Lies don't hurt people, the truth is a sharp knife. President, why is your face so red

No?

What do you mean, “no”!!!

At a speed visible to the naked eye, Dongfang Zhixia’s face flushed with anger. Her hands hanging at her sides clenched tightly, then tighter still, as she teetered on the verge of exploding.

What do you mean, “no”?

She had looked, she had kissed him, and yet he hadn’t even mentioned her name to the girl?

Fine, maybe there was nothing else. But why did Shen Qinghan get something!

Could Shen Qinghan possibly have given him more than she had?

She didn’t believe it. That problem child who kept going on about how they were “just classmates”—what could she have given him? At most, they had held hands or something. Could they actually have kissed?

What a joke!

At that moment, Dongfang Zhixia admitted that she was seeing red. She had done so much for Ye Cheng. She wasn’t asking for anything in return, but at the very least, she couldn’t let herself be outdone by someone else.

Especially when that someone was a certain problem child who fancied herself above it all…

Sometimes, the little things revealed what normally went unnoticed. Take this moment, for example. Xiao Chun had repeated Ye Cheng’s “last words,” including his instruction for her to lead everyone to seek refuge with Shen Qinghan in the future.

And yet, on Shen Qinghan’s side, forget seeking refuge—Ye Cheng hadn’t even mentioned her name!

What kind of nonsense was this!!!

Dongfang Zhixia’s anger +999 +999 +999…

“Xiao Chun, think carefully!” Dongfang Zhixia’s tone had already become rather frightening, as though she were barely holding back her temper. Xiao Chun wasn’t particularly clever and didn’t have many schemes of her own, but she was good at reading the room.

Hearing the change in Dongfang Zhixia’s tone, she hurriedly apologized.

“I’m sorry. Maybe Brother Cheng did mention it and I forgot. My memory isn’t very good. I’m sorry, Miss Dongfang. Please don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry!” Dongfang Zhixia said through gritted teeth, enunciating every word.

Shen Qinghan glanced at Dongfang Zhixia, then looked calmly at Xiao Chun. “Ignore her. There’s something wrong with her head, and she has anger issues. Xiao Chun, tell us properly what you just mentioned. Did he say anything else?”

Dongfang Zhixia: “???”

Anger issues?

You’re the one with anger issues! How dare a problem child like you say someone else is sick!

Who’s sick?!

Dongfang Zhixia’s chest rose and fell sharply. Under normal circumstances, she would have already blown up at Shen Qinghan and fought her until one of them came out on top. But now…

Xiao Chun nodded and timidly glanced at Dongfang Zhixia before continuing to speak to Shen Qinghan.

“Brother Cheng said we’re pretty stupid, so we’re only suitable for things like cleaning toilets. He said that your family has good benefits, Miss, so even cleaning toilets wouldn’t be too hard…”

Shen Qinghan: “…”

Dongfang Zhixia: “…”

It did sound like something Ye Cheng would say—so absurd that it contained the core of a comedy… and yet was ultimately a tragedy.

The words were clearly miserable, harsh, and even somewhat vicious. But once they came out of Ye Cheng’s mouth, they somehow took on a completely different flavor. It was truly the optimal solution.

Besides, Ye Cheng had never worried about hurting the children at the orphanage who had physical disabilities. He always said exactly what he thought. The cruel words of outsiders were nowhere near as devastating as a casual remark from Ye Cheng.

If someone couldn’t see out of one eye, Ye Cheng called them One-Eye. If they were missing an ear, he called them One-Ear. Even someone born with a deformity became Transformer Number One or Number Two in Ye Cheng’s mouth…

His nicknames were spectacularly absurd.

The children had taken their first lesson in life from Ye Cheng. Before society’s malice even had the chance to attack them, they had already developed resistance to it.

That was thanks to Ye Cheng’s three-hundred-and-sixty-day-a-year, nonstop, equal-opportunity elbow strikes against everyone. As a result, the children at the orphanage had mental resilience far beyond that of their peers.

