Chapter 2631 — The Charity Gala

"So that's how it is..." Wei Zhao had not expected that the orphanage, which looked so grand and imposing from the outside, would bring its own troubles along with it. Still, he did not want Yu Xiaoke to wear herself out. "You don't have to push yourself so hard. I'll think of a way to help you with these things. Apart from the necessary investment on Lame Pang's side, I'll keep working on some ideas for you. In a few days our school is holding a charity gala, and part of it is an auction to raise funds. I've already spoken with my teacher—the proceeds this time will all be donated to your orphanage."

"Huh? Donated to me?" Yu Xiaoke was stunned for a moment, then delighted—but behind that delight, a trace of deep worry flickered in her eyes. Wei Zhao was being far too eager in helping her.

Yu Xiaoke simply could not believe that Wei Zhao was helping the orphanage purely for the orphanage's sake. Even a great philanthropist would have no reason to go this far, would he? Unless he were someone like her, who worked at an orphanage to begin with.

In fact, Wei Zhao really was not acting purely out of kindness. He was doing all this entirely because of his other identity—that of the male thief. Only, Yu Xiaoke knew nothing about any of that.

"Mm, the proceeds this time should be substantial. According to my teacher, the charity gala raises at least ten million every year, and at most over a hundred million, so you can forget about that task from the Thief Sect." Wei Zhao said, "How old are you? At your age you should be enjoying life, doing the things a girl your age ought to do."

"What should a girl my age be doing?" Yu Xiaoke was rather baffled. She genuinely had no idea what someone her age was supposed to do. Ever since she had grown old enough to understand things, she had been running herself ragged just to keep the orphanage afloat, so she had never had the chance to learn what she ought to be doing.

"For instance, window shopping, getting a facial, buying some pretty clothes, things like that." Wei Zhao thought for a moment, then passed on to Yu Xiaoke the sorts of things the young miss and Xiaoshu did regularly.

"..." Yu Xiaoke was speechless. "Do you take me for some rich man's daughter? Where would I get the money?"

"I'll give it to you," Wei Zhao said.

"Goodbye!!!!!!" Yu Xiaoke was so furious she nearly hurled her phone to the ground. If she had not been so reluctant to smash it and have to buy another, she would have thrown it long ago. Even so, she hung up on Wei Zhao in a fit of pique.

Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph! So the fox's tail finally shows itself! You'll give me money? Send me shopping for clothes? Isn't that just keeping me? Now I've finally figured out what you're after—you really do have designs on me!

But what was she to do? What was she to do?

If Wei Zhao really did have designs on her, could she refuse? And if she refused, what if he stopped raising money for the orphanage? Yet she could not betray the male thief either. Had she not met the male thief, Yu Xiaoke might not have been so averse to Wei Zhao. A big spender who could carry the orphanage's expenses indefinitely was not easy to find, and being kept by him would not actually be so bad. For the sake of the orphanage's children, keeping was keeping—she could endure it.

But now there was someone else in Yu Xiaoke's heart, and her thinking had inevitably shifted. The "interest" Wei Zhao was revealing repelled her utterly.

"This is such a pain. What am I supposed to do?" Yu Xiaoke was glum again. She simply could not resist the lure of Wei Zhao's money, yet she did not want anything to happen between them. No matter how she looked at it, Wei Zhao did not seem like a fool who gave without expecting anything in return. So... Yu Xiaoke knew that the more such debts of gratitude piled up, the more trouble there would be in the end. She was heading for serious trouble.

Ah, forget it. Take things as they come. Deal with what is right in front of her first. She had never given Wei Zhao a straight answer anyway—if he wanted to give money, that was his business. If it ever came to a confrontation, she would simply refuse, and surely he could not demand the money back once it was given?

The male thief was so much better after all—he gave her so much money and so many nice things without asking anything in return, far better than Wei Zhao!

If Wei Zhao knew what Yu Xiaoke was thinking, he would probably have turned into a glum Yi. How much had the male thief actually given her? What Wei Zhao had given her under his own identity was more than ten times what the male thief had given!

At that moment, however, Wei Zhao was staring at his phone in bafflement. What on earth had gotten into Yu Xiaoke? Hanging up on him outright with a goodbye? And she had seemed on the verge of flying off the handle? All he had done was suggest she go shopping. Was that really worth this?

Could she have some kind of shopping-aversion syndrome? Wei Zhao shook his head, but he did not call Yu Xiaoke again. He had already told her everything she needed to know, and when the auction's proceeds were ready, he would simply donate them directly.

When class ended at noon, Chief Bai had already taken care of the matter, designating the donation's purpose for the Songshan City Orphanage, and announced the details of the charity gala before the whole class.

"This Friday evening, our school will hold its annual Charity Gala!" Chief Bai said. "I imagine many of you have already seen the news on the school's BBS forum, but I still need to go over the details! The Charity Gala has two parts. The first part is the auction!"

"A so-called auction means everyone donates some items to be sold at auction. There is no limit on the type of item—anything goes—but it must be something presentable, or it may fail the review."

"Donations are voluntary, with no special requirements! Those who bid at the auction are us students, along with some alumni from previous years, the school's faculty, and notable figures from society. Everyone bids voluntarily, and all proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Songshan City Orphanage."

"The second part is the voluntary donation segment. There is no limit on the amount—large or small, anything is welcome."

"As for the third part, that is a masquerade ball. But there are conditions for attending: only those who donated items to the auction and completed a successful transaction, or those who successfully bid on an auction item, may attend."

"Of course, this too is voluntary. Those who qualify may attend or may not! But this activity is a longstanding tradition at our school. At the masquerade, everyone can try to guess one another's identities, and whoever guesses correctly may ask the person they recognized to grant them a favor!"

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