Working on a Solution

Even setting Ye Qing aside, Gu Ze's show of support sent the whole affair to another peak.

Gu Ze rarely posted on Weibo. Even though this was only a repost, it made his stance perfectly clear.

"I always thought those two didn't get along. Turns out they're actually pretty close."

"With Gu Ze backing him, I believe Xie Quan didn't do it."

"Don't be so sure. Have you considered that they might be birds of a feather?"

"Stop arguing about that. Haven't you noticed Gu Ze reposted someone else's post?"

"Ye Qing. I remember he plays one of the characters."

"My idol has another new friend! So happy."

"Just anyone can come along and make friends with our Brother Gu now. Unbelievable."

"Toxic solo stan above, get lost. He can make friends with whoever he wants."

That one post from Gu Ze brought Ye Qing a wave of new Weibo followers.

"Brother Gu, your name really works wonders. My follower count shot up!"

"Hehe, I'm so lucky. Other people want this and can't get it."

Gu Ze was amused. He really was easy to please. "It's fine. You can use it whenever you want."

"Really? Really?" Ye Qing immediately sprang up from his seat.

"Of course."

Naturally, Ye Qing was delighted. This was Gu Ze's name they were talking about. Who wouldn't want to use it? Of course, wanting to was one thing; he wouldn't actually do anything with it.

He was a little curious about why Gu Ze had made the same choice as him.

Gu Ze explained with a smile, "Do you remember what you said before?"

Ye Qing tilted his head. "Huh?"

"You said you wanted to help people."

"This is so embarrassing. Stop, Brother Gu."

Gu Ze's soft chuckle reached Ye Qing's ears, along with his words. "But I think that's a wonderful idea, so I want to do it with you."

Ye Qing didn't look up. "But don't you think this might be true? If it is, it won't really matter for a nobody like me, but you're different."

"It's fine. I trust you."

Those few simple words threw Ye Qing's heart into turmoil. He had always done this quietly, even though there weren't many people he could help.

But this was the first time anyone had offered to join him.

Ye Qing looked up at Gu Ze. Sitting in his chair with a faint smile on his lips, Gu Ze was looking back at him.

Under that gaze, Ye Qing inexplicably felt embarrassed.

Ah, thank goodness I'm a guy. Otherwise, there's no way I could handle that look from Brother Gu.

Then again, I don't think I can handle it either.

Ye Qing silently pondered whether a guy really could get shy just from another guy looking at him.

The fact remained that he didn't dare meet Gu Ze's eyes.

Forget it. That wasn't important. What mattered was Xie Quan's situation.

Perhaps the incident had hit him hard, because Xie Quan still hadn't come forward.

But that didn't stop Ye Qing and Gu Ze from taking action. Ye Qing's plan was simple. He had actually made a recording earlier.

After all, he had seen what Xie Quan would be facing. But he didn't think that recording was enough, since it hadn't captured the most crucial part. Besides, nothing had happened yet back then, so he couldn't exactly ask outright.

That was why he planned to visit the Welfare Home again. He just didn't know whether they would still be allowed in now that the incident with Xie Quan had happened.

Fortunately, they got in. Since it wasn't their first visit, it was easy enough.

Because of the incident with Xie Quan, many people had recently brought supplies to the Welfare Home, and conditions there had improved a little.

As the director led them inside, he kept complaining about it all. Ye Qing could only make agreeable noises beside him.

Later, the director left to attend to something, and Ye Qing started playing with the children.

Unlike the emptiness last time, Ye Qing spotted someone else this time. The man wore a mask, so Ye Qing couldn't make out his face, but judging by his build, he was another very handsome guy.

While playing with the children, Ye Qing searched for the ones from the video. Having spent a day with them, he could still recognize those few children.

Before long, he found them in another area. After playing with them for a while, Ye Qing asked gently, "Do you remember the big brother I showed you before?"

"Why hasn't he come lately?"

"He's run into some trouble lately. People have been saying mean things about him."

"Huh? He's so nice. Why would people say mean things about him?"

"Exactly. That's why he needs your help."

"Can we help too?"

"Of course. You have to answer all my questions honestly. That way, people will stop saying mean things about him."

"When you said he touched you before, did he really touch you?"

"Yes."

Ye Qing thought that perhaps what the children understood by "touching" wasn't what he meant. "Where did he touch you?"

"He patted our heads."

"Then why did you say before that he touched your thighs?"

The children fell silent, and Ye Qing knew there had to be more to it.

"Children who lie aren't being good, you know."

"No, no!" The children grew anxious. "It was the director! The director told us to say that."

"He said it would make big brother even more famous, and that we could help him that way."

"So he didn't touch your thighs, right?"

"Right."

That was enough. What had happened was already perfectly clear.

Just as Ye Qing was about to upload the recording, Gu Ze stopped him.

He felt it would be more appropriate for Xie Quan's Studio to upload it.

Besides, uploading it now would clear Xie Quan's name, but the children at the Welfare Home would suffer. It would be easy for an adult to do something to them, and the two of them couldn't watch over the children every moment.

Ye Qing thought Gu Ze had a good point, but how were they supposed to resolve this? After all, they didn't have the power to remove that man as director.

"That's simple. I suspect he's abusing the children."

"Why?"

While Ye Qing had been talking to the children, Gu Ze hadn't been idle either. He had walked around the Welfare Home and spoken to almost every child. That was when he noticed injuries on some of their wrists. They clearly looked like marks left by a beating with a stick, mostly around their arms and elbows. If one child's sleeve hadn't ridden up, letting him catch a glimpse by chance, he might have missed the whole thing.

Afterward, he had checked every child, and almost all of them had injuries on their arms.

It was only a suspicion, but it was probably close to the truth. The two of them immediately called the police.

Ye Qing was actually a little puzzled. He hadn't seen anything about child abuse above the director's head, but he trusted Gu Ze's judgment.

After sending the recording to Xie Quan, the two of them waited for the police to arrive. The sooner this was resolved, the better.

At almost the same time, Xie Quan received an anonymous video on his phone.