He looked up at Qiao Yinyin, his voice soft yet carrying weight: "Short-term donations can alleviate an immediate crisis, like adding some books or repairing a playground, but they can't save the root cause. For a family to truly emerge from the impoverished mountains, it doesn't depend on occasional handouts from outsiders; it depends on the children being able to grasp the steady ladder of 'knowledge'—being able to study, to see a larger world, and to pull their families out through their own abilities. This isn't something that happens in a day or two; it has to be done slowly. We can't let them feel that 'waiting for others to help' is a viable path."
These words didn't reveal everything, but they were practical enough.
Qiao Yinyin blinked, seemingly understanding something, and nodded gently. "So you've thought so far ahead..."
Jiang Cheng ruffled her hair, his tone softening. "But your intentions are good. When I have time, I'll take you to see them, so you can see what it's like for those children in class."
Beside them, Huang Yao seemed nailed to the sofa, forgetting to even take a bite of the skewer in her hand. She suddenly looked up at Jiang Cheng.
Her voice trembled with disbelief: "Hope Primary School? You... you even built Hope Primary Schools?"
Qiao Yinyin turned to Huang Yao and nodded with a smile, adding, "That's right! Didn't you know? Jiang Cheng hasn't just built a few; he's built nearly 100 in total. Most of them are finished and in use now, with only a few still in the final stages of completion."
"100 schools?" The skewer in Huang Yao's hand fell into the food box with a "thud."
Her mouth hung open, and it took quite a while before she found her voice again.
Huang Yao subconsciously sat up straight.
"Are you talking about that trending topic on the Social Media Platform from before the New Year?"
Qiao Yinyin replied, "Yaoyao, you saw that trending topic too?"
Huang Yao nodded, her tone carrying a hint of dazed recollection:
"I remember someone at our school mentioned that news topic. I didn't pay much attention back then, but I'd heard many people at school providing feedback with photos of Hope Primary Schools in difficult conditions. After the feedback, it seemed like that trending topic was deleted very quickly."
Huang Yao continued, "At the time, many people online said it was fake news made up by marketing accounts, saying no one would donate so many schools without leaving a name, and even things about deleting posts and such. I didn't think it was very believable back then either..."
After saying this, she stuck her tongue out a bit sheepishly.
Once she finished, Huang Yao couldn't help but look at Jiang Cheng and asked hesitantly, "Then why did you withdraw the trending topic back then? If you hadn't, everyone wouldn't have misunderstood."
Jiang Cheng was peeling a grilled shrimp for Qiao Yinyin and looked up upon hearing this.
His tone was calm: "I do things from the heart, not for the sake of doing them. Building schools is so children have books to read, not to get on a trending list and earn a reputation."
"Besides, being too high on the trending list isn't a good thing—the construction teams would be swarmed, and there would even be people with ulterior motives using 'charity' as a pretext to gain clout and create hype. All of this can disrupt the normal construction of the schools and affect the children's mindset. Withdrawing it actually keeps things quiet."
After hearing this, Huang Yao suddenly fell silent.
She watched Jiang Cheng hand the peeled shrimp to Qiao Yinyin, his eyes devoid of any smugness that he "should be praised for doing a good deed."
There was only tenderness for the person beside him and a grounded approach to charity.
Her previous impression of him as someone who loved to tease and was a bit cynical was now like mist blown away by the wind, gradually revealing a serious and clear-headed silhouette.
Realizing she was staring at Jiang Cheng, Huang Yao immediately looked away.
She told herself in her mind not to overthink, not to overthink.
This is Yinyin's boyfriend!
However, no matter how much she restrained herself, at such close range, Huang Yao had to admit that Jiang Cheng was quite handsome.
Their school wasn't an arts college; those who could get into Zhendan University were all Top Scholar-type boys.
Top Scholars focused all their energy on studying; "Noble Scion" types like Jiang Cheng were basically non-existent.
Moreover, Huang Yao had known for a long time how well Jiang Cheng treated Qiao Yinyin.
Before she started dating Jiang Cheng, although everyone at school knew Qiao Yinyin was an Internet Celebrity.
At that time, everyone wasn't very clear about how much money she earned.
Because besides dressing very beautifully, Qiao Yinyin didn't actually wear any big brands.
But ever since she told her she was in a relationship, not only had she moved into this apartment, but the key was that the apartment was in Qiao Yinyin's name.
Jiang Cheng had even tipped her several million.
Someone like herself had also encountered those who offered to keep her as a mistress.
She wasn't some kind of saint who didn't care about money.
It was just that in the past, she felt that being a kept woman would definitely be disgusting and make her feel inferior.
She just didn't dare say it while enduring the disgust for the sake of money.
But after these two interactions with Jiang Cheng, Huang Yao could only say that she was so envious of Qiao Yinyin...