Chapter 142: I’ll Only Take Care of Lin Chu’s Matters for My Whole Life
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After the passers-by listened to the recording and understood what had happened, they took pictures of it to spread the news on the internet, heavily criticizing Jiang He’s actions.
Reporters who had heard about it also came; these included television stations and newspapers.
This was the effect intended by the old Principal, which was why she did not panic when she saw them carrying a video camera.
When a female reporter used the microphone to interview her, Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan helped up the old Principal.
“I have no other purpose my whole life but to take care of all these children. What more could I hope for living to this ripe old age? These poor children are innocent. It’s not their fault that their parents had abandoned them, it’s their parents who have no conscience! These are all really good children. They are obedient and understanding. They have been living in the orphanage for as long as they can remember. There are good people out there who sponsor them to study in school, allowing them to live the life of a normal child. They may not have parents, but they still have us, and they have friends. They are optimistic, happy and always looking to improve and develop themselves.”
“Where would they go if the orphanage is demolished? Another orphanage? Force them to leave a life they are familiar with? I’d like everyone to think for them and not treat them as orphans. The orphanage is their home. Look at them as children who have a home. Imagine if they are suddenly forced out of their home one day and go to a strange place. They would lose their friends with no one to take pity on them.”
The old Principal continued sadly, “I heard that they would be placed in another orphanage in the suburbs but each orphanage can only accept a certain amount of children. Once the allocated quota is full, the children would need to be transferred somewhere else. They won’t be able to attend the schools they are attending now. Would they even have the opportunity to continue schooling? Just because this company called Jiang He wants to make a profit, they have disrupted the lives of these poor children.”
“It’s okay for grown-ups like us. I don’t need any jobs at this age and as for the other teachers, they can look for another job. But what about these children? They are helpless and unable to take any action. Besides being forced to accept this, they are unable to do anything else. They don’t even have the capability to fight for their rights and can only allow these strangers with no connection to them to decide their fate. Why should it be this way for them?”
“Does Jiang He lack money? Are they going to sacrifice these children for the sake of money? Are they abandoning their humanity for the sake of money? There are so many enterprises doing charity work but what about Jiang He? All they do are bad things! The children would have to be sacrificed for them to earn money! They are destroying these children’s lives for their gain! What wrong have these children done? It’s not their fault they have no parents. Why would Jiang He destroy them?!”
One of the children suddenly started crying. The other children followed suit as he cried. It sounded so pitiful and broke everyone’s heart.
“What loss could there be for earning a little less? But they won’t let go of any black-hearted earnings, no matter how little, even if it will destroy these children’s lives! Look at all these young girls and boys. They are currently attending university, some are even working and doing quite well even though they are normal employees. But they are willing to use their downtime to visit the children at the orphanage, buying them books and stationery. While they are not financially strong enough to sponsor these children, they would still use their free time to give these children tuition lessons. Some of the children aren’t able to follow up with the lessons in school, so these students come in to give them free tutoring.”
“Every one of them here does not have an easy life but in the eyes of Jiang He’s owners, these are unworthy commoners. Their monthly expenses cannot even compare to whatever little thing that the Jiang family buys for fun. But these girls and boys are truly compassionate towards these poor children. This boy, for example, only earns 6000 Yuan a month. Everyone knows how high the rent in B City is. He would rather compromise a better living environment and live in a lesser house and use only 2000 Yuan per month for rental to save money for the children’s school fees and help them go to school.”
“When he found out about what happened to the orphanage, he came all the way here without a word to support us. They are people without great living condition but they have hearts of gold. What about Jiang He? They think they are superior to a common person and would do anything to betray others for money. They don’t care about others, even going to the extremes of forcing innocents into a corner. And for what? Are they doing this so that they could live in glory in front of other rich people and live a more luxurious life?”
The old Principal reached out to Teacher Wang with trembling hands. Teacher Wang immediately understood and took out a phone from her pocket. She turned on the recording app and passed it to the old Principal.
The old Principal placed the phone in front of all the microphones now pointing at her.
A voice could be heard on the phone.
“I know you have a grudge against me. Taking apart the orphanage would just give more misery to these originally homeless children. But you shouldn’t be angry at me, the future of these children and where they would be placed have nothing to do with me. The only thing you should be angry about is their fate of being orphans. They have a lousy life for being abandoned by their parents the moment they were born. The only thing I have right now is the power to decide your future. There is no changing the fact that the gap between us is so huge. Since I have a natural advantage in this case, there’s no reason for me not to use it. Besides, I have no obligation to be thoughtful on your behalf. It has nothing to do with me that fate had dealt you this hand.”
“Well, that’s just what fate gave them, what has that got anything to do with me?! You commoners should stop taking advantage of others. So, what if we’re rich? Is it necessary for us to give money to you just because we have them? Does it mean we’re not kind people if we refuse to give money?”
“Since Jiang He has already bought this piece of land, we’ll be back to discuss matters of moving this orphanage. There will be someone from the company coming over this afternoon to talk to you about this.”
The first two recordings had no evidence that it was said by someone from Jiang He. Anyone could have spoken those stupid words but the last recording had completely put a nail in the coffin. There was no way of denying it.
The female voice from the phone sounded dainty and gentle yet her words were so mean. It was very easy to bypass that gentle voice, as her words could make anyone hearing them boil with rage.
“The woman who said those words is Jiang Changdai,” Teacher Wang said.
It had turned out that when Jiang Changdai brought Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining to talk terms with the old Principal. Teacher Wang was looking after the children when she heard the commotion. She had placed the children in proper care before checking what was going on and recorded the conversation.
Hearing how rude and mean Jiang Changdai was, she did not hesitate to use a phone application to record the conversation despite not knowing if the recording would be useful or not.
Teacher Wang had always been interested in electronic gadgets. Even though her phone was not a particularly expensive brand, she was still very good at using it. The applications on her phone were pretty much complete.
On the way here, she had made some editing to the original recording, removing parts of the conversation that involved or mentioned Lin Chu.
Teacher Wang continued, “Every reporter here should listen and get to know these people. Do allow me to explain if some are unaware. This is Miss Jiang. We heard that she is part of the Jiang family, and is the sister of Jiang He’s President. If anyone is not convinced of the voice’s owner, we don’t mind you taking a copy of the recording back to make a comparison. I am not familiar in operating such hi-tech tools but I think it could be used to compare the voices.”
“She mentioned very clearly that she does not care what would happen to others, the most important thing is that she gets what she wants. How arrogant is Jiang He to be able to make money by forcing people into a corner?” Teacher Want said coldly.
“If Jiang He has a legitimate reason, no one can do anything,” the old Principal said, staring straight into the camera as if wanting to go through the camera lens to see if Jiang Changdai was on the other end of it. If she was, what would her reaction be watching this? Would she get flustered?
“But we can’t ignore the negative impact of others and chase these children out of their homes for this piece of land. Even if we can’t do anything to change the results of this matter, I’d still like everyone to see the true colors of the Jiang family, for everyone to witness how inhumane they can be!” The old Principal laughed bitterly.
