The two had planned it well. To prepare for the defense, Xiang Lan found a relatively mature outfit to wear. When she arrived at the classroom, her work was already on the stage. Several students sat below watching, and the two teachers in charge of asking questions were already in place. However, her advisor, Liu Nanyang, had not yet appeared.
Fang Zi quietly sat in the audience, giving her a thumbs-up to calm her nerves. It wasn't until almost the scheduled time had passed that Liu Nanyang rushed in.
As the presentation began, Xiang Lan took a deep breath and started introducing the themes, carving methods, and expressive techniques of her work. The three professors listened, nodding as they flipped through her papers and portfolio, their expressions unreadable as to whether they were satisfied or not.
She didn't look at the teacher, but only at Fang Zidu to calm herself down. After she finished her presentation, it was time for the Q&A session.
Liu Nanyang asked the other two teachers to ask questions first, mainly some professional questions, which she answered very fluently. When it was Liu Nanyang's turn, he was not so easy to deal with.
"Student, please discuss your understanding of the theme of love and beauty in your sculpture, and the methods you used to express it during the creative process."
Xiang Lan cleared her throat. Fang Zidu watched her with an expression full of pride and self-satisfaction. She said loudly, "Beauty is divided into sensory beauty and emotional beauty. Sensory beauty is external, visible, audible, and describable, a concrete and tangible beauty; emotional beauty is not confined to the external, it comes from the most basic emotions in people's hearts, such as father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife, and relatives and friends, etc. It transcends the senses and sublimates directly to the human heart. Love is the purest emotion after being sublimated from emotional beauty."
“In the process of creating this work, I went through two misconceptions. The first was that I was obsessed with the sensory beauty of objects, and I pursued the perfection of lines too much while neglecting the expression of emotions. The second was that I was too focused on the exploration of beauty but neglected the depth of love.”
"The final piece was made using obsidian because its black color is so pure, and its polished surface has a dazzling sheen. Everyone has a different understanding of the colors of love and beauty, but this characteristic of obsidian allows one to overlook its color, giving more room for imagination. A man and a woman are attracted to each other's beauty, and gradually they become one, torn apart and then reassembled, experiencing pain and joy, until finally their bodies are enveloped by a budding baby. What I want to express is the pure love between my husband and me, and the pain and joy that the baby in my womb brings me, all of which ultimately transform into anticipation."
“With love, then everything is beautiful,” Liu Nanyang said.
Xiang Lan smiled slightly, her pale finger pointing to the perfectly curved male lines of the statue, "He is my beauty—"
Chapter 53
Xiang Lan became famous again. Photos of her during her thesis defense, her work, and the content of her defense were scattered on the school's intranet. Photos of her holding hands with Fang Zidu after the defense were also taken. In particular, when a high-definition profile photo of Fang Zidu was uploaded, the number of clicks and replies to the post exploded. Some people even connected the previous photo threads and the doxxing posts.
Given the aftermath of the previous doxxing, no one dared to even think about searching for Fang Zidu, but there were always people who knew bits and pieces of information. So, everyone learned that Xiang Lan did indeed have a boyfriend just like Tu Lou Meiren—no, now he's her husband; Xiang Lan was pregnant; Xiang Lan's husband was a true beauty and a top student, and would be officially teaching next semester—well, he was only 22 years old.
Renren (a Chinese social networking site) has gone crazy.
Countless infatuated girls searched for news about the school, eventually finding a brief announcement on its official website. It stated that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, someone who had graduated from a certain school and returned to China accepted an invitation from a prestigious academician to lead a research project. The news article used Fang Zidu's ID photo; he smiled, his eyes were expressive, and his short hair revealed a full forehead. At the bottom of the article, several impressive papers he had authored were listed, along with their access addresses.
So, based on the official website information and the published resume, some busybodies crawled to the official websites of foreign universities and downloaded his most comprehensive resume.
A beautiful ID photo, a perfect resume, several impressive academic papers, an incredibly young age, and a married status.
"I found my dream man, but unfortunately he's married. I'm drooling over his ID photo."
