"It's very simple. You just need to tell them you want to settle out of court, okay?"
Xiang Lan saw that his anxiety was growing, probably because he was worried that she would suddenly scream or run away, and he was very tense and on edge. She wanted to go home immediately, but she didn't want to upset him, so she could only say, "Okay."
"real?"
"I've discussed it with my family and I'll call you as soon as possible, okay?"
"You're lying to me?"
Xiang Lan shook her head, "I'm not lying to you—"
Before Wu Haibo could say anything more, Xiang Lan's phone rang. She reached for it, and he asked warily, "Who is it?"
She looked at it and said, "It's the chairman, Li Xingda."
Wu Haibo spat.
"I'll take it!" Xiang Lan slowly moved back.
"Xiang Lan—"
Li Xingda's voice came through just in time, and she was overjoyed. She quickly responded, relieved that she didn't have to answer the phone and that she was saved.
Wu Haibo turned and ran away.
Xiang Lan was terrified and ran in the opposite direction until she was right in front of him. She stopped, panting, and said, "You scared me to death."
"Is it Wu Haibo?"
"Yeah, I don't know how he started following me." She wiped her sweat. "Let him drop the charges and settle out of court. How is that possible?"
"Come on, I'll take you home."
"Thank you, I'm so glad you came." She thanked him repeatedly, mainly because she was worried about the baby in her belly.
The two walked through the alley and arrived at the entrance of the residential area. Li Xingda, who had been hesitant to speak, finally asked, "Xiang Lan, what are your plans after graduation?"
"Getting married, having kids, making money—basically, that's all there is to it."
He gave a wry smile, pulled a small box from his bag, and said, "This is to thank you for helping me with the drawing—"
Xiang Lan didn't care and refused, saying, "No need, no need, we're all classmates."
He was about to say something more, but then he saw Fang Zidu walking over from not far away, carrying several bags in his hands, so he had to swallow his words.
"Xiang Lan." Fang Zidu walked over. "Have you finished with school matters?"
Xiang Lan jumped to her side and grabbed his arm. "Zi Du, we have to thank the chairman today. Wu Haibo followed me into the alley, and it was the chairman who scared him away—"
Fang Zidu looked at him, saw the gift in his hand, smiled, and said, "Li Xingda, thank you. I will tell the lawyers to speed things up."
"You're welcome."
"Shall we have dinner together tonight?" he warmly invited.
"No need, I have something to do, I'll be going now. Goodbye, Xiang Lan—" Li Xingda handed the box to Xiang Lan dejectedly, then turned and left.
"goodbye."
Fang Zi carefully checked Xiang Lan and was relieved to see that she was not injured. Then, noticing that she was looking thoughtfully at Li Xingda's back, he asked, "What are you looking at?"
"I'm considering a possibility."
"What?"
"Do you think the chairman will ever find a partner, given how indecisive he is?"
He shook his head angrily, reached out and took the small box from her hand, "You have so many troubles of your own, yet you still have time to worry about others. Have you finished your graduation project? I'm confiscating this."
Haha, I'm jealous.
Chapter 45
Fang Zidu took Wu Haibo's case very seriously. Upon returning home, he immediately contacted a lawyer. In such cases, courts usually require an out-of-court settlement or impose fines and detention. Wu Haibo's request for a settlement was simply because he didn't want his graduation to be affected. Fang Zidu coldly stated that if Wu Haibo continued to harass Xiang Lan's life in various ways, he wouldn't hesitate to use legal means to keep him busy until he was completely unable to graduate.
Xiang Lan felt that he was much more decisive than she was, and this made her even more sexually aroused.
Every day she faced this beautiful man, touching him, kissing him, and holding him. Although they occasionally became more intimate at night, the fact that they hadn't crossed that hymen always left her feeling regretful. She secretly went online to research the scientific basis of the three-month period and tried to use it to persuade him. Unfortunately, Fang Zidu, who seemed so sweet and gentle, was particularly opinionated about these matters. Every time she couldn't resist trying to force herself on him, he would push her away, making it seem as if she was the only one burning with desire. She would count the days on the calendar, calculating how many days were left until the three months were up, which always made Fang Zidu both angry and amused.
Haha, what's so funny? They're about to have children, and both are still virgins. People would laugh themselves to death if they heard about it.
Xiang Lan didn't understand any of his remedies, so she was very annoyed by his cold and unapproachable personality.
Isn't it said that men are most vulnerable in this area? Why is her style different? He's already aroused and hard as iron, yet he still hardens his heart and refuses her. Even if he satisfies her using other methods, well, can words and fingers be the same as real sex?
She drew a big red circle on the calendar for May 20th.
Moreover, he became very busy.
After breakfast, she would disappear to the school, supposedly to meet with professors to discuss setting up the lab. She'd return at noon to quickly prepare lunch and start cooking the soup for dinner. After a half-hour nap, she'd run off again, supposedly to expedite Wu Haibo's case and discuss the details with lawyers and judges. She'd return home at 6 PM, eat, clean, and then disappear again, not returning until 11 PM. On weekends, she was completely unseen; I'd prepare three meals for her early in the morning, and then she'd vanish all day.
At first, out of consideration and not wanting to ruin her image of being tolerant and generous, and also because she was busy with her graduation project, Xiang Lan didn't protest. But this person was oblivious and went even further. Now that she has time, she has to teach him a lesson.
Xiang Lan calculated that from 11 p.m. the previous night to 6 a.m. the next morning, it was only seven hours. Adding the time for three meals, it was no more than ten hours at most.
