Shen Chuan said maliciously, "Scholars are the most disloyal. We're telling you, if you can't get along with him, don't worry. Even if you divorce, there are plenty of other men—"
Xiang Lan now understood that Xiang Yuan had been keeping watch over Hu Li and hadn't been able to take care of her during this time, so these two men had come to support her.
"Okay!"
Shen Chuan was joking, but Fang Jun felt something was off about Xiang Lan's answer. This girl was quite protective of her own. Last time, she didn't even bother to criticize Fang Zi, but now she did. It seemed that the relationship between the two of them had undergone a slight change.
"I'll go check on him. You guys enjoy your drinks, don't force him to drink more. I still have to see some guests off later; he has a lot of leaders visiting, so we can't be impolite."
Xiang Lan left, and Shen Chuan stared at her retreating figure. Seeing Fang Jun's dejected expression, he rested his chin on his hand and said, "What's wrong? Still trying to poach someone? Or maybe you should go loosen the soil?"
Fang Jun smiled but did not answer.
After vomiting up the entire prescription, he rinsed his mouth and washed his face with water from the tap. The icy water made him shiver all over, but he was still conscious. He straightened up and saw that his face was pale in the mirror. Behind him was Xiang Lan, who looked worried. Their eyes met, and she immediately put on a nonchalant expression.
He turned around, hooked his arm around her neck, and leaned against her.
"open--"
"I feel dizzy and can't stand up."
"Lean against the wall," Xiang Lan said, displeased. "You're already getting a divorce, this isn't fair—"
“Yeah, you’re getting a divorce anyway, what are you afraid of?” Fang Zidu said with a smile. “It’s just helping out.”
Xiang Lan gritted her teeth. Some people seem to have gotten thicker-skinned.
Chapter 67
Fang Zi was ultimately not spared by Shen Chuan. He was so drunk that he was completely unconscious. After managing to see the school leaders off, he was completely out of it and had to be carried back by Shen Chuan. Xiang Lan originally intended to leave him on the bed, but even in his dazed state, he kept talking.
"Xiang Lan—"
Xiang Lan was filled with resentment.
"Lanlan—"
She grabbed his neck, trying to bite him to death.
"Wife—" she said affectionately and coquettishly.
Xiang Lan couldn't help but want to cry, but looking at the little baby sleeping soundly in the crib, she covered her mouth tightly.
Fang's mother knocked on the door, "Little Rou Rou will sleep with me tonight. Express your milk and put it in the fridge; I'll feed her on time. You just need to focus on watching Zi Du—"
She nodded silently, trying her best to hide her tears. Fang's mother picked up the little boy and patted her shoulder before leaving. She wiped away her tears, made a hot towel to wash his body, and after finishing, went downstairs to the pharmacy to buy emergency contraception. She couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.
Xiang Lan's New Year was both painful and eventful. She had promised Fang Zidu that they would discuss the divorce in detail after the New Year, and thus maintained a peaceful coexistence. During this time, Hu Li gave birth to a baby boy, Liu Nanyang experienced heartbreak and a whirlwind romance with Milan, Liu Zewen was busy mediating between his young husband and wife and disciplining his younger brother, Xiang Zongnan had to step in and oversee the company, and Fang Zidu spent time with his grandfather and parents sightseeing in the city. Out of consideration for her family, Xiang Lan swallowed the thought of divorce, suppressed her urges, and played the role of an invisible woman, but Fang Zidu never gave her the chance.
He seemed not to understand her words. At home, he would cling to her and her baby, kissing, touching, and biting her every now and then. When he got up in the middle of the night to breastfeed, he would also try to suckle himself. When she was taking a shower, he would come in under the pretext of helping. Because the elders were there, they gave him some face, but he took advantage of it and, when they were in the same bed, he had no concept of restraint.
“You can’t cross the center line, this is my territory.” Xiang Lan used the blanket to create a Great Wall in the middle of the bed. “Fang Zidu, look carefully, your half is much bigger than mine.”
"We can switch," Fang Zidu said, adopting a playful, grinning demeanor.
"Fang Zidu, please maintain the demeanor expected of a young scientist."
Fang Zi glanced at her, then looked at his little brother and asked, "Are you sure?"
His meaningful glance enraged Xiang Lan, who threw a pillow at him, yelling, "What kind of look is that?"
"What do you think?" He caught the pillow and folded it on his side. "From a scientific point of view, I'm doing this for everyone's physical and mental health."
"I don't want to hear your fallacies, you cult!"
"The human body is a complex of desires. Only when it is in balance can one achieve physical and mental well-being. Suppressing one aspect may not matter in the short term, but in the long run, it will backfire. You yourself have experienced this, haven't you?" Fang Zidu said gently. "Everyone is like this. Although there is a possibility of divorce, problems can be resolved through negotiation. You have needs, and I have needs, so of course we can compromise with each other, right?"
"That's right!"
Why did he become like this? Slippery and difficult to handle, he's nothing like he used to be. Give him back his innocent boyish charm!
