Chapter 33: The Charitable Foundation

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yanxin suddenly remembered.

"Now that you mention it, I recall—hasn't that murderer been caught yet?"

Secretary Zhang reminded her, "Ms. Qiao, he was just released. Since he hasn't committed any new crimes, he naturally hasn't been arrested."

Qiao Yanxin furrowed her brows deeply. It seemed she, too, realized the gravity of the situation. After all, I had offended that murderer in the past; now that he was free, it was only logical to assume he would seek revenge. Furthermore, my current disappearance—with no travel records, no departure from the city, and not a single cent spent—felt increasingly suspicious.

In truth, days before I died, I had called her to say I felt like someone was following me, but she had been incredibly impatient.

"You are a member of the Qiao family," she had said. "Who would have the gall to stalk you? Besides, you have so many bodyguards with you—if some blind fool follows you, just have the bodyguards beat them up. If anything happens, the Qiao family will handle it; what are you afraid of?"

"And I’ve told you, with the wedding approaching, stop going to Yanyun. It’s in an urban village; the area isn't safe, the road conditions are poor, and it's full of twists and turns where it's easy to get lost. With the wedding so close, why not just stay home and prepare? Why must you keep running out? If you’re really that scared, I’ll hire more bodyguards for you. That’s enough, I have things to do, I’m hanging up."

Yanyun was a charity foundation I had established years ago. It was built under Qiao Yanxin’s name, and the name itself was a combination of one character from each of our names. Because Qiao Yanxin had more influence than I did, more people were willing to donate when the appeal was made in her name.

Over the years, I had poured my heart and soul into this foundation, but I never regretted it. Because of the pandemic a few years prior, many children had lost their parents, and these orphans had no means of survival. Without the support of kind-hearted people in society, they might not have survived that winter. The money raised by the Yanyun Charity Foundation went entirely to these children. I was always there, helping out—bathing the children, washing their hair, and tending to those too young to care for themselves. Without the foundation, their fates would have been clear: either dying tragically or being abducted by criminal syndicates to beg. The luckier ones might be sold to remote mountain villages; if they were boys, life might be tolerable, but if they were girls, they would only be treated as child brides.

Qiao Yanxin assumed that because I was driven everywhere, I never actually encountered anyone, so how could I be in danger? She simply didn't care about what I said or what I did every day.

At this moment, Qiao Yanxin suddenly recalled something.

"Are you saying Qiao Yunzhou was killed by that murderer? That’s impossible. Not to mention how many bodyguards I assigned to him—if a killer tried to get close, would none of them have noticed? And we live in a society governed by law; if a murder had occurred, how could the police not know immediately? The fact that the police haven't found anything all this time proves Qiao Yunzhou isn't dead. He’s just hiding to get our attention."

Qiao Yanxin spoke with a look of absolute certainty, as if she were stating a fact. Suddenly, she thought of something. "Right! Yanyun! Qiao Yunzhou must be there. That place is his life's work; how could he not go there?!"

Hearing this, Secretary Zhang hurriedly went to prepare the car.

Qiao Yanxin sat in the car on the way to Yanyun, sitting stiffly, looking somewhat nervous. When Yanyun was first established, I had taken Qiao Yanxin there once. But she didn't seem to like the environment; aside from the opening day, she had never returned. Every time I showed her the crafts the children made or the thank-you letters they wrote, she would sneer. I had always known that Qiao Yanxin didn't like children. This was the first time she had set foot in Yanyun in a long time.

The courtyard of Yanyun was large, filled with flowers and plants. A small path ran through the center, flanked by swings and play areas for the children. The yard was decorated with children’s equipment, giving it a playful atmosphere. The door curtain was made of seashells the children had gathered from the beach, cleaned one by one, painted in their favorite colors, and strung together. Whenever someone passed underneath, it would emit a crisp, tinkling sound.

Upon hearing this sound, Qiao Yanxin didn't feel happy; instead, she felt a sense of irritation. With an impatient expression, she brushed the curtain aside and walked in with quickened steps.

She walked faster and faster, her expression growing more agitated. I knew what she was hoping for—she was hoping to see me. But Qiao Yanxin, you are destined to be disappointed, because I am already dead; it is impossible for me to be at Yanyun. The only thing I regretted was that before I died, I hadn't arranged the affairs of the foundation, and I didn't know how Yanyun was running now.

From a distance, she saw a man in a black suit. He was broad-shouldered and long-legged, yet he was crouched on the ground, patiently doing crafts with a child. There was a strangely harmonious quality to the scene.

Seeing the man's back, Qiao Yanxin’s pupils contracted. She stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

"Qiao Yunzhou! I finally found you!"

The man in the black suit turned around, looked at Qiao Yanxin, and raised an eyebrow.

"Ms. Qiao?"

Qiao Yanxin’s face betrayed undisguised disappointment, mixed with a hint of embarrassment. I hadn't expected that after I had been gone for only a few days, she would mistake someone else for me.

"I apologize, I mistook you for someone else. But you know me? I don't believe we've met."

The man smiled faintly. "My name is Jiang Tingchen. I just returned from abroad, so it's normal that you haven't met me, Ms. Qiao. However, I have certainly heard of you."

Jiang Tingchen. Hearing this familiar name, I raised an eyebrow. This was one of the suitors Elder Qiao had arranged for Qiao Zhuxin—Jiang Tingchen, the only son of the Jiang family.