Not only did Xu Kaiqing scold Qian Youwen away, he also happily called Jiang Fuyue to tell her about it.
“…So I just blasted him with a stream of scolding like ka-ka-ka, and that grandson didn’t even dare open his mouth. In the end he slunk off with his tail between his legs. Impressive, right?”
His tone was proud, like a child asking an adult for praise.
Jiang Fuyue naturally played along: “You’re the impressive one.”
“Of course! When dealing with this kind of scum, for every one that comes I’ll scold one. I’ll scold them until they doubt their life and regret being alive!”
The corner of Jiang Fuyue’s mouth twitched.
……
Actually, compared to Fu Zhengxin, Qian Youwen’s situation could already be considered good. Although his reputation was damaged and his projects were shelved, at least he could still stay in the field.
Fu Zhengxin, on the other hand, truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it, playing the game until he dragged himself down with it.
After the academic debate ended, as Tosaki Kawashima was exposed for academic fraud, Fu Zhengxin’s situation also became unfavorable.
But publicly supporting Tosaki Kawashima in the global academic community had not been done by him alone. Yet now the one who ended up the most miserable was none other than him.
Why?
Because not only did he support him, he also incited the domestic academic community to collectively attack Jiang Fuyue.
In the end, Jiang Fuyue proved her own innocence. Not only was his face swollen from the slap, those peers he had misled and instigated also realized they had been played. They immediately turned around and publicly exposed that Fu Zhengxin had instructed them to target Jiang Fuyue.
Screenshots of chat records, leaked call recordings, and so on, every piece was solid evidence.
When Fu Zhengxin used these people, he probably never imagined there would be a day they would bite back.
But in this world, who is truly smarter than whom?
You do the first day of the lunar month, others do the fifteenth.
When you’re scheming against someone, the other person might also be scheming against you.
As more explosive information was exposed, Fu Zhengxin became a malignant tumor that everyone in the field wanted to beat.
“I thought he was a decent bird, who knew he was full of bad intentions.”
“He spoke so righteously back then, but it was all for personal gain.”
“Wasn’t it just because he resented Jiang Fuyue for taking the Lasker Award from him, so he stirred up all this trouble?”
“With him? The Lasker Award? Don’t make me laugh! Even if Sister Yue hadn’t won it, it still wouldn’t have been his turn!”
“This Fu guy used us as guns! D*mn it!”
“…”
The voices of accusation grew louder and louder. The same way he had once stirred up public opinion to condemn Jiang Fuyue was now returned to him intact.
“I’m not wrong! Jiang Fuyue was just lucky, that’s all, yes, just lucky! I’m not worse than her!”
Fu Zhengxin locked himself in the study, smashing everything that could be smashed. His aged body trembled, both from anger and helplessness.
Because of him, his children put down their work and hurried home. What greeted their eyes was a complete mess, and the old man had also tormented himself into a haggard, miserable state.
“Dad, please don’t do this… I’m begging you…”
But Fu Zhengxin seemed unable to recognize his own children, completely immersed in his own world.
He began smashing things again, pulling at his already hoarse throat and roaring in impotent rage: “What qualifications do I have? And what qualifications does she have? A little girl who’s barely stepped into the field, what right does she have?!”
His daughter knelt directly before him. “Dad, calm down, please… Your body can’t take this kind of torment…”
Fu Zhengxin turned a deaf ear. “Just wait and see! She won’t go far! Sooner or later she’ll fall!”
“The higher she climbs now, the harder she’ll fall later!”
“If I don’t deal with her, heaven will!”
Hysterical, roaring in fury, he no longer cared about dignity or cultivation, as if only by acting like this could he prove he hadn’t lost and still had a chance to turn things around.
Fu Qing looked at her grandfather’s half-mad, half-crazed appearance and could no longer stop the tears from streaming down her face.
Why?
Why had things turned out like this?
Not long ago, her grandfather had still been a respected medical titan, a scientific giant praised from all directions.
When did things start slipping out of control?
Yes, Jiang Fuyue!
From the moment she refuted Tosaki Kawashima and initiated the academic debate, everything had begun sliding toward an unknown abyss.
And when everything finally became settled, it was also the moment they were shattered to pieces.
……
The voices condemning them in the academic world were too loud. The situation had long exceeded expectations, and the impact even spread beyond the field. More and more people began discussing the matter, criticizing, cursing, ridiculing, mocking…
In the end, it inevitably alarmed those above.
Fu Zhengxin was expelled from the Medical and Pharmaceutical Association. The hospital where he worked casually found an excuse to put him on indefinite leave. In addition, the university where he held a position issued a severe warning, suspending his teaching duties and his qualifications to recruit graduate students.
Fu Qing also failed to escape punishment.
Although she was only the “vanguard pawn” pushed out by Fu Zhengxin, the first person in China to publicly support Tosaki Kawashima had been her, and the first to personally step in to smear Jiang Fuyue had also been her.
If Fu Zhengxin was the chief culprit, then she was the strongest accomplice.
