America was truly a strange country.
Crime was everywhere, with New York itself full of prostitution, drugs, and violent crimes, yet Wen Manni warned Xia Xiaolan not to cross the line of integrity.
Xia Xiaolan could tell she wasn’t joking.
If anyone other than Xia Xiaolan had come to Wen Manni with these suggestions today, they would have been thrown out immediately.
If Wen Manni had followed Xia Xiaolan’s suggested approach, she might have destroyed her legal career… With willful violation, Wen Manni herself would face charges!
“I’m sorry, Connie. I was thinking about this from a Chinese perspective. I apologize, and I won’t suggest such ideas again!”
Wen Manni’s expression softened: “You’re new to America and eager to find that family.”
In this matter, all Wen Manni could do for Xia Xiaolan was recommend good private investigators.
“I’ll have him meet you in Ithaca; you won’t need to come to New York. I heard you passed the written driver’s test and are scheduling the road test. How’s it going? Seen any cars you like?”
Wen Manni switched from professional mode to casual conversation, which made her seem somewhat stiff. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but smile: “Connie, I know Aunt Hu asked you to do this. You don’t have to force yourself.”
Wen Manni rubbed her brow, “She asked me to have heart-to-heart talks with you. Honestly, you’re different from what I expected!”
Like caring for a younger sister?
Wen Manni felt her attempts were too rigid and formal.
Besides, Xia Xiaolan was much bolder than her innocent appearance suggested.
Learning that Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t return to Ithaca until tomorrow, Wen Manni worried about her spending the night “wild” in New York, so she invited Xia Xiaolan to stay at her home.
Americans rarely invited people to stay at their homes, preferring friends to stay in hotels. Home was a very private space, and having a stranger suddenly there could feel like an invasion of personal territory.
“I can stay at a hotel…”
“No, I’ll be scolded to death if I let you stay at a hotel. You have two choices: wait for me at the law firm until I finish work, or walk around nearby and come back around 7 PM. Either way, we’re going home together!”
Wen Manni wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Seeing her frequently check the time, Xia Xiaolan knew Wen Manni had other appointments, so she stopped being polite:
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to stay over.”
Wen Manni pressed her lips together, “Klaus is away on business. I’m alone at home, and we have a spare guest room. Don’t worry about troubling me.”
“…OK, see you tonight, Connie!”
Klaus was Wen Manni’s husband.
They’d been married for ten years without children.
Whether by choice or for other reasons was unclear.
Hu Ying hadn’t mentioned it when talking with Xia Xiaolan, and Professor Wen and Hu Ying were open-minded, never pressuring Wen Manni… Perhaps because pressure would be useless—in America, parents couldn’t control their adult children’s lives.
Financial independence meant complete personal independence; even parents wouldn’t interfere with their children’s choices.
Before leaving the law firm, Xia Xiaolan left a check according to Wen Manni’s rates.
She wasn’t one to go back on her word.
A&G Law Firm was near Wall Street, surrounded by prosperous districts full of skyscrapers. People walking on the streets looked like ants compared to the cloud-touching buildings.
“So this is New York…”
On neighboring Wall Street, stories of fortune were made daily, while others contemplated suicide after bankruptcy.
What Xia Xiaolan didn’t know was that NYU Business School was nearby. In two years, it would receive a $30 million donation from alumnus Mr. Stern, leading to a new building and renaming to Stern School of Business!
Its special location created tight connections with Wall Street. Many graduates worked in Wall Street’s financial sector, earning it the nickname “Wall Street Trade School”—similar to how Huaqing University was called “Wudaokou Vocational School” and Shanghai Transportation University was known as “Dongchuan Road Men’s Technical Institute”!
“Xiaolan?!”
Hearing a familiar accent on New York’s streets was naturally welcoming to Xia Xiaolan.
Turning around to see Chen Qing made things rather awkward.
With his jealous girlfriend Han Jin absent, Xia Xiaolan hesitated about whether to speak with Chen Qing.
But Chen Qing had already approached, making it impossible to pretend she hadn’t seen him.
“What brings you here?”
Chen Qing was genuinely delighted, and being alone, his manner was more relaxed.
“I’m here to meet someone. It’s been half a month since we all came to America. How are you doing?”
Chen Qing pointed in one direction, “The Business School is nearby.”
He’d initially thought Xia Xiaolan might be looking for him but realized it was just a coincidence.
As for how he was doing?
The past half month had been chaotic; Chen Qing didn’t know where to begin.
His and Han Jin’s study abroad opportunity came partly from his good performance at the University of International Business and Economics, but Han Jin’s family had also helped considerably, leaving Chen Qing always feeling inferior to Han Jin.
While Xia Xiaolan would only study in America for a year, Chen Qing and Han Jin would complete their undergraduate degrees.
If conditions permitted, Chen Qing wanted to continue his studies… NYU Business School’s proximity to Wall Street, the school environment, and future career prospects all appealed to him. As a farmer’s son who’d made it this far by luck, how could he not cherish this opportunity?
Chen Qing had nothing else to rely on except studying hard.
He was struggling to keep up with the business school curriculum.
But Han Jin was different. In her half month in New York, she’d been keen on befriending local Chinese students.
She met weekly with two other male students who’d come to New York together and connected with many other Chinese students. Today being the weekend, Han Jin wanted Chen Qing to go out with her, but he preferred staying at school to study more. His English wasn’t as good as Xia Xiaolan’s, and he also struggled with the textbooks.
One wanted to go out, one wanted to stay—this was their conflict.
They parted on bad terms, and Chen Qing, feeling oppressed by it all, decided to walk around nearby, unexpectedly meeting Xia Xiaolan.
From his brief explanation, Xia Xiaolan could guess the whole story—why do women need to support men? If you’re going to invest in someone, you should get benefits. If Han Jin always maintained the upper hand, Chen Qing would eventually rebel!
Though Xia Xiaolan criticized internally, she said aloud:
“I shouldn’t comment on your relationship; I’m afraid Han Jin might misunderstand! Chen Qing, you reap what you sow. If you want a better future, being passive about relationships won’t work.”
Expecting both financial support and complete devotion from a woman was unrealistic.
Even kept men needed attitude—Yuan Han was annoying enough, but at least he was professional about it, knowing how to keep Zhou Yi happy.
Xia Xiaolan suddenly startled herself—was she comparing Chen Qing to that schemer Yuan Han?
Had Chen Qing changed, or had she?
—Or perhaps, everyone had changed dramatically!