After being in America for over a month, Xia Xiaolan had already made friends, which didn’t surprise Hu Ying. Both Hu Ying and Professor Wen had a good impression of Du Zhaohui and hoped that during Xiaolan’s one-year stay in America, she would treat the Wen household as her own home and feel relaxed rather than constrained. Therefore, they warmly welcomed Xiaolan’s friends to visit.

But a friend with the surname Xiang?

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know anyone with the surname Xiang!

Wait, could it be Xu Jing’s ex-girlfriend, Xiang Li?

“Aunt Hu, I’m not very familiar with this Miss Xiang. I’ll ask her what she wants when she arrives.”

What kind of people were these?

Xia Xiaolan could accept Du Zhaohui coming to the Wen household since she had taken his money. She could also understand Xu Jing and Ma Hai’s visits since she had given them her contact information, and she was interested in their valuable project. But who was Xiang Li to show up?

Could it be that she hadn’t had enough of her jealous display at the party and wanted to come to Ithaca to stir up more trouble?

Before Xiang Li even appeared, Xiaolan had already placed her on the unwelcome list. Truthfully, she wasn’t interested in others’ romantic entanglements. Xiaolan simply believed that after a breakup, material and financial matters should be settled clearly.

From this perspective alone, Xiaolan had a poor impression of Xiang Li.

Then there was Ning Xue’s “warning” today. Xu Jing and Ma Hai’s reputation among Chinese international students in New York was terrible. What heinous crimes had they committed? The borrowing money part was true, but hadn’t they written IOUs?

There must be more to this story.

Hu Ying had baked an apple pie to welcome Miss Xiang, but upon hearing that Xiaolan barely knew her, she immediately lost interest: “This Miss Xiang is quite presumptuous.”

In America, even friends rarely visited homes without the owner’s consent; casual acquaintances typically met outside. Miss Xiang’s immediate request to visit had led Hu Ying to mistakenly assume she and Xiaolan were close friends.

“It is strange. Let’s see what she wants to bring me.”

At eight o’clock in the evening, Miss Xiang arrived punctually. Her surname was uncommon, and though Xiaolan wracked her brain, she only knew one person with the surname Xiang. Her guess wasn’t wrong – it was indeed Xiang Li.

“Senior Xiang.”

Xiaolan’s attitude wasn’t particularly warm, but Xiang Li didn’t seem to mind. She was quite enthusiastic, having brought some fruit as a gift.

“Xiao Xia, I hope I’m not disturbing you. I came to Cornell University to visit a fellow townsman and thought I’d bring you something you dropped at the party.”

Xiang Li surveyed the Wen house.

This was exactly the kind of large house she dreamed of.

An International student in America, even those who didn’t live in university dormitories and rented their places couldn’t afford such a house.

Why could Xia Xiaolan live in such a nice place?

Li Yong was right – Xia Xiaolan must be one of the wealthy international students!

This person’s gaze wasn’t quite right, her eyes wandering everywhere – quite impolite.

Xia Xiaolan barely had the patience to humor her. “Senior Xiang, I don’t think I dropped anything at the party.”

Xiang Li looked surprised and took out a Hermès silk scarf from her bag: “Isn’t this yours? Strange, they all said they saw you wearing it. It was found under the drinks table during cleanup.”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head.

Wouldn’t she know whether she had worn a scarf or not?

These little tricks Xiang Li was trying to pull were amateur hours in front of her.

“Senior Xiang, someone must have been mistaken. This isn’t my scarf.”

“How could that be… several people said it was yours. Could they all be playing a trick on me? Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s not yours. Since I’m here in Ithaca and can see you’re doing well, I feel relieved. I also had trouble adjusting when I first came to America. If you’re having any difficulties settling in, feel free to contact me. I came two or three years before you and am quite familiar with New York.”

If Xia Xiaolan hadn’t already formed a negative impression of Xiang Li, this big-sister act would have easily won her favor.

One shouldn’t refuse kindness offered with a smile, so Xiaolan had to thank her for her concern.

Xiang Li stayed at the Wen house for about an hour before leaving.

When Xiaolan went to see her off, Xiang Li seemed hesitant: “These past few days, have Xu Jing and Ma Hai contacted you? If they ask you to invest, you must be careful.”

Xia Xiaolan pretended to be clueless: “What do you mean, Senior Xiang?”

Xiang Li sighed, “I probably shouldn’t be the one saying this, considering Xu Jing and I were once together. But he changed after coming to America. After befriending Ma Hai, he started talking about doing projects. There haven’t been any results, but they’ve borrowed quite a bit of money from people, adding up to several thousand dollars. How will they repay this money? Some people gave them money under the pretense of investment… Anyway, keep your guard up. Even if you have some cash to invest, don’t rush into it. Take your time to find reliable opportunities.”

Xia Xiaolan wanted to ask what constituted a reliable opportunity.

But she held back.

Unsolicited favors usually come with ulterior motives. Xiang Li making this special trip must have some purpose.

She wanted to see if the other party viewed her as a naive fool they could take advantage of.

Xia Xiaolan would wait for Xiang Li to reveal her true intentions.

It was quite entertaining watching these people scurrying about.

Xia Xiaolan feigned surprise: “Surely Teacher Xu isn’t like that? He sold his family property back home for several tens of thousands in Chinese currency, isn’t that enough?”

Xiang Li’s expression remained natural, “He’s self-funded without a full scholarship, and tuition is very expensive.”

She didn’t mention anything about Xu Jing buying her a car.

This ex-girlfriend of Xu Jing had impressive composure.

“I understand, Senior Xiang.”

Three men’s words can kill a tiger, but Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t say she was particularly perceptive – it just wasn’t easy for ordinary people to deceive her. If Xu Jing and Ma Hai were trying to scam her money, their acting skills were too good… These two had only managed to scam a few thousand dollars over several months – they’d earn more as actors in Hollywood.

Ironically, Xiang Li had driven here in the car Xu Jing had bought her.

The next day, Xiaolan ran into the two men on campus again. Looking at the scruffy Xu Jing and Ma Hai, she spoke frankly:

“Yesterday, Senior Xiang Li found out where I live. Isn’t it strange? I never gave her my contact information. And she said some odd things… Senior Xu, you were a teacher back home, and we dealt with each other when I bought your house. I trust you quite a bit, but Senior Xiang Li spoke so convincingly. Who should I believe?”

Xu Jing’s face turned pale, but he persisted: “What did Xiang Li tell you?”

“She said you and Senior Ma are con men who borrowed money from many international students and haven’t paid it back. She said you two would try to get me to invest and warned me not to agree!”

As soon as Xiaolan finished speaking, Ma Hai jumped up:

“Old Xu, I told you Xiang Li had bad intentions! You’re still sentimental about her, but she’s determined to ruin your plans!”

Damn it, his intuition was right. Xiang Li’s eagerness to bring $50 to the garage and inquire about Xia Xiaolan’s address had ulterior motives – this woman was incredible. After breaking up with Old Xu, even though he was the one who lost more, she still seemed to hold a grudge and wanted to step on them. What was she after?