“Mrs. Wilson?”

Mrs. Wilson’s eyes held a smile.

Unlike Lisa, she could tell this father and daughter weren’t simply passing by.

Rushing out, she had just heard Monde lecturing his daughter.

Words like “defeat” and “humiliation” – when these words came together, they couldn’t represent anything good! Mrs. Wilson had a feeling she’d found a like-minded friend.

To show sincerity, she volunteered her dislike of Xia Xiaolan:

“…So that’s how things are.”

In Mrs. Wilson’s telling, Xia Xiaolan was a detestable, heartless Chinese student who betrayed Mrs. Wilson’s goodwill, turning her back on people once she secured the commission.

Monde could hear Mrs. Wilson’s hatred – it wasn’t fake.

But he didn’t quite believe that Xia Xiaolan got the theater renovation commission solely in Mrs. Wilson’s favor.

That GMP architect Lisa didn’t seem like a newcomer, but from her explanation level, Monde knew Lisa couldn’t easily create such a design. Yet Xia Xiaolan could, which was why Monde viewed Xia Xiaolan as an “architect.”

As the client, Mrs. Wilson wasn’t at a disadvantage with Xia Xiaolan’s theater renovation design.

Mrs. Wilson had given Xia Xiaolan an opportunity, and Xia Xiaolan hadn’t wasted it, delivering work worth the investment.

Now Mrs. Wilson’s complaints were merely from personal grudges!

While Heidi listened entranced, Monde wasn’t so easily fooled: “Madam, you may have misunderstood. I only wanted to motivate my daughter using her peers’ excellence. Whatever grudges you have with others don’t concern me.”

Mrs. Wilson smiled, “Perhaps I misunderstood then. But Mr. Monde, if you change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime.”

Out of politeness, Monde accepted Mrs. Wilson’s business card.

Monde certainly didn’t like Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue.

But for a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner to personally trouble an undergraduate architecture student – Monde wouldn’t lower himself to that level.

Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue had the ability – but compared to whom?

Better than Heidi, but were they better than an established architect like himself?

The Pritzker Architecture Prize wasn’t given out carelessly.

Mrs. Wilson firmly believed Monde would contact her, especially after learning his identity from Lisa. She was even more satisfied.

…

“Achoo!”

Xia Xiaolan rubbed her nose.

“Are you catching a cold? The weather’s getting cooler, remember to wear more clothes!”

Hu Ying advised Xia Xiaolan, who readily agreed: “If there are any calls for me—”

“I know, if there are calls for you, I must tell you, right? You’re waiting for your boyfriend’s call!”

Hu Ying teased.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t deny it.

She was indeed waiting for Zhou Cheng’s call. For a long time, they had contacted each other every two or three days – it had become a habit. The day before Xia Xiaolan returned to America, Zhou Cheng was taken away by several plainclothes military personnel, citing a temporary assigned mission. Military orders were absolute; Xia Xiaolan couldn’t stop it.

Her only worry was whether Zhou Cheng’s “mission” would be troublesome.

It must be another highly confidential mission. Once Zhou Cheng left, he was out of contact again. This time the silence wasn’t particularly long – Xia Xiaolan had only been back in America for a few days.

But if Zhou Cheng remained silent, she couldn’t help worrying about his safety.

While this weighed on Xia Xiaolan’s mind, she went to the post office for another matter. After calling Wen Manni, she learned that Eric was an extremely capable lawyer. After discussing with Wen Manni, she decided to send Eric a check.

Speaking of payment, Eric certainly wouldn’t accept it.

Xia Xiaolan wrote in the paper, “Attorney Eric, you fight for equal rights. This is my small contribution to support your work. I hope it can help some people in unequal situations.”

Without notifying Ning Xue, she sent Eric a check for $5,000.

This wasn’t showing off her wealth, and Eric had said it was legal aid, but she still insisted on giving.

Xia Xiaolan had inquired about Eric’s reputation, and Wen Manni could confirm he was truly consistent in word and deed, his years of work matching his proclaimed values.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t the first Chinese student Eric had provided legal aid to.

Of course, most students needing Eric’s help truly couldn’t afford lawyer fees, but Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind paying more.

She was quite a narrow nationalist herself – ensuring her own life first, then the lives of those close to her, helping fellow countrymen if able, and finally helping unfamiliar Chinese people with greater resources.

When she could barely care for all Chinese people, given Xia Xiaolan’s personality, she wouldn’t come to America for charity.

Willing to give this $5,000 was also due to being moved by Mrs. Dawson’s incident… she was a student who had money and knew lawyers, allowing her to swiftly defeat Mrs. Dawson.

However, most Chinese students weren’t as wealthy as her.

If there were more people like Eric, would the situation of Chinese students being bullied and discriminated against in America reduce somewhat?

Still, asking Young Master Xia to empty his wealth by doing good deeds was impossible.

But within her capabilities, due to empathy, she was willing to do this bit of charity.

After mailing the check, Xia Xiaolan went to class. She didn’t need to worry about the party – many people helped prepare, and she barely needed to spend money. The venue was provided by the school; food and drinks needed to be purchased, and costs were shared between her and Ning Xue.

The party was tentatively set for Saturday, three days away.

When Xia Xiaolan returned home that evening, Hu Ying told her there were calls: “One was from China.”

To Xia Xiaolan’s disappointment, there were two calls from China, but neither was from Zhou Cheng.

One was a message from Du Zhaohui, telling her Xu Changle had left Hong Kong for America with Tina, and warning her to stay away from the Xu siblings.

The other was from Ye Xiaoqiong.

Ye Xiaoqiong called from Pengcheng, apologizing for the previously missed appointment, saying Du Zhaoqi’s investment in Pengcheng had some unexpected issues, and seemingly the funds hadn’t been secured.

“Then are you still going ahead with your revenge plan piggybacking on this?”

Over the phone, Ye Xiaoqiong’s voice couldn’t hide her hatred, “Of course, I’ve never given up.”

“Alright, I understand. Yuan Han will soon be transferred to work in Pengcheng. Ye Xiaoqiong, I wish you success.”

Xia Xiaolan was straightforward. On the other end, Ye Xiaoqiong paused:

“…Thank you.”

After hanging up, Xia Xiaolan was puzzled.

“Strange, Ye Xiaoqiong had no reason to lie. Whatever Du Zhaoqi’s previous plans, wanting to invest in Pengcheng should be true.”

Second Young Master Du was quite wealthy, adding $1 million to the production line price at once, yet now investment funds couldn’t be secured.

There was probably only one possibility… had Du Zhaohui blocked Second Young Master Du?