Chapter 71 — My Daughter Has Eyes

He had been preparing normally, like he always did for any exam, so he wasn't anxious at all.

He spent most of his time writing. He was working on a novel of short length, because he wanted to submit it for a writing competition he came across online.

There were no writing prompts, so it was a test of imagination, creation and writing talent.

He was very interested in this competition because it was blind. The age, gender or qualifications of the participants were not going to be revealed until the final judging, and Han Yichen liked it that way.

He didn't want to be judged for his age. He just wanted to share his story with more people.

Finishing another chapter, he uploaded it onto the site of the competition and shut down. His entry piece was a tragic story set in the eighteenth century.

It was based on Yan Mari, a young girl whose home was devastated by a volcano. He emphasized on her courage, resilience and kindheartedness as he depicted how she fought to get everyone in the village out alive.

Unfortunately, good things didn't always happen to good people, as she was betrayed by the very people she risked her life to save. In his latest chapter, they had connived with bandits to sell her into slavery.

Leaving his room, he went downstairs to sit with his grandmother, who was sitting with his guests.

They greeted each other. There were three of them. Two were Han Yichen's age mates, while the last one, a girl, was younger. She kept looking around anxiously, as if searching for something.

The two boys — Chao Wen and Xijue had become frequent visitors since Han Yichen arrived and often came to play with him, though they would end up playing alone if he was busy, which he often was.

Han Yichen was more of a tutor than a playmate to them. Because he had a late birthday, he was one grade ahead of them, so they usually came to him to help them with their schoolwork.

Even when he was with them, he was mostly quiet. But somehow, they really enjoyed his company. His calm rubbed off on them, and they subconsciously acted older and more mature, helping the other children and being polite to the workers in the orphanage.

Today, they wanted to share a difficult Sudoku puzzle they found in a newspaper with him, and the little girl —Qiaoyi— insisted on tagging along. She was nine, but had moderate mental retardation.

The report from the psychiatrist was that she might have encountered a terrible incident that kept her locked up mentally, and that she needed as much normal human interaction as possible.

She was found just over a year ago at the gates of the orphanage, and Director Zhou took her in after repeated attempts by the police at finding her guardians failed.

They solved the Sudoku puzzle in less than an hour, with Han Yichen giving them hints from time to time. The four of them spent the rest of the time playing chess, which he had taught them to play.

Qiaoyi for some reason, took to chess like a fish to water. She was usually timid and slow, but would perk up whenever she saw a chessboard. She was also a fast learner, and she could now play with Han Yichen to a tie.

Director Zhou took education very seriously, but was more concerned about the overall development of the children, so apart from the formal classes the children took in school, they had extracurricular activities back at the orphanage.

They had teachers for everything, from ballet to gardening, painting to photography, and many more. Apart from keeping the children suitably occupied, it gave them an avenue to develop their talents.

Just six months ago, one of the children won a scholarship to study arts in a prestigious university in the Capital, and they've had many children win sport competitions at the district and city levels.

After the trio left, Han Yichen went back to the living room to sit with Director Zhou. Though he didn't offer much in terms of conversation, Director Zhou loved having him around.

It pained her to realize that he would soon be leaving. His exams were barely more than a week away, and Pei Yueran was already making arrangements to pick him up immediately after graduation.

She knew about his blog and was an avid reader of his work. She supported and encouraged him at every turn, and frequently left comments on his posts. In her opinion, he had raw talent.

Both of them were watching the evening news when they saw the headlines:

"Li Conglomerate's New Software Leaked, Company Shares Drop".

It also featured a short video of the press conference.

At the image of Li Chuanmo speaking with calm authority on the screen, Han Yichen felt it was necessary to point out, "That's Mum's company and her soon-to-be boyfriend." He knew Li Chuanmo from his CV because Li Yuchen had attached his picture.

Director Zhou knew that this was the company Pei Yueran worked for, but she was seeing Li Chuanmo for the first time, and finally got to see what he looked like.

"Ehn, my daughter has eyes", she said, nodding in satisfaction.

But she soon came back to the issue at hand and felt worried. She put a call through to Pei Yueran, who picked up almost immediately.

She was in the study with Li Chuanmo, but they were taking a break. Jiang Philip was also there virtually.

"Hello Mum."

"Ran'er, how are you? We just saw the news. Are you both okay?"

"Yes Mum, no worries. Everything is under control."

"Alright, I'm glad. You and Chuanmo should take things easy and don't stress yourselves out. Make sure you eat and rest."

"Alright Mum, I'll tell him. Is Xiao Chen there?"

Director Zhou gave Han Yichen the phone.

"Here. Rest well "

"I will, thank you. I also wanted to tell you that I have submitted the application form and gotten your interview date."

"Alright. Greet him."

"Ah, I will. Let me say goodbye to Grandma."

Director Zhou collected the phone again to say goodbye. Before hanging up, she said, "By the way, you have good taste. He is so dreamy!"

"Mum!"

The call ended there. Li Chuanmo didn't mean to listen in on their conversation, but they were not whispering, so most of their words fell into his ears.

His lips turned up when he heard Director Zhou's last comment.

Pei Yueran was studiously avoiding his gaze. Her mother was hellbent on embarrassing her every single time!

"Do you think so too?" It was Li Chuanmo that broke the silence.

"That what?"

"That I'm dreamy." Even Li Chuanmo could not recognize himself anymore. If someone had told him even three months ago that he could say such corny things, he would have silenced such a person with a freezing stare.

Unsurprisingly, Pei Yueran blushed.

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"Are you avoiding the question? Shy?"

"Fine. Yes I think you're dreamy, as well as handsome and stylish."

Li Chuanmo's ears turned so red that they almost dripped blood. "I also think you are elegant, beautiful and exquisite."

Both of them stared at each other for a long moment, lost in their own world. Brown eyes clashed with hazel ones, and it felt like the temperature in the room had risen.

Until a playful voice interrupted their alone time.

"Both of you should not be doing this here. You're torturing me, this poor single dog. Maybe you would want to go somewhere more ....private?"