Chapter 3: The Life of Chu Zi Feng

  City Z is a small city in southern China, where the monthly salary of people living here is at most two thousand, and that's still a very good unit, which can be seen from the backwardness of City Z's economy.

  The orphanage was located in the riverside area of Z City. When Chu Zi Feng returned to the orphanage, it was three o'clock in the afternoon. There wasn't a single person inside, probably because everyone had gone to school.

  "Zi Feng? Are you Zi Feng?"

  As soon as Chu Zi Feng entered the orphanage, he heard a man's voice behind him.

  Turning around, I saw a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt, holding a large basket of dishes, who had just entered the orphanage gate.

  "Director Li, it's you! You scared me!"

  Director Li is the vice president of the orphanage, named Li Shuang, 45 years old, has been working in the orphanage for ten years. In daily life, apart from being responsible for the food and drink of the orphanage, it is also arranging the life and study of each child in the orphanage. As for the money of the orphanage, it is all subsidized by the government, so there is no need to worry about the living and studying problems of the children here.

  "Zi Feng, where have you been for the past three months? Why did it take you so long to come back?... You, you seem to have grown taller!"

  Director Li walked up to Chu Zifeng, put down the large basket of dishes in his hand, and looked at him with a serious and surprised expression. For three months since Chu Zifeng's disappearance, he had been worried about him, but now that Chu Zifeng was back, he felt unhappy again.

  "Director Li, I'm at the age where my body is still growing, so it's not strange that I've grown taller!" Chu Zifeng knew that he now had a height of 1.8 meters, which must have been caused by his cultivation. If he didn't come up with an excuse, he really wouldn't know how to explain the issue of his height, because he used to be only 1.75 meters tall.

  "Wait a minute... Dean Li, what did you just say? Three months? You said it's already been three months?"

  Chu Zi Feng was even more shocked. He seemed to have not stayed in the Xuantian Cave for such a long time, could it be that in the mountains, one day has passed, but in the world outside, a thousand years have already gone by!

  "You little brat, you clearly know your body isn't well, yet you're running around all day, making us worry about you."

  "Actually, I went to play at Wanlong Mountain with my classmates last time, but on the way, I sprained my foot, so I stayed with a family at the foot of the mountain for a while, helping them with farming and doing some farm work. Unexpectedly, three months passed by without realizing it!"

  Chu Zi Feng cannot tell Director Li the truth, even if he did, he wouldn't believe it anyway.

  Director Li's serious expression slowly relaxed, and he asked: "So your foot is okay now? You haven't been carrying medicine with you for the past three months, no problems with your body?"

  Chu Zi Feng is the pride of the orphanage, with excellent grades and a very outgoing personality, unlike other orphans who are introverted, so the staff at the orphanage all like him.

  "Director Li, don't worry about me, I'm fine. You see, after this period of hard work and life, my body seems to be even better than before."

  Chu Zi Feng clearly knew in his heart that he was no longer physically strong, because of his cultivation, he had strengthened his physique, and those big and small illnesses had been driven away by him, and would never find him again.

  "It's all right then, I'm relieved now!"

  Director Li's eyes flashed a hint of tears, but this scene did not escape Chu Zifeng's eyes.

  "Director Li, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly become so sad? I'm already back, aren't I?! Don't worry, I guarantee that something like this won't happen again."

  Director Li said with a bitter tone: "Zi Feng, come with me, I have something to say to you."

  Chu Zi Feng followed Director Li to a place that he didn't expect, which was the director's office, also the room of the director who had adopted him eighteen years ago.

  Chu Zi Feng was puzzled as to how Dean Li had brought himself to the Director's room, wasn't the Director not fond of people casually entering his room?!

  Just as Chu Zi Feng was about to ask, his eyes suddenly turned and he saw a white porcelain vase on the table against the wall in Zhang's room, along with a black and white photo. The photo was...

  At this moment, Chu Zifeng seemed to have thought of something, but he didn't dare believe the idea in his heart. He asked: "Director Li, where is the principal? Where did he go?"

  Director Li turned around and looked at Chu Zifeng, saying: "Zifeng, you just got back. Originally, I didn't want to tell you about this now, but you'll find out sooner or later, so...so..."

  "No, no way, I left the hospital that day and the director was fine, how could it be..."

  "It was on the second day after you went missing that your teacher came to our hospital looking for us, saying that you were nowhere to be found. We then mobilized everyone to search for you and also reported it to the police, but we couldn't even find a trace of you. At that time, the principal's heart condition started to have some problems, until last month...the principal passed away!"

