Now that they had made it to the finals, could Xia Xiaolan dare to hope for a good ranking?

She thought the electronic plaza she designed for Du Zhaohui was quite good. Such a work should be able to win a prize even at Cornell’s Architecture School where talents abound—the question wasn’t whether it would win, but which place it would take.

Needless to say, Zhou Cheng had complete faith in Xia Xiaolan’s abilities.

Getting a prize?

If his wife wanted one, she could get it.

At the bulletin board, Heidi glanced their way and swallowed a “hmph” that had formed in her throat.

Deliberately provoking someone in front of Xia Xiaolan’s boyfriend wasn’t a wise move!

Zhou Cheng wasn’t short, and while not as burly as some American men, the lean, muscular contours of his body were visible beneath his light spring clothing.

Besides exuding overwhelming masculine charm, Zhou Cheng also didn’t look like someone easy to mess with.

Heidi swallowed her dissatisfaction and provocative attitude, bringing the finalist news to her boyfriend Jonathan:

“Even those three losers with Richard made it to the finals. The requirements for this C·W Architecture Design Competition must be low! Oh, and Ning also made it. We should congratulate her. You know, I’ve been worried about her entering alone!”

Some people were saying Jonathan shouldn’t have left Ning Xue behind while only taking Heidi to join the senior team.

Heidi had been bearing some pressure. She wanted to ask those classmates – if they didn’t abandon Ning Xue, should she have been abandoned instead?

They must be confused – she was Jonathan’s girlfriend, and Ning Xue was just her roommate!

If not for her insistence, Ning Xue wouldn’t have been able to join Jonathan’s study group in the first place.

However, Heidi was surprised that Ning Xue could make it to the finals competing alone—Ning Xue’s abilities were stronger than what she usually showed! Wouldn’t this mean she’d have even less say in the study group from now on?

With all these concerns, Heidi’s congratulations rang hollow.

Jonathan silently looked at her twice:

“Xia’s study group’s competition entry was the assignment that received Professor McCarthy’s approval last time. If their work could make the finals, Richard and his team wouldn’t be losers. If they win a prize, it wouldn’t be surprising if Professor McCarthy gives them all A’s at the end of term.”

Win a prize?

Heidi’s face darkened, “If they get A’s, I’ll have to publicly apologize to them? Jonathan, this is insane. Losers are always losers, they can’t transform completely in such a short time!”

Indeed, if losers could change so easily, wouldn’t the weight of the word “success” become too light?

Unless someone took on the role of a guide, helping and influencing Richard’s team to transform—that Chinese student Xia!

Jonathan also couldn’t gauge Xia Xiaolan’s abilities. Even with Ning Xue in the same study group, Jonathan thought he understood the group members well enough, yet Ning Xue gave him a huge “surprise.”

Had he known Ning Xue was capable of making the finals alone, Jonathan wouldn’t have accepted the seniors’ invitation in the first place.

The experience of working with seniors hadn’t been pleasant. Jonathan wanted to control the direction of the work, and so did the senior students. This made Jonathan, who was used to being in a leadership position, very uncomfortable!

He couldn’t say working with Ning Xue would be more compatible.

Heidi had been suspecting something more than a classmate relationship between him and Ning Xue lately. They were already arguing about this—whenever Ning Xue’s name came up, Heidi would become unhappy.

Relationships were so complicated.

Looking at the defiant Heidi, Jonathan wondered – what had he liked about Heidi in the first place? He couldn’t quite remember anymore.

“Arguing with me is pointless. When the competition results come out, you’ll know how likely it is that you’ll need to apologize.”

…

Heidi was desperately pushing her relationship with Jonathan toward a breakup.

Though in the midst of it herself, she wasn’t completely unaware.

Most women tend to be like this—sensing subtle changes in their boyfriend’s attitude, instead of addressing the fundamental problems in their relationship, they fixate on their insecurities and act out even more intensely. This inevitably depletes both parties’ feelings more quickly, and without exception, they still can’t escape the fate of breaking up!

Heidi was no different.

She felt Jonathan and Ning Xue had developed some kind of understanding, not realizing it was Jonathan’s recognition of Ning Xue’s abilities—he would naturally respect a female classmate whose capabilities matched his own!

Heidi had to misinterpret this, fixating on this displeasure to act out and argue. It would be strange if this didn’t end in tragedy.

Unable to get security from Jonathan, Heidi directed her negative emotions at Ning Xue. Being in the same dorm, distance, and exclusion didn’t affect Ning Xue, but when Heidi returned to the dorm with such passive-aggressive congratulations about making the finals, Ning Xue couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

“Heidi, couldn’t your attitude be better? Whether I make the finals or what place I get, it’s all the result of my work. If I can’t earn your respect, I won’t accept your sarcasm so calmly either!”

It wasn’t that Ning Xue lacked self-respect; she just couldn’t be bothered to fuss about it.

But as Heidi became increasingly excessive, Ning Xue felt continuing as roommates was pointless.

She would apply for a different dorm.

Living off-campus like Xia Xiaolan might be better, having her own independent space!

Or perhaps even the study group would need changes.

Working with Jonathan was fine, but Jonathan and Heidi’s unstable relationship would affect the study group’s stability. The recent strange atmosphere had already made Ning Xue very uncomfortable—time was so precious, yet it was being wasted on such matters!

Ning Xue was eager to escape this predicament. Usually indifferent to everything, her sudden resistance provoked an even more violent “attack” from Heidi.

Finally, Ning Xue opened the dorm room door and walked out.

After the C·W Architecture Design Competition finalist list was announced, Ning Xue and Heidi finally had a complete falling out.

Ning Xue had already applied to change dorms and was actively looking for rentable houses in Ithaca.

Daisy passed this gossip to Xia Xiaolan, who pondered thoughtfully:

“Ning Xue rose too quickly, threatening Heidi. Their falling out was inevitable, but I wonder how Jonathan will handle it. If Ning Xue leaves Jonathan’s study group, our chances of winning against Jonathan’s group are even better!”

Just as they were about to enter real combat, the competition’s rivals were having internal conflicts.

Daisy clenched her fists: “So Heidi must be crazy. The more capable Ning is, the more she helps the study group. When you work with excellent companions, you become more excellent yourself.”

What could she gain by narrow-mindedly driving away excellent teammates?

Daisy couldn’t understand Heidi’s actions at all.

If it were her, if anyone tried to poach Xia now, Daisy would fight them to the death!

“I really would fight to the death, I’m not joking. I would physically fight them!”

With Daisy’s “super fierce” expression, Xia Xiaolan held back her laughter, “Your worry is unnecessary. I enjoy working with you all and won’t change groups. We still need to win the C·W competition’s grand prize together. Daisy, you should think about how to spend the prize money!”