Double evil in the business district

Chapter 265: Xiao Yue Joins the Game: An Initial Exploration of the Charity Dilemma

Under the dim street lights, the four words "Hope Primary School" are like faded old photos, revealing a sad sense of powerlessness.

Xiao Yue took a deep breath. The musty smell mixed with the dust made her stomach churn.

The scene before her was worse than she had imagined: weeds were overgrown, the playground was bumpy, and the walls of the teaching building were peeling off in large chunks, revealing gray bricks that, like wrinkles on an old man's face, told of the vicissitudes of life and neglect.

Walking into the teaching building, the dim corridor was filled with a damp smell.

Charity supplies were piled up haphazardly in the corner, their packaging damaged and covered in dust.

Some expired foods emit a foul odor, which is intertwined with the smell of mold and is disgusting.

The desks and chairs in the classroom were in tatters, some even had legs missing, and lay crookedly on the ground, as if they would fall apart at any time.

The window glass was broken and was barely covered with cardboard and tape, but it couldn't block the cold wind.

Xiao Yue's heart felt heavy, as if it was being tightly grasped by an invisible big hand.

She originally thought it was just a management oversight, but she didn't expect the actual situation to be far more serious than she expected.

This is not a Hope Primary School at all, it is clearly a forgotten corner.

"Mr. Wang, is this what you call 'everything is normal'?" Xiao Yue's voice was cold, with a hint of suppressed anger.

Charity clerk Wang rubbed his hands together, a false smile plastered across his face. "Mr. Xiao, you're new here, so you might not understand the situation. The conditions here are indeed difficult, but we've done our best." He pointed to the supplies piled in the corner. "Look! These are the donations we've collected, all for the children..."

"For the children?" Xiao Yue sneered, walked over to a pile of expired food, and picked up a bag of moldy biscuits. "Mr. Wang, you call this for the children? You're playing with their health!"

The smile on Wang Cirenjia's face froze, his eyes flickered, avoiding Xiao Yue's gaze: "Mr. Xiao, this... this is just an individual case. We will deal with it immediately."

"Individual cases?" Xiao Yue looked around and said in a sharper tone, "Mr. Wang, I see 'individual cases' everywhere here! I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation!"

Wang Cirenjia laughed dryly twice, his eyes wandering: "Mr. Xiao, don't be anxious, let's talk slowly..." His voice became lower and lower, and finally it was almost inaudible.

A suffocating silence fell in the room.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone broke the deadlock.

Wang Cirenjia glanced at the caller ID, his expression slightly changed, and he picked up the phone, his tone immediately becoming respectful: "Hello, Mr. Shen... Ah, yes, yes, Mr. Xiao is here for an inspection... What? You want to come over? Okay, okay, I'll arrange it right away..."

Wang Cirenjia hung up the phone, with a flattering smile on his face, and looked at Xiao Yue: "Mr. Xiao, Mr. Shen heard that you were here, so he came over to see you..." Before he finished speaking, he heard a steady sound of footsteps coming from outside the door.

"No need to make any arrangements, I'm already here." Shen Ting's voice was deep and powerful, echoing in the empty corridor.

He walked straight to Xiao Yue, his eyes sweeping over the dilapidated scene around him, his brows furrowed.

"Yueyue..." Shen Ting's appearance was like a ray of light, illuminating the dim Hope Primary School.

He gently put his arm around Xiao Yue's shoulders and whispered in her ear, "I'm here, don't be afraid." Xiao Yue felt the warmth in his palm, and a jolt of electricity instantly spread throughout her body.

She raised her head slightly and met his deep eyes. Her heart was filled with emotion, and at the same time, a hint of ambiguous feelings spread.

This ambiguity is like a flower quietly blooming in spring, delicate and beautiful.

"What's going on?" Shen Ting's voice was low and powerful, with unquestionable majesty.

He looked around, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, as if he could see through everything.

Beads of sweat oozed from Wang Cirenjia's forehead as he stammered, "Boss Shen, this... this is all a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding?" Shen Ting sneered and picked up the bag of moldy cookies on the table. "Is this what you call a misunderstanding?" He threw the cookies in front of Wang Cirenjia and said in a cold voice, "I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise..." He paused, his tone more sharp, "You will bear the consequences at your own risk."

Charity Master Wang's face was pale, his lips were trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.

He looked at Accountant Liu for help, but found that Accountant Liu's expression was even uglier than his.

"Accountant Liu, where are the accounts?" Xiao Yue's voice was clear and firm, like a ray of sunshine in winter, illuminating the dark corner.

Accountant Liu took out an account book from his bag tremblingly and handed it to Xiao Yue with shaking hands.

His face was as pale as paper, his eyes flickered, and he didn't dare to look directly into Xiao Yue's eyes.

Xiao Yue took the account book and flipped through it quickly.

She keenly discovered that there were many loopholes and contradictions in the accounts.

The whereabouts of some funds are unknown, and some expenditures are obviously inflated.

Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and she felt vaguely in her heart that there must be a huge secret hidden behind this.

"Accountant Liu, what's the matter with this amount of money?" Xiao Yue pointed to a line of numbers in the account book, his tone calm, but with a barely perceptible sharpness.

“This…this…” Accountant Liu stammered, beads of sweat the size of beans oozing out of his forehead.

His eyes were wandering and he didn't dare to look directly into Xiao Yue's eyes.

"Speak!" Shen Ting's voice echoed in the room like thunder.

Accountant Liu was so frightened that he trembled all over and almost collapsed to the ground. "I...I...I don't know..."

"I don't know?" Xiao Yue sneered, "You're the accountant for this project, and you say you don't know?"

Accountant Liu's face was pale and his lips were trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.

He glanced secretly at Wang Cihanjia, but Wang Cihanjia avoided his gaze with flickering eyes.

Xiao Yue closed the account book and his eyes fell on Accountant Liu, like a sharp sword piercing his heart.

"Accountant Liu, I hope you can think carefully about this. Confess and you will be treated leniently. Resist and you will be treated severely."

At this moment, a timid voice came from outside the door: "Mr. Xiao, I have something to say..." Volunteer Chen stood at the door, holding a stack of information tightly in his hand.

Volunteer Chen walked timidly to Xiao Yue and handed her a stack of information with trembling hands.

"Mr. Xiao, these are some information I collected, maybe they will be useful to you."

Xiao Yue took the information and flipped through it quickly.

It contains detailed records of the whereabouts of charitable materials and some suspicious transaction records.

Every line of words was like a sharp knife, piercing Xiao Yue's heart.

She suppressed her anger and asked calmly, "When did you discover these problems?"

"About six months ago," volunteer Chen said, his head bowed, his voice trembling, "I discovered that some supplies weren't reaching the children, but were instead being shipped elsewhere. I reported this to Mr. Wang, but he accused me of meddling and threatened me not to investigate further."

Xiao Yue, I will thoroughly investigate this matter and give the children justice."

Xiao Yue did not directly question Accountant Liu, but carefully sorted out the information provided by Volunteer Chen, and quietly contacted Reporter Zhang to reveal some key information to him.

She knew that in order to completely uncover this scandal, she had to rely on the power of the media.

In the next few days, Xiao Yue secretly collected various evidences like a detective.

She visited the students and parents of Hope Primary School and learned that the actual situation of the school was far worse than she had imagined.

She also secretly investigated Wang Cirenjia's background and found that he had close ties with some illegal businessmen.

Charity keeper Wang and Accountant Liu noticed Xiao Yue's actions and began to become anxious.

They didn't know how much evidence Xiao Yue had, and they didn't dare to take action rashly. They could only observe secretly and wait for the opportunity to act.

This uncertainty makes them feel like they are sitting on the edge of a volcano, and every day feels like a year.

One night, Xiao Yue was working overtime alone in the office.

She sorted out the documents in her hands, her brows furrowed.

Suddenly, an anonymous email popped up on the computer screen.

The title of the email only had two words: "Be careful!"

Xiao Yue's heart sank suddenly, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

She opened the email and found only a photo.

In the photo, a blurry figure stands at the entrance of Hope Primary School, holding a sharp dagger in his hand.

Xiao Yue's face turned pale in an instant. She stood up suddenly and wanted to leave the office.

At this moment, the office door was pushed open.

Shen Ting stood at the door, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a gentle smile on his face.

"Yueyue, are you still working overtime so late?"

Xiao Yue looked at Shen Ting, suppressed the fear in her heart, and forced a smile.

"How did you come?"

Shen Ting walked over to Xiao Yue, handed her the flowers, and said gently, "I came to see you and bring you some midnight snacks."

Xiao Yue took the flowers and smelled them, a faint fragrance filled her nose.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"Thank you."

Shen Ting's eyes fell on Xiao Yue's computer screen and his brows frowned slightly.

"What are you looking at?"

Xiao Yue quickly turned off the computer and said in an unnatural tone, "Nothing, just some work information." She raised her head and looked at Shen Ting, "Ting..."

"What's wrong?" Shen Ting asked with concern.

Xiao Yue bit her lip, but ultimately didn't express her worries.

She didn't want to make Shen Ting worry, nor did she want him to be involved in this dangerous vortex.

"It's okay, I'm just a little tired."

Shen Ting gently stroked Xiao Yue's hair and said softly, "If you are tired, rest early and don't exhaust yourself."

"Yeah." Xiao Yue nodded, but his heart was full of uneasiness.

She had a premonition that a bigger storm was coming.

"Oh, right," Shen Ting suddenly seemed to remember something and took out a note from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Yue, "This is what I just received. Take a look."

Xiao Yue took the note and unfolded it. On it was written a line of words: "I know all your secrets."

Xiao Yue's pupils suddenly contracted, and the note in her hand slowly slipped away. She looked up at Shen Ting, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a word...

"Ting, I..."