The sky above the courtyard was always just a small patch.
Lillian leaned against a tree, gazing up at that square fragment of sky, thinking how wonderful it would be if he could leave this place.
"Dinner time!"
The administrator's gruff voice echoed through the yard. The children, who had been playing separately, immediately stopped and hurried toward the front hall. Lillian was no exception—he ran along with the others.
Several round tables were arranged in the hall, each child having a fixed seat. After they sat down according to their assigned places, a tall, burly man emerged from the back door carrying a stack of bowls. He slammed them onto the table with a loud crash. The children each took one, then lined up behind him to go outside through the back door to the cafeteria and receive their food.
Everyone received a single bowl. The dishes were the same—a mixed stew of rice and an assortment of vegetables Lillian could not even name.
But there were differences.
Lillian glanced at another boy's bowl. Besides the jumbled vegetables, it also contained several slices of meat. At the time, Lillian did not understand why there was such unequal treatment, but looking back now, that boy had indeed been more attractive in appearance.
No one dared to complain. Some children might have been dissatisfied, but none spoke up. The sinister expression on the man serving food was frightening enough, and his furious roars even more so. Behind his back, the children had nicknamed him "Big Dog," a rather fitting title.
"Come, come, Ria—eat more."
When it was Ria's turn, the fierce-looking Big Dog unexpectedly revealed a rare smile, an expression so unnatural on his face that it seemed almost grotesque.
"Eat more so you can grow taller," he said. Opening a small covered pot beside him, he scooped out fish and shrimp into her bowl. Then he even cut half an apple for her. "Eat more fruit—it's good for your skin."
"Thank you, uncle," Ria replied with a sweet smile.
The other children watched, all understanding the situation. If people could be considered "commodities," then Ria was undoubtedly the most "valuable" one. At only ten years old, she was already exceptionally delicate, lively, and adorable. Such a child was unquestionably the treasured "gem" of the orphanage staff.
When ordinary families—or even moderately well-off ones—came to adopt children, Ria's photograph was almost never shown. In the eyes of the staff, she deserved a better family. Letting an average household take her would be a waste. Moreover, the wealthier the adoptive family, the greater the donation they would provide to the orphanage.
Lillian had once overheard two administrators discussing something—they said that several extremely wealthy families had already been selected for Ria, and that people would be coming within the next few months to look at her. So during this period, the child had to be carefully looked after. After all, even though this was an orphanage, "fathers and mothers" still did not like children who appeared sallow and undernourished; they preferred those with healthier complexions.
After receiving their food, the children turned and headed back to the front hall. Ria quickened her pace slightly and, when no one else was looking, quietly picked two pieces of meat from her own bowl and placed them into Lillian's. After giving him a small smile, she walked away as if nothing had happened.
Lillian silently stirred his food, covering the meat with vegetables before returning to his seat. Then he ate in silence.
As he ate, he raised his head and looked toward Ria, who was sitting some distance away. In her gentle, flowing hair was an old, worn hair clip.
If only I could leave this place.
After the meal, the afternoon was devoted to labor. All children over the age of eight were required to participate. The work was not especially strenuous—mostly cleaning, tidying, washing clothes, and other routine chores.
Today, it was Lillian's turn to do the laundry.
He gathered the children's dirty clothes, along with those of the staff. From among them, he picked out a pair of oversized jeans covered in oil stains—but that was not what caught his attention. What mattered was the string of keys hanging from the waistband.
These were Big Dog's trousers, and the keys were for the doors.
A glimmer of light flashed in Lillian's eyes. He reached out, removed the keys, and clenched them tightly in his hand.
He knew this was Big Dog's habit—the keys were always left hanging from his pants. When the children washed the clothes, they would remove the keys and place them on the table in his room. And according to Big Dog's routine, he would take a nap at noon and sleep until four in the afternoon.
That was more than enough time.
He continued washing the clothes. By two o'clock, the other children had finished their tasks and gone off for their midday rest. Lillian deliberately slowed his work, waiting until all the children had returned to their rooms. Then he quietly crept to the inner quarters and glanced inside, seeing Big Dog sleeping soundly. He turned and quickly made his way to the iron gate in the courtyard, his hands trembling slightly as he unlocked it. After slipping outside, he carefully closed the gate behind him.
What he did not notice was that a pair of eyes had been secretly watching him from afar all along.
---
Bzzz—bzzz—bzzz!
A mobile phone suddenly vibrated violently. Big Dog, still half-asleep, frowned and groggily opened his eyes. He picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, and answered.
"Hello…"
"Roy, what are you doing?"
"Sleeping, boss. You just woke me up," Big Dog said, rubbing his eyes. "What's the matter?"
"All you ever do is sleep! Are you a pig? Get up—later a couple will be coming over to inspect the goods. Get everything cleaned up. Don't let them all look dirty and miserable."
"Alright, alright, got it."
Big Dog hung up, yawned, and glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already three-thirty.
