The staff member smiled and said, "The director said that those who speak don't need to prepare. Everyone can speak freely, recall their lives at the orphanage, share their feelings, and talk about how they later entered society, contributed, and gave back."
Susu wanted to decline again, but the staff member was busy saying, "There are no other arrangements today. You can do as you please. I need to go and receive others."
Watching the staff member leave, Daisy patted her shoulder and said, "Don't refuse. These kinds of eloquent speeches are perfect for you. You can do it well."
Susu hummed in response, but thought she should still prepare something.
Xiao Lin was arranged to stay in the room next to theirs.
After Daisy put away her luggage, she asked with interest, "Susu, can you show me around?"
"Okay," Susu agreed. "I also want to look around. To be honest, this place has been renovated several times, and it's completely changed compared to when I was a child."
"Then it's perfect, as we both want to explore."
Susu nodded and walked out of the room with Hengheng.
Hengheng was already over three years old. Tianyi had hired a home tutor for them, not sending the two children to kindergarten.
Initially, Susu was a little worried that hiring a tutor would make the children unsociable.
But later, she realized that a dedicated home tutor was more targeted in educating and nurturing children.
Moreover, the home tutors for each subject had rich experience in early childhood education, providing children with better education through engaging activities, making them significantly more outstanding than their peers.
Hengheng was at an age where he was full of curiosity about the world and everything he saw here.
He kept asking Susu and Daisy many questions, and Daisy was already a little dizzy and couldn't answer them.
Susu was still racking her brain to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, but she wasn't sure if what she was saying was correct.
"Mom, what kind of flower is this? Did a butterfly turn into it?" Hengheng tugged at her sleeve, insisting she look closely.
Susu looked at the small, light purple flower. Its shape indeed resembled a butterfly, so she said, "Yes, it's a butterfly flower."
Actually, when she was a child, she often saw this kind of flower in the mountains. No child would probe further; everyone casually called it a butterfly flower.
"So, the butterflies here all turn into flowers," Hengheng said innocently.
Susu and Daisy exchanged a smile and said, "Let's walk a bit further ahead."
They hadn't walked far when they heard the sounds of children playing and laughing from a building. Curious, they stood by the window and looked in.
This was a toy room for young children to play in.
Hengheng looked longingly at the children in the toy room who were around his age, wanting to play but not daring to.
"Do you want to play with these children? If you want to play, then go!" Daisy encouraged him.
Hengheng asked, "Mom, can I go play with them?"
"Of course, you can. We'll take you in to play," Susu said, holding his hand and walking into the toy room through the main entrance.
The children in the toy room couldn't help but glance at Hengheng, who had just entered. But when they realized they didn't know him, they continued playing with their other friends.
Hengheng held Susu's hand tightly. Seeing a group of unfamiliar children, he didn't have the courage to approach them and play. He just stared at them with wide eyes.
Susu was about to encourage him further when a little girl with two braids ran over, looking at Hengheng curiously.
The little girl's eyes were dark and bright, like two glistening grapes.
Hengheng was startled and hid behind Susu, asking傻傻地, "What do you want?"
"My name is Tang Tang. What's yours?" the little girl asked boldly.
Susu pulled him in front of the little girl named Tang Tang and encouraged him, "Introduce yourself too."
"My name is Hengheng."
Tang Tang giggled, her beautiful eyes narrowing into crescent moons. She took Hengheng's hand and said, "Let's go play."
Hengheng was still a bit slow to react. "Play what?"
"Play with clay. This clay is so much fun." Tang Tang led Hengheng to a small table with a large pile of playdough.
Although Hengheng looked disdainfully at the messy playdough, he reluctantly started molding it with Tang Tang.
Susu and Daisy sat aside, smiling as they watched these carefree children, chatting intermittently.
"There are towering trees everywhere in the orphanage. Are they ancient trees?" Daisy asked.
"Yes. Last time, a few were destroyed by a mudslide, otherwise there would be more. When I was a child, my friends and I had nothing to play with, so we would climb up and down these big trees, pick fruits, and find bird nests. Everyone was like a monkey."
Daisy couldn't help but chuckle, saying enviously, "Such a childhood is truly wonderful. Unlike me, who was taken abroad by my parents from a young age. As soon as I was sensible, I had to learn all sorts of things. My parents would only smile at me if I excelled in those prestigious schools."
Susu hadn't expected anyone to envy her childhood and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"However, due to the significant cultural differences in schools abroad, I never felt comfortable. No one truly cared for or understood me. So, I made myself different. I cut my hair short, like a tomboy, and fell in love with boxing. Only when I was boxing could I vent the suppressed emotions in my heart."
Susu smiled at her. Now she had long, curly hair and dressed and appeared incredibly charming when not boxing at the club. She said disbelievingly, "You used to be a tomboy? I can't tell at all. You're so beautiful, how could you look like a man?"
"Hey, you're making fun of me." Daisy also laughed and said, "Deep down, I still like being a woman, but nowadays, no man understands me. Those who are close to me treat me like a buddy."
"You'll meet someone," Susu said, looking towards Hengheng.
Tang Tang had molded some small animal out of colorful playdough, but she said to Hengheng, "Look, isn't this cat cute?"
Hengheng clearly didn't recognize it as a cat, but he still nodded foolishly and said, "Cute."
His hands were also busy. He had molded a cute Teddy bear, which looked lifelike.
It seemed his handicraft lessons with the professional tutor were not in vain.
"Your hands are so skillful," Tang Tang said, very fond of the puppy he had molded. "I'll give you my cat, and you give me your dog. It'll be an exchange gift."
Hengheng stared blankly at the so-called cat she handed over, thinking this child was so silly. However, he still accepted the gift.
The sky outside began to darken. A caregiver came to call the children for dinner. Hengheng reluctantly said goodbye to Tang Tang, still holding the misshapen playdough cat in his hand.
When Susu brought him back to the room, she asked him with a smile, "What are you holding?"
"A gift from a friend."
"This gift is really interesting."
Hengheng carefully put the gift into his pocket and asked, "Mom, can I play with that Tang Tang again?"
"Of course, you'll play together again. We're staying here for two more days," Susu replied with a smile.