Chapter 93 – Are We Just Missing the Civil Affairs Bureau?
“Do Xiao Fang and President Fei usually interact in private?”
“No.” The two answered with such perfect timing that the cameraman couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. You two really don’t know how to be subtle. Speaking of which, won’t such perfect synchronicity make people misunderstand?
Looking at their ramrod-straight postures, the cameraman felt a sense of defeat.
“Then would you two like to share your reasons for participating in this show?” Surely they could answer this one properly.
Xiao Fang took the lead, speaking in a very official tone. “First of all, this show has a significant impact. It can call on everyone to pay attention to minority groups in society. I also want to contribute to society while I work, and take care of those children who have lost their parents.”
The cameraman nodded and then tossed the question to Fei Xiangnan.
Fei Xiangnan replied without a second thought, “I think the same as Xiao Fang.”
In post-production, the crew cheekily added large characters over this scene: If this isn’t love?
The “true love couple” spent their time in the car performing as strangers, during which the cameraman naturally unearthed many sweet little moments of synchronicity.
When they got out of the car, the director and five adorable children came to welcome them. Seeing this scene, Xiao Fang was filled with a multitude of feelings. The orphanage from his childhood seemed to have had the exact same routine. The Director Auntie would have the best-looking children line up to greet guests. As a somewhat withdrawn child back then, he could only watch them secretly from his room’s window.
Upon seeing the children, Guo Mengyun immediately dropped her TV Queen airs and hugged them one by one. The little children blushed and called her “big sister,” and she was instantly captivated.
You always have to create your own highlights on a variety show. So, the other celebrities, not to be outdone, rushed forward to chat with the Director Auntie and interact with the five cute children. The non-celebrities didn’t have such strong desires and stood on the periphery to fill out the scene.
Xiao Fang and Fei Xiangnan were on the periphery of the periphery.
Xiao Fang looked at the somewhat shabby buildings before him. There were two buildings in total and a small lawn. The buildings had small windows one after another. A nostalgic look unwittingly appeared in Xiao Fang’s eyes. Fei Xiangnan saw all of this but didn’t ask much, merely planting a seed of doubt in his heart. He maintained a certain distance from Xiao Fang as he followed the camera inside.
After confirming their activity area, each group followed a cameraman inside. Xiao Fang and Fei Xiangnan, each holding a broom and a rag, headed first to the orphanage’s small library.
Before that, the Director Auntie had them change into volunteer uniforms for cleaning—a black and a white athletic jacket. Because the weather was a bit cold, the clothes were fleece-lined. Xiao Fang still exuded a youthful, student-like air when he wore it, while Fei Xiangnan looked a few years younger, with an added touch of vitality.
For the sake of the show, Xiao Fang teased, “You should dress like this more often. Look how young you look.”
To Xiao Fang’s surprise, Fei Xiangnan turned the joke into something that sparked endless imagination. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Xiao Fang shot him a subtle glare, and Fei Xiangnan responded with a smile. The post-production team kindly photoshopped blushes onto both their faces for this scene.
The cameraman on the side was completely overwhelmed by the sweetness.
In reality, this place couldn’t even be considered a library. It was just a small bookshelf with yellowed picture albums and storybooks on it. Xiao Fang rubbed his chin. He should probably get them some more next time. With so few books and no other entertainment, the children could finish them all in less than a year. The books here were probably read over and over again.
Xiao Fang cleaned the bookshelf, taking the books out one by one and carefully wiping the dust off the shelves. There was no hint of him just putting on a show.
When the dust was wiped onto the floor, Xiao Fang subconsciously called out, “Xiangnan, get the broom and sweep this up.”
Fei Xiangnan, who had been sweeping not far away, immediately came over and carefully swept up the dust on the floor.
“Is this all the books there are?” Fei Xiangnan frowned, looking at the table.
“Yeah, some of them are almost falling apart. Look at this fairytale book,” Xiao Fang said with emotion.
Fei Xiangnan nodded in agreement. “I’ll donate some of my books from home.”
“No donating finance books,” Xiao Fang warned with full understanding.
“Why?” Fei Xiangnan looked very confused.
Xiao Fang continued his warning with just his eyes.
Fei Xiangnan raised his hands in surrender.
