Chapter 179: Chapter 160: Money Is Just Money to Me
Supporting Jin Shulin, she walked over slowly.
It was only now that Gu Bai could see her appearance clearly.
Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, draping over her shoulders. Perhaps due to a lack of grooming, it appeared somewhat messy. But after seeing her features, even Gu Bai, who had encountered numerous beauties, couldn’t help but be slightly dazed.
Her eyes were as clear as a sunny autumn sky, gazing with a touch of elegance and simplicity, yet not lacking a hint of charm. In a single glance, Gu Bai thought of a phrase: ’eternity in an instant.’ This stunning beauty surpassed all worldly beautiful things, and if one were to use poetry to describe it, only the words from Cao Zhi’s Ode to the Goddess would suffice.
Under the gloomy sky, a faint light fell on her face, and noticing Gu Bai staring intensely at her, Yan Shen raised her willow-like eyebrows slightly and brushed her long hair to cover half of her face. With this simple gesture, Gu Bai finally returned from the illusion to reality.
Gu Bai finally understood why the system rated her beauty at 101 points.
She deserved it utterly.
If 97 points for Qi Man and Dasha Talan were already the pinnacle of worldly beauty, then Yan Shen before him was an ethereal being detached from the mortal world. Among all the women Gu Bai had encountered, only these two could compare with Yan Shen. Besides them, no one else could compete.
"Teacher Yan Shen, let me introduce you. This is Gu Bai, the head of a charity foundation in Shanghai. He’s here to inspect our school."
The original calm in Yan Shen’s eyes remained without any waves, except for occasional respect when looking at Jin Shulin. But upon hearing the word ’charity’ from Jin Shulin, excitement flashed across her stunning face.
"Are you here to help the school?"
Though she had been standing there for a long time without speaking, now she spoke with a voice as if just waking up, lazy and slightly hoarse, with a calmness akin to a gentle spring breeze surrounding them.
"That’s right, Gu Bai just ordered a batch of school supplies to be sent over."
After Jin Shulin finished the introduction, Gu Bai smiled lightly and said to her, "Hello, I’m Gu Bai."
Her cool eyes briefly swept across Gu Bai’s face, and she responded softly, "Yan Shen, Yan from Yan Hui, Shen from mulberries."
After finishing, the two silently stared at each other. Ultimately, Yan Shen was the one who had to look away.
Though Gu Bai’s attractiveness was rated at 92 points, matched with the godly aura of "Non-action" and "Compassion," his charm far exceeded any other man with similar attractiveness. Although he wouldn’t make all women instantly fall for him, he was bound to increase his likability. Yan Shen’s impression of him, in just a brief conversation, rose from 20 points, that of a stranger, to 40 points.
"Teacher Yan Shen, I wonder if there are any leftovers from lunch in the cafeteria. I’d like to invite Gu Bai to dine at our school."
The silence was broken by Jin Shulin’s words.
Upon hearing Jin Shulin’s words, Yan Shen displayed a hint of difficulty and explained, "Principal... Today’s lunch has all been distributed, and all that’s left is a portion saved for you and some steamed sweet potatoes."
Upon hearing this, Jin Shulin first showed Gu Bai an apologetic smile, then turned to Yan Shen and said, "Since we have a guest, let’s give my saved portion to Gu Bai. I’ll just have some sweet potatoes."
"No way!"
"No way!"
Gu Bai and Yan Shen simultaneously interrupted.
Before Yan Shen could speak, Gu Bai said, "Principal Jin, I arrived unannounced, which was already impolite. Now, having me eat the lunch specially saved for you is like asking me to leave. If you do that, I’ll feel uncomfortable staying."
"Exactly, your stomach isn’t well, and this was specially prepared for you.
Let Mr. Gu wait a moment. I’ll make another portion for him, and I see the people who came with him haven’t eaten either, right?"
While speaking, Yan Shen glanced at Yi Jiahui and the others nearby.
Jin Shulin was left speechless by the words of these two young people, and just as he was about to respond, he heard Gu Bai continue, "Principal Jin, there’s no need to worry about me. Didn’t you say there are sweet potatoes? I’ll be fine with some sweet potatoes. As for them..."
He said this while looking at Yi Jiahui and the others.
"They’re young, skipping a meal won’t be an issue."
"Pfft..."
As Gu Bai finished speaking, Yan Shen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Her brows and eyes were silky, as splendid as a galaxy.
Gu Bai, who turned his head, was a bit transfixed; it was the second time he lost himself to her face.
Sweeping away the distractions from his heart, Gu Bai couldn’t help but silently recite ’form is emptiness’ inwardly.
No matter how beautiful a woman was, she wouldn’t make him become a sycophant.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You speak as though you’re not young."
"I’m different, my life is somewhat more valuable than theirs; I can’t afford to skip meals."
Gu Bai jokingly said.
The originally friendly look in Yan Shen’s eyes turned cold upon hearing this and she fell silent, her impression of him dropping from 40 points straight down to 10 points.
points indicated a stranger’s impression.
points meant mild dislike already.
This left Gu Bai somewhat perplexed.
But sticking a warm face on someone else’s cold shoulder was something that would never happen to Gu Bai. Despite Yan Shen’s unparalleled beauty, she was nothing more than a newly acquainted stranger, so should he lower himself to find out which word was wrong?
This was impossible.
Even if her attractiveness was 101 points, adding another zero wouldn’t make it possible.
