Jonathan didn’t see what was worth discussing.

American Ivy League schools were just like this – many students came from good families. When he was with Heidi initially, she must have had some redeeming qualities.

Xia Xiaolan muttered to herself:

“No wonder Professor McCarthy couldn’t do anything about Mrs. Dawson. Mond Dawson’s status in the industry is no less than Professor McCarthy’s.”

Of course, this didn’t mean Professor McCarthy was inferior to Mond Dawson. Both were industry heavyweights who focused on different areas. Professor McCarthy was on the educational front, while Mond leaned more practical – meaning, within the school, Mond couldn’t override Professor McCarthy, but outside school, McCarthy had no control over Mond!

Xia Xiaolan suddenly realized: “Jonathan, you’re worried about Ning Xue, right? Ning Xue’s situation is different from mine. I’ll leave Cornell soon, but she’ll stay here, and might even work in America in the future. She’ll inevitably have to deal with Mond Dawson.”

One was a newcomer to the architectural field.

The other was an established architect, a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner.

If Ning Xue were in China, it wouldn’t matter much. China’s architectural circle was its own entity – Pritzker Prize winner or not, as Ning Yanfan’s granddaughter, she could ignore such titles!

But in America, Old Ning’s name carried less weight.

China’s architectural masters still lacked international recognition.

Chinese architects simply didn’t know how to promote themselves. Ning Yanfan was slightly better, but her teacher Mao Kangshan had it worse.

“Bei Ning Nan Mao” might have some friends in America, but could they stand against the renowned Mond Dawson?

The answer was obvious.

Jonathan didn’t hide his concern:

“I know you and Ning don’t like Heidi. She’s not a bad person; her personality was shaped by her family circumstances. Mond is an excellent architect but also a strict father. If Heidi didn’t perform excellently enough, she wouldn’t have the right to announce herself as Mond Dawson’s daughter. And you’ve met Mrs. Dawson… I don’t think she could provide Heidi proper guidance.”

Extremely talented, strict architect father.

Unreasonable mother with looks but no substance.

Growing up in such a family indeed created considerable pressure.

But sympathize with Heidi?

Xia Xiaolan would rather sympathize with herself.

If Heidi’s family background was at a difficult level, Xia Xiaolan would have cleared the hell mode.

“You should keep worrying about Ning Xue, Jonathan. I know you want to balance both sides, but that’s impossible. In the end, you’ll have to choose one side – either Ning Xue or Heidi!”

Still feeling pity for an ex-girlfriend after breaking up – in Xia Xiaolan’s book, that deserved negative points.

Ning Xue might not care about these things, but Xia Xiaolan felt it wasn’t worth it for her.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t a pushover. Now they were both thorns in Mrs. Dawson’s side. If Ning Xue faced difficulties, she wouldn’t have it easy either.

As before – when abroad, Chinese students should resolve external conflicts before dealing with internal differences!

Jonathan didn’t immediately answer Xia Xiaolan’s question.

They remained silent for the rest of the journey as Jonathan drove Xia Xiaolan home.

At the Wen residence.

Seeing Xia Xiaolan return, Hu Ying was worried, “I heard that Mrs. Dawson gave you trouble?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Auntie Hu if someone wants to cause trouble, I can’t avoid it. What’s bound to happen eventually, better face it actively and resolve it early.”

Hu Ying patted her, “You’re too impulsive. Old Wen and I didn’t tell you about this because we would handle it, but you just rushed out there yourself.”

Mrs. Dawson had caused scenes at the school multiple times, and Professor Wen naturally knew about it.

Reminded by Hu Ying, Xia Xiaolan belatedly realized Professor Wen hadn’t returned home – was he still at work?

Just then, Professor Wen returned.

“You met Mrs. Dawson today?”

“Yes, she was making a scene at the administration office again. Professor McCarthy was there too. My encounter with Mrs. Dawson wasn’t pleasant.”

Professor Wen’s expression darkened, “What a coincidence. I just had dinner with Mond and several other professors from the department. It wasn’t a pleasant meal either.”

Not many in the department knew that Mond’s daughter studied at Cornell.

If Heidi hadn’t attempted suicide, Professor Wen wouldn’t have known she was Mond’s daughter. Young people attempting suicide was distressing, and it was natural for parents to seek answers from the school.

The initial procedures were normal, but the subsequent developments angered Professor Wen.

There were many ways to counsel Heidi psychologically, but Mrs. Dawson blaming others for her daughter’s suicide attempt was unreasonable.

If there had been actual bullying, if someone had consistently harassed Heidi leading to her suicide attempt, Professor Wen would have agreed to punish the involved students. Such behavior couldn’t be encouraged and must be severely suppressed!

But the school’s investigation found those rumors groundless.

Dating relationships breaking up, academic competition between students – these were perfectly normal occurrences.

Ning Xue and Xia Xiaolan had done nothing wrong, yet Mrs. Dawson insisted they had.

Mond didn’t push responsibility onto the students – picking on two Chinese exchange students would make him a laughingstock given his status. But since arriving in Ithaca, he’d been actively networking, claiming that Professor McCarthy’s teaching method was “McCarthy-style humiliation.” Mond implied that his daughter wasn’t at fault; McCarthy should be held responsible for Heidi’s suicide attempt.

Professor Wen found the dinner extremely unpleasant.

Xia Xiaolan’s mind stirred, “Mond invited you and other department professors to dinner – was he targeting Professor McCarthy?”

Professor Wen didn’t deny it, which was as good as confirmation.

Xia Xiaolan knew Professor Wen’s character. As a Chinese-American professor at Cornell’s School of Architecture, he never involved himself in matters outside teaching.

Yet tonight he’d attended Mond Dawson’s social gathering, probably for her sake.

Perhaps Professor Wen wanted Mond to restrain his wife from causing scenes at the administration office.

Professor Wen was trying to pull her out of this whirlpool.

Things must not have gone well, or Professor Wen wouldn’t have reacted this way… Touched, Xia Xiaolan spoke warmly: “You’re worried about me. You’re not afraid Cornell will send me back to China, but you’re concerned Mond will hold a grudge and affect my future career.”

Professor Wen looked somewhat uncomfortable:

“Mond is after all a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner. Though this award was established relatively recently, it has quickly risen to prominence and carries significant weight in the architectural field. An architect who wins the Pritzker Prize gains considerable honor, and their attitudes and preferences can influence new architects.”

This was easy to understand.

For instance, if Xia Xiaolan designed a work, and Mond Dawson specifically criticized it as garbage.

How would the architectural circle react?

To not be influenced by Mond’s opinion, to truly judge Xia Xiaolan’s work fairly… such fairness only existed in dreams!