Xiang Lanchong's sister-in-law gave a thumbs up, a natural comrade-in-arms.
Xiang Yuan, feeling the watchful eyes of his wife and sister, had no choice but to take out his phone and dial Liu Nanyang's number, putting it on speakerphone.
"Uncle, are you going to America?"
"Yes, I'm going."
"Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"
"The art exhibition schedule was just finalized, so this was a last-minute decision."
"Lanlan wants to go too?"
“She came to see me, mainly because she was lacking inspiration for her graduation project and wanted to go out for a walk.”
"How many days will you be gone?"
Liu Nanyang stammered.
Xiang Lan immediately replied, "Three days—"
"Yes, three days!" Liu Nanyang breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiang Yuan looked at her suspiciously and said, "Wasn't this a pre-arranged itinerary? How come Uncle didn't know about the schedule?"
"It was arranged by Xiao Wang, I haven't looked at it carefully yet." Xiao Wang's sister is Liu Nanyang's secretary, responsible for all his miscellaneous tasks.
Xiang Yuan was still skeptical and wouldn't budge. "Then should I go find Xiao Wang?"
Liu Nanyang said on the phone, "Xiang Yuan, isn't this a bit wrong of you?"
"Exactly, they don't trust people." Xiang Lan stood up. "I'm leaving! I'll go find Mom to reason with them."
"Okay, okay." Xiang Yuan hung up the phone immediately. "Don't let it happen again."
Xiang Lan immediately smiled and sat back down. "Is there anything you want, sister-in-law? I'll get it for you."
"No."
Xiang Yuan stood up and shook his head, "Let's have dinner together, I'll cook more."
"Alright!"
Xiang Yuan is a very good cook, and Xiang Lan has always loved his cooking, so she naturally had to choose him.
Dinner was plentiful, with fish, meat, and soup. Xiang Lan picked up her chopsticks and said, "You're eating such a good dinner, aren't you afraid of gaining weight, sister-in-law?"
"Take care of your health." Hu Li lazily pushed the steamed fish in front of her. "You eat this."
"What? Trying to conceive?" She picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth. A fishy smell hit her head, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth and feel nauseous.
"What's wrong?" Hu Li put down his chopsticks and asked with concern.
"The fish isn't fresh?"
"Nonsense, I saw the person killed right there." Xiang Yuan sat down at the table and said with displeasure, "Don't cause trouble for your brother."
Xiang Lan refused to touch fish or meat anymore. She ate half a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup, then urged Hu Li to get something.
Hu Li entered the study, opened the safe, and handed her a file folder. She took it and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Hu Li looked her up and down, then suddenly reached out and touched her stomach.
"Ah—" Xiang Lan stepped back, covering her lower abdomen, "What are you doing?"
She grinned and said, "Touch it!"
Xiang Lan had sweat on her forehead. Her sister-in-law was like a vixen; she couldn't be easily fooled. She gave a dry laugh and said, "I'm leaving now."
"Xiang Lan," Hu Li called out.
Xiang Lan turned around, and Hu Li said, "Although your brother's methods are often wrong, they are all trying to protect you. You can make your own decisions about small things, but for things that could harm you, you should still discuss them with your family—"
Perhaps due to the effects of pregnancy hormones, Xiang Lan felt like crying for a moment, but she held it back and said, "Sister-in-law, I know."
Having obtained what she wanted, Xiang Lan breathed a sigh of relief, though it aroused Hu Li's suspicion. She quickly completed the procedures for buying plane tickets and other formalities within three or four days. Perhaps because of her refusal to contact him, Fang Zidu was also a little disheartened, sending no further messages beyond the routine daily greetings.
Over the weekend, Xiang Lan couldn't help but tell Deng Yifan about her trip to the United States. She then took Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu to the logistics office to hand over the follow-up work on the display boards to them.
"The main painting is ready; we just need to put it up. You can help me with that. As for the other display boards, we need some decorative colors and simple line drawings. You can contact Wang Runqiu; her wrist is almost healed, so it won't be a problem." Xiang Lan sighed, looking at the frowning Deng Yifan and the bewildered Wang Runqiu. "I'm flying to New York tomorrow."
"Are you crazy?" Deng Yifan shouted before she could finish speaking, "What are you going to do? Aren't you going to study?"
“You should read it,” Xiang Lan said casually.
"What are you going to do?" Wang Runqiu asked, puzzled.
"Go see my boyfriend." Xiang Lan smiled at her. "I know you must have seen my picture thread. I said in the post that I have a boyfriend."
Wang Runqiu looked on in disbelief, "You—"
"You don't need to go to this extent for a man, do you?" Deng Yifan said unhappily. "You've only known each other for a few days, and your feelings for each other aren't that strong."
"We'll see if things get to that point this time!" Xiang Lan said with a smile. "If I see him again and still feel the same way as before, then I'll be sure he's the one; if those feelings are gone, I'll handle it myself—"
"Did something happen? Why so suddenly?" Wang Runqiu whispered. "Don't be like this. The impact of things online will gradually subside. You should cheer up."
"It has nothing to do with that," Deng Yifan said firmly. "It's definitely something wrong with that man that's making you feel insecure, isn't it?"
"No, it's my own problem."
"Stop defending him," Deng Yifan said angrily, sitting down to the side. "We agreed on one word and one painting, and it won't work no matter who does it. If you're going to leave, I won't write anything either. Wang Runqiu, didn't you want to do it? You can have the rest done by yourself."