The inexplicable harmony between the two made the cameraman’s heart feel a little sweet. What was with this old married couple vibe?
Together, they organized the books back onto the shelf in order. After placing the last book, a small child ran in. He had clearly never seen such a large setup before. His little face fell silent, and he was about to turn back when Xiao Fang’s sharp eyes caught him.
“What’s wrong? Here to return a book?” Xiao Fang’s voice was very gentle at this moment, but the child remained silent, clutching a book tightly in his hands. Now he didn’t even dare to run, just stood there clutching the book.
Xiao Fang was instantly moved. He walked over with light steps and squatted down.
He tilted his head and looked at the book in the little boy’s hands. “Charlotte’s Web?”
The child’s body was stiff, and he didn’t speak. He looked to be about five years old. If you looked closely, you could see him trembling slightly.
The cameraman next to them felt a bit awkward and was about to advise Xiao Fang to give up. This segment could be completely cut.
“Give the book to big brother. Big brother will put it back for you. Is there a book you want to read?” Xiao Fang showed no impatience at all. The child just kept shaking his head, refusing to let go of the book.
The atmosphere was as awkward as it could get.
Xiao Fang still wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. He got up and took out a book he also quite liked, The Fall of Freddie the Leaf.
He walked back to the little boy. “You must be here to exchange a book. But if you don’t return the book in your hands, you can’t take a new one. What should we do? Should you trade it for this one in big brother’s hand, or go back with the book you’ve already read?”
A look of disappointment finally appeared in the little boy’s eyes.
Xiao Fang opened the book. “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf. It’s a story about a life. Do you want to know what happened to the leaf?”
A spark was ignited in the little boy’s eyes. After a long moment of thought, he held up the book in his hands.
The process was very slow, taking almost five or six minutes. Xiao Fang could completely understand. With withdrawn children, you had to treat them with the purest gentleness and patience.
“…Exchange… book.” The little boy turned his head. He was even better looking than the children who had come to welcome them, with a hint of mixed blood. His eyes were large, but they lacked spirit.
Xiao Fang smiled and exchanged the book in his hand for the boy’s. The little boy’s mood visibly lifted after getting the book he wanted, but he didn’t show much emotion. He didn’t even know how to express his thanks and just ran off, hugging the book.
Throughout the entire process, Fei Xiangnan stood quietly to the side, just like the cameraman, watching. He felt that the Xiao Fang before him was so naturally integrated into the orphanage environment, as if he had been familiar with it for many years.
The cameraman was touched. He hadn’t expected it to actually succeed. He had previously thought that autistic children were impossible to communicate with, but it turned out they just needed enough patience.
Xiao Fang straightened up, stretched, and prepared to continue working.
The library wasn’t large, and they finished in half an hour. Next was pulling the overgrown weeds in the courtyard. This was a rather long and tiring process. They put on gloves and got to work efficiently.
Here, the cameraman noticed a small detail. All the deeply rooted and hard-to-pull weeds were handled by President Fei alone. He looked noble, but he didn’t put on any airs when he worked. Xiao Fang only needed to pull some small weeds, and after a while, he couldn’t help but go and bother Fei Xiangnan, who tolerated it all with gentleness.
Just then, Xiao Fang found a caterpillar. With a retaliatory motive, he took the little caterpillar to scare Fei Xiangnan, who was behind him.
“Look! What’s this!” Xiao Fang dangled it in front of Fei Xiangnan’s eyes. The expected scene of him jumping up in fright didn’t happen. President Fei calmly took the caterpillar from Xiao Fang’s hand and put it in the weed bag.
“Don’t mess around. Be careful not to get stung.”
“Oh.” Unsuccessful, Xiao Fang turned back and continued pulling small weeds.
The cameraman, completely smitten, wished he could just move the Civil Affairs Bureau over for them right now. Don’t say anything else, please get married on the spot!
He had originally thought that filming this task would be dull and uninteresting, but instead, the cameraman got his fill of sweetness.
When it was time for lunch, everyone rushed to the cafeteria. In reality, Yu Zhong and Lin Si didn’t need to cook for everyone; that would be too unrealistic. There were only twenty people in total, including those participating in the show, the Director Auntie, and seven children. The five children from before were of course among them, and two more boys were added. Xiao Fang looked around, but that child wasn’t there.
