Gong Yang was certainly confused. Xia Xiaolan had piqued his curiosity but refused to explain further.

“Figure it out yourself!”

How could he figure it out?

If he could understand President Xia’s thoughts, why would he be an employee while she was the boss?

On their way, Xia Xiaolan’s group encountered Ning Yanfan.

“Professor Ning!”

She smiled brightly, appearing completely at ease. “Senior Xu, thank you for the notes you gave me. They were very helpful.”

Xu Yuejin asked curiously, “You seem quite confident?”

“I know what I’m facing. What’s the point of acting scared and dejected? Would that stop Nie Weiguo from attacking me? Of course not. My actual abilities are one thing, but I need to keep Nie Weiguo guessing about my true capabilities!”

This reasoning made some sense.

Without realizing it, Xu Yuejin’s thinking had been influenced by Xia Xiaolan.

Ning Yanfan nodded: “If you lose your composure before the enemy makes their move, you’ve lost before the battle begins. Yuejin, you really should learn this from Xiaolan. Despite her young age, she has the bearing of a great general. Staying calm in the face of challenges is already half the battle won!”

Could a mere Nie Weiguo turn things upside down?

Given Ning Yanfan’s standing, even if Xia Xiaolan wasn’t truly capable and he was simply promoting an incompetent person, people in their circle would still show him some respect. Nie Weiguo’s attempts to damage his reputation by causing trouble… Ning Yanfan, at his age, no longer cared about such superficial fame.

At least not as much as those close to him like Ning Xue and Xu Yuejin did.

Times have changed from a decade ago. Tarnishing his reputation wouldn’t bring him down.

In this relaxed and tolerant environment, why would Ning Yanfan fear a clown like Nie Weiguo?

If Xia Xiaolan was rendered speechless by Nie Weiguo’s questioning at the symposium, it would only damage her reputation in the circle. Ning Yanfan didn’t need to worry about a few smear attempts, but for Xia Xiaolan, an undergraduate architecture student, the impact would be significant.

Why did Xia Xiaolan have to handle this alone?

Ultimately, this was her battle. Whether she would make a brilliant debut or leave in disgrace depended entirely on her performance at the symposium!

Xia Xiaolan understood this perfectly, which was why she hadn’t bothered him for help.

Ning Yanfan was curious – was Xia Xiaolan truly born with such wisdom?

Xu Yuejin couldn’t see through it at over 30, and even the highly intelligent Ning Xue was confused.

Yet Xia Xiaolan, who was around Ning Xue’s age, could grasp the essence of matters… This level of insight moved even Ning Yanfan. If initially he had wanted to help Xia Xiaolan because of Grandmother Yu’s relationship, after everything that had happened, Ning Yanfan truly admired Xia Xiaolan from the bottom of his heart!

With such intelligence and matching execution abilities.

Xia Xiaolan’s future achievements in architecture would surely surpass those of a fraud like Nie Weiguo.

Deputy Director of the Design Institute?

Times were changing. With money, any design institute could be approached, so how could Nie Weiguo hold any leverage over Xia Xiaolan?

Even if Xia Xiaolan didn’t pursue architecture… she would likely rise to the top of whatever field she entered.

While Ning Yanfan had many thoughts, others couldn’t read them.

Xu Yuejin and Ning Xue continued to worry about Xia Xiaolan losing. Xu Yuejin insisted he was only concerned about how her defeat by Nie Weiguo might affect Professor Ning’s reputation, but only he knew whether he truly cared about Xia Xiaolan personally.

As for Ning Xue, she understood she couldn’t become friends with Xia Xiaolan.

Cold as she was, she normally didn’t care about anything outside the architectural field.

Yet why had she lost sleep last night?

Xia Xiaolan had no idea how rich everyone’s inner thoughts were. Among the six people, the other five each had their thoughts. While she was grateful for Xu Yuejin’s help, at the symposium, she would be the only one rolling up her sleeves to face off against Nie Weiguo.

She had been wondering how to make a lasting impression on everyone.

How many connections could she make in three days?

In the architectural circle, looks meant nothing, and she hadn’t reached Ning Xue’s level of publishing papers in her freshman year to pave her way.

These middle-aged and elderly straightforward men wouldn’t stop questioning and challenging her just because she was pretty.

This wasn’t the era of information explosion where she could gain attention as a “beautiful architect” and generate buzz.

If it wasn’t Nie Weiguo, someone else would surely step up to question her.

It was just that Nie Weiguo seemed to have old grudges with Professor Ning, making his attacks particularly vicious.

Xia Xiaolan’s counterattack needed to be both powerful and elegant… then she could make a name for herself in the circle, leaving a lasting impression. Surely when future opportunities arose, the experts attending the symposium wouldn’t need to struggle to match her name to her face.

If she didn’t become Ning Yanfan’s disciple, wouldn’t other experts be interested in her?

Xia Xiaolan looked at herself in the mirror, her small face was quite adorable and charming.

There was no reason the experts wouldn’t appreciate her – what master wouldn’t want such a disciple to show off?

With these thoughts, Xia Xiaolan entered the symposium venue with a smile that could dazzle anyone.

Most people present had the same thought: Professor Ning’s young protégé’s abilities remained to be seen, but she was certainly radiant. Looking at that face would surely bring fresh energy to the three-day symposium!

In architecture, while people weren’t exactly covered in dust and dirt, most didn’t pay much attention to their appearance.

There were few women in architecture and even fewer beautiful ones.

In decades of practice, they hadn’t seen anyone as beautiful as Xia Xiaolan.

Thinking about this, why did Nie Weiguo have to target her? Why was he determined to destroy the reputation of such a young and vibrant girl, making female students even more hesitant to enter the architecture field?

“Old Nie, as seniors in the field, we should show some grace. Whatever you’re planning to do, you should know when to stop…”

Xing Lixin, always the peacemaker, couldn’t help trying to mediate.

Nie Weiguo bulged his eyes, “Group Leader Xing, how can we tolerate such practices? If undergraduate freshmen can infiltrate a national creative symposium, will high school students be sitting with us discussing contemporary architectural creation next? Even more outrageous, will village pigpen builders dare to call themselves architects!”

Xing Lixin had to admit Nie Weiguo had a point.

The First Modern Chinese Architecture Creation Symposium should maintain certain standards. Professor Ning recommending such a young girl to participate was indeed too casual.

Everyone invited to the symposium had spent years in architecture.

No one had received an invitation based on a single work.

An infinity pool?

They would have to see how the excessively young Miss Xia would convince everyone at the symposium!

At 9:00 sharp, most symposium participants had arrived and taken their seats.

Those with invitations sat according to the name cards on the tables, while those attending unofficially, like Gong Yang, weren’t few. They quietly sat at the back of the classroom, finding space wherever they could in the aisles and corners.

Xia Xiaolan’s expression darkened slightly. Her name card had been placed in a position far at the back, basically among the unofficial attendees. It was worth noting that unofficial attendees had no right to speak – only her seat was isolated in the back row. This show of force would probably bring tears to the eyes of any young girl with thin skin!