Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 156 Part 2 – May All Your Remaining Years Be Treated With Gentleness (II)

When they arrived at the orphanage, the rest of the kids were already in a panic. The moment they spotted Qianfa, they all rushed out anxiously.

“Brother Qianfa! Brother Anran, he…”

Qianfa quickly put Anjie down, who announced excitedly, “It’s okay! Brother Anran can be saved!”

The children’s eyes instantly lit up. “Really?!”

Anjie nodded vigorously. “Really!”

Several children immediately threw themselves at him in excitement, hugging him tightly. Three-year-old Anxin had no idea what was happening, but seeing all her older brothers and sisters so happy, he grabbed Anjie’s hand and giggled along with them.

Wei Yuanhang and Han Juan both felt their eyes sting. Before this, they had only heard about these children through stories. But hearing about them was nothing compared to seeing them in person. Ordinary healthy children could run, play, and cause trouble to their hearts’ content, yet these children spent their days trapped inside this tiny courtyard, relying only on one another for warmth and companionship.

Qianfa led everyone to the room he shared with Ye Anran. It was obvious Ye Anran had tried to leave as much space as possible for painting. Other than a bunk bed and a small table, the room was almost empty.

Near the window was a slightly larger open space where an easel stood. In the corner sat a small wooden shelf holding paints and stacks of drawing paper, materials Ye Anran had bought with the money he had recently earned.

Qianfa carefully took several paintings out of a cloth bag hanging from the wall. He laid them flat on the table one by one.

There were three paintings in total, though only two were completed.

One depicted a little boy riding on fiery wheels, his childish face glowing with carefree joy. The model was Anfei, the boy with the limp.

Another showed a child without legs freely reaching for stars across the vast universe. That one was clearly Anjie.

The third was only a rough sketch. It appeared to be An’an, the only kid who appeared to be in perfect health. Chased by monstrous shadows, she ran through a dark swamp, yet her smile remained bright and fearless.

There was also the painting of Anbai that they had previously seen at the exhibition.

Wei Yuanhang and Han Juan quietly steadied their emotions before carefully rolling the paintings back up.

Han Juan then beckoned the children gathered outside the door and crouched in front of Anfei, “Do you know why your Brother Anran painted you like this?”

Anfei answered innocently, “Because it can be sold for money.”

Anjie added seriously, “Because I want to pick stars.”

Han Juan hesitated before guessing, “So… he wanted to paint all your wishes?”

“Your beautiful dreams?”

Most people present seemed to think so as well.

But Xiao Feng shook his head. “No.”

Even so, he could not clearly explain why he felt that way.

Xia Mian looked down at the little hand clutching her finger and softly prompted Wei Yuanhang and the others, “The theme should probably carry a sense of sadness.”

Anbai, who had been quietly listening the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

“It’s because we came here.”

Everyone froze.

Wei Yuanhang looked at Qianfa in confusion. “What does that mean?”

Qianfa himself looked utterly lost.

Without explaining, Anbai simply turned around and led them outside. As they passed through the reception hall, everyone noticed a beautiful landscape painting hanging on the wall.

Han Juan paused. “Was this painted by your Brother Anran too?”

Anbai nodded.

Han Juan turned toward Wei Yuanhang thoughtfully. “Why do I feel like… he’s actually even better at landscapes?”

Anbai replied softly, “Yeah. At first, Brother Anran only painted landscapes.”

Wei Yuanhang sighed emotionally. “Then he changed to painting people because he wanted to fulfill your wishes?”

Anbai shook his head, “It was because of Anmu.”

After saying that, Anbai lifted the curtain hanging over one of the doorways.

The room inside appeared to be the children’s activity room. It was slightly larger than the others, and against the wall stood an old wooden shelf lined with worn building blocks and ragged dolls.

But everyone’s attention was immediately captured by the painting hanging on the wall.

Unlike the roughly mounted landscape painting outside, this one had been carefully framed.

In the painting, a dark-skinned little boy lay quietly among tangled thorns. Countless strands of black mist coiled around his body, yet his expression was peaceful, as though he feared nothing at all. His eyes were closed in tranquil sleep.