"His wife is very quick."
"That's already considered slow. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to wait until he's an adult," *evil grin*
"Pregnancy traps you."
"Choose his class, and poach his students."
"Who is his wife? Is she good enough for him?"
"The recent art school graduate, the one who got doxxed last time—"
"No wonder he looked down on the student council president; the president lost—"
When Deng Yifan told Xiang Lan the news again, she was at home doing crafts. After busying herself online, she found the above comments in the post titled "Let's talk about that fleetingly beautiful but academically brilliant woman." The feeling of being envied and resented by millions is quite nice.
After reading the post, she dialed Fang Zidu's number.
"Zidu, you've been exposed online."
"What?" Fang Zi was busy in the lab. After receiving the call, he glanced at the computer screen, which was divided into many small squares, showing the situation in every corner of the house. He saw Xiang Lan surfing the internet in the study.
"Someone posted my thesis defense transcript from that day on the school's intranet, along with a photo of the two of us. And yes, your information is already on the school's official website; they've dug it up too, along with your resume—"
"So fast?"
"what to do?"
"It doesn't matter since it's all publicly available information."
"Nobody came to your lab to wait for you, right?"
"No. The lab isn't ready yet, the equipment hasn't been purchased, and it hasn't been officially registered—"
"Don't underestimate everyone's pursuit of beauty."
"Don't dwell on this. We're going to Haicheng next week."
"I'm going to the student union's farewell dinner tonight in Taoyuan. Come pick me up when you're done."
For the wedding in Haicheng, only the bride's relatives attended. She only took a few invitations to Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu, asking them to be her bridesmaids. Her side of the family had more men than women, not to mention those her age or unmarried. The rest of her classmates, teachers, friends, and relatives would be invited after the Haicheng wedding.
When Xiang Lan went back to school, her mindset was different. All around her were busy classmates, full of anticipation and trepidation for their new lives, some going on to further their studies, others entering the workforce. Only she seemed to have stood still, as if time had stopped.
This was a student council dinner, and Li Xingda generously booked it at "Taoyuan" and invited all the senior students.
When Xiang Lan arrived, Deng Yifan was already sitting in the large private room.
Where is your beauty?
"As soon as he heard I had somewhere to eat that night, he decided not to go home and just stayed in the lab to study." Xiang Lan was helpless; observing the life of this academic superstar was incredibly boring. Home, lab, hospital, and the market—a monotonous routine.
"Don't you have any activities planned?"
"What kind of activities are possible, besides sex in bed?"
"Hehe, so even beauties aren't that interesting after all."
"I know you're jealous," Xiang Lan said casually, glancing at the people coming in. Everyone had a smile on their face, but there was still a hint of sadness in their expression.
After entering the private room, Wang Runqiu looked around and finally chose the seat next to Xiang Lan. When Xiang Lan entered the room, everyone paid close attention to her, but for some reason, no one came up to speak to her, so the seat was left empty.
She opened her bag, took out two invitations, and handed them to Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu, saying, "Next week, you'll be our bridesmaids at Haicheng's wedding."
Deng Yifan answered, and Wang Runqiu was surprised, "I have one too?"
"Just a side effect," Xiang Lan said with a smile, "I couldn't find anyone else, believe it or not."
"Thank you." Wang Runqiu expressed his gratitude and immediately accepted the invitation.
"Round-trip accommodation, meals, and clothing included; no key money or gifts required."
"This beauty's family is incredibly wealthy!" Deng Yifan opened the invitation and looked at the hotel listed. "A five-star hotel!"
"Here's another one. It's for the wedding in town the week after next. My family is hosting the banquet. You'll be coming too."
Wang Runqiu also answered the call and opened it; it was also a five-star hotel.
"Both of your families are incredibly wealthy—"
Xiang Lan sighed deeply, "These two weddings were just something my family organized to appease relatives and friends. Zidu and I basically just had to show up physically. Even the wedding dresses and suits were decided by my mother and his father. We have completely lost our say."
"What's wrong? Does his family disagree?" Wang Runqiu asked cautiously.
