"Hahahaha!" Anna burst through the door, laughing heartily, "My little ones, I've come to play with you!"
"Anna's here!"
"Sister Anna!"
The children, who were properly reading, instantly dropped their storybooks when they saw the chestnut-haired girl and rushed toward Anna just as Anna had rushed toward Hina.
Lin, holding several heavy miscellaneous items, glanced at her and the children playing behind her.
Was this the so-called "help"?
The handyman at the orphanage was recently hospitalized with a cold, and they couldn't find a replacement immediately. After contacting Hina on her phone and learning about the situation, Anna wanted to come and help. However, she had also been sick herself and only recovered today, so she wanted to drag someone along.
"Anna comes back to play with the children sometimes. Don't let her carefree appearance fool you; she's actually very good at looking after kids."
The nun followed behind Lin, amused as she watched Anna make funny faces.
"..." Lin thought of the scene a few minutes ago when Anna handed some money to Hina.
Hina didn't look surprised then, but she was overly resigned, suggesting this had happened many times.
"Don't worry about me. I work hard to maintain a regular income, and I don't really need this money anyway."
"But you have classes during the day. Won't working at night be too much for you?"
"Relax, the old man will support me. He's rich."
Hina glanced at Lin suspiciously.
"What does he do?"
"Um..." Anna scratched her head, chuckling vaguely, "His job is... doing good deeds, maybe."
"..."
Thanks to Anna, Hina's suspicion of him remained at a high level.
"Wow, cool!" A boy noticed Lin with the helmet, immediately abandoned Anna, ran up to Lin, and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Who are you?"
Anna walked over, surrounded by the children, and scolded with a serious face: "Xiao Ke! Don't be rude to the old man!"
"..."
Lin shook his head, carrying the items towards the utility room, followed by a group of chirping children like little birds.
"Old man? Does Sister Anna know him?" The boy Anna called Xiao Ke asked.
"Is he Sister Anna's uncle?" Another girl also stared curiously at Lin's tall back.
None of the children seemed scared of Lin, even though he was silent like a soulless robot.
Anna, when asked, blushed awkwardly: "The old man isn't my uncle. That... 'Old Man' is my term of endearment for Lin. Do you know what a term of endearment is?"
"What is a term of endearment?"
"Silly, it's like how we call Anna 'Sister Anna'."
"Oh, I see."
"Then is he Sister Anna's older sister?"
Lin didn't comment on these somewhat childish dialogues. Children's words were naturally full of peculiar fantasies, and that wasn't a bad thing.
He just hoped they wouldn't be corrupted by Anna.
...
"Just leave it here."
Lin put down the items in his hands. With his strength, moving two or three hundred kilograms was not a problem, let alone some ordinary miscellaneous items, although it was indeed somewhat challenging for the people at the orphanage.
The rain outside the window had lessened. Dappled raindrops fell on the stained-glass window, and under the colorful light, the shadows looked like a falling Son of God.
The rise in temperature brought increased rainfall. A continuous light rain covered the city, but no one found it bothersome, as it meant life was gradually returning to normal, back to their familiar daily routine.
"Mr. Lin, do you like winter rain?" Hina asked, seeing Lin constantly looking out the window.
"No," Lin lowered his head. "But I don't dislike it either."
"I see..."
"Spring always has many beginnings, and winter always has many endings." Lin recalled someone else's words. "Someone told me that. They said many things, once started, cannot be stopped, even if they shouldn't have begun, and many things, once ended, cannot continue, even if they should have."
"That is indeed a philosophical statement... Did your parents say that, Mr. Lin?" Hina smiled.
"No, someone... I can't quite remember who said it to me." Lin often dreamed of that person, whose face he couldn't see, asking him as he sat in a chair. "They seemed to have said a lot more, but I only remember that one sentence."
This blurred memory, much like his "transmigrator" memory, felt unreal and he didn't know when it originated.
"Speaking of which, I haven't asked where you are from, Mr. Lin? Shenzhou?"
"Far East."
"From the Far East... Are you here for work then?"
"Yes."
Hina then revealed her true intention: "I see... Ahem, Mr. Lin, please don't think I'm prying, but I wanted to know about your parents..."
"They're gone."
"..."
As a nun at the orphanage, Hina consciously avoided bringing up the children's parents in front of them. Their birth parents either abandoned them or passed away early. The children might not be grown up yet, but these were scars in their hearts, so Hina was quite sensitive about the topic.
When Lin said his parents were gone, her expression froze, immediately realizing she had asked the wrong thing.
However, Lin understood the feelings of those who fall silent after asking such questions, so he immediately added: "Don't worry about it."
"Mr. Lin... I..." Hina seemed very apologetic. "To Anna, I am like family. As her only elder, I just want to..."
Lin shook his head, interrupting her: "Don't overthink it. I will be leaving soon."
"Leaving?"
"Returning."
Hina hesitated and asked Lin: "Then, Mr. Lin, what kind of girl do you think Anna is?"
"..."
What kind of girl?
Lin searched his memories. Since the day he met Anna, she had been somewhat unusual: her self-assertive personality, her optimistic and naturally friendly style, and her extremely self-centered inner monologue.
Yet, she would save money and work until she was exhausted for the orphanage, lie for the sake of face, and throw small tantrums. These things didn't seem so "special."
What word should be used to describe an Anna like this?
"Ultimately, aren't people just composed of the 'not special' and the 'special'?"
Hina's words enlightened Lin. She stood by the window and smiled: "For example, Mr. Lin also looks unique, but you're also enthusiastically helping Anna, helping out at the orphanage, doing these mundane things. Isn't that quite normal?"
"After all, this is the 'average person,' and this is ordinary 'greatness' and 'happiness'."
Lin looked over Hina's shoulder and out the window. Anna was chasing the children in the light rain, scolding them to come back inside, not at all like the quirky girl who had said, "Marry me."
Ordinary life, ordinary happiness, and ordinary greatness.
What is... normal?
As Lin was lost in thought, Prometheus's cold voice suddenly blasted in his ear.
"Lin, Honkai energy reaction has appeared nearby."