A volunteer by the side walked up with an angry expression, and said, “I don’t care about what the others say. From this day onwards, I am boycotting all products under Jiang He.”
Another female volunteer who was holding onto her phone added, “I’ve just checked all companies and properties under Jiang He. They include Jiang He Properties, Jia Ye Movie Studio and Jiang Jin Beer. The properties in B City is so expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to own any property now but I will not be watching any movies in Jia Ye Movie Studio no matter how cheap the tickets are or how great the special effects would be. And from this day on, I will not be buying any Jiang Jin Beer. I’m boycotting it!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
The emotions of some of the passers-by were influenced as well as they too, proclaimed their rejection of all Jiang He products. Some decided not to listen to one side of the story and just stood to observe the whole situation. They would decide later after seeing how things would develop. But even so, Jiang He’s reputation was already affected as the story started to spread.
Two more volunteers came by at noontime during their office lunch break.
Both had driven over and even brought lunch with them.
The children were too young and could not stay out too long. They were carried into the cars to take a nap.
The old Principal was not getting younger too. It took quite a while for Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang to convince her to return to the orphanage with the children.
Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan stayed back with the volunteers to continue protesting.
It was until around 4 something in the afternoon when both started to feel tired as well. After all, they were people past their 40s. They thanked the volunteers and invited them back to the orphanage for a meal.
However, the young volunteers politely declined, citing that it had been a tiring day and they would rather the old Principal and the two teachers to rest well and not be bothered to prepare food for the volunteers.
As for the few of them, it was not every day that they could get together. They would find a nearby restaurant to have a meal together and discussed what else they could do for the orphanage.
Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang did not insist and thanked them again, but emphasized for everyone to visit the orphanage one day to have a meal together.
What they did not mention was that, if they did not return for the meal, there might not be another chance.
Everyone felt a little sad and agreed to it. Even though no one said anything, everyone was thinking about the same thing. They would discuss when to visit the orphanage together again during dinner later.
…
Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang took the train back to the orphanage. It took around 15 minutes for them to walk from the station to the orphanage’s entrance.
“Teacher Yuan, Teacher Wang.” Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang saw Zhu Hexuan walking towards them from the opposite side, greeting them.
“Hexuan, when did you arrive? Did your office let you off work early today?” Teacher Wang smiled.
“They didn’t, I left work early today. My colleague came back to the office saying that you all went protesting in front of City Hall. I was worried so I came over to look,” said Zhu Hexuan.
Teacher Wang did not feel strange with her words. Zhu Hexuan was a reporter. It was only natural that she would find out about the news very soon.
“Come in quick,” Teacher Wang smiled as she said. She opened the gate to the orphanage and the three of them stepped in.
The old Principal was surprised and happy upon seeing Zhu Hexuan and asked, “Hexuan, what brings you here?”
Zhu Hexuan repeated what she explained to Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan.
The old Principal sighed and nodded. She did not say anything more.
Upon seeing the old Principal’s reaction, Zhu Hexuan’s thin lips pressed together so tight and hard it was nearly impossible to see them if not for the lipstick on her, which managed to maintain a straight line on her face.
Zhu Hexuan sat down beside the old Principal and held her hands. “Now that the orphanage is in trouble and is close to disappearing, have you told Lin Chu about it yet?”
The old Principal did not think too much with her question and shook her head. “Nope. Why give her the extra burden? She’s not having an easy time now either.”
“What are you saying? How is she not having an easy time?” Zhu Hexuan was not willing to hear that. While she tried her best to hide it, she could not help but expressed slight displeasure over it.
She let of go of the old Principal’s hands and stood up to move in front to look straight at her. “Lin Chu is with Yan Beicheng now and Yan Beicheng is the one in power within the Yan family. There is no family in the country as powerful as the Eight Dominant Families. You might not be aware of how formidable Yan Beicheng is and how powerful the Yan family is. Just give this a thought, no other families in the country could compare to these eight families, they even have an international ranking. That should give you an idea of how powerful they are.”
“How difficult can Lin Chu’s time be if she is with him? I don’t want to say this but this trouble that the orphanage is facing is nothing to Yan Beicheng. It’s just an easy matter for him to settle. All you need to do is mention this to Lin Chu and get her to help. How difficult could that be? Besides, what’s happening to the orphanage is Lin Chu’s fault.” The more Zhu Hexuan talked, the more unhappy she was.
“What did you say?” The expression on the old Principal’s face changed slightly.
“You don’t need to hide it. Others may not be aware, but I do. Remember what I do for a living. When you mentioned Jiang Changdai during your interview, I understood everything,” Zhu Hexuan sat down again and continued to advise earnestly.
“Who is Jiang Changdai? She is Yan Beicheng’s mother. Even though she is not always in B City but she is back now. Why would someone staying in Ning City suddenly return? She even chose to come over here the moment Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu got together. She doesn’t approve of Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng’s relationship. Besides, there were news reports of Yan Beicheng going outstation to Ning City and having a meal with a young woman. By the looks of it, it was a matchmaking attempt.”
“You might not be aware, but I could recognize from the photos and I’ve confirmed it with my colleagues in Ning City. Other than Yan Beicheng’s mother at the table, the lady that Yan Beicheng was supposed to be matchmade with is Lu Weining. Lu Weining’s father, Lu Zhenting, was also present.”
“It’s obvious that Jiang Changdai wants Yan Beicheng to be with Lu Weining and is unhappy about the fact that Lin Chu is an orphan,” Zhu Hexuan said, smiling sardonically. One could not be sure if it was meant for Lin Chu, or herself as well.
“People like us are only meant to be in a relationship with an ordinary man. His family may not mind us being orphans and have no family as we won’t have any emotional baggage and can give our all to his family. That is assuming that they looked at the positive side of things. But others might see us as a taboo and feel that we do not have good lives and would bring bad luck.”
“A big family like the Yan family will mind an orphan’s status. It’s not unexpected that Jiang Changdai is not happy with Lin Chu, which is why it was easy for me to guess that Jiang Changdai is partially supportive toward Lu Weining. Jiang He’s sudden decision to buy this piece of land and demolish the orphanage has something to do about threatening Lin Chu, am I right? They couldn’t convince Lin Chu to break up with Yan Beicheng, so they came to threaten you instead. They are holding the orphanage and the children hostage so you can talk to Lin Chu,” said Zhu Hexuan.
The old Principal’s mouth moved a little. Since Zhu Hexuan had already guessed the full story, she could only sigh helplessly. Even though she did not say a word, but she had silently admitted to it.
“Principal, at the end of the day, the root cause of all of these troubles is Lin Chu. If not for Lin Chu, Jiang Changdai would not come looking for the orphanage. The orphanage had been doing well on its own, you didn’t need to pull along all the teachers and children to protest. The children could have continued to stay here safely. Since Lin Chu was the cause of it all, why not tell Lin Chu about this?”