  Chu Zi Feng was raised by the principal himself. If it weren't for the principal, he would have died eighteen years ago and wouldn't have had the chance to attend university today.

  Like a thunderclap on a clear day, Chu Zifeng's heart was extremely painful, and tears couldn't help but fall.

  "Although the child is gone, we cannot bring him back to life. We are all very strong and I will spend my whole life managing the orphanage left by the director well. Although we do not want any more children to come here in the future, those who come here will definitely not suffer. This is a promise I made to the director before he passed away."

  Li Shuang is what kind of person, everyone in the orphanage knows that he and the director are the same, for the sake of the orphanage, they can not return to their own home for several months. This enthusiasm, others can't do it.

  "Why, why didn't you wait for me to come back? The principal has great kindness towards me, why didn't he even let me see him one last time!"

  Director Li said: "Originally, the director's family wanted to take the director's ashes and memorial photo back, but this is the director's lifeblood, so I implore the director's family to leave the director's ashes and memorial photo here, because I want the director's spirit in heaven to clearly see that his efforts will not be in vain."

  Director Li paused for a moment, then gently patted Chu Zifeng's shoulder and said: "Zifeng, before the former director passed away, he entrusted me with one thing, telling me to find you and tell you in person."

  "What's wrong?" Chu Zifeng asked, wiping away his tears.

  "It's about your origins."

  "What family background? I'm not an orphan, what else could I have?"

  "That's right, you are an orphan, but unlike other children, you weren't abandoned by your parents at the gate of our orphanage, nor were you sent here by someone. You were picked up from the streets by the director himself back then."

  "Picked up? No, that's not what the principal told me. He said I was abandoned at the orphanage gate."

  "That's the principal didn't want you to think too much after becoming a director, after all, an abandoned child on the street is too pitiful, his parents didn't care about the child's life and death at all. However, the principal felt that your background might be a bit different from others, so before he died, he asked me to tell you this."

  "There's no difference between being abandoned at the gate of an orphanage and being abandoned on the street for me. Since the day I came to my senses, I have regarded the director as my parents and you as my family members, others are not related to me."

  What Chu Zi Feng dreaded the most was mentioning his own parents, because in his eyes, no matter who they were, none of them were qualified to be his parents; otherwise, eighteen years ago, they wouldn't have abandoned him.

  Director Li saw that Chu Zifeng had a grudge in his heart, which was also the most worrying thing for Director Li before his death. However, this matter could not be hidden from Chu Zifeng, because he had the right to know all of this.

  Director Li took out a small purple box from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a silver-white ring. He said: "Zifeng, this ring was placed beside you when the director picked you up back then. The director believes that this ring should hold the mystery of your life. In addition to the ring, there were also 100,000 yuan placed beside you at that time. The director also believed that your life should be different from others because 18 years ago, 100,000 yuan was equivalent to tens or hundreds of millions now!

  Eighteen years ago, China's economy had just started to take off. At that time, there was so much money, and it was placed next to an abandoned baby, which is enough to prove something.

  "They must be thinking of using the 100,000 yuan as my alimony, but that's fine too, at least the money is being used where it should be. As for this ring..."

  Chu Zi Feng took the ring, which was quite good-looking. On the ring, there was a circular shape with a "Chu" character carved in the center, surrounded by a coiled dragon carving.

  "The principal saw the word 'Chu' on this ring back then, and thought that your father was likely to be surnamed Chu, so he would give you the name Chuzifeng. Before the principal passed away, he entrusted that no matter if you could find your parents in the future or not, you must always wear this ring with you, cannot lose it, and cannot pass it on to others."

  "Since it was the dean's entrustment, I'll wear this ring then. However, even if I meet them in the future, I won't acknowledge them, and they probably wouldn't want me as their son either, haha."

  Director Li shook his head, he had known that Chu Zifeng would think so, but since the director had entrusted him with this matter before his death, he had completed his task, and as for what happened next, it was up to Chu Zifeng himself.

  "Zi Feng, you still need to prioritize your studies now. Other things will happen naturally, don't think too much about them! The university opening day is approaching soon, go pack your luggage and head to Yanjing University for registration in two days."

  Chu Zi Feng walked to the front of the principal's memorial portrait, softly and confidently saying: "Principal, rest assured, I will definitely not disappoint you. When my career is successful in the future, I will definitely come back, because this place is my hometown."

  P.S: What's most important for a new book? Of course, it's collection and voting! Please collect and vote for me!