Now that the great building had collapsed, she had no notable academic achievements of her own, and the only thing she had relied on was a grandfather like Fu Zhengxin.
Once Fu Zhengxin fell, she no longer had any backing.
Those colleagues who had long been dissatisfied with her taking the back door while acting righteous and superior sent report letters one after another to the university’s discipline inspection and supervision office.
Soon the relevant departments confirmed that the situations reported in those letters were true: stealing others’ academic achievements, embezzlement and bribery, framing colleagues, retaliating against students…
Because the circumstances were truly severe, Fu Qing was directly dismissed by the university.
After that, the names of this grandfather and granddaughter never appeared in the field again.
……
All of this was what Jiang Fuyue heard from Xiao Shan.
She neither cared nor paid attention.
A person like Fu Zhengxin would sooner or later walk himself into a dead end. If not today, then some day in the future.
She had no reason to waste time on such jumping clowns.
Jiang Fuyue slept well that night. The next morning when she got up and looked, there were five missed calls.
All from Xie Dingyuan.
Thinking of Shen Qiannan’s ambiguous drunken words last night, along with the momentary hesitation that flashed across Xie Dingyuan’s face when he was asked later, Jiang Fuyue was ninety-nine percent certain,
He had gone on a blind date with that so-called Weiwei!
Impressive, huh, already going on blind dates.
Tsk…
She tossed the phone aside and stopped bothering with it, getting up to wash up.
Then she went downstairs to eat breakfast, and ran into Han Heng and Han Ting, the two “sleep-in kings,” getting up early, a rare moment.
Han Heng: “I also want to sleep, but the announcements won’t allow it. After thinking about it, making money is still more important.”
Han Ting: “I’m going to Teacher Weng’s house today to learn chess. I can’t be late, there are rules.”
Jiang Fuyue sat down to eat: a bowl of millet porridge and a plate of soup dumplings.
Aunt Liu’s cooking was excellent. The millet porridge was soft and glutinous, and the soup dumplings were thin-skinned and full of broth. Just bite a small opening and the rich soup would keep pouring into your mouth.
Jiang Fuyue ate very slowly, mainly because she was afraid of being scalded, yet every movement seemed to carry an aura of elegance.
Han Ting glanced at the soup dumplings in his own bowl and unconsciously slowed down as well.
Han Heng let out a “hey,” mostly laughing at Han Ting.
Even the little bandit had learned what “eating manners” meant. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been reminded before, but the results had always been minimal.
Yet Jiang Fuyue simply eating a bun in front of him worked just like that?
Han Heng hadn’t even finished eating when his agent arrived and kept urging him.
Perhaps feeling it wasn’t very appropriate to do so in front of the old master, yet unable not to urge him either, Han Heng was famous for being difficult and procrastinating, so the agent later urged him very cautiously.
From time to time he glanced sideways at the old master’s expression, checking whether he had gotten angry.
In the end Han Qishan couldn’t bear it anymore and directly spoke up: “Finish eating and get the h*ll out!”
Han Heng: “Tsk, I’m not even done yet.”
“Then take it and get lost!”
Han Heng pouted, but his agent’s eyes lit up. In the end Han Heng left carrying a bag of soup dumplings and a bottle of milk.
Soon Han Ting also finished eating.
Han Shen wanted to personally send him there, but Han Ting shook his head, saying the driver could take him.
“Study well and don’t cause trouble.” In the end Han Shen couldn’t help reminding him.
“As if you need to say it!” Han Ting curled his lip, looking disdainful, the spirited arrogance unique to that age.
……
After breakfast, Jiang Fuyue saw that the weather was nice and the sun wasn’t harsh, so she simply took a yoga mat and spread it in the pavilion in the garden, starting some cardio.
Han Qishan kept to his usual routine, taking a walk after meals. His old bones couldn’t compare to young people; he could only glance enviously toward the pavilion.
When he finished strolling and had just stepped into the house, a servant hurried over to inform him, a guest had come to visit.
Han Qishan was wiping his hands with a damp towel. Hearing that, he didn’t pay much attention and casually asked, “Who is it?”
“Professor Xie Dingyuan.”
“…Who?!” The old master’s movement abruptly stopped.
Uh!
“Pro-Professor Xie… the young miss’s boyfriend.”
Han Qishan was a little confused, why had Xie Dingyuan come?
The two sides hadn’t arranged to meet the parents or anything.
But no matter what, a visitor was still a guest. Han Qishan still had that bit of courtesy. “Go invite him in.”
“Yes.”
The moment Xie Dingyuan stepped through the door, his figure was backlit. His suit was straight and crisp, making him appear even taller and more upright, his temperament outstanding.
It had to be said that this mature, steady, meticulous appearance was quite pleasing to elders.
At least Han Qishan found him quite agreeable to look at.
Han Shen and Han Ke had originally been preparing to go out, they had even changed their shoes, but unexpectedly heard the servant say that Xie Dingyuan had arrived. How could they go out now?
