Chapter 829

Nana followed the Leighton back to the office and carried the textbooks left by the previous teacher to her home. Once they left the school, the four little ones Jane and her siblings were finally free. Bryan led his younger siblings straight to the small stream they had spotted the day before. The stream, fed by mountain springs, was shallow even Jane could wade in without the water rising past her knees. The crystal-clear water revealed tiny fish darting beneath the surface. But when they arrived, a few village children were already there, flipping over rocks in the stream. The moment they noticed Jane and her siblings approaching, they froze mid-motion, casting hesitant glances before awkwardly looking away. One of the older boys raised his voice deliberately, laughing loudly to mask his discomfort. Jane noticed a girl about her sister’s age subtly tugging at her oversized, wrinkled clothes upon seeing them. She glanced down at her own outfit simple T-shirts, blouses, and jeans she