Chapter 639: Unexpected
Just because Zhang Baogen had accidentally amused an autistic child with his saliva bubbles, it made him, a supernatural being, decide to remain at the orphanage. This would probably be unimaginable to many supernatural beings.
But whoever stipulated that supernatural beings had to go around killing people and striving for supremacy?
Perhaps superpowers were meant for achieving other things in the first place.
Not everyone in this world was cast from the same mold. Ren Xiaosu sought to use his own superpower to protect his family and friends, while Zhang Baogen felt his superpower was at its peak when using it to cheer up an autistic child. Was there anything wrong with that?
Zhang Qingxi went into the orphanage’s kitchen to look around and realized there weren’t even any decent food ingredients.
Zhang Baogen explained, “The Qinghe Group disburses 6,000 yuan to our welfare home each month. But as y’all can see, we have so many children here, so that amount is definitely not enough to go around. We also don’t wish to see these children suffer, and most of them have some sort of issue. They’re either born with internal birth defects or developmental disorders like autism. Their parents abandoned them at our doorstep and gave up on them.”
Qin Sheng looked at the group of children and said coldly, “To think that there would be such an impoverished welfare home in Luoyang City. Why don’t they just call it a hardship home instead? Where’s the director? Get him out here. I want to check with him on who’s responsible for these situations!”
There were only two care workers at the orphanage. One of them was Zhang Baogen, and the other was a girl who was telling stories to the children inside the home. Meanwhile, the director had not made an appearance at all til now.
Zhang Baogen went in and shouted for the director. But when Ren Xiaosu saw the director, he was dumbfounded. It was Hu Shuo!
Ren Xiaosu immediately cursed in his head!
To be honest, he had not expected to encounter Hu Shuo here.
He was wondering why Li Shentan had only made mention of Si Liren but not Hu Shuo. However, he did not expect Hu Shuo to actually end up as the director of the orphanage at Luoyang City.
After all, this was the former director of the Li Consortium’s Special Investigations Division, so how could he possibly be willing to be the director of an orphanage?
He wondered how Hu Shuo ended up as the director of the orphanage, and it seemed like he had been in the role for quite a while too. However, Ren Xiaosu did not expose Hu Shuo’s identity. He just stood at the side and watched Hu Shuo lament to Qin Sheng and Zhang Qingxi. His acting was so flawless the two Riders did not suspect a thing.
Ren Xiaosu even suspected Hu Shuo was the one who instructed Zhang Baogen to deliberately kill someone so it would attract the attention of the Qinghe Group’s people. By playing the sympathetic card, they could improve the orphanage’s benefits.
Back when Zhang Baogen was holding the hostage, there was something that made Ren Xiaosu suspicious, and it was how Zhang Baogen had so easily stopped resisting.
But only by doing so could he survive until the “interrogation” stage without getting seriously injured. Only then could he convey to the Riders his reason for killing someone.
One would have to carefully consider the Riders’ behavior patterns before they dared to pull off something like that. And it was precisely someone like Hu Shuo who possessed such a quality.
If it were really so, Hu Shuo was probably not expecting Ren Xiaosu to appear here.
Qin Sheng and Zhang Qingxi assured Hu Shuo they would investigate this matter thoroughly the next day. On top of that, the disbursement of funds to the orphanage would be handled by the Riders’ staff in the future. It would no longer be controlled by the Civil Affairs Department of Luoyang City.
Hu Shuo was so grateful he directly addressed the Riders as kind angels. Zhang Qingxi and Qin Sheng turned red in embarrassment and wanted to get out of there.
Ren Xiaosu did not leave, as he told Qin Sheng he wanted to catch up with Zhang Baogen.
After the orphanage’s gate closed, he saw Hu Shuo smiling ambiguously at him. “Why didn’t you expose me just now?”
“What do I stand to gain if I expose you? After all, the children really do need new coats, and it’s also a good thing to improve their welfare.” Ren Xiaosu said, “But you’re not someone who lacks money, so why’s there a need to put on such an act?”
“Why? Did you see through my plan?” Hu Shuo chuckled and said, “I’m just trying to test the Riders to see if they’re as honorable as the rumors say.”
Ren Xiaosu gave Zhang Baogen a stern look. “You’re way too bold. Are you tired of living? You dared to go along with something like that?”
Hu Shuo smiled and said, “He’s not putting on an act. He really doesn’t know about it.”
Zhang Baogen looked at Hu Shuo and Ren Xiaosu with wide eyes. “The two of you know each other? Director, you…”
Ren Xiaosu finally understood Hu Shuo was mainly trying to test Zhang Baogen. Who could rest easy when a supernatural being like him claimed he just wanted to remain at the orphanage to take care of the children?
Hu Shuo patted Zhang Baogen on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Go and watch the children. I’m gonna have a chat with Ren Xiaosu.”
After Zhang Baogen went off, Ren Xiaosu asked, “Are you planning to make use of Zhang Baogen?”
Hu Shuo sighed, “That kid is like an uncut gem. I can’t bear to make use of him.”
“Then are you thinking of making use of the children in the orphanage?” Ren Xiaosu suddenly made a guess that Hu Shuo could probably raise a new batch of elite intelligence agents by staying here for a few years to groom these children who had no one to rely on.
Ren Xiaosu had attended Hu Shuo’s classes before, so he knew exactly what Hu Shuo was capable of. He was an expert in rearing talents.
Hu Shuo replied, “When I first arrived here, it was indeed just as you had thought. On the one hand, I wanted to keep my identity a secret and stay hidden in the city. On the other hand, I hoped to inject new blood into my intelligence network. But after living with them for a while, I’ve already dismissed that idea. All of us have led a tough life, so why should they have to go through those hardships again?”
“Alright.” Ren Xiaosu felt that Hu Shuo sounded quite sincere. Curious, he asked, “Where’s Li Shentan?”
“You still have the cheek to bring this up? I get so angry at the mention of it. Yang Xiaojin was chasing after him for half a month, and he ended up being forced to escape south. He says he’s gone there to wait for the typhoon season to arrive!” Hu Shuo snapped at Ren Xiaosu, “Why does your girlfriend have such a bad temper?”
Ren Xiaosu wanted to hold it in, but he finally snapped back, “Serves him right!”
“Look at you! Is that what you should be saying?” Hu Shuo said.
“Since he knew that Yang Xiaojin was at Qinghe University, why didn’t he just tell me?” Ren Xiaosu was also getting unhappy. “Do you have any news about Yang Xiaojin?”
“No.” Hu Shuo shook his head. “That girl is very elusive, so it won’t be easy to find her. But since you’ve already revealed your armor in the city, she’ll definitely be attracted back here when the news gets out.”
Ren Xiaosu nodded. Actually, the reason he no longer hid his whereabouts and revealed his armor was because he was hoping the various forces could spread this news to let Yang Xiaojin know he was here.
Perhaps the venue and timing of this reunion were not too appropriate, because this place would soon become the center of a storm.
But Ren Xiaosu did not care about the impending danger. Before meeting Yang Xiaojin again, no one was allowed to do anything to this stronghold!