The two immediately exchanged glances, heh heh, not leaving anymore, time to watch the fun!
So the moment Xie Dingyuan stepped into the living room, he saw the old master, Han Shen, and Han Ke, the three great guardians, sitting on the sofa like they were guarding a formation. Yet the one person he wanted to see was nowhere in sight.
He calmly withdrew his gaze and greeted the three one by one.
He addressed them the same way Jiang Fuyue did: Grandpa, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle.
“Sit and talk.” The old master raised his hand and pointed at the sofa, signaling him to relax. “No need to be nervous. Little Liu—”
“Eh!” Aunt Liu answered from afar.
“Make Little Xie a cup of tea.”
“Alright!”
Xie Dingyuan sat down as instructed. “No need for the trouble. I came to find Yueyue…”
The old master might not have noticed, but Han Shen and Han Ke exchanged a glance immediately, instantly sensing something unusual.
Usually when Yueyue met him, they arranged it outside, and she was always quite eager to go out.
But today’s situation…
She probably didn’t even know he had come, right?
Otherwise she wouldn’t still be absent by now, leaving Xie Dingyuan here awkwardly chatting with the old master.
So the young couple had quarreled?
“Little Xie,” Han Shen’s expression was calm, his voice even calmer, “you came to find Yueyue, what is it about?”
Xie Dingyuan nodded. “Mm, there’s something.”
Han Ke: Isn’t that a pointless question? Watch mine…
“What exactly is it?”
Xie Dingyuan: “…There are some things I want to explain clearly to her face-to-face.”
“Does she know you came?”
“…She doesn’t.”
There it was! They definitely fought!
But the old master didn’t catch the undercurrent between those questions and answers. After Aunt Liu brought the tea, he even smilingly urged Xie Dingyuan to taste it.
“It’s top-grade pre-Qingming Longjing.”
“A connoisseur!” Han Qishan’s eyes lit up. “Let me tell you, this pre-Qingming Longjing and the post-rain Longjing…”
The old master began speaking endlessly. During that time Xie Dingyuan looked upstairs several times, hoping to see Jiang Fuyue, but she never appeared.
He felt somewhat dejected, yet had no choice but to keep his spirits up and listen to the old master, occasionally chiming in with a sentence or two.
Han Shen and Han Ke sat beside them. Seeing that he was clearly anxious but forced to restrain himself, they suddenly felt that the old master’s long-windedness was actually quite good. Wasn’t it useful at a crucial moment like this?
Look how anxious it made the professor, so impressive~
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the conversation finally ended. The old master waved his hand and told Xie Dingyuan that Jiang Fuyue was in the garden.
The latter immediately couldn’t sit still anymore. After saying goodbye, he strode quickly toward the garden outside.
Han Qishan: “Strange… if he wanted to find Yueyue, couldn’t he just call?”
And he even made a special trip over?
……
The Han family villa was very large, but fortunately Xie Dingyuan had once driven Jiang Fuyue home to the door, so finding the way wasn’t difficult.
When he reached the garden, he immediately saw Jiang Fuyue in the pavilion, exercising.
For convenience and coolness she wore only a sports vest on top. The elastic fabric outlined her slender waist and flat abdomen. The neckline in front was U-shaped; perhaps it had slipped down during exercise, so it was a little low, allowing one to clearly see that line…
Ahem!
On her lower half she wore a pair of black leggings, tightly wrapping her two long legs and visually elongating her already straight and slender figure.
Xie Dingyuan’s pupils tightened, and he subconsciously swallowed.
In the end his gaze fell on her hips…
The hands hanging at his sides moved unconsciously at the fingertips.
Eager to know what that touch would feel like…
Inside the house, separated by a floor-to-ceiling window and partially hidden by flowers and plants, Han Shen, Han Ke, and the old master were openly sitting on the sofa watching.
Han Ke even leisurely took a sip of tea.
“What’s going on? Why did he stop?” the old master couldn’t figure it out.
Han Shen snorted softly. “He didn’t stop, he can’t walk anymore.”
Han Qishan: “Isn’t that the same thing?”
Han Shen: “…Cough!”
“The difference is, stopping is voluntary, while being unable to walk is forced,” Han Ke said with a smile.
The old master became even more confused. “What voluntary and forced? Who’s forcing him?”
Han Shen and Han Ke exchanged a look, a mutual understanding between old lechers.
All men understood each other, after all.
Oh, except the old master.
……
Jiang Fuyue was just about to practice a handstand. Her leg had just lifted when her ankle was grabbed.
She thought it was Han Heng playing a prank, frowned, and turned back. “Little Uncle, you…”
But what she saw was a face that shouldn’t have appeared here.
“Why are you here?!” She broke free, pulled her foot back, and stood upright.
Xie Dingyuan lowered his hand, the smooth, tender sensation of her skin still lingering in his palm. “I came to find you.”
“Something wrong?”
“To explain the blind date with Lin Weiwei.”
“So the blind date is real?”
“…”
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