Chapter 30 (2/2): Donate

Back in her room, Bai Xia showered and went to bed—she had to work tomorrow and had promised herself she would resign if things didn’t improve within a month.

The charity organization was founded long ago with the female lead.

Unsurprisingly, the female lead was very supportive and handled everything personally.

Bai Xia didn’t have to worry about the funds being embezzled.

But these projects required a lot of money.

For example, building a school meant first constructing roads and bridges.

Otherwise, children would have to climb mountains every day just to get to school—some didn’t even have shoes.

These were real-life stories.

Everyone’s life was different, but what Bai Xia hated most were those scoundrels who embezzled charity funds and got rich off others’ hardships.

Here, every penny had to be spent on the ground.

Most people thought this charity was run by the Song family.

Over the years, it had raised a lot of money.

This charity auction was organized by the female lead and several other disability groups.

Out of respect for the Song family, most recipients of the invitation would attend.

Even a small donation could build a classroom.

Lying in bed, Bai Xia opened the five-person WeChat group and sent a message:

【Do you have anything you don’t need? Feel free to give it to me [smile]. Note: not mandatory; if not, no worries.】

He Yuehua: 【I recently bought a gem necklace, but it doesn’t match my clothes. My mom doesn’t like it either. You can take it.】

Qi Mo: 【No one wants that watch either. You can sell it.】

Bai Xia: 【You can return it if you have the receipt.】

Qi Mo: 【I never return things I buy!】

Bai Xia: 【… As long as you’re happy.】

Lin Yan: 【[picture] An antique painting from my grandfather.】

Bai Xia: 【Getting rich recently? Aren’t you afraid your grandfather will beat you?】

Lin Yan: 【Showing love to the poor is my duty [smile].】

Qi Mo: 【I’m poor too. Can you help me?】

Lin Yan: 【Last time you crashed into my car, remember to cover the repairs.】

Qi Mo: 【[smile] @Bai Xia, make sure he’s not selling fake goods.】

Bai Xia: 【Thanks for your kindness. On behalf of the mountain village students, thank you all. Next time, dinner’s on me [smile].】

Closing her phone, Bai Xia turned over and fell asleep.

The next day at the company, the department was relaxed, unlike the tense atmosphere of previous days.

Apparently, online public opinion had been effectively controlled and even broadened the brand’s recognition.

At 10:30 a.m., she went to the ninth floor for the executive meeting.

Regarding the recent product issue, the marketing department had again summarized the cause.

“The new product had issues. Why was it still released?”

Song Xun looked at everyone present.

The R&D manager lowered his head.

“You and your wife went traveling recently. This was handled by Director Song, who said we were overreacting and that there was no need to dwell on details. Other companies might not have better quality, so we went ahead with mass release.”

Seeing Song Xun’s displeased expression, others quickly spoke up.

“Luckily, this time Little Bai cut through the chaos quickly. Now online opinion has completely reversed. Indeed, money should be spent where it counts.”

Everyone applauded in agreement, knowing what to say.

Director Song was Song Zong’s son, though now resigned.

Song Zong was still around, so no one dared to pick sides lightly—after all, he was a company veteran.

“Compensation is a post-sale principle. I heard the legal department wants to sue the victims? Who thought that up?”

Song Xun rarely looked displeased.

Others lowered their heads silently.

Who else but Director Song?

“I believe product quality must be strictly controlled. No matter how good a product is, if quality control fails, it will be criticized. Don’t let details impact the bigger picture. Our goal is long-term market capture, not to let other cost-effective brands take our share,” Bai Xia said firmly.

Everyone quickly echoed her.

Song Xun said no more.

He had heard the second uncle was reluctant for Xia Xia to join the company.

If mediation failed, those rotten elements had to be cleared out, relatives or not.

He wouldn’t leave Xia Xia with a mess full of holes.

After the meeting, Song Xun stayed behind to ask Bai Xia about her recent experiences in PR.

If she faced any difficulties, she must speak up immediately.

What grievances could she have?

