Chapter 1915: The Dorm Uncle Has Been Replaced
Little Taotie and Hua Jinyan went to find the dormitory uncle, because running was only completing the first task, and there were four more tasks left to complete.
Hua Jinyan is not someone who gives up halfway; since he promised to bear all the responsibility, he must complete them all.
"Strange, that short guy doesn’t seem to be the dormitory uncle," Little Taotie raised a hand to her brow to look afar, like a lively little monkey.
Hua Jinyan frowned.
The two arrived at the lounge in front of the dormitory, which served as the dorm manager’s office and lounge.
"Little girl?" The uncle sitting by the window shaking his head as he added wolfberries to his thermos cup, spoke kindly and warmly, "You can’t go in, oh!"
This uncle’s appearance was warm and kind, with slightly flushed skin, deep crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, and many wrinkles when he smiled, but the wrinkles appeared very kind, mainly because his gaze was gentle.
"Who are you?" Little Taotie tilted her head at him, "Why haven’t I seen you before?"
The gentle uncle added hot water to the thermos cup, covered it, and replied with a smile, "I’m the new dorm manager."
"New dormitory uncle? Then where is the previous dormitory uncle? We have something to ask him, call him out!" Little Taotie frowned.
Seeing the little girl looking adorably annoyed, the new dormitory uncle’s smile remained unchanged, his voice lowered somewhat, "He... has gone."
"Gone? Where to?" Little Taotie pursued.
The dormitory uncle closed his eyes and pointed skywards.
Little Taotie was stunned.
Hua Jinyan was silent too.
"You’re lying!" Little Taotie shouted at the new dormitory uncle, her eyes turning red, and then she ran out.
Hua Jinyan nodded to the new dormitory uncle before turning to follow.
Once the two kids had run far away, the new dormitory uncle lit a cigarette, smoke curling, but he didn’t smoke.
He looked north, sighing lightly, "Can’t even find a complete corpse, but you were so tall, that headless corpse, if it’s not you, then who could it be? The tattoo on your back, we got it together back then."
"Old Tie, safe journey. Although I quit smoking, I always carry a pack of cigarettes, just convenient to offer you one. You’re always wanting a cigarette nervously but never carrying any yourself..."
The cigarette butt fell to the ground, the new dormitory uncle stopped his muttering, closed the window, opened the thermos, and took a sip of wolfberry tea, "I’m too old, front-line matters should be left to the young. I’ve come to take over for you, taking care of these kids..."
Little Taotie ran to the parallel bars on the playground and whimpered softly.
Hua Jinyan stood silently behind her, not trying to comfort her.
Although the dormitory uncle would often steal Little Taotie’s snacks, occasionally he would quietly leave a basket of fresh fruits in front of her dorm door.
Even though he would knock on the door then run away, Little Taotie recognized that familiar basket at a glance.
Initially, Little Taotie and the dormitory uncle clashed, but after a month of interactions, despite their noisy arguments, a bond grew between them.
Hua Jinyan gently patted Little Taotie’s back, "My condolences."
Little Taotie turned to him, glaring furiously, "The uncle definitely didn’t die! The uncle is so tall, so strong, he wouldn’t die so easily!"
"But..."
Little Taotie interrupted him, "I haven’t seen the uncle as a Ghost, so the uncle definitely didn’t die! If he died, he would surely come back as a Ghost!"
Hua Jinyan mused, "You mean, he might have gotten into trouble, but didn’t die?"