A clanging bell jerked Wei Ying out of his slumber at six o'clock the next morning. He frowned in confusion. Neither Uncle or Auntie Xu ever woke him or their son up like that. They did so kindly and much less noisily.

It was after he opened his eyes did he begin to remember that he had been taken to the orphanage. That his home and the Xu family were now hours and hours away. He sighed with a pout. He wished for the millionth time that they had been the ones to adopt him...

"Hey, new kid! Come on!" a voice suddenly called to him, interrupting his thoughts. "We have to shower and get dressed."

He rubbed his eyes before sitting up and glancing at the boy who was standing next to his bed. He looked older than him, about eight or nine. "My name's not 'new kid'. It's Wei Ying, thank you," he quipped, yawning.

Many of the other boys laughed. The brown-eyed one he had noticed yesterday's eyes twinkled.

"Oh, well Wei Ying-name's-not-new-kid, let's go. If Long-daoyan, Daoyan-furen, or any of the dis'plinarians see you laying down when everybody's up after the bell, they'll get mad," the boy cautioned him.

Wei Ying rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. I got it. I'm coming."

The boy put a hand on his arm when he made to unlock his trunk. "Hold on. Make your bed first. If you don't know how, I'll show you. Like Daoyan said, you have to keep it neat."

"Okay," he repeated. "Uh...could you show me? I...ah...actually don't know how. Mama always did it for me."

He couldn't help but sigh again as he thought about her. He missed her and A-Die so much...

"Sure. Don't be embarrassed. A lot of kids don't when they first come here. Just watch me. I'm Guotin, by the way..."

Wei Ying paid close attention as he unruffled the blankets and tidily covered the bed with them.

Guotin beamed when he was done. "There. See? It's not hard. You don't have to make it exactly like I did. But keep it neat enough."

He nodded. "All right."

Another boy, who was at the door, poked his head inside. "Hey, the bathroom's ready to use."

"Cool. Let's go," Guotin said to Wei Ying. "We can show you which bathroom we use to shower."

"But get your clothes first. And your towel, washcloth, and toothbrush. We have to get dressed in there," another kid piped up.

"That's right, Shilin. And we have to wash quickly, too. Then we go down to breakfast in an hour."

Wei Ying nodded again and smiled. At least he didn't have to figure things out by himself.

Once he picked out something to wear, he trailed after Guotin, Shilin, and two others were clearly their friends. They seemed to be just as kind and helpful as he was.

The bathroom was huge. About fifteen to twenty children could shower in there at the same time. However, there were twice as many boys in his room, not to mention countless more children in others. Therefore, everyone had to brush their teeth, wash, and put their clothes on in less then ten minutes.

Wei Ying moved as fast as he could, but he wasn't used to rushing. But Guotin told him not to worry. He would be soon.

Breakfast was somewhat less noisy than dinner had been the previous evening. Then again, just about everyone was still trying to wake up more.

As he ate his rather bland congee, Wei Ying took in his surroundings with interest. Even though he still hated the orphanage, it wouldn't hurt to learn about it. Who knew how long he would be staying there?

The children in the room were between the ages of two to thirteen years old. (He heard Director Long tell Ren Fa that children had to leave the orphanage once they were fourteen.) Like him, they were all sitting with those they shared a room with. Maybe because it would be easier to keep track of them that way.

He wondered if any one of them had friends from other rooms. Or perhaps some who were older or younger than them. He wouldn't mind getting to know several of them and being their friend. It was never hard for him to make any. He had quite a few from his old school and his neighborhood besides Xu Sile. One or two of them had been about nine or ten. Of course, it would suck when - or if - he or any of them were adopted. But it would still be worthwhile as long as they were good.

Guotin, Shilin, and their friends were cool, but they were a bit older. They probably wouldn't want to hang around him all the time. Still, they didn't seem to mind helping him with anything if he needed it.

