Part Three Chapter 128: Starting Over

k."Well, that's just it. Be brave and challenge yourself to try new things. Just like you've never dealt with legal disputes at our extreme challenge center before, everything has a first time. I valu...At that time, she hadn't considered adopting a child at all. Her recent decision to keep the girl was purely coincidental. Besides liking her, subconsciously, her idea was that after the orphanage was established, she would send the girl there just like the other children.

But at this moment, from Mia's eyes, she seemed to see her own childhood. She got up and went over to hug Mia, patted her on the back, and gave her warmth.

But she still hadn't considered adopting a child, because adoption meant responsibility, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. Besides, she wasn't alone anymore; she had Song Jingye. They were a family, and any decision they made should be made together.

After the three finished their meal, they reported to Teacher Zhang about the progress of their work here. Then, she took Mia back to her room.

Mia asked in her native tongue, timidly, "Can I come back to visit you after I go to the orphanage"

When Chen Ling was asked, she almost burst into tears, but she didn't say anything. She just hugged her and said, "Go take a shower and go to sleep."

This child is very independent. These days, under her education, she does everything herself and doesn't need anyone to worry about it. She washes herself, dries her hair, and then quietly lies down in bed, staring with wide eyes as Chen Ling busily moves around.

At this moment, Chen Ning dared not look into her eyes. She felt a mixture of heartache, pity, and deep guilt. After all, they had spent nearly half a year together day and night. She was Chen Ning's only companion during her time alone in a foreign country. Whether it was a living child or even a pet, she would have developed feelings for it.

At the thought of sending my child to an orphanage,

She felt awful.

Mia lay in bed, she was still just a child after all. She turned over and fell asleep soon enough.

Chen Ning couldn't sleep, so she tiptoed outside to the courtyard with her phone to video call Song Jingye. She had contacted him early today, and he hadn't woken up yet. He answered her video call with sleepy eyes, looking unusually lazy.

No matter how big or sad something was in her heart, the moment she saw Song Jingye, it would disappear by half. She whispered, "Teacher Zhang came today."

"Oh, did you and Mia receive the things he brought for you" Song Jingye asked.

Chen Ling chuckled when she heard this, complaining: “Received. Teacher Zhang thought it was some valuable item and handed it to me with extra care, saying that you had asked him to bring it back from Beijing specially. I felt embarrassed to tell him, it’s just some snacks.”

Song Jingye's face darkened: "Are you sure it's just some snacks"

"Oh, is there anything else Bring out the snacks, and I'll throw away the wrappers."

Song Jingye was wide awake and sat up from his bed, “Quickly go find the packaging.”

Chen Ning immediately ran to the trash cans outside the embassy. Luckily, it was thrown away at night, and the packaging box was still there.

She carefully carried it back, only then noticing something amiss about the packaging box. It was very heavy, unlike an empty one.

Originally, at the very bottom of the box, there was another layer. She hurriedly opened it and saw a photo album lying at the bottom, filled with their wedding photos.

This is truly the best gift she has ever received.

"Foolish, the snacks are for Mia, and the photo album is for you." Song Jingye felt relieved to see that the photo album wasn't lost. He could have mailed it to her, but Teacher Zhang took it, and he thought she would be able to give it to her. >>>

A bit of a surprise, almost thrown away.

Chen Ling looked back at the wedding photos of the two of them looking happy, her eyes red: "Uncle, I miss you so much."

A sudden surge of longing pierced my heart like a knife, sometimes even making me weak-willed: "When I get back, how about I change jobs Nine to five, staying at home with you peacefully."

Song Jingye: “Don’t talk nonsense, that’s not you.”

Chen Ning recalled meeting Teacher Zhang during her time in the country. Teacher Zhang, like Mr. [Mr.'s last name], had also been separated from her children for many years and would sometimes complain and feel lost. However, she had never given up.

< Choosing a job is like choosing a way of life. >

They looked at the wedding photos together through the video, each one Chen Ling would have to take a good look for a while, recalling with him the scene when each photo was taken that day. Unbeknownst to her, she hadn't turned the camera around again, the lens remained focused on her own face as it had many years ago.

She looks at the picture of Song Jingye;

Song Jingye looks at her in the lens;

They all miss each other dearly. If it weren't for the thousands of miles separating them, and the screen between, what Song Jingye wanted most right now would be to kiss her.

Chen Ning finally finished flipping through the photo album, her gaze shifted to her phone when she realized she hadn't switched the camera and had been filming herself the whole time. Meeting Song Jingye's scorching gaze, her face flushed slightly. The two stared at each other blankly, their eyes exchanging glances, both understanding what they craved in this moment. However, it was a helpless situation; they could see each other but couldn't hold or touch each other.

Song Jingye cleared his throat and asked, "Are you going to sleep"

"Can't sleep."

"What's wrong" I noticed she seemed distracted and absent-minded today.

Chen Ling sighed: "The orphanage is built and the plaque was hung today."

, officially launched.”

This is a good thing.

“The orphans here, after strict screening and confirmation that they have no relatives, will be gradually taken in.” She paused for a moment: “Mia has no relatives either. I asked Walla, the owner of the grocery store next door, he said Mia’s father is European and her mother is Asian, but he forgot which country. They were reportedly here working. I previously commissioned these countries' embassies to help me look up information, but because of the previous civil unrest, some files were lost. Plus, we don’t know which specific country it was, so until now we haven’t been able to find out her details.”

She talked a lot, and Song Jingye saw through her thoughts at once: "You don't want to send her to the orphanage"

As soon as she said this, Chen Ning's eyes turned red: "It's because I'm reluctant to part with her after spending so much time together. But there's no other way. I can take care of her for a while, but not forever. When I get transferred back to the country next year, I have to send her back to the orphanage. It's better to suffer a short pain than a long one. During this time, I can only try my best to help find her family."

"It's not that Song Jingye is pouring cold water on the situation, but stating facts: 'Those who go to work abroad are either government employees or people from poor families with something they don't want to talk about. If you were a government employee, you would have found out already. So the most likely scenario is ordinary workers, and they may not even be recorded at the embassy.'"

Chen Ling sighed, knowing what he said was reasonable. It would be extremely difficult to find Mia's relatives.

She had said that it was better to have a short pain than a long one, but seeing Mia sleeping peacefully on her bed after ending the video call with Song Jingye, she...

She couldn't bear to see it. As soon as she got into bed, Mia came over and leaned against her, completely relying on her.y remembered the leader, a dark-skinned man with a large scar on his face. He had no other information about the rest of them. 。Over the past few years, he has also stopped doing any fieldwork expedit...