quietly appreciate her beauty.

“Aishuer.” Su Yuqing rested her chin on her wrist and gently stroked her long hair. “When will you be able to go back to how you were before? You used to be such a lively child. You said you wanted to dye your hair blackish-blue, with those mysterious, deep blue ends, and I even had someone dye it for you. But… when will you ‘wake up’?”

Aishuer showed no reaction whatsoever; her unfocused eyes made her look unreal.

"Teacher..." Ye Banxia couldn't help but raise her hand, "Can I... touch her too?"

"Yes, of course."

……

Chapter 107 Aishuer

A golden sun hangs high in the sky, so bright that it's impossible to look directly at it.

The bright sunlight filled the earth with warmth. On such a beautiful day, it would feel like a waste of time not to go out for a walk.