Wei Ying then remembered seeing a few of the boys coloring when he first stepped into the room last night. Maybe they would let him join them sometime, as he loved to draw too. Or even those kids who were running around and horseplaying. He enjoyed doing that too.

Then there was that brown-eyed kid he noticed a few times. He seemed pretty shy and quiet. He also looked as if he himself didn't have any friends, but he could be wrong. Wei Ying was curious about what he liked to do besides watching everyone and everything. Perhaps he would find out soon.

The said boy was actually sitting close by, next to one who resembled him strongly. He would have thought that they were twins if the other wasn't taller and didn't look slightly older than him. But Wei Ying could tell that he was his brother.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked Guotin when they were taken back to their room after breakfast.

"Whatever you want until it's our group's turn to exercise. And that's not until about 10," he replied.

"Long-daoyan and Daoyan-furen makes us go to the indoor gym or outside to the field once every day. Where they take us depends on the weather. They want all of us to grow up strong. Even the girls," Shilin added.

"It's Sunday, though. Unless there's homework to finish, we mostly just stay in here on the weekends. They let us go outside too sometimes, if it's okay. But we have to stay in the field or near the building. Like Shilin told you, it depends on the weather."

"We probably can't go out today, though. It's very cold."

Wei Ying nodded and laughed. "That's okay. I never liked the cold, so I wouldn't have gone out there anyway."

He decided to try and get to know the other boys closer to his age, then. Maybe he would at least have some to exercise with later, if not a new friend.

That was when he noticed the brown-eyed kid again. He was sitting on his bed, just like he had been the previous day. However, instead of watching everyone, he was reading a book.

Grinning, he walked over to him and plopped on the bed. "Hi. I'm Wei Ying. What's your name?" he inquired.

The boy startled as he looked up. He clearly wasn't expecting to be spoken to, much less anyone jumping on his bed like that.

"Mm...Lan Zhan," he grunted after the surprise wore off. He returned to his book.

"Ah!" Wei Ying exclaimed. This was the first time he heard him say anything. "Well, nice to meet you! Want to play? Or maybe we can color together?"

Lan Zhan shook his head slightly. "No, thank you. I am reading," he responded.

"Oh. What are you reading about?"

"...It is a schoolbook. One from this orphanage."

Wei Ying snorted. "A schoolbook? How boring!"

"Not boring. It is about science."

He rose his eyebrows. "Well, if it's not, then how about we read it together?"

"No, thank you. I want to be alone."

"Oh? Well, what about your...your gege? That was your gege sitting with you at breakfast, right? He looked older than you."

Lan Zhan nodded. "Mhm."

Wei Ying beamed. "I thought so. He looks like you. What's his name?"

"You may ask him that. If you want."

"But I'm asking you."

"Mn. I know. But he can tell you himself."

Pouting, Wei Ying grumbled, "Fine. Fine. But why isn't he with you this time?"

"He's with his friends."

Turning around, Wei Ying saw that he was right. His brother was talking to one of them now.

"Ah. Okay. So, where are yours?"

"I don't have any."

This completely amazed Wei Ying. "Really? Why not? You seem kind. Very quiet, maybe, but kind."

Lan Zhan turned a page. "Because. I like being alone. Mostly."

"And when you don't?"

"I'm with Xiongzhang."

"Oh, all right. I guess I'll go, then." He jumped off the bed. "But if you want to talk to me or play later or be my friend, cool! Just come get me. I'll find fun things for us to do! And it was still good to meet you!"

When Lan Zhan didn't comment, Wei Ying just shrugged and let him be. He knew that he heard him. Maybe he was just shy. Or perhaps he didn't like him. But Wei Ying couldn't see why. He hadn't been mean to him or anything. Nor was he intentionally rude.

He did like Lan Zhan a bit, though, even if he did enjoy stuff he found boring.

These thoughts were soon in the back of his mind, however. As mentioned before, he never had trouble making friends, so it wasn't long when he was acquainted with several other boys. They took to each other pretty well, and Wei Ying was pleased when they invited him to join them in exercising.

