Zheng Yuan's car already attracted a lot of envious glances, and now Jiang Wanqing was sandwiched between two men, with a tense atmosphere, which instantly aroused everyone's curiosity, and they intentionally or unintentionally moved closer to watch.
Someone recognized Jiang Wanqing and pointed at her in surprise.
"Isn't that the student who talked back to the teacher in class today...?"
"It's more than just talking back; she made a boy skip class for her sake, and now she's got two more men involved. Wow, impressive."
"What's so impressive about that? With such an unprofessional style, how did someone like that get into Huazhong University of Science and Technology!"
"I heard it's Professor Xue..."
...
Hearing all sorts of speculations and unpleasant words, Cheng Ran became even more dissatisfied with Zheng Yuan.
"You've already caused my wife trouble, aren't you leaving?"
"Comrade Cheng, what you're saying isn't right. We were having a normal exchange. If you hadn't escalated the conflict, things wouldn't be like this now. Since you're Comrade Wanqing's husband, shouldn't you be more magnanimous?"
Jiang Wanqing silently rubbed her forehead. Zheng Yuan was completely dancing on her landmines. If he didn't know how to talk, he could have just stayed silent.
She reached out to block the two of them: "Stop arguing, let me think about this. Comrade Zheng, you can go now. I'll give you an answer next time."
"Are you still going to reply to him?" Cheng Ran frowned unhappily.
Zheng Yuan's brows relaxed, and he tactfully stepped back a few paces, leaving behind a meaningful smile before getting into his car and leaving.
"Uh... we should still have basic manners, right?"
This era was the beginning of reform and opening up, and in a few days it would be the right time to seize opportunities. Although she had never heard of Zheng Yuan in her previous life, if he achieved something, he would still be a valuable connection to her. Jiang Wanqing thought to herself.
Of course, she wouldn't say that to Cheng Ran directly; she would just pat his back to calm him down.
"Is it really just basic politeness?" Cheng Ran asked skeptically, taking her hand and looking into her eyes as he continued, "I think he has ulterior motives towards you!"
"Ahem..." She pulled him away: "Let's talk somewhere else."
He was only angry for a short while, and quickly recovered. Perhaps he trusted Jiang Wanqing, or perhaps he was very confident in his own charm.
When Jiang Wanqing tried to comfort him, he had already healed himself, avoiding the student group.
"I was wrong just now. Within the bounds of normal social interaction, you have the freedom to make friends."
A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Wanqing's eyes. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask him if he really thought so, but as the old saying goes, a gentleman judges by his actions, not his intentions. Only time will tell. Whether the answer she got now was true or false was not important, or rather, the answer itself was yet to be verified.
She tiptoed and touched his buzz cut. As the sun slowly set, she nodded and said okay.
Zheng Yuan's matter did not create much of a rift between the two, and he did not bother Jiang Wanqing for the next few days, as if he was really waiting for her reply.
After a few peaceful days, Jiang Wanqing thought things would stay quiet for at least a while, but things never go as planned.
Just as the last set of data was written down, there was a knock on the lab door, and Jiang Wanqing almost flinched.
"Wanqing, Teacher Guo is looking for you."
She looked up with focused eyes, and there stood Guo Xueyun at the door.
The air in the lab wasn't as fresh as outside, and she covered her nose as soon as she came in, looking quite disgusted.
"It's impressive that you can stay in a place like this for a whole day. People from the countryside are really good at enduring things, huh."
Her words were laced with sarcasm. Jiang Wanqing took off her lab coat, slowly forced her out, shook her hand, and closed the door.
"Unlike Professor Guo, who is covered in perfume, everyone says that the teachers at Huada University are pragmatic and diligent, preferring to spend ten minutes in class rather than a minute on irrelevant things. There are probably always a few exceptions."
Jiang Wanqing had no intention of offending the woman who was wearing perfume; she was merely refuting Guo Xueyun's words. Before the other woman could reply, she immediately added a sentence.
"Now that the weather is getting warmer, some people may want to cover up their body odor, which is also a kind of public morality."
As she spoke, she waved her hand in front of her nose, almost making Guo Xueyun's face contort with anger.
Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides. Strangely, she was quite patient today, showing no intention of making a move even after being provoked to this extent.
Jiang Wanqing was just about to call it quits and not bother with her anymore when suddenly she started sobbing, making a lot of noise but not actually crying.
"Why are you saying that about me? My perfume was a gift from Aunt Huo." She raised her eyes and blinked.
Just as Jiang Wanqing was wondering who Aunt Huo was, Cheng Ran's mother came out from around the corner, and Jiang Wanqing instantly realized that his mother's surname was Huo.
Perhaps Guo Xueyun's words had an effect, because Cheng's mother's expression turned a little unpleasant. However, only Jiang Wanqing had such keen intuition; someone else might not have noticed this subtle expression.
She nodded and smiled slightly as a greeting, but she didn't call out to anyone, since it wouldn't make sense to do so.
"Professor Xue isn't here. Won't you have any difficulties spending all your time in the lab by yourself?"
In this era, Cheng's mother would be considered a highly educated woman, so asking this question was not just out of concern, but more of a test.
"It's alright," Jiang Wanqing replied indifferently.
The atmosphere was tense, and no one knew what to say. Cheng's mother, wearing a cheongsam, took two small steps and walked up to Jiang Wanqing.
"I'm here today to take you back for dinner. You and Cheng Ran haven't had a family reunion dinner with us since you returned to Beijing. Since we have time today, it's a good opportunity to welcome you both back."
Cheng's mother's thoughts were hard to fathom, but she was still willing to maintain a respectable appearance.
Jiang Wanqing glanced at Guo Xueyun and smiled, "Does the reunion dinner include outsiders?"
"this……"
"Who are you calling an outsider!"
Unexpectedly, she was so direct and bold, wanting to exclude herself from the Cheng family. Guo Xueyun, who had been pretending to be nice just now, was blown away again.
"Oh, did I say you?"
"you……"
"If you're not happy about Xueyun coming to our house for dinner, then we won't bring her today. How does that sound?"
Listen to how understanding she is! Jiang Wanqing's smile remained unchanged. In her past life, she had to outwit and outmaneuver her wicked mother-in-law, and her forbearance ultimately led to her developing a host of illnesses. In this life, she wouldn't be so foolish.
Jiang Wanqing agreed, saying, "Okay."
Cheng's mother's eyelids twitched. Her experience with social etiquette told her that if she took a step back, the other party would definitely take a step back as well. Who would have thought that Jiang Wanqing would take a step forward instead.
"Okay... alright." She had no choice but to agree: "Then let's go. I'll have his dad call Cheng Ran."
"good."
As Cheng's mother walked out of the laboratory building, Guo Xueyun was caught in a dilemma: following or not following, she was caught in a bind.
Finally, she stomped her feet angrily on the spot, and her delicate little leather shoes were almost knocked off their heels.
"Jiang Wanqing! You shameless woman!"
The Cheng family had a car, but unlike Zheng Yuan who parked it openly at the main entrance, they had the driver wait at the side gate. After Jiang Wanqing got into the car, the curtain was drawn, and Cheng's mother was hidden in the dim light inside the car.
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