Xiang Lan crawled into her own bed and covered her head. Recently, her little one had finally developed a good habit: eating a full meal before bed and sleeping soundly all night. Xiang Lan could finally get a full night's sleep. Fang Zi found it amusing to see a bit of her hair sticking out, so she took off her clothes and crawled into her own bed. After Xiang Lan fell asleep, she pulled away the blanket separating them. A moment later, Xiang Lan snuggled into her arms.
He may be stubborn, but his actions speak louder than words.
Fang Zi sighed, put his arm around Xiang Lan's waist, and gently rubbed his hand against her skin. After giving birth, her body had become even more limp. The brief contact in the bathroom before the New Year had not extinguished his desire but had instead intensified it. Now, he couldn't calm down just by smelling her scent; it was truly torture.
Xiang Lan slept soundly, only waking up briefly at five in the morning. She seemed to hear a baby crying and turned over to sit up, intending to get out of bed. Fang Zidu said, "You go back to sleep, my mom is taking care of things."
She said "Oh," and leaned over, bumping into his arm. He naturally pulled her into his arms. She asked groggily, "How did you end up in my bed?"
"You crawled over here yourself, didn't you?" Fang Zi laughed in exasperation.
Xiang Lan closed her eyes and groped around. Sure enough, she didn't make a sound, put her hands on his chest, and backed away.
"Don't move."
She immediately felt the burning heat behind her and realized something was wrong, so she quickly quieted down.
Fang Zi put one arm around her waist and rubbed her lower abdomen with his palm, while the other arm was around her chest and his fingers were grasping her breasts. She felt uncomfortable and said, "My breasts are a little engorged, I need to get up and pump."
He lifted her clothes, buried his head inside, took a small tip into his mouth, enveloped it with his tongue, and slowly sucked on it.
"You—" Xiang Lan trembled, unable to speak, and lay flat on her back, holding his head with both hands.
An indescribable intimacy, toes curling up in shame.
His teeth scraped against her delicate skin, stinging slightly. She grabbed his hair and pulled at it. He looked up, his hands gripping the hem of her clothes and lifting her up. She thought, things have already come to this point, it would be inhumane to hold back now. So she raised her hands and took off her clothes. He chuckled darkly, lowered his head, and began to suck on her other small tip, his hands kneading it lewdly.
He must have been corrupted by talking to Shen Chuan and the others. Lately, Shen Chuan and Fang Jun have been inviting him to play mahjong all the time, playing all sorts of games and using countless vulgar language. He's smart and quick to draw inferences, so he's probably been completely corrupted.
“From now on—” Xiang Lan gasped, “you’re not allowed to play with Brother Chuan and the others.”
The heavy feeling in her chest disappeared. She pushed him away, rolled to the side, and secretly calmed the desire within her. Fang Zidu reached into the bedside table, took out a condom, put it on, crept up behind her, lifted her body, and penetrated her deeply.
Xiang Lan bit her lip, unable to help but groan. She thought with some difficulty, if we follow Fang Zidu's theory, continuing the physical relationship but separating when it's time to separate shouldn't be a big problem, right?
The next morning, the first thing Xiang Lan did after getting up was to take a shower. After showering, she quickly expressed milk for her baby, but couldn't find him anywhere. She carried the bottle upstairs and found Fang Zi holding her in the small garden, looking at the holly bushes and chattering away.
"Today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and we're still on holiday. Many people in the city have gone back to their hometowns. Do you know what hometown is? It's where your parents grew up. Your hometown is Haicheng, which you haven't been to yet. When you can walk, I'll take you on the high-speed train back to visit your grandpa. Do you know what a high-speed train is? It's a very, very fast train. Once you get on, woo, we'll be there in no time."
The little one lay in the crib and babbled a few times.
"Auntie gave birth to a little brother. Do you know what a little brother means? It's like your little shadow, always following you around, a little friend who plays with you all the time. In a few days, when Auntie is discharged from the hospital, we'll go see her—" Fangzi carefully picked her up, supporting her by the back of her neck, letting her see the green leaves. "Spring is coming, the trees are budding. See these tiny buds? Green leaves are peeking out from here, growing two little leaves. One is a little chubby leaf, and the other is your little brother. You'll always be good friends—"
That's so childish.
"The air is bad and the sandstorms are strong, so we need to protect the baby's skin. When she grows up, she'll be fair-skinned and as beautiful as her mother."
"Isn't Mommy beautiful? Mommy is the most beautiful—"
Xiang Lan tilted her head to look at Fang Zidu. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his handsome profile showing. She was certain he was flattering her, and openly seducing her. She walked over and handed him the bottle. He put it in his chubby little mouth, and the little guy immediately grabbed his own little bowl, refusing to let go.
She reached out and hugged the little girl, saying, "From now on, you're not allowed to hug her without my permission."
"You've satisfied me, but you turn your back on me the moment I wake up?"
Xiang Lan grinned, "As you said, sleeping with you is my physical desire, and not letting you be with Rou Rou is a rational choice. There's no conflict between them."
