Mrs. Dawson instinctively denied: “I never said ‘yellow-skinned monkeys’!”

Though she was making a scene, it wasn’t entirely mindless. In Mond’s image, she was trying to be somewhat careful with her words.

Eric maintained his serious expression, “Mrs. Dawson, I have my witnesses. Many people heard what you said yesterday in the Academic Affairs Office when you referred to my clients as ‘yellow-skinned monkeys.'”

Mrs. Dawson’s eyes swept across the Academic Affairs Office. Everyone was busy with their work, and she couldn’t tell who might be Eric’s “witness.”

But she had indeed said those words yesterday after Xia Xiaolan and the others had left the office.

Wen Manni had already told Xia Xiaolan yesterday that Mrs. Dawson bringing a lawyer was just intimidation. When Xia Xiaolan asked Wen Manni to recommend a lawyer, it was also meant to intimidate.

Since both sides were playing the intimidation game, Wen Manni naturally sought someone with a reputation.

Eric, Wen Manni’s classmate from law school, became very interested when he heard the case involved a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner from two years ago.

Upon arriving in Ithaca, he didn’t meet Xia Xiaolan first but instead investigated the cause of this incident.

The shrew’s tantrum was just the surface.

The real key was Mond Dawson.

Mond might have wanted to establish his authority and had chosen Cornell University’s Professor McCarthy.

The Chinese students were just collateral damage.

But so what?

If you insult someone, you must apologize. If you won’t apologize, then let’s go to court – lawyers love going to court! They’ve seen all sorts of strange lawsuits; this was nothing special.

It was precisely because of the abundance of cases, big and small, that lawyers, along with doctors and accountants, had become the three professions Americans couldn’t live without!

Eric hoped Mrs. Dawson would choose not to apologize, so they could meet in court. Whether they won or lost wasn’t important – the process of filing the lawsuit was what mattered. A hint of a smile crossed Eric’s serious face, frightening Mrs. Dawson—

This was a trap.

She couldn’t fall for it.

Could a Chinese exchange student afford to hire Eric?

Perhaps McCarthy had hired him.

“Ma’am…”

Mrs. Dawson’s lawyer wanted to speak, which helped ease her embarrassment.

She didn’t want to go to court either.

Even if Eric couldn’t win, appearing as a defendant wouldn’t be glamorous!

Watching Mrs. Dawson and the two lawyers leave the office to discuss strategy, Eric adjusted his suit. With this level of opposition, he’d driven several hours to Ithaca for this.

At least Ithaca’s scenery was nice, so the trip wasn’t entirely wasted.

…

After class ended, the professor didn’t immediately leave but asked Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue to stay:

“Don’t pay attention to certain strange people. Cornell University won’t yield to anyone’s unreasonable demands. You are both excellent Chinese students, and I’m personally very happy to have you in my class.”

Outstanding students from around the world deserve the best education!

Places like Cornell University did have “discrimination,” but it wasn’t racial or nationality-based. Their discrimination was invisible – if a student was excellent enough, did it matter whether they were American or Chinese?

No matter where students came from, once at Cornell, they were part of Cornell.

Cornell University valued its outstanding alumni, who brought prestige and influenced social donations… but one or two outstanding alumni weren’t everything. Mond Dawson wasn’t the world’s richest person – having him was nice, but losing him wouldn’t destroy Cornell’s reputation.

Nobody should think themselves too important; the Earth keeps spinning no matter who’s missing!

This professor didn’t think much of Mond, making his position clear in support of the two Chinese students.

If they didn’t accept Chinese students, should they only accept Mond’s daughter?

To be honest, Mond’s daughter Heidi had also taken this course this semester, and the professor had a very poor impression of the alcoholic student.

Heidi was far inferior compared to Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue.

Why let bad currency drive out good? If anyone should leave, it should be Heidi… The professor consoled Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue at length, making Xia Xiaolan embarrassed. Tang Hongen had told her before not to bring too many societal thoughts into school – most school teachers had professional ethics, more pure-hearted than the seasoned players in society!

Xia Xiaolan had doubted this.

But whether at Huaqing University or Cornell University, these professors had proven themselves through actions.

After the professor left, Ning Xue asked Xia Xiaolan:

“Has your lawyer arrived? Don’t worry about me not having money – I have a scholarship.”

Not many undergraduates received scholarships, but Ning Xue was one of them.

Exchange students hardly had any opportunities to apply.

Ning Yanfan charged 20,000 yuan per design, which was low for an architect in America but quite substantial in 1980s China. Ning Xue indeed didn’t seem short on money.

As “drinking buddies,” Xia Xiaolan didn’t stand on ceremony with Ning Xue: “I’ll let you know when it’s time to pay. The lawyer said he’d come to school today, but I’m not sure if he’s arrived yet.”

It was embarrassing – Xia Xiaolan hadn’t even met this lawyer Eric herself.

Jonathan didn’t go to the hospital today. Xia Xiaolan’s words from last night had given him something to think about.

Between Heidi and Ning Xue, if Jonathan had to choose… it seemed he had chosen Ning Xue.

“You hired a lawyer?”

Jonathan hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan to move so quickly.

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Of course. If Mrs. Dawson uses a lawyer to intimidate us, why can’t I hire one? Are lawyers only for American citizens?”

Of course not.

American citizenship wasn’t important – having American dollars was.

“I can also share some of the costs with Ning.”

Jonathan made his position clear.

In America, where splitting bills was common, Jonathan was already above the average boyfriend standard.

No wonder Heidi wouldn’t agree to break up.

“Oh, don’t be so serious, everyone. This is just a small matter. Don’t worry, even if we offend Mond Dawson, it won’t block our paths. There are many world-class firms – does Mond Dawson have connections with all of them?”

Xia Xiaolan planned to open her firm. If Mond became too obnoxious, she had already decided that her future Qihang Architects would specifically compete for business with Mond’s Dawson Studio.

Mond wasn’t the only Pritzker Architecture Prize winner. Though Xia Xiaolan couldn’t win the Pritzker Prize yet, if she had enough money, she could hire other famous architects to work for her!

Ning Xue had no reason to fear them either.

GMP, Foster, P&W… with so many architectural firms, and Ning Xue’s abilities, there would always be firms that didn’t care about Mond Dawson.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t intimidated, and neither was Ning Xue:

“I’m not afraid of offending anyone.”

She could draw blueprints anywhere.

Did she need to join a top firm to become a top architect?

As the two stood united, the Academic Affairs Office called them in:

“Lawyer Eric suggests you sit down for a talk with Mrs. Dawson.”