“Since this is because of her, then this should be solved by her and Yan Beicheng. She found herself such a capable man, it can’t be that she couldn’t be bothered to take care of this small issue. We all originated from this orphanage, how would she do nothing about it? If it was me, my conscience would not let me do so!”
“Hexuan, I know you mean well. But I was the one that didn’t want Lin Chu to find out about this. Yes, Jiang Changdai did approach me because of Lin Chu. You’re a reporter and you know many people, so you should be aware that our orphanage would be demolished sooner or later. It’s just that it was brought ahead of schedule because of the Jiang family. It’s because Jiang Changdai was after Lin Chu hence all the more that we should not tell Lin Chu. She has not had an easy life, we…”
“How does she not have an easy life? I’ve analyzed so much of it to you. Yan Beicheng is very capable, would it hurt for him to help us? This is just a small matter to him,” Zhu Hexuan said unhappily.
“Hexuan, if she has an easy life, why would Jiang Changdai come threatening? You didn’t see how Jiang Changdai and Yan Zhiqing acted. Because of this, I can’t allow Lin Chu to be threatened by that pair of mother and daughter over our troubles. Even if Lin Chu could help us, I want to stand up for Lin Chu! I want to tell that mother and daughter that the world does not revolve around them!” The old Principal said grimly. The look on her face reflected her youthful days of determination. It was a sight to see her like this beyond her usual, loving self.
“Aren’t they looking down on us for being poor? We may not have money, but they should know that we still have our integrity and we will not allow them to manipulate us as they like. Yes, it could all be solved by approaching Beicheng. But what then, would Jiang Changdai and her daughter think of us? They will think of us dependable on her son for everything, they will think that we need Beicheng’s help for every little thing. They will think that we are useless and helpless, proving their initial impression of us!”
“If there’s a first time, there will be a second time. If Beicheng solves their first threat to us, they would realize what we mean to Lin Chu and come back to trouble us a second time. Sooner or later, they will cause everyone to get tired of it. What if they manage to break up Lin Chu and Beicheng? No matter how close their relationship is, it would not withstand friction coming towards them again and again. I will not give Jiang Changdai this opportunity.”
“So, you’re willing to sacrifice the entire orphanage for Lin Chu’s sake? Because of her, you’re willing to sacrifice the children? I knew you’ve always been fond of Lin Chu since she was young. You love her the most. Lin Chu has always had a good life. She’s had your love since she was little. You’re always thinking for her,” Zhu Hexuan’s voice became shrill.
“She had you to love her when she was at the orphanage. When she was seven, she was picked to be adopted by the Lin family to become their young mistress. She lived in a villa, had wonderful clothes and good food. When she graduated, she met Yan Beicheng. Everyone is respectful of her wherever she goes. No ordinary person could have a life as good as hers.”
“She is already so lucky, yet now, you are willing to sacrifice the orphanage for her? Is she that important that you only have eyes for her and not anybody else?” Zhu Hexuan clenched her fists and questioned unhappily. Her clenched fists were trembling slightly.
The old Principal gazed at her disbelievingly, even Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang were shocked.
They had never imagined that the usually smiling Zhu Hexuan, who was always so nice and filial whenever she visited, could have so much against the orphanage and toward Lin Chu.
“Is this what you’ve been feeling all along?” The old Principal asked in shock. She had never known that Zhu Hexuan thought so negatively of her and Lin Chu.
“Yes, I’ve always felt this way. Why is she the one with the good life, the one with everything going well for her? Why is she the one that could leave the orphanage for a better life out there? Why was it that when the Lin family came looking to adopt a child, you didn’t pick me? Isn’t all because you like Lin Chu and gave all the best things to her? It’s the same right now. When Lin Chu has some trouble, you don’t even want to disturb her and choose to face it on your own. You’d rather sacrifice everyone around you, including yourself, rather than allow Lin Chu to face any trouble, won’t you? I don’t understand why you like her so much?!”
The old Principal blinked. She did not know what to say.
Shock, heartache, disappointment, sadness. So many emotions had weld up inside of her at the same time. There was a mixed expression on her face.
“So, this is how you felt all along. When Old Lady Lin approached us to adopt a child, they did not pick one by the child’s merits but by the eight birth characters. Lin Chu’s eight characters matched what she was looking for. She did not care which child it was, all she cared about were whether if the characters matched. If you had the eight characters, then you would be the one they would have picked, and not Lin Chu.”
“Or, did you think that I should have changed your eight characters for your sake? I’d rather Lin Chu not be brought away by the Lin family. It was one of my biggest regret in life that I allowed the Lin family to take her away. Lin Chu had never once mentioned her life with the Lin family whenever she visited the orphanage and I’ve never told anyone this as well. You have no idea how she was tortured by the Lin family! If I didn’t visit the Lin family and seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have found out either! That child was always concerned that I would get worried and guilty, so she never mentioned it to me. Every time she visited the orphanage, she was always smiling, always acting like she was living a good life.”
“You think she lived a wonderful life? In reality, she lived in a condition worse than you did. She was beaten in the Lin family often and there were several times when she almost couldn’t make it. All you see is on the surface. Why don’t you think about this: if she did had a good life as you described, why would Jiang Changdai come here looking for trouble? As long as the Lin family acknowledges her, they could have been her shield. Even if the Lin family is not the most formidable in B City, but they are still considered well-to-do. Jiang Changdai would not have thought of her as a disgrace and harp on the issue of her background,” the old Principal shook her head in disappointment at Zhu Hexuan.
There was a flash in Zhu Hexuan’s eyes. She was not aware of this.
But Zhu Hexuan still insisted. “But it’s all over now, isn’t it? Lin Chu has survived all the bad and is now together with Yan Beicheng. How many people in the world could have luck like hers? She is now able to help the orphanage, why won’t you let her do so? This was her fault in the first place. Are you going to gamble with the children’s future?”
The old Principal could not stand to hear anymore and waved her hand impatiently. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Don’t let the children hear what you said, it will scare them.”
Zhu Hexuan opened her mouth wanting to say more but the old Principal took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.
She sounded sterner, “Look at the time, why don’t you stay for dinner before leaving.”
But Zhu Hexuan felt that it was not a truly welcoming tone for her to stay for dinner.
At that moment, the doorbell of the orphanage rang.
Teacher Yuan said, “I’ll go open the door.”
She hurried out.
When she returned, the old Principal saw a strange look on her face. She looked behind her to see Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng following her in.
The old Principal was surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Lin Chu walked up quickly. She did not bother to say anything else but held the old principal’s hands and said, “I know that Miss Jiang was here. Jiang He wants to buy the land here.”
“How did you find out?” The old Principal asked in surprise.
Lin Chu knew that the old Principal did not often go online. Those of a certain age would not bother themselves with this, so, naturally, she would not be aware of how fast news could spread these days. It was not necessary to wait for news from the mainstream media.
When they were protesting today, the passers-by had taken pictures of the situation and posted it online. There were pictures and videos. Everything was online.
“I saw it online,” Lin Chu explained.
