"Are you implying that I have character issues?"
As he asked, Xiao Feng stepped forward, his expression caught between a smile and a sneer.
Since the mont he entered, he could sense that this refined-looking young man, seemingly around his age, harbored significant hostility towards him.
And this hostility wasn't simply due to resentnt against the rich.
Now, Xiao Feng finally understood that the other party was treating him as a "romantic rival".
Zhao Ce took a step back, glanced at Nie Longjiao, and retreated another step, eyes resolute as he said, "I will never stand by and watch Longjiao be deceived by you!"
Xiao Feng found it amusing and said, "You might be mistaken. I'm not pursuing Nie Longjiao because she's already my girlfriend."
Saying this, he glanced at Nie Longjiao and winked, "Right, Jiaojiao?"
"Longjiao, is he telling the truth?!" Zhao Ce asked, extrely agitated.
Nie Longjiao frowned tightly, shaking her head in denial, "We're just ordinary friends."
Zhao Ce let out a sigh of relief, sarcastically saying, "Sir, claiming soone is your girlfriend without their consent, don't you think such behavior is quite impolite?"
"We've t the parents and even lived in the sa room. If that's not considered a girlfriend, then what do you think is?" Xiao Feng retorted.
Zhao Ce's expression changed upon hearing this, "Longjiao, what he said..."
Before he could finish, Nie Longjiao impatiently interrupted, "What he said is true, is there a problem?"
"I..." Zhao Ce was rendered speechless, looking at the smiling Xiao Feng and the frowning Nie Longjiao, then he turned and left.
But after taking just two steps, he stopped, seemingly feeling it was too humiliating to leave like that, and turned around, declaring, "I won't give up!"
With those words, he strode away.
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Xiao Feng burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost doubled over, tears squeezing out of his eyes.
"Is it really that funny?" Nie Longjiao said, not particularly amused.
Still laughing, Xiao Feng said, "Ha... Have you watched Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf?"
"Yeah, I have." Nie Longjiao nodded.
Whenever she was free, she often watched cartoons with the kids at the institution, so she was quite familiar with mainstream animations in recent years.
Xiao Feng continued, "In the cartoon, what does Big Big Wolf say every ti he fails to catch the goats and gets chased away?"
"I'll be back," Nie Longjiao replied.
Once he'd nearly finished laughing, Xiao Feng adjusted his expression, explaining, "Think about it carefully, the line he just said when leaving, 'I won't give up,' doesn't it sound similar to Big Big Wolf's 'I'll be back'?"
"Boring!" Nie Longjiao rolled her eyes, turning her face aside, yet biting her lips tightly to keep from bursting into laughter.
"By the way, what's that guy's na?" Xiao Feng asked, as if making small talk.
"Zhao Ce, he's a teacher at the welfare institution," Nie Longjiao replied.
"Oh." Xiao Feng nodded and laughed, "Tell him to change his na to Zhao Tailang, it fits the occasion better."
Nie Longjiao laughed and cried at the sa ti, "Why don't you just go all in and change his surna too? Call him Wu Dalang, it'd be great."
"That works too, as long as he's willing," replied Xiao Feng earnestly.
Nie Longjiao looked around, and once she was sure Zhao Ce was nowhere in sight, she sighed in relief.
After all, gossiping like this behind soone's back, it wouldn't be good if the person overheard.
"Enough joking, what are you here for?" Nie Longjiao asked.
Xiao Feng pulled an invitation out from his pocket and tossed it over, "Here, take a look yourself."
After taking it and looking at it, Nie Longjiao frowned slightly and said, "Is it that church up front?"
"You can read, can't you? The address is clearly written, do you need to ask ?" Xiao Feng replied with a look of disdain.
Ignoring Xiao Feng's ridicule, Nie Longjiao asked perplexedly, "What's the aning of giving this?"
"It's about the dical expenses. I offered to help you and you refused, but with so many wealthy people at the event, you might be able to raise enough if you solicit donations," Xiao Feng said sitting down.
"I see." Nie Longjiao nodded in understanding and murmured, "Then I have to prepare well."
Xiao Feng tapped the table, disgruntled, "After all, I'm a guest here, haven't even been offered a cup of tea all this while?"
"I don't usually drink tea, there's mung bean soup in the kitchen, but it's cold, do you want so?"
"Bring a cup, I'll try it."
Nie Longjiao headed to the kitchen and ca back with a blue plastic bowl, placing it on the table, "Couldn't find a cup, make do with this."
Xiao Feng took a sip, it was sweeter than typical mung bean soup, probably had sugar added, but not to the point of cloying.
Just as he was about to continue drinking, he caught sight of a few small heads peering at him through the glass with cartoon stickers, from the girls' dormitory.
Upon noticing he was looking over, a little girl behind the glass put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence, and then pointed at Nie Longjiao and waved her hand.
It took Xiao Feng two seconds to understand that the little girl ant for him not to speak up to avoid alerting Nie Longjiao.
Just then, Nie Longjiao spoke up, "Half an hour left till entry ti, I need to think how to secure the donations.
Sit here for a while, there's food in the lunchbox if you're hungry, and mung bean soup in the kitchen if you're thirsty."
Saying this, she headed towards her room.
Xiao Feng looked towards the girls' dormitory and found several little girls waving at him to co over.
He put on a smiling face as he walked over and pushed open the window, "Looking for ?"
"Big brother, are you Jiaojie's boyfriend?"
"Will you marry Jiaojie?"
"Will Jiaojie leave us after getting married?"
The little girls chattered away with questions. It wasn't hard to tell that what they really wanted to know was whether Nie Longjiao would leave the welfare institution.
Xiao Feng thought for a mont and asked, "Suppose, just suppose, if your Jiaojie really isn't at the welfare institution anymore, what would you do?"
All the little girls changed their expressions at his words.
The oldest-looking girl, about twelve or thirteen, spoke up, "Jiaojie told us that if she ever left the welfare institution, we should also live well, learn knowledge, and learn culture.
Even if we have nothing, we shouldn't give up on chasing hope.
With hope, we have the courage and strength to keep living!"
Xiao Feng fell silent.
If such words had co from an adult's mouth, they might sound like insincere motivational clichés.
But coming from the mouth of an innocent-eyed little girl, it evoked a different feeling.
"She's right, everything can be taken away, but the hope within the heart is sothing that can't be stolen. It's like a dawn in the dark, illuminating the path forward when you're lost," Xiao Feng sincerely said.
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