Chapter 8: Tom Is Kind And Introverted?

"Tom, leave this to me, you can go back to your room and rest."

Wade took the rag from Tom's hand and waved at him.

Tom suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

To be honest, Wade had been acting strangely these past few days, dedicating himself entirely to doing good deeds...

It was one thing for him to go crazy, but now he was even forcing Tom to help!

To be fair, Tom had grown up this way, and although he was part of the orphanage, when had he ever done any work?

Even if he was assigned a task, he always had other kids "volunteer" to help!

But...

What could he do? He couldn't beat Wade.

He hadn't expected that after enduring humiliation and following Wade around doing menial tasks for several days, this bastard would actually let him go back to rest early today?

'Something's not right! There must be a conspiracy!'

"No... I'm not tired at all, really. I can keep working." Tom silently took back the rag and put on a perfect smile.

Although he didn't know what kind of bad intentions he might be plotting, as long as he didn't follow what Wade said, he definitely wouldn't lose out!

"Hmm? I was thinking about something else just now and didn't hear you clearly. What did you say?" Wade looked at Tom.

Under Wade's kind gaze, Tom's smile gradually faded...

Fine, not following Wade's instructions might lead to problems later, but right now... he would definitely lose if he didn't!

"Ehm... I said, I am indeed a little tired. So, the remaining work, I'll leave to you."

Tom sincerely handed the rag back to Wade, then quickly disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

Wade obviously didn't just let Tom go back to his room for no reason. If Dumbledore wanted to see Tom later, it would be better to meet him in Tom's room.

After all, Wade still wanted to witness the famous scene of Dumbledore setting Tom's wardrobe on fire.

Wouldn't wanna miss some absolute cinema! Keke~

Wade put down the rag and turned to hurry to his room.

To prevent Dumbledore from coming straight to his room, he needed to hide the bottles and jars he had hidden under the carpet in a different place. After all, a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber could always see traces others couldn't.

The system shop hadn't refreshed any good items these past few days. Most of what appeared were potions and some odd materials.

These items could all be found in the wizarding world, so after Wade selectively bought some potions for backup, he hadn't bought anything else.

Over the past few days, Wade had discovered something else: when he did good deeds by himself, the increase in merit points was barely noticeable.

However, if he made Tom do it with him... the results were completely different!

Wade speculated that the more evil the person he forced to do good deeds was, the more merit points he earned.

Perhaps it was because his actions reduced the probability of them doing evil in the future?

After all, the system had also given him 100 merit points earlier, possibly because he had changed some aspects of Tom's life trajectory...

Of course, this was just a guess.

Or maybe system liked when he's a dick to a villain?

Wade planned to try it with another villain in the future.

But because of this, after Wade dragged Tom through some "labor reform," he had successfully accumulated a total of 300 merit points!

Oh... Tom, my point farm!

May Merlin protect him!

After hiding the potions, Wade casually returned to the corner of the stairs and picked up the rag.

At just that moment, Mrs. Cole, with a flushed face, walked out of her office, and Dumbledore slowly followed behind her. Clearly, their conversation had come to an end.

"Oh... Wade," Mrs. Cole called out as soon as she saw him.

As Mrs. Cole approached, Wade smelled the distinct scent of gin. It seemed that the flushed complexion was due to alcohol.

"This is Mr. Dumbdore... hic.. oh, sorry, Dumbledore... he's here to see you and Tom, to tell you something... Never mind, let him explain it to you. Where is Tom?"

Meeting Dumbledore's gentle gaze, Wade answered, "Tom went back to his room to rest."

"What's the excuse this time? Sigh... Never mind, he has changed a lot since he started hanging out with you... What more can I ask for? My God, when have I ever seen Tom help other kids? Dear, this must be your doing," Mrs. Cole said with a deep sigh.

Since Wade arrived, the reclusive and strange Tom seemed like a completely different person.

Not only did he stop bullying the other children, but he even helped Wade to assist the other kids in the orphanage!

None of the chores around the orphanage had been left undone.

For a bad kid to undergo such a drastic change in such a short time, Mrs. Cole was a bit confused, but mostly relieved.

"Mrs. Cole, I really didn't do much. Tom is inherently kind; it's just that in the past, he was a bit introverted and didn't know how to interact with others," Wade said with a smile.

Heh, after all, Tom has always been kind and introverted around me.(lol)

Mrs. Cole: "......"

'Kind? Introverted? Are we talking about Tom?'

Mrs. Cole couldn't help but purse her lips, but since there were outsiders present, she didn't say anything further.

"I have many things to do. Since this gentleman is here to see both of you, you can take him to Tom's room," she said.

"Mrs. Cole~"

Before Mrs. Cole could finish her sentence, Ailey's voice called out from a distance.

"I'm coming!" Mrs. Cole responded loudly, then looked at Wade helplessly. "You're alright on your own, right?"

"Of course, I'm fine." Wade nodded.

Once Mrs. Cole hurried off, Wade looked at Dumbledore. This was the first time he was alone with Dumbledore.

Just by making eye contact with Dumbledore, Wade knew that, although this man appeared very gentle, he was definitely not someone to be underestimated.

It was an instinctive feeling, like standing at the foot of a mountain, gazing up at its peak... filled with an indescribable sense of pressure, giving off the impression of being an insurmountable obstacle.

Wade politely said, "Sir, please follow me."

With that, he turned and led the way to Tom's room.

Dumbledore immediately followed, and Wade keenly felt Dumbledore's gaze fixed on him.

"Aren't you curious about why I'm looking for you two?" Dumbledore suddenly asked from behind.

"Of course I'm curious."

"Then why haven't you asked me anything? You don't seem like an introverted child."

Dumbledore was indeed a little puzzled. Normally, children at this age were full of curiosity.

Knowing that he had come to find both him and Tom, this child hadn't asked a single question along the way?

"Since you're looking for both Tom and me, it must be for the same reason. If that's the case, we can talk about it when we meet Tom, so you don't have to repeat yourself."

"Hahaha... that's true, but I don't really mind repeating myself a few times. After all, the things I have to tell you aren't something that can be explained in just a few words."

Dumbledore looked at Wade's slim back with interest. He had met many children of eleven, but he had never encountered one as composed as Wade.

Moreover, according to Mrs. Cole, this child with a good personality was picked up off the street by her, and had never spoken about his past.

Mrs. Cole suspected that he must have gone through indescribable pain in his past, so she didn't probe into his background further. However, his mannerisms and behavior indicated that his origins were definitely not ordinary.

This piqued Dumbledore's curiosity about Wade. Perhaps this child came from a pure-blood family from a different place?

"I've heard... that before meeting you, Tom did many bad things, but after meeting you, he suddenly changed? How did you manage that?"