The old Principal as taken aback. She was pinching herself in her heart for forgetting about this.
“How could you hide this from me? They approached the orphanage because of me. You hid this from me and tried to solve this yourself. All you’re doing is making me sad about everything,” Lin Chu said guiltily.
There was a flash of sarcasm in Zhu Hexuan’s eyes as she immediately said, “That’s right. I was saying the same thing. She can’t be sacrificing the children’s future because of you.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Yan Beicheng suddenly said. His deep, rich voice was calm. It made everyone felt safe and secure like this was nothing difficult to be solved.
As long as he voiced out, this could be taken care of easily.
Zhu Hexuan looked at Yan Beicheng before averting her gaze again. How could someone so outstanding fall for Lin Chu?
Why did she have such good luck?!
The old Principal twitched her lips, but no words came out.
Lin Chu pulled the old Principal down to sit.
Yan Beicheng looked coldly at Zhu Hexuan who was standing at the side, she was attempting to take a seat as well. He said coldly, “I’ve something to say to the Principal. Miss Zhu, it would be nice to have some privacy.”
Yan Beicheng’s tone was mature and casual when he spoke to the old Principal. Even though it did not have too much emotion in them, but he still sounded gentle.
When he talked to Zhu Hexuan, however, he sounded impatient. He did not sound willing to even speak a second sentence to her. He did not even want to give her a second look as if he found her annoying.
Zhu Hexuan’s mouth opened, she did not know what she did to make Yan Beicheng dislike her so much.
Why was he so gentle to Lin Chu yet so cold to her, to the point of finding her disgusting?
Even if they were not related in any way and did not know each other, there was no need to be so rude!
Zhu Hexuan could only reply with a thick face. “I’m from the orphanage too. The old Principal took care of me since I was young. I’d like to be part of this conversation to see if there is any way I can help out.”
Yan Beicheng glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He did not even bother to look her straight in the eyes as his lips curved into a sarcastic smile and responded, “The trouble the orphanage is facing involves me and Lin Chu’s personal affairs. In other words, this is between us and the orphanage and has nothing to do with Miss Zhu. I am fully capable of solving the orphanage’s problem. You are the one that cannot bring any help. What happens next is our private matter, there is no need for Miss Zhu to participate.”
Even if Zhu Hexuan had wanted to stay back, she no longer dared to after hearing his words. If she did, Yan Beicheng would not say anything more. She would not be able to find out anything and would even offend him.
Zhu Hexuan’s mouth pressed into a straight line as she stiffly picked up her bag and said to the old Principal, “I’ll take my leave first and come visit you another day.”
The old Principal nodded in acknowledgment and reminded her to be careful on the road.
After Zhu Hexuan left, Yan Beicheng sat down too. It was not his first time here and he treated this place as his in-law’s house. He was very familiar with the orphanage.
He sat opposite with his body slightly bent forward. He rested his hands on his long legs with his fingers crossed. He did not give a chance for the old Principal to reject him and said, “This is not a difficult matter for me to solve. Please don’t feel like the orphanage has given Lin Chu trouble and don’t worry about Miss Jiang coming here to harass you again thinking that I’d be sick of it and would not be willing to help Lin Chu with her problems anymore.”
The old Principal’s words were in his mouth, so she shut up.
Yan Beicheng smiled gently. “I am very willing to solve her problems for my whole life. Besides, this was caused by Miss Jiang. No matter how reluctant I am to admit, she is still my mother. At the end of it all, the real person to have brought me all this trouble is not the orphanage and not Lin Chu. It’s my mother. If she isn’t afraid to give her son trouble, why would I think that you are giving me trouble?”
“She wants me to marry Lu Weining but I won’t. Even if all the women in the world died and there is only Lu Weining left, I still would not marry her. Besides Lu Weining, even if it was another woman from some other family, Miss Jiang would not be happy. This has nothing to do with Lin Chu’s background. No matter who the woman is, so long she is not Lu Weining, I would need to take care of all the trouble my mother would bring to my girlfriend.”
“Of course, I don’t enjoy solving someone else’s problem. I’ll only take care of Lin Chu’s matters my whole life. So, you don’t need to worry and bother about it. It will be taken care of very soon. Please continue to stay here with the children. You don’t need to go anywhere, and no one will chase you out of here. The orphanage will always be here, it will forever be here,” Yan Beicheng smiled lightly.
The old Principal no longer felt worried about the orphanage after listening to Yan Beicheng. As for other matters, she could not completely let go of it still.
She had not planned to let Lin Chu learn about this, but since she had already found out, the old Principal no longer insisted on solving this on her own.
That night, the protest that had gone on in the day with the old Principal and the volunteers became the headline of many media outlets.
The next morning, a media outlet obtained confirmation on Jiang Changdai going to the orphanage to threaten the old principal.
They were unaware that Jiang Changdai was there to threaten the orphanage over Lin Chu, but they could still tell from the recording by Teacher Wang that the voice belonged to Jiang Changdai.
Besides, the old Principal had protested in the morning and some people did post it online, but the news had not completely spread out.
Reporters who got wind of the news heard from the recording that Jiang He would send someone in the afternoon to negotiate with the orphanage. So, they immediately returned to their offices and dispatched people to stake out at the orphanage. A representative from Jiang He did arrive.
The reporters on stakeout were very efficient. They hid a pinhole camera in the cameraman’s bags while another reporter pretended to be a volunteer who refused to allow the representative from Jiang He to enter. The reporter was able to get Jiang He’s representative to reveal information after exchanging a few words.
The protest video was uploaded online yesterday afternoon when Lin Chu saw it. She then told Yan Beicheng about it and they went to the orphanage together.
This morning, when the reporter who had refused entry to the Jiang He representative wrote about the exchange, it became an online sensation.
What the old Principal said yesterday was right. Jiang He did not care about the lives of others and had no compassion over the predicament of these poor children.
The representative from Jiang He had received instructions from Jiang Changdai and was given the impression from Jiang Changdai’s attitude on how to handle the matter. This was why when the representatives were stopped by the reporter, they had treated them as volunteers from the orphanage and spoke to them in complete arrogance.
The reporter had a field day collecting the evidence as the representatives boldly spoke their mind. There was not much difference in how Jiang Changdai relayed the information.
Jiang He wanted to buy the land and demolish the houses to build new ones. Everyone staying there should get out. No matter how pitiful they thought they were, it had nothing to do with them. It was their fault for not being capable enough. If they were capable people, why would they be afraid of others coming to demolish their homes? Why would they be afraid of having nowhere to go?
It was their fault that fate dealt them a bad hand, their fault that this was what they were born into. It had nothing to do with Jiang He. Jiang He had no obligation to take care of them. There are so many pitiful people in this world, how many could they take care of all of them?
This was a development for society and an economic booster. This was something good that they were trying to put a stop to, which made them nothing more than savage commoners. A man would be poor if he had no ambitions. Poverty stifles ambition, no wonder they were meant to be poor their whole lives!