“Xingda doesn’t have a good impression of me now. If I take over, he’ll dislike me even more.” Wang Runqiu lowered his head. “I didn’t expect Xu Na to tell anyone about that.”
“There are many things you haven’t thought of,” Deng Yifan said. “You hang out with her every day, she definitely hasn’t told you that she also applied to the president’s school and seems to have already received the acceptance letter.”
"I--"
"What scheming!" Xiang Lan exclaimed. "Even fighting over the school heartthrob is this intense. My beauty is so wonderful, she'll definitely have to go through a hail of bullets."
The three of them were not very happy. Xiang Lan comforted them, "It's not like I'm going there and never coming back. It'll only be three or four days at most."
"Someone said they wanted to be my leading lady?" Deng Yifan said coldly. "I finally convinced the president, and now you're backing out."
Xiang Lan looked down at her stomach and patted it. "It might really not work out. You need to find someone new. How about Wang Runqiu? She likes the president so much, her eyes are definitely captivating—"
"I want a carefree young woman, not a bitter, resentful one," Deng Yifan said irritably, and the two of them started arguing together.
"Deng Yifan, how dare you speak to me like that?"
"So what if I'm like this? Don't you know how to look at yourself in the mirror? You're just a pathetic man, aren't you? You all give up on yourselves—"
Xiang Lan didn't want to listen to their arguing anymore, so she went to the window to get some peace and quiet.
The locust flowers outside were in full bloom, and under the flowering trees, it seemed as if a young man was walking gracefully towards her.
She sighed, rubbed her eyes, and thought, "It's all an illusion, just a hallucination."
She opened her eyes and saw a man with a beautiful face standing outside the window, smiling at her.
She pursed her lips, rubbed her eyes again, and it seemed like there was something wrong with them.
"Xiang Lan—"
Xiang Lan was startled; the illusion was gradually becoming real.
"The prescription?"
"It's me."
She stared wide-eyed, speechless.
"What's wrong?" Fang Zidu reached out and pinched her cheek. "You've lost weight?"
Her mind was in a state of utter chaos, filled with screams. This was the first time she had seen Fang Zidu's face while fully conscious, and the shock was too great; she was completely stunned.
"Fang Zidu." Xiang Lan blinked, looked at him, and all the grievances that had accumulated over the past few days surged up, making her want to cry.
"What happened? You haven't been answering my calls or replying to my texts. I regret not asking for your friend's contact information, and I wanted to come see you in person—"
Xiang Lan burst into tears and reached out to hug him through the window. He smiled, stepped over the low windowsill, and held her in his arms, instantly finding peace in his heart.
Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu were startled by Xiang Lan's shout. They stopped arguing and turned to look, only to see a very tall man step into their arms. Xiang Lan nestled into his embrace like a fledgling returning to its nest. The man held her, patting her back to soothe her, carefully until she calmed down. Only then did he look up, seem to see the two of them, and smiled.
What a stunningly beautiful face it was! Deng Yifan suddenly understood Xiang Lan. If it were a man like that, she wouldn't wait even a minute longer.
Xiang Lan cried her heart out in Fang Zidu's arms, no longer caring about maintaining her so-called image and beauty. Only after releasing all the pressure she had accumulated recently did she look up, embarrassed. Fang Zidu took her hand and whispered in her ear, "Come back to Qionglin Garden with me?"
She choked up and couldn't speak, but nodded.
"You should also introduce your friends to me," Fang Zidu whispered a reminder.
With red eyes, she turned to look at Deng Yifan and Wang Runqiu behind her, who were staring in disbelief. She was amused by their ridiculous posture and expressions and burst into laughter through her tears, waving at them.
The two of them felt as if they were floating on clouds, and walked over involuntarily.
"Zidu, this is my good friend Deng Yifan, and also Wang Runqiu, the minister of the student union."
"Hello." Fang Zidu extended his slender hand.
Deng Yifan cursed inwardly a few times, then immediately grabbed her hand and couldn't help but squeeze it hard. He immediately felt immense force, his face changed, and he became completely sober. Damn, this beauty doesn't look easy to mess with.
Wang Runqiu gently shook hands and released them, looking at Xiang Lan with some envy.
"This is Fang Zidu." Xiang Lan was too embarrassed to be so open in front of others; she couldn't bring herself to say the words "boyfriend."
"Xiang Lan's boyfriend." Fang Zidu nodded slightly to the two of them. "I haven't seen her for a while, and I'd like to talk to her."
This is a request to clear the area; even the handsome guy is being so tactful in asking people to leave.
"So take her out first, then goodbye."
Deng Yifan watched Fang Zidu lead Xiang Lan away. That brat looked shy and timid, and said regretfully to Wang Runqiu, "No wonder the president has no chance. His appearance is absolutely overwhelming! If he could just give me a flirtatious look, I would immediately abandon my friendship with Xiang Lan and run to the beauty's arms."
Wang Runqiu had no choice but to nod in agreement, and then suddenly felt that she didn't seem to like Li Xingda as much anymore.
Xiang Lan was pulled along by Fang Zidu towards Qionglin Garden. His hands were large and strong, giving her no chance to resist, but she felt sweet inside.
Fang Zi didn't even notice her expression. His eyes were fixed straight ahead as he took quick strides. His hands were holding her smooth, delicate skin until he felt a pulling force. He turned around and saw Xiang Lan looking at him with a wronged expression.
"Slow down, I can't keep up."
He paused for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, I didn't consider you."
She smiled at him and said, "Why are you back?"
Why don't you answer the phone or reply to text messages?