The tyrannical little girl looked up, only to see the older sister who had come with the donor leaning against the doorway. She was so beautiful that she looked like a fairy.
The beautiful sister was gazing deeply in this direction, her thoughts completely unreadable.
“Sister, why are you here?”
A jolt of panic shot through the girl’s heart. Fearing that the beautiful sister would go back and tell on her, she instantly put on a sycophantic smile. “I was just worried they might break the toys, so I’m helping them pack and put them away first…”
Zhao Chuji watched the obsequious look on the girl’s face. Though her eyes darkened with depth, a smile bloomed on her face. “Sister Yu Yao thinks you performed very well. She asked me to come over and give you some extra pocket money. Come with me.”
“That’s wonderful!”
The girl burst into a wide smile immediately and followed Zhao Chuji to a secluded corner outside the door.
“Sister, what’s your relationship with that Sister Yu? Were you adopted by her too?”
“Does she give a lot of money? What kind of children does she like…”
The moment they stood still, the little girl blurted out her urgent questions.
“Look at me closely, and listen to what I say—”
The little girl looked up, only to collide with a gaze that was unfathomably deep…
Her expression gradually grew blank and vacant. Very quickly, she began to pour out the secrets her mother had strictly warned her never to tell anyone else…
She was actually the director’s daughter.
Most of the items donated to the orphanage by well-meaning people were resold by the director for profit.
Whenever someone came to visit or inquire about the orphanage, she would step forward on behalf of the children to answer their questions.
On ordinary days, they would beat and scold the other girls at will, treating the children like commodities to be sold. In private, they even colluded with certain criminals…
Zhao Chuji received all the information expressionlessly. Looking into the girl’s distracted, soulless eyes, she issued her commands…
“In a few days, people will come to the orphanage for an interview. Over the next few days, you must hide this from your mother, gather all the evidence, and then suddenly confess in front of the interviewers, exposing everything you and your mother have done…”
“Furthermore, you are utterly terrified of Yu Yao,” Zhao Chuji’s eyes grew colder as she spoke this line. “For the rest of your life, you will panic at the mere mention of the name Yu Yao, and you will never want to approach her as long as you live.”
Zhao Chuji knew Yu Yao’s kindness better than anyone.
When Yu Yao had questioned this little girl earlier, the flattery and sycophancy in the girl’s words had been glaringly obvious.
Having pretended to be well-behaved for so long herself, how could Zhao Chuji fail to see that the little girl was also deliberately putting on an act?
Zhao Chuji was only worried that Yu Yao might have a momentary lapse into soft-heartedness and adopt this little girl as well, which was exactly why she had sought her out.
Now she knew that this was all the director’s plot: the director wanted her daughter to pose as an orphan so she could be adopted by a wealthy, childless family, gradually seizing that family’s fortune over time…
Zhao Chuji was now highly proficient at controlling people’s minds. Manipulating a young girl of this age required no effort at all.
The little girl nodded in a daze, obeying every single instruction, before turning around to walk back to the room.
Upon returning to the room, the girl shuddered all over and blinked.
She only remembered going out to use the restroom, but everything else was a complete blank.
Looking at the pile of unwrapped gifts before her and thinking of the donor, Yu Yao, a sudden and immense wave of terror washed over her. Even the gifts in front of her began to look eerie and frightening.
Shivering, she shoved the gifts away and barked frantically at the other girls…
“Pack these things up and give them to my mom later! Don’t let me see them ever again!”
On the other side, Zhao Chuji returned to Yu Yao’s side, and the two left the orphanage shortly afterward.
After arriving home, Yu Yao contacted “X.”
Upon hearing Yu Yao’s assignment, “X” was utterly astonished. “What’s this? You’re no longer dwelling on love and romance, and you’ve actually started doing good deeds?”
“Looking at it this way, adopting Zhao Chuji was definitely the right call!”
However, “X” had other cases on hand and would only be free in a week’s time.
Yu Yao had no choice but to arrange a detailed discussion with “X” a week later.
What she did not know was that in the room right next to hers, Zhao Chuji had registered an alternative account and submitted tips to several local self-media accounts: “Chaoyang Orphanage suspected of misappropriating donated funds and abusing orphans…”
Two days later, Yu Yao saw news about the orphanage trending on the hot search.
Several self-media outlets had received anonymous reports alleging multiple issues within the orphanage. When they arrived for an on-site interview, the little girl who was pushed forward to speak suddenly began to confess…
Right in front of the director, whose face turned as pale as ash from sheer terror, the little girl spoke with a mechanical expression, laying bare all the darkness hidden within the orphanage.
She revealed that she was the director’s daughter, and exposed numerous crimes including the director’s embezzlement of donations, abuse of orphans, and child trafficking. She even produced the relevant evidence…
While lambasting the detestable mother and daughter, netizens also decried how bizarre the situation was, unable to understand why the director’s daughter who was a direct beneficiary of the scheme would suddenly confess.
Some versions circulating online even claimed that ghosts were at work, suggesting that the spirit of someone wronged to death by the director had possessed her daughter, causing her to behave so strangely.
After all, in the video, the little girl’s eyes and movements were incredibly eerie; her gaze was vacant and her behavior mechanical, making her look exactly like a puppet being controlled by strings…
As public opinion fermented, the matter naturally drew the attention of the relevant authorities. The director and her daughter were quickly thrown into prison, and the orphanage welcomed a new director.
Zhao Chuji had originally been somewhat worried that this series of events might damage Yu Yao’s passion for her cause. But when she probed discreetly, Yu Yao only felt remorseful that she hadn’t observed more closely at the time, failing to notice the suffering the girls were enduring.
Yu Yao made up her mind to establish a long-term partnership with “X” going forward. For every project she undertook, she would hire “X” to conduct a covert investigation to ensure that the donations were truly put to proper use.
“X” spent his years dealing with sordid affairs like wealthy wives catching mistresses or investigating illegitimate children and considered his own line of work to be unpresentable. He never expected that Yu Yao’s assignment would bring a new sense of meaning to his job.
If given a choice, who would willingly spend their entire life living in the dark, away from the light?
“X” naturally agreed with pleasure.
Afterward, still feeling a bit uneasy, Yu Yao took Zhao Chuji back to the orphanage to visit those few girls again.
When Yu Yao arrived, the new director was braiding the girls’ hair. Dressed simply, her eyes were filled with loving kindness as she looked at the children.
Smiles had returned to the girls’ faces. Though there was still a hint of shyness in their expressions, their eyes were incredibly bright.
Only then did Yu Yao finally set her mind at ease.
Zhao Chuji was equally delighted. She had been constantly on edge, terrified that Yu Yao might suddenly find one of the little girls cute and adopt them.
But the little girls were living very well now. Snuggling close to the director, they couldn’t bear to leave the orphanage at all.
Yu Yao had no intention of separating them either, only mentioning that she wanted to make an additional donation.
However, the new director politely and firmly declined her, maintaining her dignity.
“Thank you very much for your kindness. Because the online public opinion escalated, the orphanage received a great deal of donations, so we aren’t short of operating funds at the moment.”
“You are a good person. You can use this money on others who are in greater need of help…”
Yu Yao did not force the matter.
Looking at the smiling director, Zhao Chuji blinked, suddenly feeling a sense of enlightenment wash over her…
She would work even harder to help more people like this director who truly deserved aid, ensuring that all the pitiful people Yu Yao cared about could receive succor and live in peace and contentment.
That way, she would always be the only one by Yu Yao’s side, and no newcomer would ever appear to take her place!