Chapter 142: I’ll Only Take Care of Lin Chu’s Matters for My Whole Life
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After the passers-by listened to the recording and understood what had happened, they took pictures of it to spread the news on the internet, heavily criticizing Jiang He’s actions.
Reporters who had heard about it also came; these included television stations and newspapers.
This was the effect intended by the old Principal, which was why she did not panic when she saw them carrying a video camera.
When a female reporter used the microphone to interview her, Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan helped up the old Principal.
“I have no other purpose my whole life but to take care of all these children. What more could I hope for living to this ripe old age? These poor children are innocent. It’s not their fault that their parents had abandoned them, it’s their parents who have no conscience! These are all really good children. They are obedient and understanding. They have been living in the orphanage for as long as they can remember. There are good people out there who sponsor them to study in school, allowing them to live the life of a normal child. They may not have parents, but they still have us, and they have friends. They are optimistic, happy and always looking to improve and develop themselves.”
“Where would they go if the orphanage is demolished? Another orphanage? Force them to leave a life they are familiar with? I’d like everyone to think for them and not treat them as orphans. The orphanage is their home. Look at them as children who have a home. Imagine if they are suddenly forced out of their home one day and go to a strange place. They would lose their friends with no one to take pity on them.”
The old Principal continued sadly, “I heard that they would be placed in another orphanage in the suburbs but each orphanage can only accept a certain amount of children. Once the allocated quota is full, the children would need to be transferred somewhere else. They won’t be able to attend the schools they are attending now. Would they even have the opportunity to continue schooling? Just because this company called Jiang He wants to make a profit, they have disrupted the lives of these poor children.”
“It’s okay for grown-ups like us. I don’t need any jobs at this age and as for the other teachers, they can look for another job. But what about these children? They are helpless and unable to take any action. Besides being forced to accept this, they are unable to do anything else. They don’t even have the capability to fight for their rights and can only allow these strangers with no connection to them to decide their fate. Why should it be this way for them?”
“Does Jiang He lack money? Are they going to sacrifice these children for the sake of money? Are they abandoning their humanity for the sake of money? There are so many enterprises doing charity work but what about Jiang He? All they do are bad things! The children would have to be sacrificed for them to earn money! They are destroying these children’s lives for their gain! What wrong have these children done? It’s not their fault they have no parents. Why would Jiang He destroy them?!”
One of the children suddenly started crying. The other children followed suit as he cried. It sounded so pitiful and broke everyone’s heart.
“What loss could there be for earning a little less? But they won’t let go of any black-hearted earnings, no matter how little, even if it will destroy these children’s lives! Look at all these young girls and boys. They are currently attending university, some are even working and doing quite well even though they are normal employees. But they are willing to use their downtime to visit the children at the orphanage, buying them books and stationery. While they are not financially strong enough to sponsor these children, they would still use their free time to give these children tuition lessons. Some of the children aren’t able to follow up with the lessons in school, so these students come in to give them free tutoring.”
“Every one of them here does not have an easy life but in the eyes of Jiang He’s owners, these are unworthy commoners. Their monthly expenses cannot even compare to whatever little thing that the Jiang family buys for fun. But these girls and boys are truly compassionate towards these poor children. This boy, for example, only earns 6000 Yuan a month. Everyone knows how high the rent in B City is. He would rather compromise a better living environment and live in a lesser house and use only 2000 Yuan per month for rental to save money for the children’s school fees and help them go to school.”
“When he found out about what happened to the orphanage, he came all the way here without a word to support us. They are people without great living condition but they have hearts of gold. What about Jiang He? They think they are superior to a common person and would do anything to betray others for money. They don’t care about others, even going to the extremes of forcing innocents into a corner. And for what? Are they doing this so that they could live in glory in front of other rich people and live a more luxurious life?”
The old Principal reached out to Teacher Wang with trembling hands. Teacher Wang immediately understood and took out a phone from her pocket. She turned on the recording app and passed it to the old Principal.
The old Principal placed the phone in front of all the microphones now pointing at her.
A voice could be heard on the phone.
“I know you have a grudge against me. Taking apart the orphanage would just give more misery to these originally homeless children. But you shouldn’t be angry at me, the future of these children and where they would be placed have nothing to do with me. The only thing you should be angry about is their fate of being orphans. They have a lousy life for being abandoned by their parents the moment they were born. The only thing I have right now is the power to decide your future. There is no changing the fact that the gap between us is so huge. Since I have a natural advantage in this case, there’s no reason for me not to use it. Besides, I have no obligation to be thoughtful on your behalf. It has nothing to do with me that fate had dealt you this hand.”
“Well, that’s just what fate gave them, what has that got anything to do with me?! You commoners should stop taking advantage of others. So, what if we’re rich? Is it necessary for us to give money to you just because we have them? Does it mean we’re not kind people if we refuse to give money?”
“Since Jiang He has already bought this piece of land, we’ll be back to discuss matters of moving this orphanage. There will be someone from the company coming over this afternoon to talk to you about this.”
The first two recordings had no evidence that it was said by someone from Jiang He. Anyone could have spoken those stupid words but the last recording had completely put a nail in the coffin. There was no way of denying it.
The female voice from the phone sounded dainty and gentle yet her words were so mean. It was very easy to bypass that gentle voice, as her words could make anyone hearing them boil with rage.
“The woman who said those words is Jiang Changdai,” Teacher Wang said.
It had turned out that when Jiang Changdai brought Yan Zhiqing and Lu Weining to talk terms with the old Principal. Teacher Wang was looking after the children when she heard the commotion. She had placed the children in proper care before checking what was going on and recorded the conversation.
Hearing how rude and mean Jiang Changdai was, she did not hesitate to use a phone application to record the conversation despite not knowing if the recording would be useful or not.
Teacher Wang had always been interested in electronic gadgets. Even though her phone was not a particularly expensive brand, she was still very good at using it. The applications on her phone were pretty much complete.
On the way here, she had made some editing to the original recording, removing parts of the conversation that involved or mentioned Lin Chu.
Teacher Wang continued, “Every reporter here should listen and get to know these people. Do allow me to explain if some are unaware. This is Miss Jiang. We heard that she is part of the Jiang family, and is the sister of Jiang He’s President. If anyone is not convinced of the voice’s owner, we don’t mind you taking a copy of the recording back to make a comparison. I am not familiar in operating such hi-tech tools but I think it could be used to compare the voices.”
“She mentioned very clearly that she does not care what would happen to others, the most important thing is that she gets what she wants. How arrogant is Jiang He to be able to make money by forcing people into a corner?” Teacher Want said coldly.
“If Jiang He has a legitimate reason, no one can do anything,” the old Principal said, staring straight into the camera as if wanting to go through the camera lens to see if Jiang Changdai was on the other end of it. If she was, what would her reaction be watching this? Would she get flustered?
“But we can’t ignore the negative impact of others and chase these children out of their homes for this piece of land. Even if we can’t do anything to change the results of this matter, I’d still like everyone to see the true colors of the Jiang family, for everyone to witness how inhumane they can be!” The old Principal laughed bitterly.
