Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

Jiang Yao thought that the children had unique personalities and were very sensible.

Those children were hiding behind the bushes, so Lu Xingzhi did not see them when he was driving.

They must have been there for a while; they were sweating under the sun. They must have found out that Lu Xingzhi was not in the army base, so they waited for him in the shade.

The children must have felt touched when they saw Jiang Yao. They grinned at her and called out in unison, “Auntie Lu.”

Jiang Yao had met them at the market the last time and exchanged a few words with them. She had also bought ice cream for them, so they thought she was a good person. She was also a beautiful and gentle person.

“What’s the matter?”

Lu Xingzhi looked at the little boy who was leading the group. “Xiao Ding?”

Lu Xingzhi remembered the nickname from the welfare institute’s teacher. The boy was called Xiao Ding.

“Uncle Lu, is it true that you said you could help us find our family? The welfare institute’s director said that we have to find out family members before we can join the army when we grow up. We have to find our family. Except for Yanzi.”

‘You want to join the army when you grow up?

Lu Xingzhi’s tone was a little doubtful. “Have you guys thought about it?”

‘Yes!”

Xiao Ding nodded, and the other children did the same.

All the children had similar personalities. Lu Xingzhi thought they were well-suited to join the army, so he tried his best to nudge them. It was good that the children sought him out about it.

“Then, do you have your family’s information? Do you know their names? Do you still remember your full name? Do you remember any notable features near your home?” After Jiang Yao asked that, she looked at the child named Yanzi. That child was the youngest in the group and the shyest. She stood quietly beside or behind her friends most of the time, and her eyes looked very innocent.

‘What about you? You don’t want to look for your family?” Jiang Yao asked.

“No, Auntie Lu, I’m not looking for them.”

Yanzi shook her head and then lowered her head.

‘Yanzi was the last one to join us. She’s bald like us, so we treated her like a brother. We’ve only learned recently that she’s a sister.” Xiao Ding scratched his head in embarrassment. They had played together for so long, eating and sleeping together, but they did not know Yanzi was a girl.

“Auntie Lu, Yanzi’s parents left her, so she didn’t want to find them,” another boy said.

‘My slippers were broken. My parents said they would take me to buy shoes, but I overheard them saying they didn’t have enough money to support me. My younger brother needed milk, clothes, and toys, so they just threw me away. They left me at a square and told me that they were going to pick out shoes for me. They told me to wait for them there. I stayed for an entire night, but they didn’t come and get me. I knew they didn’t want me, so I left by myself..”