What about the promised eleven hours of companionship?
It's all a lie—
To avoid getting angry, she resolutely refused to talk to Xiang Yuan, and could only routinely call Liu Zewen and Hu Li every day to report on her progress. When talking about her partner's behavior during her pregnancy, Xiang Lan had a lot to complain about, but every time she got halfway through, Hu Li would get angry because Xiang Yuan's performance was even worse than Fang Zi's.
In order to maintain his position in the family, Xiang Yuan sent a text message to educate her, "Stop talking nonsense with your sister-in-law."
"Don't ask your sister-in-law for money when you're broke. Come to me. I'm the family's God of Wealth."
"Do you want money? If you want money, then come and apologize to your brother, say sorry, and be sincere."
Xiang Lan inwardly criticized Xiang Yuan's childishness and blocked his number, so she wouldn't even have to see his text messages anymore.
She examined the stone carving she had completed, which was more than halfway finished, and was very satisfied. This piece would definitely shut Liu Nanyang up. She rubbed her sore wrists, picked up her phone to check the time, and saw that it was almost 10 p.m. She sent a voice message, "Fang Zidu, pay attention to your schedule. Don't be the kind of person who breaks his promise after getting a wife. That's very damaging to one's character."
"Requesting leave."
"Please submit a written leave request, stating the reason and the duration of the leave, and wait for your wife's approval."
"OK."
"However, your previous unauthorized absence without prior notice should not only be criticized, but also subject to substantial disciplinary action."
"What kind of punishment?"
Are you sincere?
"some."
"Then you should think about it yourself."
"Please give me some guidance."
"That depends on individual wisdom."
"Where are you right now? Checking up on you—"
Fangzi was very perceptive and immediately sent over a short video. He was standing in a subway car, surrounded by a few scattered people returning home.
"Be careful not to let perverts on the train take advantage of you."
He returned a fiery emoji, clearly wanting to spray fire in her face.
"The dress shop called today, asking me to come for a fitting tomorrow." Xiang Lan's fingers flew across the keyboard. "My mom ordered it. She also wanted me to go with her to send out invitations, but I politely declined—"
"This is a good option."
She wants you to come with her. Aren't you very busy?
"Maybe I can spare some time."
"This attitude is very insincere; I must reflect on it."
"Okay, I'll definitely be able to find the time."
"It will be a long time, because you will be facing the inspection of the large army." Xiang Lan herself was also a little distressed. She has many friends and relatives in her life, and suddenly she sent them a wedding invitation. Her phone was about to be bombarded with calls.
The prescription came back with several question marks.
"My mother's younger relatives, my father's younger relatives, my older brothers and sisters who grew up with me and took good care of me—"
A little person covered in cold sweat.
"Big Brother has booked a table for us at Brother Fang Jun's club on the mountain. It's tomorrow night, so please make sure you have time! And, most importantly, bring enough money."
"Is Big Brother going?" Fang Zidu asked specifically.
"go."
He immediately realized this was a trap, so he readily replied, "I will definitely make time to go."
The next day, Xiang Lan got up early, which was unusual for her. While brushing her teeth, she looked in the mirror at Fang Zidu, who had taken off his pajamas and revealed his broad shoulders and narrow waist. She reached back and touched his waist, feeling the smoothness of the surface and the muscles inside. She felt a little itchy. She glanced at the time on her watch. May 19th. A good time. After dealing with her brothers tonight, eating and drinking, and washing up, she could start having dinner with her beauty.
Fang was a little unaccustomed to it, "Why are you up so early?"
I had something to do this morning.
"What is it?" He looked startled and pushed her hand away. He had been teased to the point of explosion by her various advances and couldn't take it anymore.
"I told you yesterday, I'm going to try on clothes with Mom, and I'll be having dinner with my brothers tonight," Xiang Lan said nonchalantly.
He was a little suspicious, but didn't say anything. He quickly put on his clothes and said goodbye.
Seeing him rush out in such a hurry, Xiang Lan rummaged through her bag and pulled out the small protective gown her uncle had given her, wondering if she really needed it. Whatever, she was determined to lose her virginity tonight, no matter what. As for what he was up to, she'd just have to follow him and see for herself.
The stone carving was quite heavy, so Xiang Lan asked Deng Yifan for help. Together, they carried it into Liu Nanyang's office. At the time, Liu was scolding a senior student, his words harsh and unbearable to listen to. It was the first time Deng Yifan had ever seen Teacher Liu like this. He put down the stone and ran away as fast as he could.
Xiang Lan stood aside and waited for a while until her senior brother sincerely admitted his mistake and said goodbye properly before she called him Teacher Liu.
Liu Nanyang waited a while before calming down. Lately, because of the control group in Fangzi's case, he couldn't stand the other students. He glanced at the small statue she had on her desk, exclaimed "Eh!", stood up, picked it up, and examined it closely. The male and female faces formed a ring, and the intertwined patterns in the center resembled a baby being born. The composition was very simple, and the carving was concise, but the exquisite details and the torn patterns beneath the baby created a strange beauty; the overall black color, with each undulation reflecting light—
He looked at Xiang Lan, then at the statue, finding it difficult to utter the word "bad".
Seeing his expression, she knew she had won, and felt relieved, her lips curving into a wide grin.
"We can't let her get arrogant," was Liu Nanyang's central thought. He cleared his throat and said in a pretentious tone, "I've scheduled your defense for this weekend, so hurry up and prepare."