The southeast corner?
Wasn't that the part directly above the kitchen, the back dining room, and the storage room?
"That remote?" Jiang Yihua frowned. He knew his wife and daughter both stayed on the second floor.
Qiuyun explained, "It may be a bit out of the way there, but it's quiet. The walk-in closet can be partitioned off to make a study for you, sir."
Even though she'd just received five million, Jiang Chuling had no qualms about snapping back at her father: "Well, with my music room, painting room, and study all here, we don't have many guest rooms to begin with. There's also a small storage closet at the top of the stairs on the second floor—could tidy that up and make do. It's about the size of a table, give or take."
Yu Xiang snorted coldly. "If you can't stand it, go back. Nobody's begging you to move in."
"..."
Now Jiang Yihua knew exactly whose idea this was.
He waved his hand. "Fine, once the room is ready, I won't bother moving again."
Assistant Chen clicked his tongue in disbelief.
The boss actually agreed to move in and didn't take it out on Assistant Qiu.
The next day.
Qiuyun got up early to coordinate with various distributors on the donated supplies, and only after confirming everything would arrive on time did she head to the living room to wait for the master, madam, and young miss to finish breakfast before they all set off for the welfare home together.
There were five officially run welfare homes in the capital city, all with long-term partnerships with the Jiang Family Charity Foundation.
After all, for a major corporation, reputation, image, and visibility are strategic priorities, and charity—that all-purpose golden ticket—is the perfect way to showcase them.
At nine o'clock sharp.
They all got into the car and set off. Both Qiuyun and Jiang Yihua himself thought this was just an ordinary charity event—little did they know that upon arriving at the welfare home, they'd run into a member of the extended family.
"Yihua, Xiaoxiang? What are you two doing here?"
Ge Furen was dressed today in the plainest shirt and trousers, not a single piece of jewelry in sight, looking gentle and down-to-earth.
At the same time, behind her stood a crowd of journalists and media people, all holding up an array of cameras and microphones as they adjusted their equipment.
"Ge Furen?"
Jiang Yihua was surprised for only a split second before quickly composing his expression. "You've come to see the children at the welfare home as well."
Ge Furen smiled. "Yes, I've always been in charge of the family's charity foundation. I make a point to check in from time to time."
Yu Xiang was puzzled. "Then who are all these people behind you...?"
Ge Furen stepped closer, slotting herself between the couple, and said in a low voice, "These are social media contacts who are friendly with our family. Every year the family needs to get some newspaper coverage to keep our presence felt. You two came at just the right time—we can take a big group photo together afterward."
Jiang Yihua's head throbbed. "No need. I'm just here with my wife and daughter to do something nice. I won't participate in the family charity affairs."
He'd just completed his first week of the nine-to-five routine—did he really want to splash himself all over the papers right after stepping away from the center of power?
Everyone would think he had ulterior motives!
A staff member in a work uniform approached. "Ge Furen, is this President Jiang?! Oh my, you didn't mention President Jiang would be here! Hold on, let me make a call and have our paper's finance desk reporters rush over."
Jiang Yihua's brows twitched, and Secretary Zhu immediately stepped in to intercept: "Apologies, sir—President Jiang's private schedule does not accept interviews."
"Private schedule?" The reporter paused mid-dial. "Isn't today a public Jiang Group event?"
"All right, all right." Ge Furen diffused the situation. "Today's public event is charity-related. If you want a finance feature, you'll have to schedule that with the paper yourself."
Clearly, Ge Furen knew these media people well. A few words here and there, and they drifted off. She then turned to Jiang Yihua and said, "This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the group's founding, so the promotional workload is heavier than usual."
Jiang Yihua was an old hand after all—even as his mind raced for a way to slip away, not a hint of it showed on his face. "Ge Furen manages the estate affairs and also heads the family foundation. It must be quite a burden."
Ge Furen covered her lips with a hand. "Ah, well, it's really the only area where I can pitch in."
On the surface, the two were perfectly cordial. Beneath it, the undercurrents churned.
And the question lingered—why had Ge Furen known in advance that the eldest branch would make a last-minute visit to the welfare home, and why had she shown up with a horde of reporters to stir the pot?
By now the equipment was mostly set up. Camera flashes flickered nonstop, and reporters kept calling out "Look this way!" and "Smile!"
After the arrival photos, the group went in together. Jiang Chuling, being young and adorably pretty, attracted plenty of attention from the media's lenses.
Meanwhile, Ge Furen conversed familiarly with the director, pulling some of the spotlight back toward herself.
She stood before a microphone on the welfare home's lawn, speaking to the press as the foundation's spokesperson: "The Jiang Family Charity Foundation has always upheld its social responsibility to guide society toward kindness and goodness, and to shoulder—"
As she carried on with her high-sounding platitudes, Qiuyun gently squeezed the young miss's hand. Remembering Sister Xiaoqiu's instructions from last night, Jiang Chuling took out a cloth beanbag and walked over to the children peeking out shyly from behind the director.
"Want to play catch-the-bag with me? Beat me and you get a prize~"
The children, looking at Jiang Chuling who was as fair and clean as a little princess, all nodded. "Yes! We want to play!"
Five minutes later, Ge Furen was in the middle of passionately recounting her past charitable achievements when she suddenly noticed—why were all the cameras no longer pointed at her?
Following everyone's gaze, she saw Little Seven playing happily with a group of welfare kids!
Hmph.
Young as she was, she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
Ge Furen's eyes shifted back, and she raised her voice slightly: "Yes, this year marks the group's sixtieth anniversary. In order to better give back to society, we've invested great effort in the charity sector."
With that, staff members began carrying in piles of clothes, shoes, children's books, and toys—dozens of boxes stacked up high enough to reach half a wall!
Every single box was labeled with: "Thank you to the Jiang Group for donating goods worth millions."
As she finished speaking, applause broke out.
Whatever else one might say, the goods had truly been donated in full.
Jiang Chuling acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, making a silly face at a little boy. "Nyah nyah, you lost!"
"I want another round!"
"No, it's the next kid's turn! You're up!" She pointed at a little girl.
The girl frantically waved her hands. "No—I, I don't want to!"
"Come on, come on! Everyone should join in!" Jiang Chuling, not the least bit bothered, reached out to take her hand.
But the girl was shaking her head desperately. Qiuyun, sharp-eyed, spotted something was off and quickly stepped in to stop her charge. "Miss."
She didn't say why—just cast a subtle downward glance.
Jiang Chuling froze, then looked down to see that the girl's left foot was abnormally deformed. She probably walked with a limp and had been leaning against the wall, avoiding moving, all this time.
"How about this." Jiang Chuling pressed the beanbag into the girl's hands. "You throw it at me. If you even hit me, you win!"
The girl clutched the beanbag tight and whispered, "Really?"
"Of course it's really true! When I say I'll do something, I always follow through!"
