CH 30

Chapter 30: Barred Door

The two children couldn’t do anything after being tied up, so they decided to sit down with their backs turned to each other. After discovering that the ground was dark and damp, Lin Xin immediately got up, not daring to sit again. She leaned against the door’s iron bars to take a look outside.

The outside hallway was enclosed to prevent any contact between the outside world and the children trapped within the cell. Since there was no visible window or opening, it was obvious that the Dean didn’t want others to know that they were here. Besides, what would they know? With so many children in the orphanage, it was unlikely that anyone would discover that both of them were confined here.

In addition, Wu Anan had just left today, while Lin Xinyu was trapped in the Dean’s room. The only girl who could have helped them already left, while the only other adult, the cafeteria aunt, was on the Dean’s side. The orphanage itself used to be an asylum in the past which meant that the surrounding fences in their current confinement was built higher than usual; the tall iron gates made it extremely difficult for half-grown children like them to escape.

Lin Xin was a little afraid. She couldn’t sit still and was eager to find a way out. Lin Xin paced back and forth in the room while calculating two or three escape methods, but she could only drop each of those plans one by one.

When Zhao Qiang noticed her pacing around right in front of him, he said in an upset tone, “Can you stop?”

Lin Xin glared back at him and replied, “No.”

He asked, “Why not?”

Lin Xin wasn’t in the mood to explain to him the gravity of the situation. She walked back to the iron bars and tiptoed to catch a glimpse of the lock on the door outside. The simplest method would be to unlock the door and escape.

Perhaps they could reach their hands through the bars, then unlock the door with a key, but what was the point when they didn’t have one? And since their hands were tied, there was nothing they could do.

Lin Xin leaned towards the door with despondence; she had never experienced such frustration as she stared at the locks outside. After some time, the girl gathered her courage and cheered herself up. As the saying goes, ‘there is always a way out.’ She doesn’t believe that this place can trap ‘Lin Xin’ forever.

Noticing her change, Zhao Qiang asked, “What did you see outside the door.”

The boy’s voice caused a splendid idea to light up in Lin Xin’s mind.

“Zhao Qiang, what did you use last time to unlock the door at the dining hall?”

Zhao Qiang replied, “A metal wire.”

Lin Xin: ‘How did you use the wire to unlock it?”

Zhao Qiang: “I fiddled and nudged it inside twice.”

Feeling as if she had just won a jackpot, Lin Xinyu hurriedly said, “Take a look at the lock outside this iron door.”

Zhao Qiang didn’t know where she was going with this. He went over to the door at her command and peaked at the lock outside from the corner of his eye. It was no different from the cafeteria door, other than being larger.

Lin Xin: “So, do you think you can unlock it?”

After taking a closer look, Zhao Qiang replied, “I can open it.” But before he could finish his reply, he felt that something was amiss. The boy asked urgently, “Why would you want to unlock it?”

Lin Xin smiled and said, “Of course, so we can escape, or did you think it was just for playing?

Zhao Qiang stepped back and panicked. “Lin Xin, we were already punished to till the ground last time. This time, we might be confined here for a few more days. But if we unlock this door and escape, it would be a whole other matter. We– we could be could be driven out of the orphanage by the Dean.”

Lin Xin sneered and replied, “Zhao Qiang, do you think the Dean will only shut us out for a few days? We both saw what he did to Lin Xinyu. Do you think he will let us go so easily? I’m afraid not!

Zhao Qiang, you’re too naive. In this world, there are people who are born evil and will do unsightly crimes without batting an eye. The Dean is that kind of person, otherwise, he never would’ve done that to Lin Xinyu. In that case, how do you think he will deal with us?

Do you remember how I was sick some time ago? If I had died that time, that would have been the end of me. It’s normal if two children die in an orphanage. Anyways, we don’t have any parents or relatives who care about our lives.”