When someone called them “Sima,” they might even think they were being complimented…

After all, Ye Cheng often tossed the word “Sima” around, and sometimes even bragged about his own status. This gave the children at the orphanage, whose minds had not yet fully matured, the mistaken impression that being an orphan was something to be proud of—a powerful and awesome identity!

After hearing Ye Cheng’s explanation, they came to understand that orphans were the chosen ones of the current version, the ultimate answer, and the ones reaping all the benefits!

Their desensitization training was complete. The sharp words of society, along with the malicious stares and attacks of those around them, could no longer easily hurt them.

Only someone as stubbornly hopeless as Xiao Chun would still be especially prone to low self-esteem. In Ye Cheng’s words, she was simply… a hopeless fool who could never be helped.

“Chun, you’ve been following me for so long. How are you still so beyond saving?”

“I’m sorry, Brother Cheng…”

“What good is saying you’re sorry? How about this: if you really feel sorry, I’ve got two pounds of laxatives here. Put some in that old bastard’s water when he drinks it.”

“…”

“Brother Cheng, two pounds of laxatives… wouldn’t that kill someone?”

“Obviously. If it couldn’t kill him, why would I give it to you?”

“Brother Cheng, I don’t dare…”

“You useless thing. You really are beyond saving. Forget it, I’ll do it myself!”

“Watch closely. This move… two pounds of power! What can that old bastard possibly do to block it?”

That was more or less what the exchanges between Ye Cheng and Xiao Chun were like.

Oh, and for the record, after that conversation, Chen Youliang really did ingest the two pounds of laxatives Ye Cheng had prepared… Talk about taking decisive action!!!

The dosage was certainly sufficient. Unfortunately, Chen Youliang only had to take one sip before realizing that something was wrong with the taste. It was bitter… Then came the “dragon’s roar” from his intestines. His face began to twitch, and a mask of agony appeared on his features!

That day, Xiao Chun learned that two pounds of power really was impossible to withstand. She saw with her own eyes that when the director of the orphanage emerged, his trousers were yellow…

Chen Youliang had been wearing gray-white trousers that day.

There really was no blocking it.

Everyone at the orphanage had already experienced Ye Cheng’s sharp words and vicious attacks. Their ability to withstand pressure was extraordinary. Xiao Chun was simply born with this sort of personality; otherwise, she wouldn’t still have been bossed around by Chen Youliang despite Ye Cheng personally trying to teach her.

What else could you call that if not being beyond saving?

One could only pity her misfortune and resent her lack of ambition.

Some people’s personalities were simply worthy of the hardships they endured…

Still, everything had two sides. Although Xiao Chun was useless and beyond saving, there was one thing about her that was unshakable: she believed in Ye Cheng. That trust surpassed Chen Youliang’s brainwashing and hypnotic conditioning.

In the orphanage, Ye Cheng’s words were, in a sense, more effective than Chen Youliang’s.

The heart did not lie. Although Ye Cheng often called her useless, hopeless, and a spineless coward, she could feel that he was doing it for her own good.

Even though he was always insulting her…

She also knew in her heart that she really was hopeless. She couldn’t bring herself to be ruthless, nor did she have the courage to challenge the director…

In her heart, Ye Cheng was a very gentle person. Even after she had become such a complete wreck, he still hadn’t given up on her. Every time they met, he insisted on insulting her. That was the clearest proof that he hadn’t abandoned her!

If one day Ye Cheng stopped insulting her when they met, Xiao Chun would panic, terrified that he had finally given up on her…

But if he gave her a good scolding, her heart would immediately settle.

Thank goodness. Brother Cheng still hadn’t given up on her!

Dongfang Zhixia sensed that something was off in what Xiao Chun had said.

She furrowed her brows.

“Wait, Xiao Chun. How does Director Chen treat you all?”

This was also something Shen Qinghan was concerned about. The moment Dongfang Zhixia asked the question, she turned to look as well.

She hadn’t believed a single word that man had said just now. There was no particular reason—she simply didn’t trust him.

