Very soon, Xiang Ning brought Annot to a luxurious hotel within the city center. 

“Alright, I’m actually in town for vacation. You can drop me off here.” As she spoke, she took out her phone and giggled. “Can I get your number?” 

Xiang Ning didn’t mind. It was just a number, and she said she was here on holiday so she would probably be leaving soon. They might not even meet again in the future. 

After some small talk, he left on his motorcycle. 

Annot stood at the entrance of the hotel, watching him leave. She was feeling many emotions, realizing she had never met someone who had gotten along so well with her. If she was an angel’s daughter, Xiang Ning must be the son of the world. They were the same kind of people. 

Shaking her head, she dialed her sister Anran and knowingly held her phone further from her ear. When the call connected, the volume was still enough to make her small brows furrow as she pursed her lips. 

“Annot, where are you?!” Anran sounded very frantic. The faint sound of Lu Shiyu comforting her could be heard. 

“I lost you guys while we were walking, so I walked back to the hotel.” 

“Why didn’t you call us first?!” Anran gritted her teeth, but was relieved when she heard that Annot was safe at the hotel. “Fine, don’t you dare go anywhere else! Just wait for me at the hotel!” Anran hung up. 

Annot stuck out her tongue, completely void of the terror she had felt from being pursued by criminals. 

Very soon, Anran and Lu Shiyu returned to the hotel. The furious Anran calmed down greatly as Annot put on her most adorable face, her anger turning into blame. She didn’t rage as expected, causing Lu Shiyu to not know whether to laugh or cry. 

Although Annot had tried her best to hide the fact that she’d been pursued after she slipped away on her own, Anran still noticed because the girl herself had always been an extremely clean person. Looking at the dirt and dust on her clothing, it was obvious that she had fallen. 

Under much interrogation from Anran, Annot finally told her the truth. Anran almost spanked her sister on the spot for it, but when she heard about how Anran was rescued, she stroked her chin. 

Lu Shiyu was shocked. Xiang Ning? What a coincidence! 

“You said the person who saved you was called Xiang Ning?” 

“Yeah, sister Shiyu, do you know him? I think he said he’s a student from Qiling Academy,” said Annot. 

“He’s the bodyguard we suggested for you. He’s very strong, I can’t believe you met him,” gasped Lu Shiyu. 

“Really? Is he really coming?” Annot was instantly excited, but under Anran’s glare, she coughed, “He’s indeed very strong. He could control twenty knives and defeated five men in black by himself!” She was blushing like a mesmerized fangirl. 

To be honest, Anran had known Annot all her life and had never seen her with an expression like this one on her face. Suddenly, she grew curious about this Xiang Ning. 

......

Xiang Ning himself was unaware of the conversations about him. When he returned home, his sister had also returned from her cultivation and smiled. “I got a call from Grandpa Director when I came back.” 

He paused. They hadn’t visited the orphanage in more than six months, it was indeed time to pay Grandpa Director a visit. 

“Alright, let’s go visit him tomorrow since it’s a Sunday.” 

“Okay!” Xiang Xiaoyu giggled. “Grandpa Director is going to be very happy to see that we’re living so well.” 

“Big brother, what should we buy for him?” 

The next day, two trucks and one MPV stopped on the road outside Xiang Ning’s house. 

“Thanks for your help, Fang Rou.” Xiang Ning smiled at the people sitting in front.

Knowing that there weren’t enough people for a visit to the orphanage, Xiang Xiaoyu contacted Fatty Wang, Lu Shiyu, Fang Rou, Liu Ruoxue, and Li Zimo the day before. That made a total of seven people. 

Fatty Wang hadn’t been able to participate in the war to protect Tranquil City and had since pulled up his socks to work hard. By the second semester, he had already been enrolled as one of the special trainees and was now a tier two, five-star martial artist. 

There were two batches of special trainees per school year. Xiang Ning was part of the first batch, which had the most powerful students in it. The second batch wasn’t as strong, but held great potential nonetheless. For example, Fatty Wang with his tier two, five-star capability was only average in the first batch. 

With the speed of his growth, he should be among the best of the second batch in a semester’s time. Excluding Xiang Ning, he would then be able to catch up to the first batch by his second year. Including Xiang Ning, well... that might take a lifetime. 

Xiang Ning was forever grateful for Fatty Wang’s help. Technically, he was his first friend and the first person to stand up for him, a friend who didn’t back down in spite of bullies. 

“Hehe, Fatty Wang is already a tier two, five-star martial artist and tier two, one-star spiritual cultivator! Just you wait, he’ll catch up!” 

Xiang Ning’s squad had already taken the fatty as one of their own, all of them laughing as they joked around. They all had good chemistry. Especially Li Zimo, who got along so well with Fatty Wang that they could have been married. 

Very quickly, they arrived at the orphanage. 

Since Marsh City was a periphery city, there were frequent minor conflicts with fearsome beasts that resulted in martial artists' deaths. That was why they had so many orphans. As such, the Marsh City Orphanage occupied approximately a thousand square meters and was located in a decent place with more than seventy staff members. 

When the guard at the gates saw three cars approaching, he seemed extremely nervous, but Xiang Ning quickly opened the windows with a smile. “Uncle! Uncle! It’s me, I’m Xiang Ning! I’m bringing my sister and friends to visit home.” 

When the guard saw Xiang Ning, he immediately relaxed and smiled as well. “Looks like you made it big, kid! I heard the news about you, you’ve done well! You’re a role model for our kids! What’s this…?” 

“I was just thinking about how I hadn’t visited in a long time, and since I’ve made something of myself, I wanted to bring our family and the children some gifts,” Xiang Ning grinned, embarrassed. 

The guard let out a hearty laugh. “That’s good, that’s good! Come in, I’ll give the Director a call so he can meet you.” As he spoke, he opened the gates. 

When the three cars entered the orphanage, all the children and teachers playing in the yard stopped and fearfully looked at the cars. This time, Xiang Ning frowned. He noticed their reactions and realized that something was wrong. 

back to the orphanage! have a great day! - doge

An actual wholesome orphanage?! And the MC actually goes back to help the orphanage?! This is so heartwarming - Chacha