Chapter 4The System Assigned Me to Win the Villain's Heart. I Chose to Start When He Was a Toddler.

I spent the next week working non-stop.

The arrival of the new kids brought life and vitality to this small patch of land, but it also brought a mountain of new responsibilities.

From things as small as choosing the brand of milk the kids drank, to things as massive as hiring new teachers—as a one-woman management team, I had to handle everything personally.

Thankfully, I had the ultimate cheat code, Felix. He helped me monitor the children's status to prevent any accidents. Otherwise, even if I split myself into three people, I wouldn't have been able to keep up.

Our home wasn't huge. I had already hired cooks, cleaners, nurses, and care aides. But the role of academic educators was crucial, especially since I planned to set up actual classes soon. I needed people who were absolutely reliable.

After several rounds of interviews, I finally found someone who perfectly matched what I was looking for.

She was a girl who, based purely on looks, could have been a movie star.

She was young, with a neat bob cut, bright eyes, a gentle personality, and a small red mole near the corner of her eye.

Honestly, I could tell her family was probably quite wealthy. From her elegant speech to her natural grace, she gave off the aura of a girl who had been cherished her entire life. Yet, her skin was tanned, and her cheeks carried the distinct, rosy flush of someone who had spent a lot of time working outdoors under the harsh sun.

"My name is Clara Hayes," the girl said, her eyes shining like stars. "It's wonderful to meet you, Miss Vance."

I reached out and shook her hand. "Welcome aboard, Clara."

Clara's hiring freed up a lot of my time to focus on getting the kids' education sorted out.

Well-funded orphanages usually had their own on-site classrooms, while smaller ones sent the kids to local public schools.

Considering the special needs of several of our children, I decided to set up separate, in-house classes for them.

After finalizing the paperwork, Clara and I hired a few more subject teachers and officially launched the in-house curriculum.

Since we didn't have that many kids, we only formed one main class. We held a democratic vote for the name, and the kids loved the word "Seedlings."

And just like that, Haven Children's Home's very first class, the Seedlings Class, was born.

I was highly experienced in this field, and Clara had clearly done extensive homework, so the classes ran incredibly smoothly.

In early childhood development, the priority isn't just cramming facts; it's about building good habits and forming healthy personalities.

I set up a Storytime class, reading them a new fairy tale every single day.

In the world of fairy tales, the storm always passes, the villains always lose, the princess meets her prince, the ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan, and the little animals you save always return to repay your kindness.

Life is obviously more than just fairy tales. Maybe when they grow up, they'll realize the world isn't exactly like the stories. But I still wanted them to believe in the magic of those tales for now.

However, right after my Storytime, Clara would come in to teach Safety Education.

While you shouldn't harbor malicious intent toward others, you must always stay guarded. I could teach them to be kind to the world, but someone also needed to teach them that not everyone is kind. They needed to learn to be vigilant and know how to protect themselves.

I appointed Robin as the Class President of the Seedlings Class. The little boy immediately awakened to a fierce sense of "civic duty," dedicating every day to maintaining peace and harmony in the classroom.

The little president was usually brimming with fighting spirit, but occasionally, he faced setbacks.

Like today.

"Miss Ellie, Caleb cried today," he said, resting his chin gloomily on my knee. "I heard him thinking about why his mommy and daddy didn't want him."

Ever since Caleb moved into the home, he had become much more cheerful, but sometimes, in the late afternoons, he would still cry secretly.

Robin couldn't solve his friend's emotional distress, so he came to me for advice.

When I told Robin his story, I said his mother loved him very much. Because of that, Robin couldn't comprehend why Caleb's parents would abandon their own child.

I rubbed Robin's head gently. "Robin, people are all different. Some parents... just don't love their children."

Robin pursed his lips. "Then why did they have him?"

"There are many reasons, and we can't always know them. But what I want to tell you is that Caleb's parents abandoning him is a crime," I said. "There are a lot of abandoned children in this world. Caleb is lucky to have a friend like you to care about him, but many other kids don't even have friends."

Robin's dark eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yes," I offered him a suggestion. "When you get a little older, you and Caleb can work together to protect all the kids out there who are just like him."

Robin listened intently, stood up, and his little feet pitter-pattered toward the door. "I'm going to tell Caleb! Bye, Miss Ellie!"

I smiled warmly. "Go on, Robin."

In truth, in the original novel, Caleb was fiercely protective of his people. The subordinates in his mafia syndicate were mostly street orphans—kids without parents.

I didn't believe that was a coincidence.

Even though the photos from the plot files showed a terrifying man with a birthmark and eyes devoid of emotion, perhaps, in his own lonely childhood, he had desperately craved that exact kind of protection.

They say that the things people do as adults are often ways to overcompensate for their childhood traumas.

I thought to myself: At the very least, Caleb definitely isn't going to become a mob boss this time around.