Neither Yu Zhong nor Lin Si were very good at cooking, so they simply made a few decent dishes like scrambled eggs with tomato, braised winter melon, and pork ribs with corn. The presentation was so-so, but for Xiao Fang, who had been working all morning, it was a top-tier meal.
Before Xiao Fang could even pick up his chopsticks, he heard a little boy complain, “This pork rib soup is so bland, it has no flavor at all!”
This one sentence made everyone fall silent. Lin Si and Yu Zhong’s expressions turned particularly sour. If this clip was aired, Lin Si would lose face, and Yu Zhong, as a public figure, would see his image as a diligent, family-oriented young man collapse.
The Director Auntie glared awkwardly at the little boy, not knowing what to do.
Now, it was a test of the celebrities’ ability to improvise.
Lin Si was completely stunned. As for Yu Zhong, he could only try to salvage the situation. “Lighter food is better for your health, right, little friend?”
“No, I want it to have flavor!” The child said whatever came to his mind.
Now, even his teammate Mo Ze’s face looked terrible. How were they supposed to continue from here?
At this moment, Xiao Fang stood up and walked towards the kitchen. When he came out, he was holding a small triangle folded from paper, like a little funnel.
“Big brother has prepared a magic trick here, but big brother won’t do it himself. Little friend, can you use your own effort to make this soup delicious?” The mention of this immediately piqued the child’s interest.
“How do I cast this magic spell?”
Xiao Fang smiled, handed the small funnel to the little boy, and said, “Try sweeping it over the pork rib soup three times. Remember, not too hard.”
The little boy took it with interest and excitedly but carefully swept it three times. A white powder fell into the soup.
Xiao Fang cleared his throat mysteriously. “Alright, you did very well. Now, big brother will add the final seal to this magic spell so the deliciousness can’t escape.”
As Xiao Fang said this, he very practically stirred the soup with a spoon.
“Alright, now you can let your friends taste if your magic was successful.”
Anyone with eyes could see what he had done, but children were different. They all spooned a little into their bowls.
“It’s so sweet and delicious.”
“The flavor is amazing!”
The little boy, receiving praise, smiled happily. When he was about to try it himself, Xiao Fang stopped him.
“Before you drink, big brother has a question for you. If big brother gave you the magic wand and you cast the spell on an empty bowl, would everyone think it’s delicious?”
“But there’s no food in an empty bowl, is there?” The little boy fell right into the trap.
“Then, the big brother and sister who made this soup worked hard all morning so you could cast the final spell. Wasn’t that hard work? If it weren’t for their efforts, could you have cast the spell?”
“Yes.”
“But just now, didn’t you deny the big brother and sister’s efforts? So what should you do now?” Xiao Fang said with a deliberately serious tone.
When reasoning with children, you need to use analogies they can understand. The little boy understood at once and immediately apologized to Lin Si and Yu Zhong. The awkward scene was finally resolved thanks to Xiao Fang’s intervention. Yu Zhong and Lin Si also expressed that they didn’t mind.
Director Liang, who was supervising, nodded in satisfaction. He hadn’t been wrong about Xiao Fang after all.
Fei Xiangnan also nodded with pride. That was his wife, after all! The pride in his eyes was almost overflowing.
“I just like my soup a bit bland. I was just giving the two kids suggestions in the kitchen. These two are so considerate. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such thoughtful people.” After a moment of easing the tension, the Director Auntie provided the final smoothing over.
Yu Zhong and Lin Si both sent grateful looks to Xiao Fang.
Xiao Fang indicated it was nothing and continued his battle with the food. The atmosphere for the rest of the meal was very relaxed. Everyone started talking about their interesting experiences from the morning, and the mood immediately lifted.
Next was the afternoon game time together. The children all went to play with their favorite big brothers and sisters. Because Xiao Fang and Fei Xiangnan had had the least contact, almost no one came to play with them. The post-production brother kindly added an animation of a leaf falling for them.
Since no one came, Xiao Fang had to fend for himself. He shamelessly dragged Fei Xiangnan along to find people to play with.
That’s right, it was just that realistic!