Meng Qi had no choice but to comfort her, "Mrs. Huang and the others helped you cover for last night's situation, so the orphanage's fund will be fine. It's just... it's just that your name cannot be among the fund managers during the application. This fund will probably have to be managed by Mrs. Yu's charity organization in the future. You won't be angry, will you?"
Su Su quickly replied, "As long as the fund can be established and the money is used for its intended purpose, I don't mind who manages it. I have no objections."
"That's good then," Meng Qi had one more thing to remind her, "You left like that last night, which made Mrs. Huang and the others very wary."
Su Su asked confusedly, "Wary of what?"
Meng Qi took a sip of coffee and said, "Don't you understand? This kind of thing is an unspoken secret among the wealthy wives. You didn't tell President Qin about that place when you went back last night, did you? You didn't play anything and wouldn't dare to say anything, let alone Mrs. Huang and the others, who are all afraid of their husbands finding out."
"I don't want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings between husband and wife," Su Su said.
Meng Qi said importantly, "But Mrs. Huang and the others wanted to pull you into their circle last night. You know their most hidden secrets, yet you were firm and disdained playing with them. This will make them feel that you are not one of them and cannot help them keep this secret, so they will be wary of you in their hearts."
Su Su quickly said, "I don't know their husbands at all, so how could I talk nonsense?"
"I know you won't, but they might not trust you," Meng Qi said. "If you keep this secret, I'm afraid they might... they might want to pull you further in. Only then will they feel at ease."
Su Su understood Meng Qi's meaning and said, "Please help me tell Mrs. Huang and the others that I won't talk about this."
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry too much."
After ending the call, Su Su thought about how the entire process of doing charity, from starting to raise funds for the orphanage to solving its urgent needs and having enough money to establish a fund, was all linked to various social circles of fame and fortune.
Why can charity only be done this way? Can't doing good deeds be more pure?
If all charities in Lancheng operated like this, then there would be many loopholes. She wanted to change this charity model and make public welfare and charitable activities clean and pure.
But change was never easy. This charitable fund for the orphanage had already become like this, and she couldn't collect it all herself. Now, she could only let Mrs. Huang and the others continue to operate it, and she could only withdraw from it.
Su Su rubbed her forehead in distress, truly in a difficult situation.
At this moment, there was a knock on the office door. She relaxed her brows and said, "Please come in."
Xu Shishi walked in, holding a design proposal, and said, "Sister Gu, this is the best design proposal from the applicants. Please take a look."
Su Su took the folder from her hand, opened it, and looked carefully. She agreed, "It's indeed creative and inspired. Let's keep her as you suggested."
"Okay, I will teach her well."
Su Su looked at Xu Shishi's slightly protruding abdomen and asked, "How many months are you? Do you still have morning sickness?"
Xu Shishi smiled and said, "Four months. I haven't vomited much anymore. I'm only now truly experiencing how difficult it is to be a mother."
"Once the new recruit can take over your work, you should go back and rest well," Su Su said with a smile. "I see how nervous Huo Zheng looks every day when he picks you up and drops you off. If I don't let you take leave, his glare could flay me alive."
Xu Shishi glared and said, "How dare he! I myself want to come to work, it has nothing to do with you."
Su Su saw that she was speaking in anger, but her eyes were full of sweetness. She smiled and said, "I understand how you feel, but Huo Zheng wishes the studio would close down. Then you would have nowhere to go to work."
"Sister Gu, ignore him," Xu Shishi complained. "Ever since his family knew I was pregnant, they've wished I'd lie in bed every day, just eating and drinking. But I'm not a pig. If I stayed at home like that, I'd be depressed before the baby is even born."
Su Su couldn't help but laugh and said, "It proves that Huo's family cherishes the child in your belly. How fortunate! Even if you take maternity leave and feel bored at home, you can still come to the studio to visit. But don't take your pregnancy lightly. A woman's pregnancy and childbirth are like passing a trial. You should rest when you need to and take it seriously."
"Yes, I know," Xu Shishi picked up the folder and said, "I'll make a call and have her come to the studio tomorrow."
Su Su gave her an ok gesture, feeling emotional as she had witnessed Xu Shishi and Huo Zheng go from dating to marriage, and now to having a baby. Their journey had been full of twists and turns, hardships, and finally, they had achieved their happy ending.
She stopped thinking about those troublesome matters and started working on the unfinished design drafts on her desk.
...
After Meng Qi hung up the phone, she thought about waiting for the right opportunity to talk to Mrs. Huang and the others about this matter. If she spoke up for Su Su immediately, it would seem too deliberate, and others wouldn't believe it.
She finished the rest of her coffee and was about to look at the pile of documents in front of her when her phone rang again. It was Yao Feili calling.
"Old Yao," she answered the phone while looking at the documents.
Yao Feili quickly said, "Look at today's trending searches!"
"What trending searches? Who is trending?" Meng Qi put down the documents in her hand and opened a webpage on her computer.
Yao Feili paused and said, "Meng Yao is trending. It's all unspeakable stuff, saying she has been indiscreet after marrying into the Hong family. Besides these text revelations, there are also special links where you can see videos..."
Meng Qi had already seen the content on the trending searches and said angrily, "This is utter nonsense! Meng Yao is not that kind of person! What videos?"
"That kind of video," Yao Feili didn't know how to say it. "But it's best if you don't watch it. Someone deliberately wants to ruin Meng Yao's reputation this time."
Meng Qi trembled with anger and said, "It must be someone from the Hong family. They see that Meng Yao refuses to forgive Hong Jiaxi and cannot get Hong Jiaxi acquitted or have his sentence reduced, so they are retaliating!"
"That's possible. I'm looking for someone to investigate. The Hong family is truly ruthless."
"Don't tell Meng Yao about this for now," Meng Qi said. "Besides finding someone to investigate, quickly have someone delete these posts and videos, and have lawyers send lawyer's letters to the websites publishing this false information."
Yao Feili said, "I'm already having lawyers handle this. But those things online are hard to delete completely. If Meng Yao is exposed for such a matter, it might affect the reputation and stock price of Huangfu Group. You need to be prepared for it."
"I understand. Let the public relations department have a meeting now." Saying this, she hung up.
Meng Qi also realized that this matter would impact the group. Previously, when her mother had an accident and her father was imprisoned, the group had been in turmoil for a while.
They had finally managed to get through it. Due to strong support from various parties for new projects, the group had stabilized and was gradually returning to normal. At this time, no more mistakes could be made.