“Director Chen is all right to us. We have food to eat.”

Xiao Chun answered honestly.

And then… that was it.

Dongfang Zhixia: “???”

Shen Qinghan: “…”

That was her assessment… they had food to eat?

“Do you get enough to eat?” Dongfang Zhixia raised an eyebrow. As if she had thought of something, she continued questioning her.

Xiao Chun thought for a moment. “Sometimes we get full. Sometimes we don’t.”

Dongfang Zhixia narrowed her eyes, and her expression darkened. However… this wasn’t the time to lose her temper. They would have to wait until the accounts arrived before drawing any conclusions.

The people responsible for reporting the cash flow had not yet sent in their findings. Everything was still undecided, and she couldn’t condemn everyone with a single stroke.

One must remember: never make decisions when anger has clouded your judgment. Emotions could excessively interfere with one’s ability to view matters objectively… Only absolute rationality could prevent mistakes!

Not getting enough to eat did not necessarily mean that Chen Youliang was abusing the children at the welfare home. It was also possible that the home was simply poorly managed, with its income unable to cover its expenses.

In that case, not having enough to eat would be an inevitable objective reality.

Such an outcome would not have been caused deliberately by Chen Youliang. The fault would not lie with him. At most, it would be a case of poor management—not a particularly serious crime…

Of course, that was the best-case scenario, an idealized possibility. There was another one as well.

Chen Youliang might have been embezzling funds, or even deliberately making things difficult for the already disabled children at the welfare home—children who feared being marginalized and abandoned.

He might have used food… and their lives as threats and bargaining chips to expand his own power.

That seemed to explain why Ye Cheng had called him “that old bastard” and “that old undead” at every turn, and even cursed him with “may your son…”

Dongfang Zhixia pulled her thoughts back. Everything was still undecided. To make a final judgment before obtaining the evidence would be rash. They would have to wait a little longer… just a little longer…

Actually… Dongfang Zhixia already had a vague answer in her heart.

“How many other people your age are there in this welfare home?” Shen Qinghan suddenly asked.

Xiao Chun was clearly much less nervous answering the young miss’s questions than she had been when speaking to the president. Her tone was considerably more relaxed.

As for the reason… it was very simple. Brother Cheng had said that the young miss was a good person—someone who said one thing but meant another. Although Xiao Chun didn’t understand what “saying one thing but meaning another” meant, if Brother Cheng said the young miss was a good person, then she had to be a good person!

“There are quite a few. The ones who were more normal were adopted by people who came to the welfare home when they were very young. Including me…”

After listening for a while, Shen Qinghan’s brows knitted together.

In other words, apart from two or three relatively normal children who had been adopted, all the others had remained at the welfare home to serve as free labor?

Like… Xiao Chun?

While Shen Qinghan was asking about the details, the financial statements for the welfare home arrived on Dongfang Zhixia’s end from the logistics staff. She quickly frowned as she read through them.

These accounts…

“Xiao Chun, don’t believe anything these two are saying! They’re bad people!”

The sound of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by Lin Baizhi’s firm and decisive voice.

Lin Baizhi forcibly interrupted the questioning and ended the young miss’s interrogation session. She pulled Xiao Chun over to her side and stood in front of her protectively, like a mother shielding her young.

Her eyes were filled with hostility as she glared at Shen Qinghan.

Damn that problem child…

“No, Sister Baizhi. Brother Cheng said that the young miss is a good person.” Xiao Chun’s sincere voice came from behind her.

Lin Baizhi: “???”

Lin Baizhi looked completely dumbfounded as she stood there questioning her entire existence. Her jealousy had already burst like an overturned vinegar jar. Her lips puckered, and she looked as though she might cry from grievance at any moment…

What young miss? To hell with being a young miss!

She was obviously a problem child, a vicious woman! She wasn’t a good person at all!!!

Dongfang Zhixia: “???”

What did she mean, “the young miss is a good person”? So she wasn’t?

You bastard, get your ass back here! I’m going to kill you!!!

Aaaaaah—!