Resolution

The messages from Gu Ze and Ye Qing left Xie Quan with an ache in his heart, but it was a happy one.

Although he and Gu Ze were close, he had never expected Gu Ze to do so much to help him, let alone Ye Qing.

Ye Qing had only just met him, yet he was helping him too.

The anonymous video featured the director and a digitally altered voice. Hearing the sounds of the director being beaten lifted Xie Quan's spirits a little.

He had been far too meek all these years, making people think he was easy to bully.

Although he didn't know who his anonymous helper was, it made him feel that not everyone had lost faith in him.

After learning what Ye Qing and the others suspected, Xie Quan didn't immediately post the video.

He had spent far too much of the day wallowing. Perhaps he had also finally figured something out.

Just as his hand touched the doorknob, another call came in.

A cool voice asked, "Do you need help?"

Xie Quan's voice remained gentle. "No, thank you."

The person on the other end fell silent for a while. In the end, Xie Quan couldn't help asking, "Do you know who did it?"

"I'm sorry."

Xie Quan smiled. "It's all right. You weren't the one who did it. I just don't want to put up with it this time."

"That's all. I'm hanging up."

When Xie Quan went out, the crew was still busy. He went to apologize to the director. He really had been willful today.

"It's fine. We were only shooting a few things today anyway, and Gu Ze wasn't here either. He has money, so don't worry about it."

"You should get some rest, though. Go sort out what's happening online."

Xie Quan left. When he reached the hotel, he found a large crowd gathered outside and thought something had happened.

Only when he got closer did he realize they were his fans. Some were even holding fan merchandise. He hadn't brought his assistant along today, so he was on his own.

One sharp-eyed fan recognized him and called out, and everyone gathered around him.

"Are you okay?"

"We believe you. We know you would never do anything like that."

"Don't worry. We'll always be here for you."

The fans were very polite. Although there were quite a few of them, no one pushed or crowded him.

The weather had started turning cold, and some of the fans weren't dressed warmly enough, but they didn't seem to care. He knew he didn't want his fans to get hurt.

The relationship between fans and their idol should be one of mutual care. He was lucky to have fans like these.

"Thank you, everyone. I won't let you down. Please head home."

With that, he bowed to them.

When the fans left, each was wearing a new outfit and holding a cup of milk tea, their faces beaming with smiles.

Xie Quan had bought those things for them himself. They had always said their idol was the best.

Back at the hotel, Xie Quan waited for a long time. Only after Gu Ze messaged him to confirm that there were signs the children at the Welfare Home had been abused, and that the police were now involved, did he post the recording he had.

He used a voice changer on Ye Qing's voice. As for the video of the director being beaten, he didn't post it. It wouldn't have been appropriate. He didn't know who had helped him, but right and wrong were difficult to untangle online, and he didn't want to drag a stranger into it.

In fact, after he posted the recording, someone released another piece of evidence, but by then it was no longer needed.

It was a complete reversal. Xie Quan's fans were delighted and rushed to the gossip accounts that had attacked him, flooding their posts with comments.

"Ahhh, I told you he wasn't that kind of person! How does that slap in the face feel?"

"Oh, weren't some people saying children don't lie? What do you have to say now?"

"Exactly. Children might not lie, but a few words from an adult can mislead them."

"They don't understand things the same way we do, so stop using 'children don't lie' as an argument."

The matter had been settled, but Gu Ze and Ye Qing were still at the Welfare Home.

The call to the police had caught the director so off guard that he hadn't had time to destroy some of the crucial evidence.

The police found plenty of vital evidence on his computer, all videos of children being beaten.

Only then did Ye Qing learn why he hadn't seen evidence of the director abusing the children: the director hadn't done it himself.

Instead, the other staff at the Welfare Home had abused them. Rather than getting his own hands dirty, he preferred to sit back and watch. He took greater pleasure in watching the abuse unfold.

It was also through the police investigation that Ye Qing learned the Welfare Home's staff were all psychologically twisted to varying degrees.

They were clever about it, too. They didn't beat the children every day. More often, they beat them when they made a mistake, and they decided for themselves what counted as a mistake.

The children were young. When the adults told them they had done something wrong, they believed it. They thought they were beaten because they were at fault, so they never considered it abuse. They even thought the beatings were for their own good.

Only now did Ye Qing realize that even the oldest children at the Welfare Home were only in elementary school. Children that young hadn't yet developed a sound sense of right and wrong, much less recognized that anything was amiss.

Besides that, the director had also been embezzling funds. The Welfare Home actually received plenty of donated goods, but only a few ever reached the children. The director either used the rest himself or sold them for money.

That was why the children there were so thin and small. Everything he learned filled Ye Qing with fury. He couldn't imagine how evil someone had to be to prey on children.

The entire Welfare Home was rotten from top to bottom. The police couldn't immediately find anyone to take over, so the children were eventually sent to another welfare home.

Ye Qing hadn't had time to visit the new welfare home, but he was sure it would be a good place.

Once everything had been thoroughly investigated, the authorities released an official statement. With Xie Quan, Ye Qing, and Gu Ze all sharing it, more and more people learned about what had happened.

They also believed that Xie Quan really hadn't done any of those things. On the contrary, he had been doing charity work all along, only to have the people he helped turn around and accuse him.

For a time, people online flocked to apologize to Xie Quan.

"Forget it. If apologies did any good, what would we need the police for? You jumped on the bandwagon and attacked him before. We don't need your apologies now."

"Exactly. And those who stopped being fans shouldn't come back either. We don't need you."

"Xie Quan doesn't care about empty gestures like that anyway."

After returning home, some fans posted the gifts Xie Quan had given them on Weibo, leaving everyone envious.

"I'm so jealous of Xie Quan's fans."

"This is what it really means to care for each other."

The fans Xie Quan had lost over these incidents quickly returned, and their numbers even grew beyond what they had been before. It was a blessing in disguise.

So much had happened that day. By the time Ye Qing and Gu Ze left the police station, it was already dark.

Looking at the few scattered stars in the sky, Ye Qing finally asked the question that had troubled him for so long. "Does what I'm doing make any difference?"