Xia Xiaolan wondered if Xu Jing had been living too comfortably lately – how many times would he fall into the same pit?

Falling once might be ignorance, falling twice might be softness for old feelings, but falling a third time… damn, even if such a mentally challenged person were the next Bill Gates, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

Recover the investment, let him go – you can’t prop up mud against a wall. Let him remain mud then; whether his future was good or bad had nothing to do with Xia Xiaolan!

If she hadn’t come to New York as an exchange student for a year, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have had the chance to interact with Xu Jing.

Perhaps everyone encounters “benefactors” in their life. While Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t call herself Xu Jing’s benefactor, she was certainly his lifeline right now – though this lifeline was extremely displeased with him. Just as the electronic dictionary was about to be completed, she had the urge to kick him out.

Maybe she should just buy the finished product and hand it over to someone else back home for production and sales.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy. Xu Jing wasn’t stupid; he sensed Xia Xiaolan’s displeasure.

He wanted to defend himself, but Xia Xiaolan had lost patience and directly dismissed them:

“Senior Ma, please find out more information and let me know the results. I need to rest now.”

Having been given time off through someone else’s backdoor arrangements, she had planned to nap at the apartment, only to catch Xu Jing being foolish. Whatever, let him be – now she needed some quiet time alone.

Ma Hai dragged Xu Jing out.

The door slammed shut.

Back in their room, Xu Jing sighed: “Junior Xia must be very angry. I’m hesitant too. I know Xiang Li isn’t sincere, but thinking of her being beaten by Li Yong and hospitalized, alone studying abroad without family around, I can’t help wanting to check on her.”

He just wanted to take a look, unable to do more.

Most of Xia Xiaolan’s investment had been spent, and Xu Jing couldn’t give money to Xiang Li – it was earmarked funds… Thinking about it, without financial help, perhaps Xiang Li wouldn’t even want to see him.

Ma Hai rolled his eyes, “Give me a break! There are plenty of people eager to help a damsel in distress – why would it be your turn? What can you offer Xiang Li, American citizenship or US dollars? Don’t forget when we were poorest, having to shamelessly freeload meals everywhere, what was Xiang Li doing then? She was dating Li Yong in the car bought with money from selling your ancestral home! Did she ever pity you? No! She went to Junior Xia trying to ruin our hard-won investment opportunity!”

Whenever Ma Hai mentioned this, he felt furious about Xiang Li.

In his view, Xiang Li getting together with Li Yong right after breaking up with Xu Jing meant they must have been having an affair earlier.

That wasn’t his business – it only hurt Xu Jing’s feelings.

But when Xiang Li tried to ruin Xia Xiaolan’s “investment,” Ma Hai absolutely couldn’t tolerate it.

As a man who wouldn’t hit women, Ma Hai had suppressed his anger. Now hearing that Xiang Li was beaten by Li Yong, while knowing domestic violence was wrong, Ma Hai’s inner devil secretly rejoiced: that woman Xiang Li deserved a beating, getting hurt physically and emotionally by Li Yong – serve her right!

While thinking this, Ma Hai picked up the phone to dial:

“Hey buddy, yes yes I know it’s been a while, I’ve been busy, let’s meet up sometime. I want to ask about something… You know about it?!”

Ma Hai winked at Xu Jing.

Xu Jing couldn’t help leaning forward.

…

Xia Xiaolan slept until evening, waking up when Daisy returned from work.

“Daisy, shall we eat out tonight?”

Daisy naturally had no objection to this rare opportunity with Xia Xiaolan.

As they left, they encountered Ma Hai peering around, “Junior Xia, you’re awake? I found out about Xiang Li and Li Yong’s situation. The entire New York international student circle is talking about it – it’s big news!”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t care about those two, but since Xiang Li’s situation affected Xu Jing’s behavior, she had to take time to listen.

“Daisy and I will be back soon.”

Since Ma Hai and Xu Jing had meals delivered, Xia Xiaolan didn’t invite them along.

After all, she and Daisy were just eating nearby and would return quickly.

Ma Hai’s expression showed he was bursting with gossip, though he said: “No rush, take your time eating, Junior Xia.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t take long.

Upon her return, she heard the big gossip Ma Hai had gathered.

Since the mishap at Miss Song’s welcome party, Li Yong and Xiang Li hadn’t organized any more gatherings. Summer was graduation season, and it was Li Yong’s time to graduate. He was quite capable – despite spending so much time on social networking, his academic performance seemed decent. While he wasn’t exactly a good person, such people often succeeded easily – but karma had its way, and this time Li Yong stumbled. His graduation thesis was reported for fraud, and though his handling of it was unknown, the school’s response was to delay his graduation.

“Thesis fraud? Shouldn’t such news spread faster? Li Yong was quite capable of keeping it under wraps so tightly.”

Of course, this was related to Xia Xiaolan’s disinterest in international student circle gossip.

Ma Hai and Xu Jing were absorbed in the electronic dictionary project, while she had been in San Francisco helping Grandmother Yu find her son. After returning to New York, she immediately started interning at GMP. She wasn’t familiar with the international student circle, to begin with, and being busy made her even more disconnected.

Ma Hai nodded, “Nobody had heard about it before, but now that Li Yong beat Xiang Li? That woman isn’t one to be trifled with – she exposed everything. Senior Li’s carefully cultivated reputation of several years was destroyed by Xiang Li…”

With Li Yong’s graduation problems, his secured job naturally fell through.

Xiang Li had been waiting for Li Yong to get his status, and this disruption of her expectations created conflict between them.

The situation was similar to when Xiang Li and Xu Jing were about to break up – every meeting ended in arguments, and after several fights, their feelings weren’t the same. Realistically speaking, Xiang Li and Li Yong’s relationship had lost its future. With the social butterfly Han Jin who loved excitement and had money, followed by Miss Song with her mysterious background, these powerful social figures joining the New York international student circle meant Xiang Li, Li Yong’s girlfriend, wasn’t as popular as before.

After offending Song Minglan, Li Yong didn’t dare organize gatherings anymore. Following him, Xiang Li couldn’t enjoy financial benefits or the spiritual satisfaction of being admired, so naturally she sought other paths.

“This time Xiang Li didn’t look for a new boyfriend in the circle – she targeted Americans. After a few visits to bars, she met a man, and Li Yong caught them in bed. That’s when Li Yong started hitting!”

Xia Xiaolan found it strange, “Beating someone after catching them in the act doesn’t fit Li Yong’s character.”

With Li Yong’s refined manner, if Xiang Li cheated on him, he’d probably swallow his anger and break up on the spot, then slowly take revenge later.

Ma Hai shook his head, “Who knows, but they started fighting right there. He didn’t just hit Xiang Li, he also beat up her lover. The guy is a genuine American citizen – he definitely won’t tolerate being beaten by Li Yong. Now Li Yong is facing potential charges!”