Wei Yuanhang immediately remembered what Qianfa had once mentioned—a severely burned boy passed away because of a company’s performative charity event.

His name had been Anmu.

Anbai looked up at the painting and spoke softly.

“Anmu once said he wanted friends. But he thought he looked too ugly. Other than the children here, nobody even knew he existed.”

“He was scared that after he died, even we would eventually forget him.”

“So Brother Anran painted this.” Her gaze remained fixed on the picture. “He said that once he became a famous painter, people would know who Anmu was. They would remember him forever.”

“After that… Brother Anran started painting us…” She was old enough now to vaguely understand the meaning behind it all. Looking up at them quietly, she continued: “That way, even if one day all of us die… someone will still remember that we existed.”

At that moment, everyone finally understood.

Ye Anran had never painted those children simply to fulfill their wishes, nor because he could not bear to part with them.

He was giving them proof that they had once lived.

Even if they were ugly, even if they were strange, even if they were unfortunate, even if their lives in this world had been painfully short…

They had still fought desperately to survive.

In some forgotten corner of the world, they had once bloomed with happiness. Amid darkness and suffering, they had still laughed, still dreamed, still lived.

We came here. We came to this world.

Han Juan burst into tears immediately.

“Damn it…” Wei Yuanhang wiped furiously at his eyes, his voice choked with emotion. “That guy’s going to take all the tears I have left for the rest of my life…”

Xia Mian immediately looked at Xiao Feng. The meaning behind it all felt painfully similar to the epitaph “Xiao Feng” in the novel had ended up left behind…

Sure enough, the child stood frozen before the painting, tears silently streaming down his face.

Xia Mian crouched down and hugged him tightly.

Then she heard him whisper through sobs:

“But… nobody painted Brother Ye…”

Han Juan finally broke down completely. “I’ll paint him…” she cried. “I’ll remember him for the rest of my life…”

After leaving the orphanage, everyone became painfully aware of what they needed to do.

Han Juan immediately posted a submission request on the campus forum.

In detail, she wrote about Ye Anran’s story, about Star Orphanage, and about the purpose behind the exhibition.

At the very end, she wrote:

“The theme of this exhibition is: This World, We Came Here.”

“Although the preparation time is extremely short and there will be no payment for submitted works, we sincerely ask for everyone’s help. We hope this exhibition can become a voice—even a tiny one—for those children who have been ignored and forgotten, so that people will know they once came into this world.”

After posting it, she went straight to the studio and buried herself in painting.

She did not leave until the staff was about to turn off the lights for the night.

On her way back to the dorm, she overheard students discussing the phrase “This World, We Came Here.”

The moment she pushed open the door, her roommate rushed over and hugged her excitedly.

“Han Juan, we’re definitely going to make it!”

Han Juan immediately looked toward the computer screen.

Her forum post had already been pinned to the top of the homepage by the moderators. In only two hours, it had already gathered nearly three hundred replies.

Comments were flooding:

[I cried reading this post. I already have an idea for my piece. Wait for my submission!]

…

[I’ve just recovered, but I have a feeling this will be my most valuable work.]

…

[The deadline’s a month, right? Wait for it, I’m going to paint right now!]

…

[I’m very glad that I can do something.]

…

[I was born with four limbs intact and was blessed with the opportunity to pursue art studies. I have no reason not to contribute!]

…

[For the first time, I’m fully committed to finishing a painting. I’ll do my best, and Ye Anran, you have to do your best too!]

…

[As an alumnus, I cannot be left behind. Ye Anran, do your best!]

The number of replies was still visibly increasing at a rapid pace. Han Juan hugged her roommate and burst into loud sobs…

…

That night, Xiao Feng had just climbed into bed when his phone suddenly rang. The moment he answered, he hurried straight to Xia Mian’s room, grabbed her hand, and dragged her toward Ning Shaobai’s house.

Xia Mian thought something terrible had happened again, but it turned out Xiao Feng wanted to check the academy’s campus forum.

Since Xia Mian hated how slow computers were these days and rarely used them herself, there was no computer at home. If they wanted internet access, the only option was Ning Shaobai’s place.

