Chapter 717: Chapter 717

At that moment, Xu Hao slightly opened his eyes.

Xiao Lan was leaning towards Xu Hao's face, and the distance between the two was less than three centimeters. Suddenly seeing Xu Hao open his eyes startled her so much that she yelled out.

Fortunately, Xu Hao was quick to react and covered her mouth with his hand, preventing the sound from escaping.

"Mmm... Mmm..." With her mouth covered by Xu Hao, Xiao Lan couldn't speak and could only whimper helplessly.

Xu Hao smiled, released his hand, and asked, "What were you trying to do? Take advantage of me?"

Xiao Lan, embarrassed by what Xu Hao said, could only spit in response and sulkily sat on the bed.

Seeing Xiao Lan's flushed cheeks, Xu Hao smiled and said, "Alright, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good," Xiao Lan said in an almost inaudible voice.

"Do you know why you weren't hurt?" Xu Hao asked.

"I don't know," Xiao Lan looked up, puzzled.

"I'm not quite sure either, it must have been some mysterious force protecting you," Xu Hao said as he scrutinized Xiao Lan, but could not find anything unusual.

Xiao Lan, feeling more embarrassed by his gaze, huffed, "What are you looking at? I thought you knew."

"I don't know everything, but since that force protected you once, it's a good thing. However, you mustn't assume it will protect you from danger again next time," Xu Hao thought aloud.

After all, it was an unknown power that must be treated cautiously.

"Yeah," Xiao Lan nodded in agreement.

Feeling the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, Xu Hao cleared his throat and said, "Let's go, I've had someone bring food, you must be hungry."

Just as he said this, Xiao Lan's stomach suddenly started growling, leaving her too embarrassed to lift her head.

Xu Hao smiled, took her hand, and walked her out.

Suddenly, Xiao Lan asked, "What about those two big sisters, didn't they cook?"

"Them? I've been wondering too. Since I arrived until now, I haven't seen them, I don't know if they saw danger and just ran off. I asked Xiao Bao, and he said he hasn't seen them either," Xu Hao said exasperatedly.

"I'll call them and ask."

Xiao Lan took out her phone, ready to make a call.

The first time, the call connected but no one answered, and the ringing lasted a long time.

Xiao Lan called again, and this time the call was answered.

After hanging up, Xiao Lan's expression was unusually weird: "Guess where they are?"

"How would I know? Stop beating around the bush," Xu Hao said, playfully flicking her nose with a smile.

"They said they are right behind the orphanage wall," Xiao Lan said, struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Behind the wall? What are they doing there?"

Xu Hao pondered for a moment and then chuckled, "They couldn't have thought of escaping but realized they couldn't get out through the gate, so they tried to climb over the wall, could they?"

"Exactly what I was thinking! Let's go and see them," Xiao Lan said, pulling Xu Hao with her as they headed outside.

Xu Hao nodded, and when they reached the wall, he suddenly picked up Xiao Lan, then with a strong push from his legs, he leaped over the two-meter high wall.

However, as Xu Hao was about to land, he suddenly saw two women below – the very two who were supposed to cook.

If he landed directly, he would crash into them. T!h@is co-nt@en!t$ is pr*esent%ed by *.%

Xu Hao had to twist his body mid-air and forcefully change the direction of his landing.

After landing, seeing the two women, Xu Hao asked, "You two, what are you doing here?"

The slightly older woman said with a face full of shame, "Ah, when the Wu Family came, we got scared and tried to escape over the wall. But we didn't expect to fall and hurt our legs. We were too embarrassed to call home, but then Xiao Lan called, and I gathered the courage to answer the second time."

Xu Hao was somewhat speechless. Could he say they did something wrong?

It seemed not, as they were just paid to cook and wash clothes, yet they lacked the courage to protect the children, which contradicted the promises they made when they first arrived.

They had initially vowed to protect these children, but when danger approached, they chose to flee.

Xu Hao sighed and said, "Let's settle your payments, and you can go home. However, I'll cover half of your medical expenses."

"Thank you, Young Master Xu! Thank you, Young Master Xu!"

The two women kept thanking him. Xu Hao was notorious, and the fact that he didn't punish them was already generous enough, let alone paying their wages and covering half of their medical expenses.

Shaking his head, Xu Hao called someone to take them to the hospital.

Just as he and Xiao Lan had started eating back at the orphanage, he received a message – Guo Lan had been fired from Huadu No.8 Primary School.

Xu Hao's expression turned slightly cold as he remarked, "These people are really mercenary, not sparing even a regular teacher."