Quick Travel: Destiny for Thirty Lifetimes

It took Lian Qingyang a long time to collect his thoughts. He lay back, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

One of the boys in the group went to the restroom that afternoon and rushed back to tell them, "I heard that Duan's father told our director that if they want to send the children in our orphanage to school, they won't donate money directly to the orphanage, but will ask for a list of names and then provide targeted financial aid to individual children based on the list."

This orphanage is very small and there are not many children. The older ones have gone out to make a living on their own. The oldest ones are only these five, and there are five or six babies. In addition, there are more than twenty children, aged between three and ten years old. They usually have enough food and drink, but they don’t go to school.

It doesn't cost too much to go to school, but there are no public schools nearby. The nearest school is a twenty-minute drive away and it's a private elementary school. The school only has ten employees, and some of them have to take care of the babies. It's simply not easy to take care of so many children going to and from school.

Seeing that Duan Zhuo had not suffered any grievances here, Duan's father listened to Duan Zhuo's advice and waved his hand to let his assistant do it. They had already established a charity fund, and allocating some funds to support the children in the orphanage to study was a good thing, and it was a thank you for taking care of his son.

With the targeted funding from the Duan family, the child will be under the care of the Duan family once he leaves the house. The director is happy to sell the child well and has no reason to refuse.

*

"Why hasn't Boss Qing come down yet? Could it be that he's been stopped by his classmates again?" A boy leaned against the wall and asked with a frown.

The boy next to him glanced at him and was about to go upstairs to the classroom to look for him, but was stopped: "Shanzi is here, why are you in such a hurry?"

They suppressed their emotions and waited for a while before Lian Qingyang and Shanzi finally came out. He looked at the four people standing against the wall and apologized skillfully, "I'm sorry, several classmates asked about it today, and it was difficult for me to get away."

The four of them were used to it, so they stood up, linked their arms around each other, and followed Lian Qingyang out of the school.

Most of the children in the orphanage have the director's surname. Lian Qingyang had a small tag with his name on it when he was picked up. He was one of the few children whose surname was not Chu. The five people who have been playing with him for the past four years are named Chu Linshan, Chu Linhai, Chu Linhe, Chu Linsen and Chu Linhu. Their names are very close to nature.

With the exception of Chu Linshan, who was two years older than Lian Qingyang, the others were three years older. So, the other four went to junior high school first, with Chu Linshan joining the following year. Lian Qingyang, due to his older birthday and his intelligence, was given the privilege of being in the same grade as Chu Linshan. Now, they were both in their first year of high school, having been accepted into Li City's second-best high school. The others, of average ability, were accepted into regular high schools last year, just across the street from No. 2 Middle School.

Today is Friday, and the high school is on vacation. The driver will wait at a fixed location and then send them all back to the orphanage. Now that the children's studies are guaranteed and they don't have to go out and find other ways out on their own, the oldest ones are still staying in the orphanage.

Lian Qingyang hadn't seen Duan Zhuo in four years. The only time he saw him was during breakfast at school, when he saw a news report on TV: Duan's only son was a talented businessman, helping his father negotiate several partnerships. Unfortunately, there were no photos.

Traffic was heavy today, and he was inevitably stuck in traffic. Lian Qingyang opened his eyes and looked out the window. He could hear the sounds of Dahai and the others discussing interesting campus stories. He was about to close his eyes when he caught a glimpse of someone familiar in his peripheral vision. Lian Qingyang turned to look for them, but all he saw were unfamiliar faces. He slowed his breathing, turned back, and ignored the melancholy in his heart, closing his eyes amid the clamor.

*

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Lian Qingyang and Chu Linshan successfully graduated. Chu Linhai and the others were attending a university in the city. It wasn't their holiday yet, so after they left the school gate, they saw four people holding flowers. Chu Linhai handed the flowers to Lian Qingyang and said with a smile, "We don't have classes this afternoon, and it's only an hour's drive from here, so I thought I'd come see you and have dinner together tonight."

Lian Qingyang nodded and took the flowers. It was a large bouquet of pink and blue Endless Summer and blue irises, and he filled his arms with it. He liked blue and hydrangeas, but he had never mentioned it in front of them. Such a large bouquet didn't seem like the kind of gift they would give.

The bouquet that Chu Linsen gave to Chu Linshan was a very big bouquet of sunflowers. Chu Linsen's smile was brighter than the sunflowers.

The driver came to pick them up as usual, but they refused. Chu Linhai and his friends found part-time jobs after the college entrance examination, and worked part-time on weekends after college, which allowed them to earn some money. So they simply took a taxi and went to the roadside barbecue stall where they had a meal a year ago.

Except for Lian Qingyang who was seventeen years old, everyone else was already an adult, so they simply ordered a few bottles of beer to celebrate.

Today's roadside stall was as busy as ever. Their order wasn't served for twenty minutes. Chu Linhai took a bite of a skewer and sighed, "I've been craving this flavor for a year. No wonder the business is so good. This flavor is unforgettable!"

"It's really amazing. This is the best barbecue I have ever eaten." Chu Linhe also exclaimed.

The others nodded as they ate, and had no time to speak or sigh.

A year ago, they pooled their money and wanted to celebrate the four of them graduating. They accidentally discovered this place, three blocks away from the school. The six of them just walked aimlessly and ended up here.

That was the first barbecue they had ever eaten. Every piece of meat and every vegetable in their mouths stimulated their taste buds that had been dormant for many years. It was spicy and fragrant, very impactful, but made people want to eat more.

Now I am sitting here again, still fascinated by this barbecue a year later.

After satisfying their cravings, several people started to clink glasses and drink. Many words came to their lips with just one word: "Drink!"

They were all people who had been abandoned by their loved ones, and were always stronger than others. However, after drinking a lot, their eyes were red, as if they wanted to cry under the influence of alcohol, and express their feelings about the somewhat fantastic life over the past ten years.

"If you had told me seven years ago that I could get into university, I would have definitely scolded you." Chu Linhai wiped his face and smiled with relief. "With my appearance, I was just a thug on the street next to the orphanage. Who would have thought that I would be a college student now? I can't even imagine it."

At that time, he just couldn't understand why he was abandoned by his family despite being in good health and having no illness or disaster. He had been living in this yard full of children since he was old enough to understand, and it seemed like he could see the end of his life at a glance.

Chu Linhu patted his shoulder and laughed at him, "You coward, I only dared to think about it. But I only dared to think about it. Our hospital didn't have the conditions at that time, and my brain is really not as good as yours."

Chu Linsen was the most open-minded of the group. He hadn't even finished his glass of wine when he raised it to Lian Qingyang and said, "Thank you, Xiaoqing, and Brother Duan, you're both wonderful people. Meeting you is a blessing for us. I toast to you."

Just now, when Chu Linhai asked him to finish the drink, he only took two sips. But this time, he drank the whole glass, lowered his head, supported his knees with his arms, and covered his face with his hands. Others also began to toast, and Lian Qingyang returned the toasts one by one with his water glass.

Chu Linhai sat next to Lian Qingyang, his arm around his shoulder. He looked at the bouquet on the chair next to him and spoke mysteriously, "We didn't buy the flowers for you and Shanzi. The driver asked us to give them to you. But don't worry, we'll treat you to dinner today. If it's not enough, order more. We've got money."

Lian Qingyang turned to look at the plump flowers. The driver was sent by the Duan family, and not many people knew about their college entrance examination. Could it be that Duan Zhuo gave it to him? But how did Duan Zhuo know his favorite colors and flowers?