The teacher quickly calmed down, but looking at the well-behaved child before him, his heart remained unsettled.
Little Alice truly tugged at his heartstrings. The thought of such a young child enduring so much suffering made him ache as well.
The teacher opened his arms and pulled the child into his embrace, gently comforting her, "It's alright, nothing's wrong. You'll definitely be able to attend school next semester, I promise!"
A child barely three years old, having to scavenge for trash to earn money for school. The teacher's eyes welled up with tears.
Such a sensible child, who had been fending for herself since she was one.
In her early years, she would rummage through garbage heaps for expired nutritional supplements to barely fill her stomach.
As she grew a little older, she used the meager earnings from her scavenging to buy expired nutritional supplements from shopkeepers nearby.
—Although she could find expired nutritional supplements in the trash, she couldn't find them every day. On unlucky days, she would go hungry. But by buying them from the shop, she could eat them daily and fill her stomach.
The worst part was Alice's mother, who was engaged in that kind of business and even wanted Alice to do the same. It was utterly preposterous!
The more the teacher thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more his heart ached for the young Alice.
Alice could not return to that home. With such parents, as Alice grew older, there was a high probability she would be exploited by the men her mother brought home.
"Alice, do... do your parents usually care about you?"
"I mean, if you didn't come home occasionally, would they look for you?" the teacher couldn't help but ask, his mind racing.
Alice thought for a moment and shook her head, "No."
"They never looked for me. When I stayed out overnight before, under a bridge, it was so cold, and they still didn't come looking for me," Alice said.
The teacher's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Then if you don't go back for a long time, they still won't look for you?"
Alice: "Probably!"
The teacher took a deep breath and quickly said, "Then will you come home with me today? I have a room at my place. When your parents aren't looking for you, you can stay with us."
Alice's pupils dilated, and she looked at the teacher in shock.
The teacher was also a little scared, as Alice's father sounded formidable and her mother didn't seem like a good person. But...
Looking at little Alice, the teacher was genuinely moved by this child. He couldn't turn a blind eye to her plight.
"Really?" Alice exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement and surprise.
The teacher nodded. He tidied Alice's clothes and then smiled, saying, "Really."
"Okay!"
"Thank you, teacher!"
Alice replied happily.
The teacher was surprised that the child agreed so readily. He found it a little amusing but was also somewhat worried that Alice's parents might come looking for her.
However, since he had already said it to Alice, he didn't want to go back on his word.
After a day at school, as the kindergarteners were picked up by their parents at dismissal, only little Alice remained. She stood behind the teacher, small and incredibly happy, knowing she was going to the teacher's home today.
The teacher looked down at Alice's joyful expression and felt happy too. After seeing off all the kindergarteners, he took Alice home in a hovercar.
As Li An walked to his doorstep with little Alice, he thought of his wife and even worried if she would be unhappy.
But in the end, he gathered his courage and raised his hand to knock on the door.
The door opened, and his wife, Jenna, appeared. Jenna quickly spotted Alice.
Jenna was usually very fond of beauty and especially adored cute and pretty children. It was just unfortunate that they had some physical issues that prevented them from having children of their own like normal couples.
In this era, cultivating children through genetic means was also easy, but it was expensive. He and Jenna were very poor and couldn't afford it, so they had to make do.
Upon seeing little Alice, Jenna was immediately captivated by the beautiful child.
"Who is this little friend?" Jenna's eyes sparkled as she looked at Alice, asking happily.
Li An cleared his throat and said a little sheepishly, "Nanna, Alice is a student in my class. Because her family situation is rather special, I want her to stay with us for a while."
Jenna: "???"
Li An brought Alice into the house and had her rest in the living room before taking his wife, Jenna, to the study.
Li An quietly explained Alice's situation to his wife, Jenna. After listening, Jenna was furious!
Jenna couldn't believe that such parents existed in this world. How despicable!
However, it was worth mentioning that Jenna, like her husband, felt immense pity for the child. Upon learning of Alice's ordeal, she strongly supported her husband's decision to have Alice stay with them.
Such a sensible and beautiful child shouldn't be ruined by those trash parents!
"I'll get her that nutritional supplement," Jenna added.
A child's body needed nourishment while growing. How could she possibly eat expired nutritional supplements every day?
Jenna said this and went into the room to get a nutritional supplement for Alice.
Alice felt a little anxious, afraid her teacher's wife wouldn't like her. Fortunately, after the teacher and his wife came out of the study, they kindly gave her a nutritional supplement.
"Eat it quickly and fill your stomach. At your age, you shouldn't be eating expired nutritional supplements, or you'll have developmental problems later," the teacher's wife said with concern.
Little Alice immediately understood the teacher's wife's attitude towards her and quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Teacher's Wife."
"Oh!"
"You don't need to be so formal with me. Eat up."
The teacher's wife coaxed her gently.
After finishing the nutritional supplement, Alice was led to the bathroom by the teacher's wife. The little child was lathered with foam and given a thorough bath.
After bathing, Alice was taken by the teacher's wife to the guest room next door and tucked into bed.
"Alice, you'll sleep here tonight. If you need anything, just come to the master bedroom next door and knock. Your teacher and I will be inside, and we'll come out when we hear you," the teacher's wife told Alice.
Alice nodded quickly, "Okay."
The teacher's wife gently stroked Alice's head, her heart aching even more for the child.
Alice thus began to live with the teacher and his wife. However, occasionally, she would still go back to her own home to check. She wanted to confirm whether her neglectful father and mother would look for her.
Alice didn't care if those two cared about her, but she worried they might cause trouble for the teacher and his wife.
Fortunately, those two truly didn't care about her at all. Even after she hadn't returned home for several days, they didn't ask any questions when she suddenly appeared.
She had asked the neighbors nearby, and they said her parents had never looked for her.