Under the harsh glare of theatrical spotlights, three men walked onto the stage.
Patriarch Song, Patriarch Murong, and Third Master Ouyang stood in a row beside Deputy Director Hu.
Behind them, six young female assistants dressed in matching gold cheongsams carried three oversized cardboard checks.
Each check was six feet long and three feet tall, framed in gold foil.
Bold, calligraphic lettering was printed across the front of the checks—two billion yuan each from the Song and Murong Clans, and one billion yuan from the Ouyang Clan:
FIVE BILLION YUAN TOTAL — PAYABLE TO JIANGNAN STARLIGHT WELFARE FOUNDATION.
Director Hu led a thunderous round of applause, clapping his plump hands with theatrical joy.
Flashbulbs popped in a continuous, blinding strobe along the center aisle.
