No one would have guessed that Xia Xiaolan was here to attend the symposium.
She stood quietly to the side, and though she caught others’ attention, Ning Yanfan’s seniority meant everyone had to greet him first.
However, Ning Yanfan didn’t let her pretend to be invisible:
“I gave the invitation to her—this is Xia Xiaolan from Hua Qing’s Architecture Department. Xiaolan, come say hello. This is Master Xing Lixin, one of the symposium’s initiators.”
An initiator meant he was part of the organizing committee. Xia Xiaolan displayed utmost courtesy:
“Hello, Master Xing. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to learn and improve.”
Xing Lixin’s eyes showed complete bewilderment:
“Hello, hello… from Hua Qing’s Architecture Department, you say.”
That was indeed a proper pedigree.
But she seemed far too young.
Even Xing Lixin, being such a straightforward old man, couldn’t filter out Xia Xiaolan’s beauty. Oh, so this junior Ning Yanfan was promoting was this young and beautiful, looking about the same age as Ning Yanfan’s granddaughter.
She looked only around twenty, couldn’t possibly be a teacher at Hua Qing’s Architecture Department, so a student then?
A graduate student perhaps?
She looked young.
Before Xing Lixin could collect his thoughts, someone behind him objected: “I graduated from Hua Qing’s Architecture Department, but I’ve never heard of this junior sister.”
The scrutinizing gaze examined Xia Xiaolan from head to toe. Though not directly accusing Ning Yanfan of favoritism, there was that subtle implication.
Xia Xiaolan smiled confidently:
“Senior, which class were you from?”
The man looked somewhat uncomfortable, “I was from the class of ’70.”
Enrolled in 1970?
At that time, Hua Qing University was in the midst of the Cultural Revolution and had stopped regular admissions. Those who entered Hua Qing’s Architecture Department in 1970 weren’t admitted through entrance exams but through the “Worker-Peasant-Soldier” quota system.
Worker-Peasant-Soldier students didn’t need to take exams; admission was based on mass recommendation, leadership approval, and school review. They would return to their original regions after graduation… Getting into university didn’t require exams but recommendations, leading to varying educational levels among Worker-Peasant-Soldier students. Some with good family backgrounds could enter Hua Qing even with an elementary school education.
Some Worker-Peasant-Soldier students, through their efforts, became technical experts and management talents after graduation. But for a major like architecture, entering with elementary school education and studying for a few years probably resulted in a confused graduation.
No wonder he felt uncomfortable mentioning the class of ’70. Xia Xiaolan had at least gotten into Hua Qing’s Architecture Department through her intelligence—why should she be intimidated?
“Nice to meet you, Senior. I’m from Class 2, ’84 intake. It’s not surprising you haven’t heard of me—perhaps you’ve been too busy with work to visit the alma mater recently?”
Class 2, ’84 intake—
The questioning man suddenly straightened his back:
“Class 2, ’84 intake—you’re just an undergraduate who’s barely finished freshman year? Director Xing, this isn’t right! Since when could undergraduates attend symposiums?”
Even Ning Yanfan shouldn’t be this excessive.
When he brought his granddaughter in, others couldn’t say much.
After all, Ning Yanfan was willing to promote his granddaughter. In their circle, they said Ning Xue had inherited the family’s talent, publishing papers and participating in architecture competitions at a young age.
Hmph, who knew if Ning Yanfan was secretly ghostwriting for her?
After all, architectural design wasn’t like painting—you couldn’t test someone’s skill on the spot!
Now it was even more excessive—not satisfied with promoting one granddaughter, he brought in another young girl. Hah, the architecture industry isn’t about looks!
Xia Xiaolan caught the undertone.
This confrontation wasn’t just aimed at her; there seemed to be deep-seated resentment toward Master Ning as well.
Ning Yanfan frowned, “Comrade Lixin, does the symposium have educational requirements?”
Xing Lixin snapped back to attention: “Of course not—”
The architectural circle wasn’t too big or too small. Given that the symposium provided accommodation and meals, normally those qualified to be invited wouldn’t be undergraduate architecture students.
“What qualifications does she have to attend? Everyone else here has some reputation in the industry. What can an undergraduate contribute to the symposium—should we teach her how to draw lines?”
The Hua Qing senior from the class of ’70 was quite agitated.
Xia Xiaolan wanted to roll her eyes—even if he wanted to teach her to draw lines, she wouldn’t want to learn from him.
Ning Yanfan was even more direct, glancing at the constantly complaining man, “Only people with reputations can attend? More important than reputation are actual works! I’m sorry, but after all this talk, my old eyes must be failing me—I still can’t recognize who this comrade is.”
Pfft—
Xia Xiaolan’s shoulders shook as she tried to suppress her laughter.
Why did Ning Yanfan become popular on social media in the future? Not just because of his longevity—the old man’s sharp, straightforward, yet endearing comments were discovered by netizens, making his popularity inevitable.
When the other person said only those with reputations could attend, Ning Yanfan asked who he was, indicating he didn’t even recognize him… What happened to that reputation when Master Ning couldn’t even remember his name?
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t the only one who caught Master Ning’s meaning.
Everyone present had enough intelligence to understand—it was just a matter of how quickly they caught on.
The senior from ’70 turned red-faced, using all his strength to control himself from cursing at Ning Yanfan. He could question Xia Xiaolan but couldn’t openly confront Ning Yanfan. He stormed off with clenched fists!
Xing Lixin, the peacemaker, called out twice, but the man didn’t stop.
It turned out the senior from ’70 was named Nie Weiguo.
Xing Lixin, ever the mediator, glanced at Xia Xiaolan and smiled wryly: “Master Ning, I trust your recommendations completely. Old Nie isn’t a bad person, he just cares too much about face. Ah, he won’t let this go at tomorrow’s symposium.”
Ning Yanfan snorted:
“He’s truly absurd. When he meets young juniors, he loves flaunting that he’s from Hua Qing’s Architecture Department. When he meets fellow Hua Qing graduates, he likes to use seniority to suppress others. His professional level has remained consistently poor, yet he’s become an expert at these messy politics. Everyone knows about his situation… Enough, let’s not speak of him!”
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t entirely an innocent victim.
Being recommended by Ning Yanfan naturally placed her in Ning Yanfan’s faction.
Where there are people, there are conflicts—the architecture circle wasn’t all harmony.
It seemed she had become a point of attack against Ning Yanfan.
Even Xia Xiaolan, an outsider, had heard of Ning Yanfan—he had gained renewed popularity in the future through his solid professional expertise.
“Nie Weiguo”—she had no impression of this name at all.
As Ning Yanfan said, some people lack professional skills but excel at criticism. The fact that he could attend the symposium showed he had some influence—even a broken ship has three pounds of nails. Xia Xiaolan didn’t dare underestimate him.
Though Ning Yanfan told her not to worry, when Xia Xiaolan returned to her room that night, she reviewed her materials repeatedly.
After all, her experience was limited—it would be impossible to package herself as some brilliant new architect.
The only eye-catching thing was the Nanhai Hotel decoration design.
Tomorrow at the symposium, if anyone challenged her, she would fight back with this design!
Liu Fen and Gong Yang, having witnessed the confrontation in the corridor, were worried: they had thought they would just attend the conference, listen to industry experts lecture, tour Jiang City, and go home. Who knew architects could be so fierce?