“Do you even have an account?” Xia Mian asked while knocking on Ning Shaobai’s door. “You need a student account to get in.”

Xiao Feng froze for a second before immediately pulling out his phone and calling Sun Shuming.

“Senior Brother, can I borrow your account?”

Watching him, Xia Mian suddenly realized how much he had changed without her noticing. The little boy who once relied on her for everything had quietly grown into someone capable of helping others in return.

While the computer slowly booted up, Sun Shuming sent over his login information. Ning Shaobai skilfully opened the forum and signed in.

The moment the page loaded, they saw the pinned post that had already exploded with activity.

Xiao Feng comfortably curled up against Ning Shaobai’s side. Xia Mian sat beside them, and the three of them quietly read through the post together.

As they scrolled through the thread, the room gradually fell silent.

After a long while, Xia Mian turned to Ning Shaobai and smiled faintly through moist eyes.

“Miracles do exist… don’t they?”

Ning Shaobai lifted his hand and gently wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

“Yes,” he said softly with a smile. “I told you before—there are many people willing to share their luck with them.”

Xia Mian leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. Xiao Feng also turned and buried himself in Ning Shaobai’s embrace, crying while smiling at the same time. “Brother Ye can be saved now… right?”

Holding both of them in his arms, Ning Shaobai gently patted them with one hand and said softly: “That’s right. Because you’re doing your best. And because everyone is too.”

“As long as we all keep trying together, miracles will happen.”

After that, Xiao Feng took a month-long leave from school and temporarily moved into Zhu Yuanhai’s house. Every day after class, Chenchen would ride his bicycle over to tutor him.

Mao Huizhu also returned from filming. While Chenchen helped Xiao Feng study, she would take An’an’s group out to collect recyclables. In no time, she became the one protecting the children at the orphanage from local troublemakers.

Once, the parents of that Skinny Monkey boy even came to the orphanage to stir up trouble with Mother Ye.

Xia Wenyue drove straight to the orphanage entrance and, for once, fully played the role of an overbearing mother. Pointing directly at the couple, she scolded them fiercely, warning that if anyone dared bully Mao Huizhu again, she would make sure they regretted it.

The couple were the type who only bullied the weak and feared the strong. Faced with Xia Wenyue’s attitude, they immediately lost all courage to argue back.

And just like that, Mao Huizhu became the unofficial guardian spirit of Star Orphanage.

Qianfa stopped drifting around aimlessly. Every day, he devoted himself to taking care of Ye Anran at the hospital.

Ding Sijin, whom Xiao Feng had specifically asked for help, brought over the nutritional supplements her father’s comrades had sent for her grandmother. Whenever she accompanied her grandmother to the hospital for a follow-up, she would also bring along chicken soup or fish soup she had simmered herself.

Meanwhile, at the Capital Academy of Fine Arts, the studio lights were being turned off later and later, and more and more studios stayed brightly lit into the night.

Then one day, the Academic Affairs Office issued a notice: the teaching building of the Chinese Painting Department would no longer close at night. Students were free to use the studios through the night.

A judging panel was soon formed for the themed submission call, “This World, We Came Here.” Professors Zhu Yuanhai, Sun Shuming, and several other big names had agreed to serve as judges. Once students completed their work, they could submit it to the Academic Affairs Office of the Chinese Painting Department, where the panel would conduct an objective evaluation.

With everyone doing what they could, everything moved forward in an orderly fashion.

One month later, Sun Shuming handed eighty selected works to Wei Yuanhang. With a cheerful smile, he said, “Not bad. Many of you performed beyond your usual level.”

Then he turned to the students whose works had not been chosen and said, “See? This is what happens when you don’t put in the effort on ordinary days. When it really matters, you’re no use at all, are you?”

Some students looked dejected, but most were overjoyed. Wei Yuanhang kept smiling and smiling until his eyes turned red again. Sun Shuming patted him on the shoulder, his expression full of relief.

“You did well.”

Then he looked at the students and said, “All of you did very well. We teachers are proud of you.”

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