He got out of bed and walked outside. Halfway there, however, he suddenly stopped. Turning back, he looked at the empty table, his brow furrowing.
"Which little brat did the laundry today?!"
Lillian had just returned and locked the main gate when he heard Big Dog's furious roar from inside. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
What's going on?! It's only a little past three—shouldn't he wake up after four?!
Lillian panicked. He looked at the keys still in his hand. There was no time to return them now… perhaps he could pretend they had been accidentally thrown into the washing machine…
He was about to run when Big Dog drove all the children out into the courtyard. Lillian had no choice but to stop.
"Who did the laundry today?" Big Dog stood before them, his expression frighteningly grim.
Lillian tightened his grip on the keys. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat. He knew exactly what would happen if it were discovered that he had left without permission. But at that moment, the other children were already looking toward him.
Big Dog's gaze fixed on him as well. "You washed the clothes? Come here."
Lillian's legs trembled as he slowly stepped forward, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "I…"
Suddenly, a body bumped into him. He staggered and nearly fell. Looking up, he saw only a familiar figure's back.
"It was me who stole them."
Ria walked up to Big Dog and opened her palm. The keys lay quietly in her hand. "I wanted to go out and play, so when Lillian was washing clothes, I took the keys."
"You took them?"
Big Dog's face darkened like a gathering storm. Behind him, Lillian stared blankly, then looked down at his own hand—only then did he realize the keys he had been holding were gone.
"You… don't know that going outside isn't allowed?"
Ria remained silent. After a moment, she said softly, "I was wrong, uncle."
All the children watched Big Dog in fear, though a few wore expressions of barely concealed schadenfreude. They watched as he suppressed his anger, took out his phone, and walked aside.
"Hello, boss. A child stole the keys and went outside."
"…Mm."
"It was that girl Ria. Yes, not captured—she came back on her own. Said she just went out to play for a while."
"…Mm, understood."
Big Dog hung up and returned. The rage the children had expected was gone; instead, an awkward smile appeared on his face.
"Ria, if you want to go out and play, just tell uncle. I'll arrange it for you. But stealing keys and running off isn't allowed!" he said. "This is the only time—understand?!"
"I understand… sob… Ria won't… won't steal the keys again…"
The girl rubbed her eyes with both hands, quietly sobbing. Seeing this, Big Dog immediately crouched down to comfort her.
"Alright, alright, don't cry. It's fine. The boss said the day after tomorrow is your birthday—he's specially permitted you to go out and have fun for a whole day. How about that?"
"R-really? Thank you, uncle…"
The gravest taboo—stealing keys and sneaking out—was dissolved in Ria's tears. The other children looked at one another in astonishment.
"When I said only this once, I wasn't talking about Ria alone!"
After comforting Ria, Big Dog's expression instantly turned ferocious. He glared at the other children and barked, "If any of you dare try something like that, I'll break your legs!"
This blatant favoritism left all the children trembling in silence.
"Alright, alright—go wash your faces and change into clean clothes. Some 'parents' will be coming later. Perform well. Whoever gets chosen, that's your own ability."
The moment these words were spoken, every child's eyes lit up. This was what they had always dreamed of. They rushed back to their rooms, eager to present their best selves.
Then Big Dog spoke gently to Ria again, his tone completely different. "Ria, you just stay in your room later and don't come out. This family doesn't have much money—they're not worthy of you."
"Mm…"
The girl returned to her room, leaving only Lillian standing absentmindedly in the courtyard. Seeing this, Big Dog strode over in displeasure and kicked him to the ground, venting his anger.
"You let a little girl steal something right under your nose! Useless trash!"
"…I'm sorry."
"Get lost!"
---
In the blink of an eye, night fell.
After dinner, the children were given a rare chance to play and rest in the courtyard. Yet none of them were in good spirits. Obviously, those still here were the ones who had not been chosen or taken away that afternoon. The only ones who would be happy were those who had left.
"Don't ever do that again," Ria said to Lillian beneath the large tree. "It's very dangerous."
"I…"
Lillian's hand clenched tightly inside his pocket.
"Stealing the keys to run away is the most serious offense. Luckily you came back on your own. If you had been caught and dragged back, I wouldn't have been able to help you. Honestly—what's so good about the outside world?"
"R-Ria, you… why…"
"Why did I help you?" she asked. "Did you forget? I told you before—I would protect you. You're my younger brother."
Lillian's eyes reddened. He slowly withdrew his hand from his pocket. "R-Ria, your… birthday…"
"Oh, right! Speaking of my birthday, I should thank you. Because of this, I get to go out and have fun the day after tomorrow~ I suppose it's a blessing in disguise," she said with a smile, turning to leave. "That's enough talking. If Big Dog sees us chatting for so long, he might get suspicious."
Lillian watched her walk away. After standing there in a daze for a few seconds, he lowered his gaze to his palm, where he had been tightly gripping a small hair clip all this time.
"…Happy birthday."