Chapter Five: Unreasonable!

“What’s going on here?” Wu Mu grabbed a security guard by the throat and demanded.

“We don’t know! We’re just the gatekeepers. If you want answers, you should ask Auntie Huang, the supervisor!” The security guards were already sinking into despair. They had all undergone professional training, yet under Wu Mu’s hand, they couldn’t even move.

“Get lost and bring her here!” Wu Mu kicked them aside, and the guards scrambled away as fast as they could.

Qi Qi, witnessing the scene, burst out laughing. She didn’t even care about the wound on her arm. She swung her tiny pink fist in the air, looking thoroughly vindicated.

Within minutes, a plump old woman with a toothpick dangling from her lips swaggered over.

“What’s wrong with you lot? You can’t even keep a few people under control?” The woman, named Huang Shan, began to berate them loudly.

At the sound of her voice, every child who had been playing instantly froze, too afraid to move. Qi Qi, who had been about to sit up, was gently pressed down again by Qin Mu.

“There’s no need to be afraid of her,” he whispered.

But Huang Shan saw this and waved her hand threateningly. “You little brat, are you looking for trouble? How dare you ignore my orders? If you don’t wash yesterday’s clothes clean today, I’ll break your legs!”

Wu Mu stepped between her and the children, his voice icy. “If I recall correctly, this is supposed to be a charity home with professional caregivers. Why are the children being forced to do chores?”

“So what? They eat and live here for free. What’s wrong with them doing a bit of work? Besides, letting them help with chores trains their skills. What’s the problem?” Huang Shan straightened her back, speaking with self-righteousness.

“It’s not just laundry. I also clean everyone’s bowls, chopsticks, and the whole place…” Qi Qi muttered under her breath.

Qin Mu leaned down and asked softly, “Do you do all this every day?”

“If you say another word, I’ll slap you until your face is a bloody mess!” Huang Shan screeched before Qi Qi could answer, causing the girl to shrink back, too frightened to speak.

“Hit her!” Wu Mu, who had been waiting for orders, moved instantly, landing a heavy slap on Huang Shan’s face that sent her sprawling to the floor, her cheek swelling red.

“You bastard! How dare you hit me! Do you know who I am?” Huang Shan, clutching her face on the ground, was disoriented from the blow but still tried to curse back.

“I haven’t told you to stop yet,” Qin Mu barked.

Wu Mu responded at once, striking her again. Each time Huang Shan tried to get up and shout, Wu Mu slapped her down, until she dared not rise, cowering on the floor like a whipped dog.

At last, it dawned on Huang Shan that she had met her match. She was a long-time employee here, with connections in high places, so she’d always acted tough and domineering. No one dared disobey her—until now, when she ran into someone who couldn’t be intimidated.

“Mom? Why are you lying on the ground?” At that moment, Zhu Bin returned from the casino. He’d been winning all night at the tables and could barely walk straight, but he was still full of energy—until he walked in and saw his mother sprawled on the floor.

He glanced at Wu Mu, then at Qin Mu inside, and understood immediately.

“Who gave you the right to beat people in the orphanage? Don’t you know what a terrible influence that is on the children?” Zhu Bin put on his formal demeanor, pointing at them and scolding.

At his appearance, the children who had been sitting scattered in all directions, fear in their eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Mu asked Qi Qi.

She glanced at the fierce-looking Zhu Bin and then at the much larger Wu Mu, before quietly pointing to a worn bamboo stick in the corner. “That uncle is very mean. Whenever he’s in a bad mood, he likes to hit me with that bamboo switch.”

Qin Mu’s heart tightened abruptly. He’d seen things like this before. As a child, he himself had suffered beatings from Zhu Bin, but at least he’d had tough skin and could take it. Yet Zhu Bin had never changed; in ten years, he’d only gotten worse, even raising his hand against these frail little girls of four or five!

From what he’d just witnessed, Qi Qi was certainly not the only one. Who could say how many other children here had suffered at Zhu Bin’s hands?