A volunteer by the side walked up with an angry expression, and said, “I don’t care about what the others say. From this day onwards, I am boycotting all products under Jiang He.”
Another female volunteer who was holding onto her phone added, “I’ve just checked all companies and properties under Jiang He. They include Jiang He Properties, Jia Ye Movie Studio and Jiang Jin Beer. The properties in B City is so expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to own any property now but I will not be watching any movies in Jia Ye Movie Studio no matter how cheap the tickets are or how great the special effects would be. And from this day on, I will not be buying any Jiang Jin Beer. I’m boycotting it!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
The emotions of some of the passers-by were influenced as well as they too, proclaimed their rejection of all Jiang He products. Some decided not to listen to one side of the story and just stood to observe the whole situation. They would decide later after seeing how things would develop. But even so, Jiang He’s reputation was already affected as the story started to spread.
Two more volunteers came by at noontime during their office lunch break.
Both had driven over and even brought lunch with them.
The children were too young and could not stay out too long. They were carried into the cars to take a nap.
The old Principal was not getting younger too. It took quite a while for Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang to convince her to return to the orphanage with the children.
Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan stayed back with the volunteers to continue protesting.
It was until around 4 something in the afternoon when both started to feel tired as well. After all, they were people past their 40s. They thanked the volunteers and invited them back to the orphanage for a meal.
However, the young volunteers politely declined, citing that it had been a tiring day and they would rather the old Principal and the two teachers to rest well and not be bothered to prepare food for the volunteers.
As for the few of them, it was not every day that they could get together. They would find a nearby restaurant to have a meal together and discussed what else they could do for the orphanage.
Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang did not insist and thanked them again, but emphasized for everyone to visit the orphanage one day to have a meal together.
What they did not mention was that, if they did not return for the meal, there might not be another chance.
Everyone felt a little sad and agreed to it. Even though no one said anything, everyone was thinking about the same thing. They would discuss when to visit the orphanage together again during dinner later.
…
Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang took the train back to the orphanage. It took around 15 minutes for them to walk from the station to the orphanage’s entrance.
“Teacher Yuan, Teacher Wang.” Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang saw Zhu Hexuan walking towards them from the opposite side, greeting them.
“Hexuan, when did you arrive? Did your office let you off work early today?” Teacher Wang smiled.
“They didn’t, I left work early today. My colleague came back to the office saying that you all went protesting in front of City Hall. I was worried so I came over to look,” said Zhu Hexuan.
Teacher Wang did not feel strange with her words. Zhu Hexuan was a reporter. It was only natural that she would find out about the news very soon.
“Come in quick,” Teacher Wang smiled as she said. She opened the gate to the orphanage and the three of them stepped in.
The old Principal was surprised and happy upon seeing Zhu Hexuan and asked, “Hexuan, what brings you here?”
Zhu Hexuan repeated what she explained to Teacher Wang and Teacher Yuan.
The old Principal sighed and nodded. She did not say anything more.
Upon seeing the old Principal’s reaction, Zhu Hexuan’s thin lips pressed together so tight and hard it was nearly impossible to see them if not for the lipstick on her, which managed to maintain a straight line on her face.
Zhu Hexuan sat down beside the old Principal and held her hands. “Now that the orphanage is in trouble and is close to disappearing, have you told Lin Chu about it yet?”
The old Principal did not think too much with her question and shook her head. “Nope. Why give her the extra burden? She’s not having an easy time now either.”
“What are you saying? How is she not having an easy time?” Zhu Hexuan was not willing to hear that. While she tried her best to hide it, she could not help but expressed slight displeasure over it.
She let of go of the old Principal’s hands and stood up to move in front to look straight at her. “Lin Chu is with Yan Beicheng now and Yan Beicheng is the one in power within the Yan family. There is no family in the country as powerful as the Eight Dominant Families. You might not be aware of how formidable Yan Beicheng is and how powerful the Yan family is. Just give this a thought, no other families in the country could compare to these eight families, they even have an international ranking. That should give you an idea of how powerful they are.”
“How difficult can Lin Chu’s time be if she is with him? I don’t want to say this but this trouble that the orphanage is facing is nothing to Yan Beicheng. It’s just an easy matter for him to settle. All you need to do is mention this to Lin Chu and get her to help. How difficult could that be? Besides, what’s happening to the orphanage is Lin Chu’s fault.” The more Zhu Hexuan talked, the more unhappy she was.
“What did you say?” The expression on the old Principal’s face changed slightly.
“You don’t need to hide it. Others may not be aware, but I do. Remember what I do for a living. When you mentioned Jiang Changdai during your interview, I understood everything,” Zhu Hexuan sat down again and continued to advise earnestly.
“Who is Jiang Changdai? She is Yan Beicheng’s mother. Even though she is not always in B City but she is back now. Why would someone staying in Ning City suddenly return? She even chose to come over here the moment Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu got together. She doesn’t approve of Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng’s relationship. Besides, there were news reports of Yan Beicheng going outstation to Ning City and having a meal with a young woman. By the looks of it, it was a matchmaking attempt.”
“You might not be aware, but I could recognize from the photos and I’ve confirmed it with my colleagues in Ning City. Other than Yan Beicheng’s mother at the table, the lady that Yan Beicheng was supposed to be matchmade with is Lu Weining. Lu Weining’s father, Lu Zhenting, was also present.”
“It’s obvious that Jiang Changdai wants Yan Beicheng to be with Lu Weining and is unhappy about the fact that Lin Chu is an orphan,” Zhu Hexuan said, smiling sardonically. One could not be sure if it was meant for Lin Chu, or herself as well.
“People like us are only meant to be in a relationship with an ordinary man. His family may not mind us being orphans and have no family as we won’t have any emotional baggage and can give our all to his family. That is assuming that they looked at the positive side of things. But others might see us as a taboo and feel that we do not have good lives and would bring bad luck.”
“A big family like the Yan family will mind an orphan’s status. It’s not unexpected that Jiang Changdai is not happy with Lin Chu, which is why it was easy for me to guess that Jiang Changdai is partially supportive toward Lu Weining. Jiang He’s sudden decision to buy this piece of land and demolish the orphanage has something to do about threatening Lin Chu, am I right? They couldn’t convince Lin Chu to break up with Yan Beicheng, so they came to threaten you instead. They are holding the orphanage and the children hostage so you can talk to Lin Chu,” said Zhu Hexuan.
The old Principal’s mouth moved a little. Since Zhu Hexuan had already guessed the full story, she could only sigh helplessly. Even though she did not say a word, but she had silently admitted to it.
“Principal, at the end of the day, the root cause of all of these troubles is Lin Chu. If not for Lin Chu, Jiang Changdai would not come looking for the orphanage. The orphanage had been doing well on its own, you didn’t need to pull along all the teachers and children to protest. The children could have continued to stay here safely. Since Lin Chu was the cause of it all, why not tell Lin Chu about this?”
