Chapter 1108 — The Orphanage in Crisis
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Yes, go on then. We'll be fine here," Yu Xiaoke said with a nod.
Only after Nurse Wang was out of sight did Yu Xiaoke sigh and turn to Xiao Ken. "Xiao Ken, you stay here and keep watch. I'll go back to the orphanage and get some money."
"Xiaoke, you don't have to lie to me. I know, really I do. The orphanage has no money left, doesn't it?" Xiao Ken hesitated, then looked at Yu Xiaoke.
"So you know." Yu Xiaoke gave a slight nod and did not deny it. Xiao Ken was the oldest child at the orphanage, already mature in his thinking, so naturally he could sense that something was amiss there.
"Yes, Xiaoke. Is there anything I can do to help?" Xiao Ken raised his head and asked, summoning his courage.
In his heart he had long been secretly in love with Yu Xiaoke, though he knew he was not good enough for her. Still, the children of the orphanage had looked up to Yu Xiaoke as a goddess and an idol since they were small, and that was only natural. Even knowing it was hopeless, Xiao Ken wished he could share some of her burdens.
"No need. You stay here and keep a close eye on things. I'll go get some money." Yu Xiaoke waved a hand. In her eyes, Xiao Ken would always be a child.
Xiao Ken nodded, a trace of disappointment in his eyes. Sure enough, Yu Xiaoke would always treat him as a child.
"All right, I'll stay here. Come back soon, Xiaoke," Xiao Ken nodded in answer.
Yu Xiaoke quickly ran out of the hospital. Seeing the patrol police stationed every few steps along the street, she felt a surge of despair. So much, then, for her plan to steal a purse.
In fact, if she wanted to steal money, she did not have to go out onto the street. The hospital was the best place of all, for plenty of people there carried cash. But Yu Xiaoke was not one of those utterly wicked thieves; she had her own code. She could not bring herself to steal from the people in that hospital. Most of them had come to pay medical fees for family or friends. Rob them, and what were they to do? That little bit of money might be the very thing keeping their loved one alive.
So Yu Xiaoke resolutely left the hospital and wandered the streets with no particular destination.
Without quite realizing it, she drifted along with the flow of people and arrived at the train station. Once, this place had been her paradise. The station of old had swarmed with scalpers, thuggish vendors who tyrannized the market, and unlicensed black cabs that made a specialty of fleecing out-of-town tourists. Every one of them had been fair game to Yu Xiaoke.
Stealing from people like that cost her not the slightest pang of conscience. The money in their pockets was ill-gotten, and she felt no guilt at all in taking it.
But now there was nothing left to skim at the train station. With police patrolling the area, how would those scalpers, thuggish vendors, and black cabs dare operate nearby? They were breaking the law to begin with; they had all they could do just to stay hidden.