146. Classical Literature Fund

Outside the villa, in the barren land, Wei Kun paced back and forth, shaking his head in frustration as he looked at Bai Jinyan, who remained calm and indifferent.

“Why won’t you let me speak? That old man from the Chen family said such vicious things to you—why didn’t you tell Chen Ruowen? Don’t you want to know how she feels about it?”

Bai Jinyan touched the spot on his face where Chen Ruowen had kissed him, his expression gradually softening.

“Hasn’t she already made her feelings clear just now?”

“Aren’t you afraid…”

“I am.” Bai Jinyan sighed deeply.

He knew that if Chen Liwan forced Chen Ruowen to meet someone under the guise of a blind date, she definitely wouldn’t go. But if it was arranged as a “business banquet” to meet the “ideal son-in-law” in Chen Liwan’s mind, who could intervene?

If she encountered someone far superior at the banquet, would Chen Ruowen truly remain unmoved?

Bai Jinyan didn’t dare to think about it.

“Enough of that. Is there something urgent you need from me?”

Seeing he didn’t want to continue the conversation, Wei Kun could only shake his head helplessly.

“The progress of this free clinic has been quite fast. We’ve almost covered all the surrounding mountainous areas. In a couple of days, I’m planning to head back to the southern city. Do you want to come along?”

Wei Kun’s free clinic usually lasted about three months each year. This time, they had completed the task in less than two months. He had to admit…

“It seems Dr. He has been a great help to you,” Bai Jinyan smiled.

Wei Kun scoffed, “Can someone who’s essentially selling themselves to a wealthy family really be called a doctor? Is she even worthy?”

Bai Jinyan was a bit exasperated. “You’ve had enough. Don’t drag the grudges of the previous generation into this. Dr. He is skillful and compassionate, and she’s helped you a lot. Why do you have to be at odds with her?”

Wei Kun snorted, “The thing I hate most is that entire Yu Li Ren faction.”

“Dean Yu is highly respected.”

“Just an old trickster…”

“Old Wei!”

Wei Kun reluctantly shut his mouth.

“So, what about it? Are you coming or not?”

…

Inside the villa, after Ma Yunan recounted Bai Jinyan’s actions in segments, Chen Ruowen felt a bit puzzled.

Besides attending classes, fetching water, and cooking, nothing seemed out of the ordinary!

So why would Wei Kun say she was ungrateful and heartless?

---

After Bai Jinyan returned, he informed everyone that Wei Kun would be leaving in a few days. But the students’ lessons were far from over, and the next semester’s volunteer teacher was still undecided. Being a responsible person, Bai Jinyan naturally wouldn’t abandon them at such a critical moment.

“Why are you frowning again?”

It was another weekend. Chen Ruowen touched the furrow between Bai Jinyan’s brows and sat opposite him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Bai Jinyan sighed. “The holidays are almost over, and we haven’t found a volunteer teacher for next semester. I’m worried the children won’t have classes.”

“You care so much about this village, you might as well stay and be the village chief,” Chen Ruowen pouted in mock grievance. “You haven’t paid attention to me at all these days; all your energy is on those little rascals.”

“…I haven’t.”

Bai Jinyan stopped her from continuing to mess around and pulled a file folder from the desk, handing it to her.

“It’s hard to find volunteer teachers partly because conditions in Rainbow Village are harsh and hard for ordinary people to endure, and partly because the village is too poor to afford salaries. Even if someone wants to help, it’s difficult to stay. So I plan to set up a dedicated account to cover the teachers’ wages.”

“I can cover the salaries of five or six teachers with my monthly allowance and income from other assets.”

Chen Ruowen took the folder with a puzzled look. Inside, she found a bank card and a proposal.

“Other assets? You have secret savings?” Chen Ruowen slipped the card into her pocket, beaming. “Confiscated.”

Bai Jinyan laughed helplessly. “Stop joking. This is the seed money.”

“No, I’ve wanted your bank card for a long time.”

Chen Ruowen put away the card and flipped through the proposal, skimming Bai Jinyan’s plan.

“Road construction?” She looked at the figures in surprise. “That’s a massive project. Where will you get so much money? Your monthly allowance is only twenty thousand.”

Bai Jinyan nodded. “Including other assets, I have about eighty to a hundred thousand. I’ve checked; minor repairs cost about a hundred thousand per kilometer. There are about two hundred to two hundred fifty kilometers to fix, and my savings just cover it. But…”

“But what?”

Bai Jinyan smiled. “Rainbow Village is surrounded by mountains, so we’ll need extra funds to carve through the hills. That might require your sponsorship.”

To become prosperous, you must first build roads.

Bai Jinyan wanted to help the people here. Finding teachers alone wasn’t enough; if the difficulty of access remained, even cultivating a bunch of university graduates wouldn’t help them truly leave the area.

“How much do you need?”

Chen Ruowen asked.

“About one to two million.”

Bai Jinyan had the extra one or two million—he wasn’t unwilling to contribute—but he really wanted Chen Ruowen to join him in this endeavor.

The thought of doing this long-desired good deed under their two names filled Bai Jinyan with a strange sense of ceremony, as if it were a testament.

“Alright.”

---

A few million wasn’t a fortune to Chen Ruowen, especially since it was Bai Jinyan’s request. She agreed without hesitation.

“But I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“This has to be just the two of us. You’re not allowed to bring anyone else in.”

That condition coincided perfectly with Bai Jinyan’s private wish. Not only did he quickly agree, but a small ripple stirred in his heart.

“Not just Rainbow Village—if you want to help Sun Village, Cloud Village, or anywhere else with roads and teachers in the future, I’m in…”

Chen Ruowen suddenly paused, as if struck by a lightning bolt. She exclaimed happily,

“Bai Jinyan, how about we build a Hope Primary School together?”

“You want to find teachers to teach, right? Why not build our own school? We’ll cover all expenses and arrangements ourselves. We can build it wherever we want, without worrying about finding teachers. You won’t have to worry about those kids having no classes next semester.”

“When the Hope Primary School in Rainbow Village is finished, I can keep building others elsewhere. Every year or two, we can open a new one. What do you think?”

The idea was brilliant, exceeding Bai Jinyan’s expectations entirely.

Building schools together—establishing a school named after the two of them, reaching every corner of the world.

Even if… even if they no longer had a future together, there would still be this beautiful memory, something bearing their joint mark in the world.

No one could take it away.

Chen Ruowen’s mind raced.

“We don’t even need to set up a bank account. Let’s create a dedicated foundation. Whether it’s for roads, schools, or anything else, funds will come directly from the foundation. How’s that?”

“Perfect.” Bai Jinyan smiled. “Then what should we name the foundation and the Hope Primary School?”

“Of course, after both of us!”

Chen Ruowen rolled her eyes at him, as if to say, why ask such a silly question?

“Let me see… Chen Ruowen… Bai Jinyan…”

She repeated their names back and forth several times, then her eyes lit up.

“Let’s call it… the Wenyan Foundation!”