Chapter 470 - 466: This Cheongsam Is Beautiful, What a Pity

The purpose of events like this had always been "unity"—everyone donating a little, letting it add up. As such, donations exceeding five hundred dollars were rare.

When Cecilia Sterling said she would donate ten thousand, the staff member in charge of registration was completely flustered.

Since its inception, the charity foundation had never received such a massive personal donation.

"Miss... Miss Sterling, please wait just a moment."

The staffer hastily stood up, gave Cecilia Sterling an apologetic nod, then turned and scurried away.

Seizing the opportunity, the other onlookers quickly closed in on Cecilia Sterling.

"Hello, Miss Sterling. I’m the chairman of the Titan Group. My name is Wang..."

"Miss Sterling, this is my card. I’d be honored to make your acquaintance."

"Mine as well. A pleasure to meet you..."

Witnessing Cecilia Sterling’s overwhelming display of financial power, these business magnates all started to take her very seriously.

Julian Summers, who had been standing next to Cecilia Sterling, was promptly squeezed far out of the circle.

This suited him just fine. He had no desire to make his donation after Cecilia Sterling—it would be far too humiliating.

He turned and pulled his secretary, Grant, aside. "I’m going to the restroom. You take care of things here."

"Me?" Grant pointed to her own nose. "I don’t think that’s appropriate, Boss."

"What’s not appropriate about it? Weren’t you here last year?"

Julian Summers tried to make a run for it, but Grant grabbed him. "Wait, Boss! How much should I donate?"

"Donate what you see fit!"

Leaving her with those four words, Julian Summers walked off without a backward glance, leaving a baffled Grant frozen in place.

The staff member returned, and with him were Randall Jennings and Megan Nash.

Seeing Randall Jennings approach, the crowd around Cecilia Sterling tactfully dispersed.

"Chairman, Miss Sterling said she’s donating ten thousand dollars to the foundation."

Cecilia Sterling looked at Randall Jennings and smiled. "Mr. Jennings, I’m perfectly clear-headed. This was my plan from the start, so there’s no need to be surprised."

"You’ve thought this through?" Randall Jennings’s reaction was calm, though he was inwardly stunned. He knew a bit about Cecilia; she had the persistence and drive of youth, but she wasn’t impulsive.

"I decided a long time ago. Firstly, I wanted to thank you, Mr. Jennings, for inviting my mother and me to this event. Secondly, I genuinely want to do my part for those in need. Ten thousand dollars may be a huge sum for an individual, but when distributed across all the sectors of society that need help, it’s merely a drop in the ocean. Doesn’t your group also contribute tens of thousands of dollars in donations every year, Mr. Jennings?"

Cecilia Sterling’s words were exceptionally sincere, and a look of approval lit up Randall Jennings’s eyes as he listened.

"Good girl. I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you," Randall Jennings said, stepping forward to embrace Cecilia Sterling. The people around them broke into spontaneous applause at her words.

And so, with everyone as a witness, Cecilia Sterling donated ten thousand dollars to the Jandon Charity Foundation, making the contribution in her mother’s name.

Her donation alone was more than all the others combined.

"Hello, I’m the secretary to Director Sullivan of The Sullivan Group. He’s asked me to make a donation on his behalf."

"Of course. And how much will that be?"

"Two hundred dollars, thank you."

"Very good. Thank you for President Sullivan’s generosity."

As Cecilia Sterling left the banquet hall, she saw her mother in the distance, chatting with Mr. Vance. Mr. Young had already said his goodbyes and left earlier.

From that distance, Cecilia couldn’t hear what they were discussing, but Mr. Vance was apparently quite humorous, as he had her mother laughing every few sentences.

"Hey!"

Julian Summers suddenly popped out from the side, startling Cecilia. He followed her gaze and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. My mom is talking with a friend, so I’m just waiting for her. Aren’t you leaving yet, Mr. Sullivan?"

Just as Julian Summers was about to speak, Grant came jogging out from the hall in her high heels. "Boss!"

"Over here!" Julian Summers beckoned. The moment Grant reached him, he asked impatiently, "How much did you donate?"

Grant held up two fingers in a V-sign. "200!"

A satisfied, appreciative smile spread across Julian Summers’s face. Grant might not be the sharpest tool in the shed on a normal day, but she understood him perfectly.

After Cecilia Sterling’s ten-thousand-dollar donation, he would have been too embarrassed to mention his own two hundred.

That’s why he’d given the task to Grant, and she hadn’t let him down. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"It’s getting late, so we’ll be heading out." In high spirits, Mr. Sullivan waved goodbye. Before he left, he couldn’t resist shooting a few curious glances at Cecilia’s mother and Director Vance.

’Something’s going on there, isn’t there?’

Not far away, Jasmine Sterling noticed her daughter waiting and quickly said to Director Vance, "Mr. Vance, it’s getting late. My daughter and I should be heading home."

Director Vance, who had been in the middle of a lively conversation, glanced at the priceless designer watch on his wrist and was taken aback. "Goodness, it’s almost twelve. You really should be heading back."

Jasmine Sterling smiled and nodded. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Goodbye."

Director Vance considered saying, ’Let me see you out.’

But he swallowed the words and simply gave Jasmine Sterling a gentle wave.

"You and Mr. Vance seemed to be hitting it off!"

Cecilia Sterling came closer, naturally taking her mother’s arm, and teased her probingly.

Although Jasmine Sterling had a clear conscience, she could still detect the insinuation in her daughter’s tone and shot her a mock-angry look.

Cecilia Sterling pressed her lips together and didn’t tease her mother any further.

’In any case, if she wants to remarry, I’ll support her wholeheartedly. But when it comes to that, I’ll still respect Mom’s own wishes one hundred percent.’

As they were leaving, they ran into Randall Jennings at the main entrance, who was personally seeing off some other guests.

"Mr. Jennings, we’re heading out now too."

"Mr. Jennings, thank you for inviting us."

A faint smile played on Randall Jennings’s lips. His gaze shifted from Cecilia to slowly rest on Jasmine Sterling. "Thank you both for coming. The honor was all mine."

Under the lights, a few faint but distinct red stains were visible on the shoulder of Jasmine Sterling’s cheongsam—splatters of watermelon juice from one of the games.

"That’s a beautiful cheongsam. What a pity," he remarked instinctively.

Hearing this, Jasmine Sterling instinctively glanced at the stain on her shoulder, then smiled gracefully. "It’s no pity at all. It helped raise fifty dollars for the fundraiser, so you could say the dress served a worthy cause."

Made from extremely precious silk and silver thread, the cheongsam couldn’t be cleaned.

Just then, Megan Nash, who was beside Randall Jennings, chimed in at the opportune moment. "Ms. Sterling, I actually studied fashion design. If you wouldn’t mind, I would be happy to design a new cheongsam for you. What do you think?"

"Oh, there’s really no need. That would be far too much trouble," Jasmine Sterling declined instinctively.

But Megan Nash was eager to make a good impression on Randall Jennings; after all, their relationship wasn’t official yet. "It’s no trouble at all. It’s what I specialize in. You put in so much effort for the foundation, so I should return the favor."

Her words positioned her as someone already in Randall Jennings’s circle.