“Since this is because of her, then this should be solved by her and Yan Beicheng. She found herself such a capable man, it can’t be that she couldn’t be bothered to take care of this small issue. We all originated from this orphanage, how would she do nothing about it? If it was me, my conscience would not let me do so!”
“Hexuan, I know you mean well. But I was the one that didn’t want Lin Chu to find out about this. Yes, Jiang Changdai did approach me because of Lin Chu. You’re a reporter and you know many people, so you should be aware that our orphanage would be demolished sooner or later. It’s just that it was brought ahead of schedule because of the Jiang family. It’s because Jiang Changdai was after Lin Chu hence all the more that we should not tell Lin Chu. She has not had an easy life, we…”
“How does she not have an easy life? I’ve analyzed so much of it to you. Yan Beicheng is very capable, would it hurt for him to help us? This is just a small matter to him,” Zhu Hexuan said unhappily.
“Hexuan, if she has an easy life, why would Jiang Changdai come threatening? You didn’t see how Jiang Changdai and Yan Zhiqing acted. Because of this, I can’t allow Lin Chu to be threatened by that pair of mother and daughter over our troubles. Even if Lin Chu could help us, I want to stand up for Lin Chu! I want to tell that mother and daughter that the world does not revolve around them!” The old Principal said grimly. The look on her face reflected her youthful days of determination. It was a sight to see her like this beyond her usual, loving self.
“Aren’t they looking down on us for being poor? We may not have money, but they should know that we still have our integrity and we will not allow them to manipulate us as they like. Yes, it could all be solved by approaching Beicheng. But what then, would Jiang Changdai and her daughter think of us? They will think of us dependable on her son for everything, they will think that we need Beicheng’s help for every little thing. They will think that we are useless and helpless, proving their initial impression of us!”
“If there’s a first time, there will be a second time. If Beicheng solves their first threat to us, they would realize what we mean to Lin Chu and come back to trouble us a second time. Sooner or later, they will cause everyone to get tired of it. What if they manage to break up Lin Chu and Beicheng? No matter how close their relationship is, it would not withstand friction coming towards them again and again. I will not give Jiang Changdai this opportunity.”
“So, you’re willing to sacrifice the entire orphanage for Lin Chu’s sake? Because of her, you’re willing to sacrifice the children? I knew you’ve always been fond of Lin Chu since she was young. You love her the most. Lin Chu has always had a good life. She’s had your love since she was little. You’re always thinking for her,” Zhu Hexuan’s voice became shrill.
“She had you to love her when she was at the orphanage. When she was seven, she was picked to be adopted by the Lin family to become their young mistress. She lived in a villa, had wonderful clothes and good food. When she graduated, she met Yan Beicheng. Everyone is respectful of her wherever she goes. No ordinary person could have a life as good as hers.”
“She is already so lucky, yet now, you are willing to sacrifice the orphanage for her? Is she that important that you only have eyes for her and not anybody else?” Zhu Hexuan clenched her fists and questioned unhappily. Her clenched fists were trembling slightly.
The old Principal gazed at her disbelievingly, even Teacher Yuan and Teacher Wang were shocked.
They had never imagined that the usually smiling Zhu Hexuan, who was always so nice and filial whenever she visited, could have so much against the orphanage and toward Lin Chu.
“Is this what you’ve been feeling all along?” The old Principal asked in shock. She had never known that Zhu Hexuan thought so negatively of her and Lin Chu.
“Yes, I’ve always felt this way. Why is she the one with the good life, the one with everything going well for her? Why is she the one that could leave the orphanage for a better life out there? Why was it that when the Lin family came looking to adopt a child, you didn’t pick me? Isn’t all because you like Lin Chu and gave all the best things to her? It’s the same right now. When Lin Chu has some trouble, you don’t even want to disturb her and choose to face it on your own. You’d rather sacrifice everyone around you, including yourself, rather than allow Lin Chu to face any trouble, won’t you? I don’t understand why you like her so much?!”
The old Principal blinked. She did not know what to say.
Shock, heartache, disappointment, sadness. So many emotions had weld up inside of her at the same time. There was a mixed expression on her face.
“So, this is how you felt all along. When Old Lady Lin approached us to adopt a child, they did not pick one by the child’s merits but by the eight birth characters. Lin Chu’s eight characters matched what she was looking for. She did not care which child it was, all she cared about were whether if the characters matched. If you had the eight characters, then you would be the one they would have picked, and not Lin Chu.”
“Or, did you think that I should have changed your eight characters for your sake? I’d rather Lin Chu not be brought away by the Lin family. It was one of my biggest regret in life that I allowed the Lin family to take her away. Lin Chu had never once mentioned her life with the Lin family whenever she visited the orphanage and I’ve never told anyone this as well. You have no idea how she was tortured by the Lin family! If I didn’t visit the Lin family and seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have found out either! That child was always concerned that I would get worried and guilty, so she never mentioned it to me. Every time she visited the orphanage, she was always smiling, always acting like she was living a good life.”
“You think she lived a wonderful life? In reality, she lived in a condition worse than you did. She was beaten in the Lin family often and there were several times when she almost couldn’t make it. All you see is on the surface. Why don’t you think about this: if she did had a good life as you described, why would Jiang Changdai come here looking for trouble? As long as the Lin family acknowledges her, they could have been her shield. Even if the Lin family is not the most formidable in B City, but they are still considered well-to-do. Jiang Changdai would not have thought of her as a disgrace and harp on the issue of her background,” the old Principal shook her head in disappointment at Zhu Hexuan.
There was a flash in Zhu Hexuan’s eyes. She was not aware of this.
But Zhu Hexuan still insisted. “But it’s all over now, isn’t it? Lin Chu has survived all the bad and is now together with Yan Beicheng. How many people in the world could have luck like hers? She is now able to help the orphanage, why won’t you let her do so? This was her fault in the first place. Are you going to gamble with the children’s future?”
The old Principal could not stand to hear anymore and waved her hand impatiently. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Don’t let the children hear what you said, it will scare them.”
Zhu Hexuan opened her mouth wanting to say more but the old Principal took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.
She sounded sterner, “Look at the time, why don’t you stay for dinner before leaving.”
But Zhu Hexuan felt that it was not a truly welcoming tone for her to stay for dinner.
At that moment, the doorbell of the orphanage rang.
Teacher Yuan said, “I’ll go open the door.”
She hurried out.
When she returned, the old Principal saw a strange look on her face. She looked behind her to see Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng following her in.
The old Principal was surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Lin Chu walked up quickly. She did not bother to say anything else but held the old principal’s hands and said, “I know that Miss Jiang was here. Jiang He wants to buy the land here.”
“How did you find out?” The old Principal asked in surprise.
Lin Chu knew that the old Principal did not often go online. Those of a certain age would not bother themselves with this, so, naturally, she would not be aware of how fast news could spread these days. It was not necessary to wait for news from the mainstream media.
When they were protesting today, the passers-by had taken pictures of the situation and posted it online. There were pictures and videos. Everything was online.