Yan Shen handed the prepared lunch to Jin Shulin from the side and then offered a steaming plate of steamed sweet potatoes to Gu Bai, before bowing her head to busy herself with her own tasks.
Seeing that she wasn’t willing to engage with him, Gu Bai refrained from saying anything further and returned to help Jin Shulin back to his residence.
"Gu Bai, don’t take it to heart."
After returning to the residence, Jin Shulin sat down on the edge of the bed and spoke softly to Gu Bai.
"What?"
"I’m saying, don’t take Teacher Yan Shen’s attitude to heart. She’s just like that, very clear about her likes and dislikes, wears everything on her sleeve, but her heart is absolutely the kindest I’ve ever seen. Not many young people could stay in such a remote mountain village for over a year. She had her own bright future, but she gave it up for the kids."
Gu Bai stuffed a piece of sweet potato from his plate into his mouth and mumbled, "It’s nothing, I probably said something earlier that upset her."
"She’s very sensitive. Since she’s been here, I’ve never seen her get along well with any of the volunteer teachers. Just don’t take it to heart."
"Alright."
Gu Bai had a lot of respect for Jin Shulin, so he was naturally willing to take his advice.
Moreover, he didn’t take it to heart as he wouldn’t be staying long here anyway. He just regarded it as a brief encounter and thought nothing more of it.
So, as Gu Bai ate sweet potatoes, he chatted with Jin Shulin to learn about the surrounding schools.
He hadn’t eaten sweet potatoes since he was a child, and to his surprise, he found the taste quite good.
Suddenly, Gu Bai’s face flushed slightly, and he stood up, pounding his chest.
Experienced Jin Shulin knew that Gu Bai had choked on his food, but there was no water there, so he quickly said, "Go to the cafeteria, there’s water there!"
Hearing Jin Shulin, Gu Bai ran towards the cafeteria as fast as he could.
He drank several big gulps at the faucet, and only then did the choking sensation slowly subside.
Thankfully, he drank water in time; otherwise, he would’ve been the first Divine Rich to choke to death on a sweet potato.
After splashing his face with the ice-cold well water, he was just about to head back when he heard voices coming from the side of the cafeteria. Listening closely, he recognized Yan Shen’s voice. Through the window frame, he saw her frowning, talking into her phone.
"I’ve already said I’d go back to school this winter break. What more do you want?
You’ve seen the kids here. How can I just leave them without a care?"
"Give me another 5000 bucks; this is the last time I’m asking you for money."
From the conversation, it sounded like she was asking someone for money, and if he wasn’t mistaken, it was probably her parents.
As Gu Bai eavesdropped, the conversation outside the window stopped, followed by approaching footsteps. Just as Gu Bai was about to leave, he bumped into Yan Shen on her way back.
Caught eavesdropping on someone’s call, Gu Bai could only awkwardly say, "Would you believe me if I said I was just here to get some water?"
Yan Shen merely glanced at him indifferently, walked in without a word.
Turning around, seeing Yan Shen sitting beside him, eating her cold sweet potato, Gu Bai sat down opposite her.
"Were you just asking your family for money?"
Hearing this, Yan Shen paused her small chewing mouth, looked up at Gu Bai, and nodded gently.
"There’s hardly anything here to spend money on. Are you asking for money to help these kids?"
No sooner had Gu Bai finished speaking than the sound of a notification for a 5000 bucks deposit came from Yan Shen’s phone. She excitedly picked up her phone to confirm, then resumed eating with a smile.
"What did you say just now?"
Gu Bai didn’t repeat himself but instead switched to a new topic, "If you’re asking for money to help these kids, it’s unnecessary. We’ll have the donations sent over in a few days."
It was only after hearing this that Yan Shen’s previously cold expression softened a bit.
In a gentle voice, she asked, "How much can you donate? More is more, right? Since I’m here, even if it’s just an extra dollar, it can make them a bit fuller."
This line echoed what Elder Qian Gen Sheng had said back then.
Donate as much as you can.
This sentence choked all the words Gu Bai wanted to say.
After a while, seemingly to break the awkward silence, Yan Shen looked up and asked Gu Bai, "Why do you do charity work?"
Gu Bai had countless reasons ready to spill out.
Thinking of Elder Qian Gen Sheng and Principal Jin Shulin, his reasons seemed trivial.
"Want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"What’s the lie?"
"To help those in need."
"And the truth?"
"I’ve got too much money to spend."
"That’s a pretty flimsy reason."
Upon hearing this, Gu Bai chuckled lightly. Though it sounded like flaunting, it was Gu Bai’s genuine thought. His primary goal was completing system tasks, and the rest was simply because he had an abundance of money.
"So, you people look at things differently than us ordinary folk."
"Are you saying I lack purity?"
Seeing Yan Shen nod, Gu Bai laughed again, "Does purity matter? It’s all about helping others. You’ve been here long enough to know charity isn’t achieved with mere slogans and a few actions. If it were, why did you ask your family for money just now?"
Yan Shen meant to counter but found no words.
"You know Chen Guangbiao, right? You can think of me as him, doing charity with an agenda, but regardless, our ultimate goal is the same — to help those in need.
For me, money is just money, but for these kids, it’s everything.
Helping them simply live well and get out of these mountains."
After saying this, Gu Bai stood up and walked out.
Leaving Yan Shen sitting at the table, gazing at Gu Bai’s retreating figure, lost in thought.