"Lanlan, what do I have to do for you to forgive me?"
"Oh, it's Rou Rou's fault for forgiving you. I will tell Rou Rou everything in the future, and let her make her own choice."
Fang Zi laughed in exasperation, "And what about you?"
"I will try to give up on you, and take it slow."
Xiang Lan felt a sense of satisfaction seeing his hurt expression. She carried the little chubby boy downstairs and instructed him, "Daddy is a bad person. Don't play with him anymore. If you have to cry, understand?"
After the Lunar New Year holiday, the elders of the Fang family left one after another, the nanny went back to work, Fang Zi returned to the lab, and Xiang Lan also began to think about her work. She was very interested in Gu Yuan's suggestion, and after being idle for so long, she was indeed itching to write, with an overwhelming creative urge that she couldn't suppress. She knew she had to do something to calm herself down, so she rearranged her schedule and officially began to work.
As a freelancer without a work unit, one must be able to manage their time well and resist the persistent advances of a little cutie.
She abandoned Fang Zidu and began wandering around various stone markets, searching for materials she liked. Gu Yuan got her a small job.
"I'm planning to marry Mia. Rings or diamonds are too tacky. I'll give you some jade material; you can make something for me however you like. Don't worry about anything too complicated; it's just for you to get a feel for things—"
These are Gu Yuan's original words. What surprised her was not his casual attitude, but that he would actually marry Mia. A burning flame of gossip ignited in her heart, and she wanted to grab Liu Nanyang and question him immediately.
Clutching the piece of irregularly shaped jade raw material that Gu Yuan had tossed to her, she went through great lengths to find Liu Nanyang, only to be met with a blunt retort, "This is practical art; you wouldn't understand. If he wants you to make it, then make it. It doesn't bother you—"
Haha, it's so pleasing to see a prodigal son get his comeuppance. Even though she didn't find out anything, her attitude speaks for itself. She happily returned the way she came.
She needed a studio for her creative work, so she cleaned up the sunroom upstairs, printed out a piece of paper, and stuck it on the door: "Workspace only, no unauthorized personnel allowed." It was clear who this was aimed at.
After the computer was moved into the studio, she contacted Mia and subtly inquired about her hobbies. Mia was unaware that this was Gu Yuan's arrangement and simply said, "Jewelry is too cumbersome and will interfere with work."
These two really stumped Xiang Lan. One wanted to give a wedding gift without specifying any requirements, and the recipient knew nothing about it and had no demands. She spent the whole afternoon agonizing over it in her studio. Finally, exhausted, she went downstairs, only to find Fang Zi sitting quietly on the living room balcony, silently watching the nanny feed the little one baby food.
Xiang Lan turned and went to the kitchen to get the breast pump. Fang Zi followed and quietly watched her fiddling with the things. He said, "Xiang Lan, there's something I need to tell you."
"you say."
"I've run into some trouble recently."
"Oh." Since that unpleasant conversation after the New Year, the two haven't had a proper conversation for more than half a month.
“Before the Lunar New Year, Lin Li submitted a paper. She was the first author, but because I assisted in the submission, I was listed as the second author. The paper has already been published, but it has been accused of plagiarism.” He frowned slightly. “If it were only Lin Li, it wouldn’t have much of an impact; we could just withdraw it. But because my name is on it, it has attracted attention and spread back to China. Now, people at the university are also raising this issue, questioning the authenticity of my previous paper.”
Xiang Lan didn't quite understand, "You—"
“Lin Li is in the lab, and I gave her some guidance. I know she didn’t cheat; the data is all real and correct. But someone published a paper first, using the same data as her—” Fang Zidu shrugged. “Lin Li knows what happened; she accidentally leaked the data, and it was stolen, but she can’t prove it.”
"You mean you were implicated, but because you're famous and young, you're being targeted? Someone's trying to smear you?"
Fang Zi nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
Xiang Lan wanted to ask him why he told her these things, but she immediately remembered that when their relationship was still good, they had promised each other that they would keep in touch with each other at any time, and he was keeping his promise.
Chapter 68
The matter Fang Zidu mentioned caused quite a stir, as Xiang Lan quickly saw related news reports online. Seeing someone she knew described in unfamiliar terms gave her a strange feeling. These news reports were reprinted by various websites, eventually reaching the school's intranet. Because the individuals involved were faculty members of the school, the initial discussions were quite polite, but as they gradually loosened up, they began to make outrageous remarks.
Less than a year has passed since the news about Xiang Lan on the school's intranet broke, and posts about her routinely fawning over Fang Zidu are still prominently featured on the homepage. Therefore, netizens with excellent memories naturally pieced together the whole story into a comprehensive gossip post. It started with her creating four comics when she entered university, then the gossip escalated to someone mistaking the comic's protagonist for Li Xingda, ultimately leading to Xiang Lan being doxxed. The doxxing then implicated Fang Zidu, and to this day, it has been revealed that the thesis he supervised is suspected of plagiarism.
People started trending the topic, "I bet one yuan that Xiang Lan will divorce Meiren."