“Do it.” Qin Mu suppressed his fury and gave the order.

Wu Mu nodded, picked up the bamboo switch from the corner, and strode toward Zhu Bin.

“What are you doing? It’s illegal to—ah!” Zhu Bin hadn’t finished his threat before Wu Mu lashed him with the bamboo, sending him flying.

Dozens of strikes followed, leaving Zhu Bin writhing on the floor, begging for mercy.

“What’s his position in the orphanage?” Qin Mu asked, standing up.

“He’s in charge of managing funds and handling procurement,” came the reply.

“So all the donations Miss Jiang gave to the orphanage have ended up in your pocket, haven’t they?” Qin Mu said.

By now, Zhu Bin’s screams had echoed through the entire orphanage, attracting over a dozen administrators who hurried over. At their head was a balding, scholarly-looking man in half-rimmed glasses.

“What’s going on here?” Huang Shan, seeing her reinforcements arrive, crawled over at once, wailing, “Director, you must seek justice for me!”

“Take your time and tell me,” Director He Ming said, steadying her and helping her up.

“I only wanted to help these children develop their skills, but this little brat went and tattled to outsiders, who came and beat me! What did I do wrong?” Huang Shan sobbed, her tears streaming.

He Ming’s expression darkened as he listened. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get justice.”

“Now, tell me—why are you beating people in my orphanage? If you can’t give a satisfactory explanation, I’m afraid you’ll be spending some time at the police station today.”

Qin Mu only smiled in response to He Ming’s questioning.

“I’d like to ask you something: this is a large orphanage, funded directly by the city and supported by kind donors. By rights, you shouldn’t be lacking money. Yet I don’t see a single professional caregiver. All the heavy chores—dishwashing, laundry—are being done by children as young as four or five. Why?”

“And furthermore, I’ve witnessed clear evidence of child abuse by your staff. Do you have records you can show?”

He Ming was momentarily speechless under Qin Mu’s barrage of questions. Especially the last one—those records were absolutely not something outsiders could see!

He coughed, then said, “These are internal matters of the orphanage. They have nothing to do with you. What I care about now is: why did you beat my staff?”

Qin Mu shook his head. “If you won’t answer, then let your superiors speak for you.”

He Ming was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. “Don’t try to bluff me, kid. I am, by law, the top authority here! In this orphanage, everything is decided by me. Do you understand?”

He clasped his hands behind his back, shouting arrogantly and without reason.

Qin Mu didn’t react at all. He waved his hand, and Wu Mu, understanding his signal, stepped aside to make a few phone calls.

Seeing Wu Mu leave, Huang Shan and Zhu Bin quickly hid behind He Ming, each loudly protesting their innocence and painting Qin Mu as ruthless and cruel.

He Ming nodded. “Young man, you heard it. My staff are dedicated and well-respected among the children. None of what you claim has ever happened. As director, I demand that you apologize to my employees for your outrageous behavior—also, that you compensate them for their reputational and financial losses. As for the specific amount, you can discuss it with Huang Shan and the others.”

He raised two fingers as he made his demands, but Qin Mu ignored him, instead taking out some ointment to gently treat Qi Qi’s conspicuous wounds.

This left He Ming at a loss.

“Director, this guy is trying to make trouble. Why don’t we just call the police?” Huang Shan suggested, glowering at Qi Qi with a vicious glare. “Once those two are dealt with, you’ll get what’s coming to you!”

Just the charge of assault should be enough to land Qin Mu in serious trouble.

“Very well.” He Ming nodded, taking out his phone to dial the police. But just as he started, his phone rang urgently.

Seeing the caller ID, his heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly answered, not daring to be careless.

“Yes, I’m at the orphanage… Understood, I’ll keep the scene under control. No one is to leave.”

Just that one call nearly drained all the strength from him; he staggered back several steps, almost collapsing.

He looked at Qin Mu with disbelief, but before he could speak, a second call came in, then a third—one after another, He Ming’s phone rang incessantly.