“Mrs. Dawson, mind your language!”

Her words were truly offensive.

The Academic Affairs Office staff didn’t want to deal with such a shrew. Mrs. Dawson could stay in the office, but no one wanted to engage with her anymore.

Mr. Dawson never appeared throughout this ordeal. Everyone who had dealt with Mrs. Dawson questioned Mr. Dawson’s taste… marrying such a wife was terrifying.

So much for being an outstanding alumnus – this was their true caliber.

A truly exceptional person wouldn’t choose such an inferior partner as their life companion.

The kind of wife a man marries indirectly reflects whether his excellence is watered down!

Mrs. Dawson was something else, sitting comfortably in the Academic Affairs Office where no one would talk to her.

…What thick skin.

…

Outside the office, the little chicks busied themselves consoling Professor McCarthy, while also worrying about Xia Xiaolan.

Professor McCarthy didn’t think Xia Xiaolan had done anything wrong – if she had quietly accepted the scolding without reaction, she wouldn’t be the Xia Xiaolan he knew.

Ning Xue didn’t care about any of it.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t like typical Chinese international students. Her thoughts and behaviors were very Americanized. McCarthy had noticed early on that Xia Xiaolan was confident like American students, with her ideas.

The middle way for Chinese international students couldn’t be found in Xia Xiaolan.

Whatever she wanted, whatever she wished to do, she had always boldly pursued it.

Even rejecting his goodwill was done boldly… McCarthy shook off the influence of past events and focused on the current trouble: “I support your approach. If your lawyer isn’t good enough, I can recommend better ones.”

Xia Xiaolan was a bit surprised, “Professor, I thought you would also sue Mrs. Dawson for defamation.”

Why wouldn’t he sue?

The Dark Lord’s temper couldn’t be this good.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t figure it out.

McCarthy clearly had no intention of explaining, urging Xia Xiaolan and the others to go to class while he himself hurried away.

Matthew was curious, “When will your lawyer arrive?”

Xia Xiaolan counted on her fingers, “From New York to Ithaca, it takes at least 5 hours, if there’s no traffic in New York City, they should arrive tonight.”

“Pfft—”

Daisy, who had been particularly angry, was amused by Xia Xiaolan:

“So you told Mrs. Dawson to wait in the Academic Affairs Office?”

Five hours was the minimum; with city traffic, it could turn into seven hours.

Making Mrs. Dawson wait needlessly in the Academic Affairs Office for so long, Daisy inexplicably felt satisfied.

Xia Xiaolan was particularly innocent: “If she couldn’t wait, I did advise her to go back first!”

The other four people were trying hard not to laugh, their faces turning red.

Xia Xiaolan was still Xia Xiaolan, not becoming easy to bully after her trip back to China. Given Mrs. Dawson’s displayed temper, when Xia Xiaolan told her to wait, how could she leave?

Xia Xiaolan had done it deliberately, not mentioning that her lawyer was coming from New York.

“So now…”

“Now of course we go to class, let Mrs. Dawson wait slowly. After class, I need to talk with Ning Xue.”

Though they were academic competitors, it didn’t affect Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue’s unity against outsiders. They were both Chinese students, considered outsiders at Cornell. If she didn’t help Ning Xue and let her be bullied, or if Ning Xue coldly let Xia Xiaolan face Mrs. Dawson alone… that would be truly sad.

In a foreign land, if compatriots couldn’t watch out for each other, they would deserve to be bullied.

Ning Xue was in the same class.

When their eyes met, there was tacit understanding for the first time.

After class, Ning Xue approached proactively: “I heard you also hired a lawyer to deal with Mrs. Dawson, count me in when paying the fees!”

Xia Xiaolan nodded.

Not letting Ning Xue contribute would be looking down on her, as this matter involved both of them.

Xia Xiaolan looked around, “How come I don’t see Jonathan?”

Ning Xue’s expression remained natural, “Heidi is still recovering in the hospital, so Jonathan is naturally there too.”

This was rather awkward.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know how to ask.

Ning Xue herself didn’t mind, “It’s not what you think. Jonathan and I haven’t broken up. Nobody wanted to see Heidi attempt suicide. I supported Jonathan in going to the hospital. He’s not Heidi’s boyfriend now, but at least he’s her friend.”

The genius was truly a genius.

Even dating was handled with extreme rationality. While ordinary girls would be jealous, Ning Xue could analyze the situation rationally.

She disliked Mrs. Dawson but sympathized with Heidi, not minding Jonathan caring for his ex-girlfriend—even Xia Xiaolan couldn’t do that. Although Zhou Cheng had no ex-girlfriend, if Jiang Yan attempted suicide and Zhou Cheng wanted to care for her, Xia Xiaolan would feel upset.

Using suicide to threaten others to achieve one’s goals deserved a hundred contemptuous looks from Xia Xiaolan.

Especially after discovering that “suicide” was an effective tactic, it would become increasingly excessive… This was somewhat similar to Shi Kai’s widow Wei Junhong. Hadn’t Wei Junhong repeatedly tested the waters before, taking advantage of Zhou Cheng’s guilty conscience?

With Heidi’s suicide attempt, Jonathan would surely feel guilty.

Even though Jonathan hadn’t done anything wrong, being involved in this situation would put tremendous pressure on him.

Though Ning Xue didn’t mind, Xia Xiaolan felt that Ning Xue and Jonathan’s relationship wouldn’t last long. Between Ning Xue and Jonathan, one of them would initiate a breakup—Ning Xue was truly unfortunate, Jonathan should have been her first love, and it nearly cost Heidi’s life. How could the two lovers still end up together?

Xia Xiaolan suppressed her sympathy:

“Let’s go, we’re both in bad luck now, being harassed by a shrew. Let’s not drag others into this. Have dinner together and discuss how to handle this!”

They had both been at Cornell for over half a year, but aside from two international student gatherings, this was their first time arranging dinner together.

Ning Xue didn’t refuse.

They were both Chinese international students. In America, Chinese students always had to put in 200% effort to receive 100% recognition.

Ning Xue thought she was excellent too, yet still faced discrimination from people like Mrs. Dawson. Even drawing blueprints couldn’t calm her fluctuating emotions.

Though she was aloof, she was still a young woman in her early twenties.

At this moment, she couldn’t refuse Xia Xiaolan’s invitation.

At the restaurant, Xia Xiaolan didn’t discuss business, instead having some drinks with Ning Xue.

The genius, whose mind was always on “architecture,” typically avoided such things, and while holding her glass, couldn’t help pointing out the dangers:

“Alcohol can create dependency. Long-term drinking habits can lead to heart palpitations and hand tremors when you stop… and with shaky hands, we can’t draw blueprints anymore.”

Ning Xue was talking about alcohol dependency.

Xia Xiaolan rolled her eyes, “You’re far from reaching alcohol dependency. I think I’m boring enough in life, do you have to be even more boring than me?”

Boring?

Ning Xue thought Xia Xiaolan lived quite an interesting life, with experiences far exceeding 99% of students.

The night gradually deepened.

In the Academic Affairs Office, Mrs. Dawson waited from 1:30 PM until 5 PM when the office staff left, and she was still waiting.

—She waited until 7 PM, and Xia Xiaolan’s lawyer still hadn’t arrived!

—Shit! She had been played by a Chinese international student!