Chapter 502: Chapter 491 Can Brother Stay? Chapter 502: Chapter 491 Can Brother Stay? She knew that the wandering children were often curious and longed for their birth families, but in the end, whether they wanted to return depended on what kind of family environment they came from and how the wandering children were currently living.

Pingping’s situation was a bit different from other wandering children because he had Anan, who had been relying on each other for survival, and the two had long become an essential part of each other’s lives.

After dropping these words, Qiao Jing walked straight out of the office and came to the end of the corridor.

At this moment, the two little ones were standing together, talking about something, but all that could be seen was Anan hanging his little head low.

As Pingping took a step forward, Anan stepped back.

Pingping anxiously stretched out his hand, trying to grab Anan’s hand, but the latter dodged it.

Seeing the interaction between the two, Qiao Jing frowned slightly and walked up to them.

“Pingping, Anan.”

Although she could see that Anan was somewhat resistant to interacting with Pingping, she knew that Anan definitely wasn’t the kind of person who would ignore someone just because they were about to be claimed back home.

Pingping lifted his head, his face filled with anxiety.

“Sister Qiao, Anan is ignoring me.”

Anan ran to Qiao Jing’s side, hiding behind her, and said in a milky voice:
“Sister Qiao, you’re here.”

Qiao Jing detected the unhappiness in the child’s tone and reached out to rub Anan’s little head.

“Mm, Anan, can you tell me why you are ignoring Pingping?”

She had to help the two deal with their relationship so that even if Pingping really went back to Nanjiang, they could still use mobile phones to chat with each other.

If the two maintained the current state and Anan stubbornly refused to talk to Pingping, having mobile phones to communicate would be useless.

Anan shook his head, still hanging his little head, unwilling to speak.

Pingping’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed as he looked at Qiao Jing with a pleading gaze.

“Sister Qiao…”

Qiao Jing pursed her red lips, glanced at Pingping and gently nodded, then she observed Anan’s condition.

“Pingping, go back to the classroom for now and continue your lesson. I’ll come to find you after class is over, okay? I’ll talk to Anan. Don’t worry.”

She guessed the reason Anan was unwilling to speak – it was because Pingping was here.

Therefore, she needed to have Pingping leave first before she could speak to Anan.

After hesitating for a long time, Pingping finally turned and left.

Once Pingping had left and it was just Qiao Jing and Anan left, Qiao Jing finally opened her mouth to ask Anan.

“Anan, you can talk now, right?”

What she was worried about now was not that Pingping was being claimed and taken back, but rather the relationship between the two little ones.

Anan finally lifted his little head, blinking his big eyes at Qiao Jing.

“Sister Qiao, I don’t want to talk to brother.”

Qiao Jing’s heart twinged when she saw tears swirling in Anan’s eyes and the child struggling not to let them fall.

“Why don’t you want to talk to Pingping?”

Anan pouted his little mouth, looking aggrieved as he ran into Qiao Jing’s arms, his voice turning to sobs, tears beginning to pour out uncontrollably.

“Sister Qiao… I can’t talk to… brother, I’m afraid if I talk to brother… I… I’ll cry… I don’t want… brother to leave, but, brother has to go home… I… I can’t be selfish… wuwuwu…”

Qiao Jing wrapped her arms tightly around Anan, feeling her shoulder getting moist with tears, and her heart ached even more for Anan.

“I understand, Anan, don’t cry, be good. Listen, if Pingping leaves, he can still call you, and when he has time, he can come to visit, right?”

Anan shook his head and then nodded, sobbing intermittently:
“But… but… brother’s home is very far away… Can he really come… to see me?”

As Anan was still sobbing on her shoulder, Qiao Jing straightened the child up gently, her voice soft.

“Anan, Pingping hasn’t decided to go back yet. He also needs time to think; don’t worry just yet.”

She only wanted to hear what was truly in Pingping’s heart, understanding that the decision to return to his biological family was a significant one that would definitely take a long time to contemplate.

Moreover, Pingping was worried about leaving Anan behind.

Anan sniffled hard, sucking back the snot that was about to drip out, and wiped her tears with her hand.

“So, can brother… not leave?”

Qiao Jing nodded and emphasized her tone, making a promise.

“If Pingping doesn’t want to go back and wishes to stay at the welfare institute, I won’t let them take him away.”

Although Pingping is the only child of the owner of Li Group, if he says he doesn’t want to return, she would do everything in her power to keep him here.

If they forcibly took Pingping back, she felt that it would not make him happy.

Anan immediately stopped crying, gazing at Qiao Jing with her damp, large eyes, her tone careful and tentative.

“Sister Qiao, is that true?”

Qiao Jing reached out and wiped away Anan’s tears, nodding solemnly.

“Yeah, it’s true, not cooked up.”

Anan let out a “pfft” and turned tears into laughter, while messily wiping the tears from her face.

“Alrighty then!”

Qiao Jing smiled and pinched Anan’s face, taking the little hand and heading towards Anan’s classroom.

“Go back to class.”

After sending Anan back to class, Qiao Jing went to Pingping’s classroom and waited outside for the class to end.

In the meantime, Qiao Jing searched online for information about Li Group.

After carefully reading each entry, she put away her phone.

Just then, the bell rang for the end of class.

Just as Qiao Jing was about to enter to find Pingping, she came across the little guy running out.

“Pingping!”

When Pingping saw Qiao Jing, his big eyes instantly lit up, and he stopped in his tracks.

“Sister Qiao! How is Anan? Why is she ignoring me? Is it because I’m about to be claimed and taken back? Is that why she’s angry?”

Qiao Jing shook her head and spoke softly:
“No, she just didn’t want to talk to you because she’s very attached to you and feared she might cry.”

The other children in the classroom all peeked out their little heads, curiously staring nonstop at Qiao Jing and Pingping.

Qiao Jing gave the children inside the classroom a faint smile and led Pingping somewhere less crowded.

“Let’s talk somewhere else. I have some questions I need to ask you.”

Pingping nodded and let Qiao Jing take him to a quieter place.

Qiao Jing furrowed her brows and asked with a solemn expression:
“Pingping, do you want to go back?”

She had just looked up all the information on Li Group, understanding that the company had considerable strengths, and as Jiang Xiong had indicated, Pingping was an only child and the sole heir to the company.

By all accounts, Pingping was obliged to return.

Yet, if Pingping simply said he didn’t want to, she would do everything possible to keep him here.

Pingping frowned, hesitating as he looked at Qiao Jing and then in the direction of where Anan was.

He bit his lip tightly and after a moment, he finally spoke.