"Director, why has it turned out like this? Everything was fine before..."
Aiwen gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it, his voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
Mo Fei gently pressed his shoulder, his touch gentle but firm, steadily bringing the boy's emotions under control.
"They're just ordinary people..."
"But we haven't done anything wrong. Why are the people around us starting to act like this... Is it just because of those completely groundless rumors?"
Aiwen also knew that rumors had been running rampant in the surrounding area lately, and Aisha had worriedly tried to comfort him several times.
But seeing that the director had done nothing in response, Aiwen had not expected the people outside to have become like this.
"Aiwen!"
Mo Fei crouched down and looked straight into Aiwen's panicked eyes.
"This isn't our fault, and they don't necessarily believe those rumors either. But you need to understand that here, sometimes, many people would rather avoid trouble..."
"So what if we really are innocent? They haven't done anything out of line. They're just instinctively isolating us..."
"Once the dust settles, this will all fade away..."
"Rumors are like gusts of wind. No matter how fiercely they blow, they can't scatter the truth or topple the convictions in our hearts."
That was what he said, but seeing that Aiwen still looked upset stirred something in Mo Fei.
When he had made his plans, he had not considered the children's feelings. In his mind, children who had always lived in the orphanage should not have been affected too much.
But now it seemed their sensitive hearts were still easily hurt, after all.
Perhaps he should set things off ahead of schedule. Although the results would not be as good, they would still be fairly satisfactory.
Yet Miles had ultimately failed to keep his cool.
He appeared before the two of them again.
This time, he still wore that same smug expression.
No, hearing the discussions around him, he became even more brazen.
Looking at Mo Fei, who had previously gotten the better of him, he had some wariness in his eyes, but he still stepped forward and mocked him outright. "Well, if it isn't Director Mo from the orphanage! Out casing the place with a child? Don't tell me you're planning to steal in broad daylight?!"
When he said "steal," he deliberately raised his voice so that more people could hear.
Not only that, he deliberately moved close to Mo Fei and taunted him quietly.
"Oh my, you're not thinking of getting violent here, are you? I'm no match for you, but everyone's watching. What can you do?"
Then his expression changed, and he pretended to be frightened as he took two steps back.
"Oh dear, I forgot you have violent tendencies, too. Don't hit me! I was just being a little blunt..."
Although the man's acting was somewhat clumsy, the atmosphere instantly grew tense, and everyone's gaze turned toward Mo Fei and Aiwen behind him.
At that moment, Mo Fei instinctively shielded Aiwen behind him, then looked at Miles with a rather meaningful expression.
He did not care about the mockery on the man's face, but he could not let his words hurt Aiwen.
Mo Fei's gaze abruptly turned cold, all the gentleness he had shown while speaking to Aiwen vanishing. "If you have those concerns, I imagine London must have somewhere you can report them to the police!"
"Besides, the orphanage falls under the city government's administration. If there really were a problem, surely those officials at city hall wouldn't just stand by!"
His words stunned the surrounding neighbors, then immediately caused a stir.
None of them had ever actually gone to the police. After all, as far as they were concerned, these were only rumors and could not be taken seriously. The orphanage was full of the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. How could they have the ability to do such things?
More importantly, reporting something to the police was not just a matter of saying a few words. If nothing came of it, they would have to bear responsibility, too.
As for what Mo Fei had mentioned earlier, their expressions grew even more nervous.
Although the orphanage received no subsidies from the city government, all its approvals were on record and could be checked. In other words, the orphanage was ultimately still under the city government's administration.
If there really were a problem here, those officials would be the first to come knocking.
Seeing his public-opinion offensive interrupted, Miles looked rather displeased.
At most, these rumors could only get Mo Fei and the others ostracized by their neighbors. They could not inflict any serious damage. After all, he had never actually intended to alert those officials.
The thought of the city government really stepping in made the situation seem rather serious.
However, his eyes shifted, and remembering his subsequent plans, he managed to dispel much of his unease.
"Don't change the subject. I've never heard of an orphanage being allowed to sell bread. You have no sales permit, yet you're selling bread as you please. That isn't something the city government told you to do..."
"You're baking bread right inside the orphanage. How can you guarantee sanitation and food safety? If something really goes wrong, who will take responsibility?"
Miles immediately found an opening, then turned himself into a champion of justice, intending to question Mo Fei on behalf of the public.
It had to be said that this really was the orphanage's weak point. They had no way to obtain authorization for commercial sales.
Much of the time, this sort of thing was simply a matter of tacit understanding.
Once it really blew up and the city's important figures stepped in, it would be very difficult to explain.
Fortunately, though, Mo Fei was not entirely unprepared.
But there was no need to discuss that in front of everyone now.
So he decisively took Aiwen by the hand and headed toward the orphanage.
Seeing this, Miles's lips curled up again. To him, this was a sign that Mo Fei was about to give in.
But it was already too late. Once that incident actually happened in a couple of days, this damned director would learn exactly what happened to people who offended him.
Many of the surrounding neighbors had dispersed by then.
Even though some felt there was really no need to go so far, they said nothing more, not wanting to seem out of step with everyone else.
On the way back to the orphanage, Aiwen finally could not hold back and asked, his voice tinged with tears.
"Director, does this mean we can't keep selling bread? We've only just started... Why has it..."
But Mo Fei merely gave his hand a firm squeeze. "No, things won't be that bad. I have a way... Trust me, all right?"
Looking into the director's eyes, Aiwen nodded after all.
The children at the orphanage had not noticed anything about this yet. Only Lina seemed to sense something, but she was quickly reassured as well.
Things developed faster than expected.
About three days after that day, three men in uniform knocked on the orphanage's front door.
The moment Mo Fei opened the door, the man in the lead produced an investigation warrant. "Mr. Mo Fei, you are suspected of using the orphanage to conduct unregulated commercial activities. Please come with us for questioning!"
When Aiwen, who was coming downstairs, heard those words, the color instantly drained from his face.