He paused, then continued, "Even if they don't say anything or do anything about it, being exposed in front of so many people is a loss of face for the child, and the parents lose face too. When word of something like this gets out, they'll be more cautious in the future. You didn't lay a hand on anyone, but you achieved a better result than if you had. That's the smart way to handle things."
He broke it down into simple, easy-to-understand terms.
Shanshan, who only half-understood, blinked her eyes and, after a moment, slowly nodded.
"...Okay, I'll try that next time."
Everyone thought the matter was over.
But Ling Anxun hadn't forgotten.
A few days later, he ran into the chubby kid's father at a meeting.
A project approval had reached a critical stage. What should have been a straightforward process was suddenly stalled.