She just couldn’t tolerate some of the Song family’s practices—black-hearted, vampiric businesspeople.

No matter how big the enterprise, it would be drained by such people.

The male supporting lead had a good temper and cared about elders’ faces, but she absolutely would not tolerate it.

Some people used seniority to suppress youth, yet claimed young people were capable, all while dumping all the dirty work and blame onto them.

The real problem was some elderly fools ruining society’s atmosphere.

Shameless to the extreme.

Sure enough, within days, online opinion shifted again.

A group suddenly appeared attacking the product for being faulty yet still sold, accusing the company of profiteering.

It looked like malicious competition from other brands, but she didn’t think it was that simple.

Before the reversal, no one had made such vicious attacks.

Why now?

She could only have her department continue monitoring and trace the source.

Without clearing that up, they would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

Friday was the charity auction.

Lu Jinnian specially gave Lu Shuo a million yuan to buy something in support.

By the time they arrived, many people had gathered.

Bai Xia greeted those she knew and took a seat in the front row.

After years following Lu Jinnian around, she basically knew everyone she should.

“Will your mother come today?”

Lu Shuo sat beside her, glancing around.

Bai Xia gave him a sidelong glance.

“You care a lot about my mother?”

Lu Shuo: “If your mother comes, Uncle Song will definitely come too. What if your father causes a scene?”

This wasn’t idle worry.

He remembered seeing his older brother hit Uncle Song as a child.

Whose side should he take then?

“You think he’s like you?”

Bai Xia said expressionlessly.

Lu Shuo immediately got flustered.

“My temper’s way better than your dad’s. I haven’t fought in years, you know that.”

He was about to say more when his peripheral vision caught sight of someone approaching.

He immediately waved.

Lin Yan, following the seating chart, sat down in the front row, just one seat away from Bai Xia.

She noticed him.

“Where’s Qi Mo?”

He had some family matter and didn’t come, but she knew Qi Mo was free today.

“He got rear-ended on the road.”

Lin Yan met her gaze.

Bai Xia: “Couldn’t he have hired a driver?”

Since getting his license, Qi Mo seemed to have had three accidents in three months.

It was a miracle the Qi family still let him drive.

“Do you play games?”

Lu Shuo asked eagerly, staring at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan’s brow twitched.

“What game?”

As if finding a kindred spirit, Lu Shuo scooted closer and sat next to him, pulling out his phone.

“Our company’s developing one recently. If you play, help me test it.”

Bai Xia grabbed his collar.

“Be quiet!”

“Hey—”

Lu Shuo was forced back to his seat, then leaned over, staring at Lin Yan.

“I’ll add you on WeChat; we can chat later.”

He remembered playing games with Lin Yan and Qi Mo before.

Qi Mo was terrible, but Lin Yan was better.

Recently, he hadn’t seen Qi Mo—maybe he was heartbroken by the eldest miss.

Well, better to be hurt by her than by his own brother.

Suddenly sitting upright, he realized the seat next to him belonged to Lu Lin.

He hurriedly scooted over to swap seats with Lin Yan.

Better to sit next to big brother for an hour than fast for a month.

“Can you behave? Stop wandering around.”

Bai Xia glanced at her phone, then at the pacing Lu Shuo.

He said nothing, quietly focused on his phone.

Lu Lin finished greeting others and noticed a young man sitting beside his daughter.

Although they weren’t speaking, he inexplicably disliked the sight.

“Classmate?”

A cold voice sounded behind him.

Bai Xia turned to see the male lead had actually taken time to show up. She looked at Lin Yan again.

“Oh, a classmate.”

Lin Yan nodded slightly.

“Hello, Uncle Lu.”

Phew.

Lu Lin glanced at him indifferently, showing no emotion, then sat next to his daughter.

Soon, someone else came forward to greet him.

Bai Xia nodded in response, then suddenly looked at Lin Yan.

“Qi Mo got rear-ended. Is he handling it himself? Not getting ripped off? Aren’t you going to check on him?”

Lin Yan’s expression didn’t change.

“He’s an adult. He’ll handle it himself.”