"You can sit with us when we eat too," one of them named Qian told him. "And I can show you how to sneak snacks in your pocket when the servers aren't looking," he added in a low voice.

"Cool! I'd love that!" he whispered. That sounded intriguing.

The gymnasium reminded him of school. Mats, balls for different sports, ropes for climbing, etc. But he wasn't able to look everything over right then. An instructor began to lead them through stretches once he and his group were assembled. Then he made them do various routines, helping those who needed it. In the last fifteen minutes, he allowed them to play as they liked.

"And be careful. Do not do anything foolish that can hurt yourselves or your peers," he added.

"Yes, xiansheng," they chorused in unison.

Wei Ying and his new acquaintances spent that time running and chasing after one another. They tried not to get in anybody's way or bump into them. The last thing they wanted was to end up fighting or getting the daylights beaten out of them.

Yet that was exactly what happened. Wei Ying was looking behind him as he tried to dash away from Qian, and because he wasn't paying attention, he crashed into someone. He winced in pain as he and the other boy tumbled over.

"Aiyo! Sorry!" he yelped. "I honestly didn't see you and I didn't mean it, so please don't get mad and hit me."

"...It's all right," a familiar voice whispered.

A jolt ran through Wei Ying as his eyes widened. It was Lan Zhan!

He quickly stood. "Oh! Sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Here, I'll help you," he said, reaching out to him.

Lan Zhan shook his head. "No need. I am fine."

"Are you sure? Please let me help you."

"No, thank you. I am fine," he repeated, this time with a hint of irritation.

When Lan Zhan got up, Wei Ying began to dust him off. However, he stopped when he cringed.

"Don't. Please," the former said.

"...Okay," the latter mumbled. "Sorry."

He nodded. "As I told you. It's all right."

And with that, Lan Zhan walked over to his brother.

Wei Ying stared after him in confusion. What a weird kid, he said to himself. He couldn't understand why Lan Zhan flinched like that.

As if hearing his thoughts, Lan Zhan's brother then approached him with a gentle smile.

"Don't mind him. It wasn't personal. Really. He just doesn't like other people touching him, unless it's me. That's all," he remarked kindly.

"Oh. Okay."

The older boy's smile broadened. "You're Wei Ying, right? I remember Daoyan introducing you to us yesterday."

"Yeah. That's me!"

"Mmm. I'm Lan Huan, Lan Zhan's brother. But I guess you can tell."

Wei Ying nodded and grinned as they shook hands. "Yeah. I told him you two look alike earlier."

Lan Huan chuckled. "Everyone says that. And I thought I saw you talking to him. I was surprised. Lan Zhan hasn't spoken to anyone since we came here. He won't let most people near him either."

"Yeah, he told me only likes to be alone or with you."

"It's true, so don't feel upset if he won't talk to you. That's just how he is. Like I said, it's nothing personal towards you or anybody else."

"Okay."

He turned to look at his brother. "I think he could really use a friend, though. He never had one even before we came here. He should have one to play with," he murmured. Then he gave Wei Ying a concerned look. "But did you get hurt? Sorry for not asking sooner like I meant to. That was a hard fall."

"Not really. Only a little maybe, but I'm fine."

"That's good. Well, I will see you around then, Wei Ying. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Wei Ying beamed. "You too. Bye, Lan Huan."

He waved to him, then hurried off to rejoin Qian and the others.

Author's Note: Wow. This chapter wasn't intended to go like this, but sometimes new ideas just take me on a different path. I hoped that you all enjoyed it, though. Let me know your thoughts.

Oh, and some fun facts: Guotin was originally named Minsheng, and Qian was originally one of Guotin's friends. But I decided to change Minsheng's name since it was pretty close to Su She's courtesy name Minshan. Guotin's name means "a firm, but polite leader." Qian's name means "fast", but it has other meanings too.

I also decided to introduce Lan Xichen (Huan) sooner, as you can see.

Again, I hope you liked this chapter. I will try to update this and my other stories soon!