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墨書 Inktalez
"Save it!" Su Yuqing suddenly raised her voice, drawing the attention of several passersby. "I've checked all the accounts, and there's a transfer of five thousand that is unaccounted for—the recipient is the 'Xiao Fan Love Fund,' and the registrant is you!"
Lin Xiaofan felt a sharp pain in his stomach. That was an empty shell account he had set up during the early testing of the system, one that should have been canceled long ago.
"It was a misunderstanding; I can—"
"Enough!" Su Yuqing snatched the cash from his hand. "The audit ends today, and we part ways."
She turned to leave, leaving Lin Xiaofan frozen in place as the ATM chimed, "Please retrieve your card," its sound echoing painfully in the empty street.
At nine o'clock sharp, the audit team arrived. Three accountants in formal attire entered with professional smiles and sharp gazes, beginning to check the financial records of the Micro Light Charity page by page. Lin Xiaofan sat in a corner, watching as Su Yuqing forced herself to calmly answer various questions, the atmosphere between them so tense it felt like it could squeeze water from stone.
"This expenditure requires more detailed explanation," the chief auditor adjusted his glasses, pointing to an entry in the ledger—the very transfer to the 'Xiao Fan Love Fund.'
The meeting room fell silent. Cold sweat trickled down Lin Xiaofan's back as he glanced at Su Yuqing, noticing her fingers nervously tearing at the edge of a document.
"This...," Su Yuqing struggled to speak, "might be a system entry error..."
"It’s not an error." A hoarse voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Everyone turned their heads. Old Zhou was wheeled into the meeting room by A Long. The old man wore the navy suit from the art exhibition, with a rusty artist badge pinned to his chest. Even more surprising was that he was followed by five or six homeless individuals, each carrying thick ledgers.
"Teacher Zhou?" Lin Xiaofan exclaimed in surprise as he stood up.
Old Zhou ignored him and slid directly to the auditors' side. "This money was ultimately used to buy us winter clothes." He took a ledger from one of the homeless men. "This is the procurement record; although rudimentary, every entry has a signature from someone who handled it."
The auditors received the ledger with skepticism. It was a handmade booklet bound with scrap paper, filled with dates, items, and amounts, with crooked signatures and fingerprints at the bottom.
"Such informal records..." The auditor frowned.
"More authentic than formal invoices," Old Zhou asserted firmly. "We can't afford regular stores; we have to scour wholesale markets for cheap goods." He pointed to one of the homeless men. "Old Li has trouble walking and fell that day; you can check hospital records."
The auditors exchanged glances and continued flipping through the ledger. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xiaofan crouched next to Old Zhou. "How did you know we were being audited?"
Old Zhou pulled out a crumpled note from his pocket. "Zhao Tianming had someone deliver this." The note contained only one line: "Ten o'clock today, a good show begins."
"What do you and Zhao Tianming...?"
"We'll talk later." Old Zhou interrupted him and turned to the auditors. "Comrades, can our 'street ledgers' prove our innocence?"
The head auditor closed the ledger and finally revealed a hint of a smile. "Though not standard, there’s no issue with authenticity." He stood up to gather his documents. "That will be all for today; the final report will be delivered within a week."
After sending off the audit team, jubilation erupted in the office. A Long and the homeless men high-fived each other in celebration, while Su Yuqing walked straight up to Old Zhou. "Teacher Zhou, did that money really go towards buying winter clothes?"
Old Zhou did not answer immediately. He turned his wheelchair toward the window; sunlight illuminated his empty pant leg. "Young lady, some things in this world—truth or falsehood—are not important; what matters is the outcome." He pointed outside at the homeless men. "They did receive winter clothes, didn't they?"
Su Yuqing was about to ask another question when Lin Xiaofan's phone suddenly vibrated. He walked to the corner to check it, and the system interface flickered with a new message:
【Crisis Response Successful】
【Emergency Fund Feature Unlocked】
【Note: A sincere lie is also a form of kindness】
Before he could ponder the meaning of that statement, another message caught his attention—an anonymous email from an insider at the Zhao Foundation, with an attachment labeled "Top Secret" containing a mining accident investigation report. In the preview, his father Lin Jianguo's name was repeatedly circled in red.
"Su Yuqing!" he called out urgently, "You need to see this..."
But when he looked up, he found that Su Yuqing had already left the office, leaving behind a cup of coffee that had yet to be touched, slowly growing cold on the desk.
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