During the phone call, the couple had specified an age range, hoping for a child neither too old nor too young, preferably between three to five years old, with no preference for gender. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the director opened her computer to show them information about all the children to determine initial adoption intentions.
When the director’s old computer “hummed” to life, the screen displayed a photo of herself. Her normally serious face sported a beard, with a long tongue sticking out, making a comical expression.
The director quickly shut the screen and turned to the couple with a smile. “Instead of just looking at cold data, let’s go to the classrooms and dormitories.”
While she was speaking, the computer screen beside her automatically lit up, clearly showing her silly face.
The couple’s gaze made the director realize what had happened. She tried to close the screen again but couldn’t. Growing increasingly embarrassed, she decided to press the main power button to shut down the computer. But no matter how she pressed the power key, the computer wouldn’t turn off.
After the silly face flickered a few times, other content appeared—photos of several particularly mischievous children causing trouble, including video clips from surveillance cameras showing kids stealing food from the cafeteria.
The director angrily yanked out the computer’s power plug, finally silencing the computer. She barely controlled herself to avoid crying out in front of the couple but internally she was raging.
The wife curiously asked the director, “What’s going on?”
The director helplessly replied, “It’s the work of one of our children.” Several couples with adoption intentions had already been scared away. The director was truly at her wit’s end but couldn’t stop his behavior.
The husband looked intrigued. “Just a child? How old is he? Can he even enter the director’s office?”
The director shook her head. “He’s over eight years old. He can’t enter here, but all computers in the orphanage are networked. He might have snuck into the office when the teachers weren’t paying attention.”
The husband was surprised. “But your computer is password-protected. An eight-year-old? That seems impossible.”
