Pride isn’t something you just talk about with your mouth.

There were many challenges facing Heidi now!

She had shared the AIA Rising Star Architect Award with Xia Xiaolan, but her backbone was gone. Without Mond Dawson, could Heidi still design stunning works?

It would be good enough if she could barely keep the Dawson Studio running.

Mrs. Dawson certainly couldn’t help – her beauty pageant experience from earlier years offered no assistance now. This again proved Xia Xiaolan’s long-held belief that a woman’s appearance isn’t reliable; in crucial moments, only brains matter.

The Dawson Studio would decline.

After attending Mond’s funeral, Xia Xiaolan went to Ithaca to visit Professor McCarthy.

McCarthy also thought her award win felt uncomfortable.

Of course, Mond Dawson’s death was meaningless too.

Some master architects still produced works into their sixties and seventies. If Mond hadn’t been so petty, picking fights with two female students, he wouldn’t have lost his life to Lisa.

Even dying from a falling brick at a construction site would have been more dignified – at least that would have warranted a proper eulogy.

Now not only was he dead, but newspapers wrote about his abuse of power and persecution of industry newcomers – where was the dignity in that?

McCarthy asked Xia Xiaolan if she had thoughts about further studies.

When Xia Xiaolan said she hadn’t had time to consider it lately, McCarthy impatiently drove her away.

Frustrated, Xia Xiaolan knocked on the door, but the Great Devil wouldn’t open it, telling her to get lost – honestly, what was wrong with him? If she left, wouldn’t he just miss her again?

“If I want to pursue further studies someday, can’t I come to you?”

“Don’t disturb my work!”

Hah, acting tsundere now!

She naturally met with Richard, Daisy, and others too. Now all her friends had their own developments, working at different firms, climbing up step by step steadily. None had thought about changing careers yet – if Cornell Architecture graduates found the architectural field unbearable, how would others survive?

No profession is without hardship. Sometimes suffering is self-imposed – when your ability isn’t that great but you insist on competing with geniuses, seeing someone like Xia Xiaolan emerge and desperately wanting to become the next Xia Xiaolan but unable to in the short term, how could you not suffer?

For Daisy, Richard, and others with slightly lesser talent, as long as they maintained the right mindset and worked steadily in this field, they couldn’t possibly live poorly!

Even Chen Qing’s life had changed.

Chen Qing had found work in New York.

Previously, he had lost ten thousand dollars of his family’s money through stock trading, which Xia Xiaolan discovered and told Chen Wangda about, nearly giving Chen Wangda a heart attack.

Chen Qing was depressed for a while but later pulled himself together, working to save money to repay his family.

His girlfriend Han Jin, though known for her schemes, was truly sincere to him. Not only did she not break up with him, but she chose to bear the debt together.

Gradually, Chen Qing’s finances improved.

“We’ve almost repaid the ten thousand dollars. Being able to work in America, we’ll pay it back quickly. Chen Qing losing that ten thousand was good – he became more cautious and avoided last year’s Wall Street crash. Seeing those who lost so much that they jumped off buildings makes me grateful… Xia Xiaolan, Chen Qing, and I are getting married next month.”

Xia Xiaolan was stunned, then smiled:

“Congratulations to you both!”

Han Jin lifted her chin, “I know Chen Qing used to like you, maybe he still thinks about you now, but I’m the one marrying him. We’ll spend decades together, and he’ll surely forget you completely.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded seriously:

“I believe you can achieve that. Plus, you’re capable, and though we can’t be friends due to our different personalities, your feelings for Chen Qing are genuine. Just for that, Chen Qing should treat you well.”

Could young people’s unrequited love compare to the companionship of a bedside partner?

Whatever Han Jin’s faults, she had never wronged Chen Qing. This woman might stumble due to her harsh methods, but her relationship with Chen Qing wasn’t built on stealing someone else’s partner – whatever stumbles she might face shouldn’t affect her relationship with Chen Qing.

Xia Xiaolan also hoped Chen Qing would reciprocate Han Jin’s feelings.

Having someone else in your heart after marriage would be unfair to your wife.

Han Jin hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan to say this.

But thinking about it, Xia Xiaolan had always been capable of anything.

How else could she dare to sue Americans?

And win!

Remembering last year’s scene at the New York courthouse, with helicopters roaring overhead dropping design drawings, Han Jin still felt excited.

At that time, she had a strange thought – if Chen Qing liked someone like Xia Xiaolan… maybe that wasn’t so bad?

If the person Chen Qing couldn’t forget wasn’t good enough, wouldn’t that mean Chen Qing was inferior, and her judgment was poor?!

This strange sense of pride made Han Jin uncomfortable facing Xia Xiaolan.

“Well, I heard you’re married too. Chen Qing and I can’t afford to return to China for your wedding, but I’m generous enough to invite you to have a drink at our wedding.”

What, never seen someone like her before?

She, Han Jin, was generous and bold enough to invite a former rival to her wedding!

“That’s unfortunate, I have to rush back to be with my husband. I won’t be able to attend your wedding.”

When Han Jin returned from the bathroom, Xia Xiaolan was gone.

Not only had Xia Xiaolan paid the bill, but she’d left a check under the coffee cup, congratulating Han Jin and Chen Qing’s marriage, saying the small gift could help furnish their new home.

Han Jin pulled out the check and called Xia Xiaolan a miser, but was smiling.

One hundred dollars – not too much, not too little, just the right amount.

If Xia Xiaolan had given more, it would have seemed like she was showing off.

One hundred dollars was perfect – in America, giving a hundred-dollar wedding gift was quite nice!

Han Jin wasn’t wealthy now either.

She and Chen Qing got along well, and she didn’t want to do anything that would upset him, like spending extravagantly from his family. She hadn’t seen her former “Uncle Qin” who used to give her money for a long time.

Chen Qing asked her to use less of his family’s money, saying her father in China had it hard, and if they spent too much abroad, her father might make mistakes back home.

Chen Qing told her to trust him, and that he would earn money to support her.

They might have to endure some hardship for a few years, but their lives would improve.

Han Jin tucked the check in her pocket.

What could she do but trust her judgment?

If they had to suffer now, so be it. With this hundred dollars, they could add a little to their small wedding budget.

Han Jin was more conventional – while Xia Xiaolan thought simpler weddings were better, Han Jin wanted something grand and lively. She also wanted a diamond ring like Xia Xiaolan’s, but Chen Qing couldn’t give her these things now – but that was okay. Chen Qing would remember her kindness and eventually get her a big diamond ring. The man she believed in couldn’t possibly disappoint!