“My family doesn’t agree either.” Xiang Lan wrinkled her nose. “The adults in both families think we’re too lawless, so they’ve reached a consensus to impose an economic blockade on us. Now Zidu and I live off his salary, and we’re quite poor.”
"What can I say? Serves him right—" Deng Yifan showed no sympathy. Winning the heart of a beauty is something that only exists in movies.
"Is his salary high?" Wang Runqiu asked.
"It's alright, but not enough time to buy a house."
The three of them spoke quietly for a while, and then almost everyone in the private room had arrived.
Li Xingda and several teachers from the Youth League Committee appeared last. As soon as he walked in, the first thing he saw was the girl sitting in the seat directly opposite the door. She looked a bit fatter than before, probably because she was pregnant—he had also seen the gossip posts online.
Because it was a pre-ordered meal, the food was served very quickly, and several boys ran out and brought in several cases of beer.
As the leader, Li Xingda stood up and said a few words, thanking the teachers for their continued support of the student union's work, and then invited the teachers to speak. After all the official formalities, the meal finally began. Xiang Lan hadn't even had a few bites of the good food when the boys started clamoring for a toast, bringing their glasses over.
Xiang Lan carried the tea and drank a few cups with the other girls.
After two rounds of drinks, emotions ran high, and the entire private room erupted in howling and wailing.
Some were drowning their sorrows in alcohol, some were heartbroken after graduation and breakups, some had unrequited love like Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu, and others were simply feeling down and unemployed. Deng Yifan was outgoing and hung out with the guys. When he got drunk, he would grab a bottle and go around toasting them.
A moment later, Li Xingda sat down in Deng Yifan's seat. Xiang Lan smiled at him and asked, "Are you drunk?"
"It's alright." Li Xingda's face was flushed, and his eyes were glazed.
Wang Runqiu looked at him for a while, knowing he wanted to talk to Xiang Lan, and got up and walked away.
Xiang Lan clung to her tightly, pleading, "Don't go!"
Wang Runqiu shook his head and mingled into a group of people making a ruckus.
Xiang Lan didn't want to be alone with him, so she got up and walked outside the private room. Li Xingda followed her, so they had to talk on the small balcony in the corridor.
"You're really married?"
"yes."
“I’ve known you for a long time,” he said.
"I don't remember." How embarrassing.
"I remember."
Should I say thank you? Why isn't my husband here yet? It looks like the president is about to confess her feelings, oh my god—
“Actually, I’ve known for a long time that you’re President Xiang’s sister.” Li Xingda held a wine bottle and glass in his hand, poured himself a glass of wine, and the yellowish liquid swirled in the glass. “When I went to negotiate with him, there was a family photo on his desk, and you were in it.”
"Yeah--"
"Before that, I was already prepared to confess my feelings to you."
Xiang Lan fell silent, too terrified to say another word.
“Later I gave up. I was too proud and didn’t want people to say that I was only interested in you because of your family’s financial situation. I also didn’t want you to have a bad life with me.” Li Xingda’s voice was very soft. “My family’s situation is average. My father died early and my mother raised me by herself. She taught me that a person can lack anything, but they cannot lack self-respect.”
"You—you're drunk." Xiang Lan wanted to find someone to drag him away.
"No, I'm perfectly clear-headed." He smiled. "Later I realized that if I become good enough, there shouldn't be any problem being with you."
Xiang Lan twisted her fingers. She didn't like his type at all, and it had nothing to do with whether he was rich or not.
“But I was wrong.” Li Xingda shook his head. “It seems like I’ve never done anything right when it comes to you. Whether it’s trying to talk to you or trying to get closer to you, I’ve always messed things up.”
"President, you're doing great." Xiang Lan felt pained, realizing she was saying something against her will. She cursed Deng Yifan in her heart, wondering why he hadn't come back to life yet.
"Looking back now, what I like most is the courage to do whatever you want without any worries." He raised his glass. "I'd like to toast you. You are my best memory from university."
Her hands were empty; she had nothing in them.
"I did it."