Seeing it was getting late, Ye Chen refocused and said to Tawana, “Alright, Miss Sweet, I should go. See you next time.”
Tawana nodded repeatedly. “See you, Mr. Ye!”
Ye Chen waved and left. Tawana watched him go before returning to her room, feeling a bit lost.
She had just settled on the living room sofa when her parents walked in.
Tawana’s mother asked with concern, “Daughter, who was that man just now?”
Startled by her parents’ sudden appearance, Tawana exclaimed, “Mum, Dad, how did you two get in?”
Tawana’s mother said helplessly, “You didn’t lock the door. What were you thinking about, so distracted you forgot to lock it?”
“Oh? Uh, nothing…” Tawana, embarrassed, stammered. “I was just thinking about the upcoming performances. I got a bit distracted.”
Tawana’s mother asked, “Daughter, you still haven’t told us who that man was.”
Tawana murmured to herself, “Who is he? He’s the love of my life…”
But how could she say that out loud? So she explained to her parents, “He… he’s Mr. Ye, a client I worked with during my concert in China.”
Tawana’s mother noticed her daughter’s evasiveness and slight panic when answering about the man, so she pressed, “Did you plan to come here with him?”
“No… it was a coincidence,” Tawana quickly explained. “I didn’t know he was on the island.”
Tawana’s father chimed in, “Sweetie, tell us, what’s your relationship with that Asian man? Did you break up with Trevor because of him?”
Tawana pursed her lips and said, “My relationship with him is my business, so please don’t ask. As for breaking up with Trevor, whether it’s because of him doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I no longer have those feelings for Trevor.”
Tawana’s mother said helplessly, “Sweetie, don’t forget I gave birth to you. You can’t hide some things from me. Tell me the truth, do you have feelings for that Asian man? Or have you two already made some clear progress?”
Tawana hurriedly explained, “Mum, stop guessing. Mr. Ye and I are completely innocent. Besides, he’s married. He came to White Horse Island with his wife.”
“With his wife?” Tawana’s mother instantly relaxed, quickly advising, “If you’re going to announce your breakup with Trevor, make sure you don’t get caught up in any rumours with anyone for the next six months, so it doesn’t affect your reputation.”
Tawana brushed it off. “I know, you don’t need to worry about me.”
…
When Ye Chen and his family finished their short trip to White Horse Island and flew back to Jinling, Bernard Elno had already landed in New York.
The United Nations attached great importance to his arrival, with the Deputy Secretary-General and the head of the Counter-Terrorism Office personally greeting him at the airport.
As with his return to France, reporters swarmed to catch the latest scoop.
As soon as Bernard Elno stepped off the plane, he was surrounded by media, with reporters bombarding him with questions, most asking how much he planned to donate to the UN Counter-Terrorism Office.
Bernard Elno said candidly, “Everyone, time is limited, so I won’t answer each question individually. For the issues you’re concerned about, I’ll make a brief statement. First, I’m here to donate 200 million US dollars to the UN Counter-Terrorism Office to support the UN’s global counter-terrorism efforts.”
The reporters were stunned.
These days, many billionaires donate, and even more set up charitable foundations, but few directly give such a huge cash donation to an authoritative body like the UN.
The reason, in truth, boils down to some industry unwritten rules.
Many billionaires’ donations aren’t really given away; they move money from one pocket to another under their control.
They often donate to their own foundations, where the money might not actually go to charity. Most of the time, it’s just a form of trust for themselves and their descendants.
Using charity to set up foundations not only earns a good reputation but also provides an excellent tax avoidance channel.
So, they’re generous when donating to their own foundations, often giving billions or tens of billions of dollars.
But donating to an organisation like the UN is different. It’s not a case of moving money from one hand to the other; it’s giving away real money. So when the reporters heard Bernard Elno was donating 200 million US dollars to the UN, they were shocked. This 200 million, once donated, was gone for good. It seemed Bernard Elno was genuinely committed to advancing global counter-terrorism.
Just then, Bernard Elno suddenly thought of something and quickly waved his hand, smiling. “No, no, I need to correct myself. This 200 million US dollars is for the UN’s counter-terrorism efforts worldwide, except in the United States!”