“I saw it online,” Lin Chu explained.
The old Principal as taken aback. She was pinching herself in her heart for forgetting about this.
“How could you hide this from me? They approached the orphanage because of me. You hid this from me and tried to solve this yourself. All you’re doing is making me sad about everything,” Lin Chu said guiltily.
There was a flash of sarcasm in Zhu Hexuan’s eyes as she immediately said, “That’s right. I was saying the same thing. She can’t be sacrificing the children’s future because of you.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Yan Beicheng suddenly said. His deep, rich voice was calm. It made everyone felt safe and secure like this was nothing difficult to be solved.
As long as he voiced out, this could be taken care of easily.
Zhu Hexuan looked at Yan Beicheng before averting her gaze again. How could someone so outstanding fall for Lin Chu?
Why did she have such good luck?!
The old Principal twitched her lips, but no words came out.
Lin Chu pulled the old Principal down to sit.
Yan Beicheng looked coldly at Zhu Hexuan who was standing at the side, she was attempting to take a seat as well. He said coldly, “I’ve something to say to the Principal. Miss Zhu, it would be nice to have some privacy.”
Yan Beicheng’s tone was mature and casual when he spoke to the old Principal. Even though it did not have too much emotion in them, but he still sounded gentle.
When he talked to Zhu Hexuan, however, he sounded impatient. He did not sound willing to even speak a second sentence to her. He did not even want to give her a second look as if he found her annoying.
Zhu Hexuan’s mouth opened, she did not know what she did to make Yan Beicheng dislike her so much.
Why was he so gentle to Lin Chu yet so cold to her, to the point of finding her disgusting?
Even if they were not related in any way and did not know each other, there was no need to be so rude!
Zhu Hexuan could only reply with a thick face. “I’m from the orphanage too. The old Principal took care of me since I was young. I’d like to be part of this conversation to see if there is any way I can help out.”
Yan Beicheng glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He did not even bother to look her straight in the eyes as his lips curved into a sarcastic smile and responded, “The trouble the orphanage is facing involves me and Lin Chu’s personal affairs. In other words, this is between us and the orphanage and has nothing to do with Miss Zhu. I am fully capable of solving the orphanage’s problem. You are the one that cannot bring any help. What happens next is our private matter, there is no need for Miss Zhu to participate.”
Even if Zhu Hexuan had wanted to stay back, she no longer dared to after hearing his words. If she did, Yan Beicheng would not say anything more. She would not be able to find out anything and would even offend him.
Zhu Hexuan’s mouth pressed into a straight line as she stiffly picked up her bag and said to the old Principal, “I’ll take my leave first and come visit you another day.”
The old Principal nodded in acknowledgment and reminded her to be careful on the road.
After Zhu Hexuan left, Yan Beicheng sat down too. It was not his first time here and he treated this place as his in-law’s house. He was very familiar with the orphanage.
He sat opposite with his body slightly bent forward. He rested his hands on his long legs with his fingers crossed. He did not give a chance for the old Principal to reject him and said, “This is not a difficult matter for me to solve. Please don’t feel like the orphanage has given Lin Chu trouble and don’t worry about Miss Jiang coming here to harass you again thinking that I’d be sick of it and would not be willing to help Lin Chu with her problems anymore.”
The old Principal’s words were in his mouth, so she shut up.
Yan Beicheng smiled gently. “I am very willing to solve her problems for my whole life. Besides, this was caused by Miss Jiang. No matter how reluctant I am to admit, she is still my mother. At the end of it all, the real person to have brought me all this trouble is not the orphanage and not Lin Chu. It’s my mother. If she isn’t afraid to give her son trouble, why would I think that you are giving me trouble?”
“She wants me to marry Lu Weining but I won’t. Even if all the women in the world died and there is only Lu Weining left, I still would not marry her. Besides Lu Weining, even if it was another woman from some other family, Miss Jiang would not be happy. This has nothing to do with Lin Chu’s background. No matter who the woman is, so long she is not Lu Weining, I would need to take care of all the trouble my mother would bring to my girlfriend.”
“Of course, I don’t enjoy solving someone else’s problem. I’ll only take care of Lin Chu’s matters my whole life. So, you don’t need to worry and bother about it. It will be taken care of very soon. Please continue to stay here with the children. You don’t need to go anywhere, and no one will chase you out of here. The orphanage will always be here, it will forever be here,” Yan Beicheng smiled lightly.
The old Principal no longer felt worried about the orphanage after listening to Yan Beicheng. As for other matters, she could not completely let go of it still.
She had not planned to let Lin Chu learn about this, but since she had already found out, the old Principal no longer insisted on solving this on her own.
That night, the protest that had gone on in the day with the old Principal and the volunteers became the headline of many media outlets.
The next morning, a media outlet obtained confirmation on Jiang Changdai going to the orphanage to threaten the old principal.
They were unaware that Jiang Changdai was there to threaten the orphanage over Lin Chu, but they could still tell from the recording by Teacher Wang that the voice belonged to Jiang Changdai.
Besides, the old Principal had protested in the morning and some people did post it online, but the news had not completely spread out.
Reporters who got wind of the news heard from the recording that Jiang He would send someone in the afternoon to negotiate with the orphanage. So, they immediately returned to their offices and dispatched people to stake out at the orphanage. A representative from Jiang He did arrive.
The reporters on stakeout were very efficient. They hid a pinhole camera in the cameraman’s bags while another reporter pretended to be a volunteer who refused to allow the representative from Jiang He to enter. The reporter was able to get Jiang He’s representative to reveal information after exchanging a few words.
The protest video was uploaded online yesterday afternoon when Lin Chu saw it. She then told Yan Beicheng about it and they went to the orphanage together.
This morning, when the reporter who had refused entry to the Jiang He representative wrote about the exchange, it became an online sensation.
What the old Principal said yesterday was right. Jiang He did not care about the lives of others and had no compassion over the predicament of these poor children.
The representative from Jiang He had received instructions from Jiang Changdai and was given the impression from Jiang Changdai’s attitude on how to handle the matter. This was why when the representatives were stopped by the reporter, they had treated them as volunteers from the orphanage and spoke to them in complete arrogance.
The reporter had a field day collecting the evidence as the representatives boldly spoke their mind. There was not much difference in how Jiang Changdai relayed the information.
Jiang He wanted to buy the land and demolish the houses to build new ones. Everyone staying there should get out. No matter how pitiful they thought they were, it had nothing to do with them. It was their fault for not being capable enough. If they were capable people, why would they be afraid of others coming to demolish their homes? Why would they be afraid of having nowhere to go?
It was their fault that fate dealt them a bad hand, their fault that this was what they were born into. It had nothing to do with Jiang He. Jiang He had no obligation to take care of them. There are so many pitiful people in this world, how many could they take care of all of them?
This was a development for society and an economic booster. This was something good that they were trying to put a stop to, which made them nothing more than savage commoners. A man would be poor if he had no ambitions. Poverty stifles ambition, no wonder they were meant to be poor their whole lives!
