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Chapter 269: Chapter 0269: Humiliation and Verification
"We are poor, we never deny that, but we also have our dignity and bottom line. If self-sufficiency were possible, who would willingly accept charity!" the old dean said with forceful conviction. "What we want is not much, just to live."
To live!
It’s easy to exist, easy to live, but life, damn it, is not easy.
In this world, countless people toil every day just to stay alive, just to catch their breath, incessantly hustling like dogs, enduring humiliations.
Because they need to live, they need to survive.
At that moment, photo after photo flickered unceasingly on the screen behind the stage. Each image, each photo was heart-wrenchingly sorrowful—a testament to the children’s hard lives!
The old dean’s words, paired with those images on the screen, made hearts heavy with sadness; many women had started to silently shed tears once again.
"Though we are poor, all of our children are very well-mannered. They don’t fight, they don’t steal. Every child that lives in the welfare home, I teach from a young age to be grateful, to cherish everything, to remember to give back to society when they grow up, to remember to thank those who have helped them!" The old dean took a deep breath and continued, "But every day, seeing the children unable to eat their fill, unable to keep warm, watching them rummage through trash in the cold winter, their little faces red from freezing, lips turning purple, my heart aches as if it were sliced by knives. It’s my incompetence, my inability to provide them warmth..." 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"Each time, I find myself crying in some unseen corner, it’s because I’m not capable. If I were, the children wouldn’t have to suffer like this!"
The old dean was now in tears, his entire being seeming to age decades in an instant.
For any father, witnessing his children hungry and cold, foraging through garbage piles in the winter to sustain themselves, is the utmost tragedy. Who could possibly comprehend, who could truly empathize with his heartache?
"I don’t mean anything else by saying this, just to remind you that where there is wealth, there is poverty. Where sunlight reaches, there are also places it doesn’t find. The living conditions in those dark corners are beyond your imagination, but they are real!"
"We’re not deceiving you, because we truly are poor, we really do need money!"
"These children are too young to fend for themselves. They can only watch helplessly, waiting for the welfare home to feed and clothe them!"
The old dean took another deep breath and said, "Miss Qiu has helped us organize this fundraiser. We are very happy, very excited, and we cherish this opportunity because if we can raise money, the children’s basic needs can be met..."
The audience was visibly moved.
But Jiang Kaishan was not; on the contrary, his face was filled with disdain.
In his eyes, class divisions are a natural part of the world, and for many, such divisions are insurmountable in a lifetime.
Moreover, he didn’t like this tear-jerking story, especially when it was told by someone he deemed lowly.
"What you’ve said is very touching, but how do I know if it’s true or false..."
Upon hearing Jiang Kaishan’s words, Ye Xunhuan’s expression instantly turned icy, and even Qiu Ruoxi’s eyes filled with frost at that moment.
Just like the old dean said, the welfare home’s children are very sensible. They knew someone was making things difficult for the old dean, they knew there was someone unwilling to help them, but for the sake of the welfare home’s survival, they were giving their utmost effort!
Seeing Diudiu and the others in their current state, Mei Hanqing’s face was already streaked with tears. She didn’t want to be like this; she longed to stand up immediately and scold these people.
But she knew she couldn’t do that.
She had no money, and like the old dean, she needed these people’s help for the welfare home, for the children.
"Enough!"
Finally, Qiu Ruo could no longer restrain herself and let out a cold shout, her eyes glaring at Jiang Kaishan like icy blades!
"Jiang Kaishan, if you don’t wish to donate, no one is forcing you. If you don’t like it here, you can leave right now!" Qiu Ruo said forcefully, "I, Miss Qiu, do not covet your money. Having one more of you doesn’t make a difference, the absence of one less of you is no loss!"
"And for anyone else who thinks I, Qiu Ruo, am deceiving you, you can turn around and leave now."
"There’s no need to stay and humiliate people!" Qiu Ruo said emphatically. "Everyone deserves dignity!"
She, Qiu Ruo, could afford to financially support the welfare home, but that would only be a temporary solution. What about the future?
So she organized this charity gala, but she never expected it would come to this!
"Jiang Kaishan, do you realize that this old man has been watching over the welfare home since its establishment, never leaving its side? He spent the prime of his life dedicated to these children, giving his all for them!"
"For the kids, for survival, he’s bent his back!" Qiu Ruo said with emphasis. "What right do you have to insult the old dean? Not to mention you, even your father Jiang Mingyuan has no right to insult him!"
"Even your father should show him respect upon meeting him, and yet here you are, insulting others. What exactly is your intention, or is this the way your father taught you to treat the elderly?"
Upon hearing Qiu Ruo’s words, Jiang Kaishan’s face immediately darkened.
Ye Xunhuan was somewhat surprised as he watched Qiu Ruo, having not expected her to leap into action even quicker than himself!
"Miss Qiu, aren’t your words a bit too much?" Jiang Kaiming said with a darkened expression. "When have I ever humiliated anyone? I was merely seeking verification!"
"Verification?" A dissatisfied, cold snort suddenly broke the air. "Mr. Jiang, if I were to verify with you about the uproar caused back in those days in our circles, the rumors that you forced yourself on a girl and drove her to suicide, bribing the entire hotel staff to delete the surveillance footage, creating alibis, and ultimately paying off the girl’s family with a few hundred thousand—Is that true?"
Whoosh!
The crowd erupted, having heard about the incident. It was a sensation back then, but it eventually died down.
Now, someone had brought it up in such a setting, claiming it was for verification, but the true intention...
Jiang Kaishan’s face twisted with fury in an instant!
