Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 389 - 389 384 Donating Books

Chapter 389: Chapter 384: Donating Books Chapter 389: Chapter 384: Donating Books Ding Yamin felt a bit sour inside when he saw their interaction, because up until now, he hadn’t even held Guan Jiao’s hand.

It wasn’t that he didn’t take the initiative, but every time he tried to touch her, she would dodge, making him extremely embarrassed, so he didn’t have the nerve to try again.

That evening, when he was chatting alone with Jiang Yan at the repair shop, Ding Yamin thought for a moment and hesitantly told him about it.

“So you’re having a damn spiritual and pure love affair?”

Jiang Yan looked at him with a complex gaze and asked, “When you were repeating a year, you two weren’t together yet, were you?”

Ding Yamin nodded, “Right, I didn’t dare say anything at that time, fearing it would affect our studies. It was only when we were filling out college preferences that I told her, otherwise we wouldn’t have chosen the same school.”

He also didn’t tell her because he was afraid of pressuring her, after all, he didn’t fail to get into college, he just chose not to go.

As for this, Jiang Yan couldn’t really judge, he could only pat Ding Yamin on the shoulder and comfort him, “Don’t worry, the day when the suffering ends and the sweetness begins will come.” As for when that would be, who knows?

The next day, Jiang Yan took them out for a whole day of fun, and on the third day, he found Ding Yamin a job at a milk tea shop, while Guan Jiao followed Yang Dan to a pizza place, where she worked without pay, just to learn.

It was not until the twenty-ninth of the lunar new year that the three of them took a train back to Yunzhou.

“How much money do you think is needed to donate a library to Jianghai Middle School?”

Jiang Yan’s eyelid twitched, and turning his head quickly, he glanced at Mu Jiawen. When they stopped at a red light, he finally spoke up and asked, “When did you start thinking about this?”

“Just these past few days, I guess. Hearing about some of the things Guan Jiao went through during her repeat year and about those high school classmates of ours, even though many of them got into university, the gap between them and the city kids is still very clear. You understand, this gap isn’t just created by living standards and environment.”

Jiang Yan smacked his lips, “Donating books isn’t a bad idea, but as for how much money is needed… there’s no fixed amount, it all depends on how much you plan to put in.”

Suddenly inspired, Jiang Yan said, “We could look for some sponsors, like Jing Junyang. We don’t have to ask him for much, just tens of thousands will do, as a token of goodwill, and then we could look for others…”

“My eldest brother, second brother, third brother, and my cousin.”

During her birthday, her four brothers had given her a hundred thousand yuan, and with the money she made from selling paintings this year, not including Jiang Yan’s dividends and salary, she could donate half a million yuan to Jianghai Middle School to build a library.

As for the money in Jiang Yan’s salary card, that had to be saved for buying commercial property.

The two discussed the details further, and Mu Jiawen immediately called Old Yu to ask for a book list.

Jiang Yan felt that it was better to donate books directly. Because if they were to donate money, then Mu Jiawen would inevitably have to give the money to Old Yu.

They were clear about Old Yu’s character, so naturally, they weren’t worried, but the fear was that some people with ulterior motives might use it as an opportunity to slander him. In the past two years, Old Yu had been promoted quickly, going from grade director to vice-principal, and attracting envy and jealousy was inevitable, as any workplace couldn’t avoid having its own internal struggles.

When Old Yu received Mu Jiawen’s call, upon hearing that she wanted to donate a library, his first reaction wasn’t joy, but rather to question her, “You’re only a sophomore now, have you saved enough money for your own postgraduate and doctoral studies? Also, doing research doesn’t pay much, and even though you have quite a bit of money now, you also need to plan for the future, like buying a house and a car. You need to ensure your own life isn’t affected before you can think about helping others. Jiawen, you’ve already done enough for Jianghai Middle School, whether it’s building a library or something else, that’s for us to consider, not your responsibility.”

For Jiawen, Mu Jiawen did not conceal her own family background, yet despite this, Teacher Yu still couldn’t help but say this, sometimes even worrying that she had not grown up with her birth mother since she was little. He wondered, was being so good to her a way to compensate, and what about the future? Would they always be this nice to her?

Jiawen’s potential academic heights or future achievements never concerned him. But when it came to familial affection, he was afraid she might get hurt.

Having some extra cash on hand was the best protection he could think of for himself; after all, money granted the ability to be independent, to live without relying on anyone, upright and unembarrassed.

Jiawen felt a warm feeling inside, knowing that at any time, Teacher Yu, just like in high school, would do his utmost to look out for her.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Yu, I haven’t taken out all my savings. Even if I wanted to, Jiang Yan wouldn’t agree,” Jiawen said.

Upon hearing the name “Jiang Yan,” Teacher Yu snorted through his nose, having long said that this kid was up to no good. See, he was right, wasn’t he?

Jiang Yan, who stood beside her, guiltily touched his nose. Back when she moved from arts to sciences and joined their class, he had persisted until Teacher Yu with promises that he was solely focused on improving his studies, certainly and absolutely with no other ulterior motives!

That… wasn’t wrong, though, was it? Back then, he was indeed devoted to his studies, not just frantically studying, but desperately!

And after the college entrance exams… please, the exams were over, couldn’t he change his focus by then?

Thinking this, Jiang Yan confidently straightened his back once again.

Jiawen paid him no mind and discussed the book purchasing with Teacher Yu. He would negotiate a list with the principal on his end, and on her side, she would look to buy a selection of domestic and international classics, hoping to settle everything over the winter break and ship the books before it ended.

After hanging up the phone, Teacher Yu absent-mindedly stroked his somewhat balding head, belatedly leapt up from his chair, paced a few laps around the office, and then swiftly went to find the principal.

After all, it wasn’t just about the book list. They also needed to clear out a large classroom to serve as a library, not to mention bookshelves… These things were actually simple. The main concerns were the variety and quantity of books. Just the thought of Jiawen planning to purchase books worth at least half a million yuan made his heart race with excitement.

For their high school, with only a twenty-year history, a plain rural town middle school, to suddenly have a library worth half a million!

You couldn’t blame Teacher Yu for being overjoyed; after all, even the middle schools in the county didn’t have a proper library, the county education bureau had no money to allocate, and nobody else would donate books worth half a million in one go…

Half a million!

Thinking of this amount, Teacher Yu’s steps began to float.

…

In an effort to change Teacher Yu’s opinion of him, Jiang Yan actively got involved in buying books, and even managed to get a donation of fifty thousand from his big boss, Jing Junyang.

Jiawen borrowed Xiaohei’s aluminum feeding dish and went around to all four brothers, each one unable to look her in the eye, and each gave her twenty thousand. Had Yu Ci not considered Xiaohei’s attachment to his dish, she might have snatched it away and tossed it out.

This cheeky girl was always coming up with one scheme after another.

The two of them worked tirelessly in preparation, finally sending out all the purchased textbooks for various subjects, domestic and foreign classics, novels, poetry, etc., right before the end of the winter break…