In 1999, 29-year-old chemist Li Xiaoyi was invited to give a lecture and exchange ideas with students at a second-tier university in Beijing.
After Li Xiaon finished answering a student's question, the host asked loudly, "Excuse me, does anyone else have a question for Dr. Li?"
Li Xiao sat upright on the single sofa, pushing up her silver-rimmed glasses. She had started wearing glasses after receiving her doctorate due to excessive eye strain.
At 29, her face shows no signs of aging; her skin is fair and delicate, her features are beautiful, and she exudes elegance and sophistication, radiating charm.
“I have it.” A woman in her thirties, wearing a floral dress, with a side braid, and slightly dark skin, stood up and raised her hand.
Li Xiao's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. She felt that this woman looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen her before.
The host had someone hand the microphone to the other person, and after the other person received the microphone, the host looked at the other person and asked, "Excuse me, are you a faculty or staff member of our school?"
Holding the microphone, the other person said with great pride, "I am not a faculty or staff member of the school, but I am the wife of Yu Jingming, a faculty or staff member of our university. My name is Zhao Siyu."
Yu Jingming, Zhao Siyu?
Li Xiao smiled, surprised to run into an acquaintance at this school.
The students in the auditorium were all in an uproar when they heard Zhao Siyu's name.
This name was very well-known to them; everyone knew Zhao Siyu, the wife of Professor Yu from the History Department.
She was like a terrifying legend at school, always watching Teacher Yu. Whenever any female student got even slightly close to Teacher Yu or asked her a question, Zhao Siyu would suddenly appear and warn the female student not to even think about seducing her husband.
A female student in the history department was falsely accused of seducing a teacher and almost had to drop out of school.
Now, all the female students in the school avoid Mr. Yu and try not to take his classes if they can avoid it.
Yu Jingming, who was sitting in the third row, was watching Li Xiaoyi. After hearing Zhao Siyu's words, he glared angrily at Zhao Siyu. What was this crazy woman up to now?
Thirty-year-old Yu Jingming has a fuller face and a more chubby figure. His glasses prescription is stronger, but he's also balder and his face is oily. He's no longer the handsome school heartthrob he was more than ten years ago.
He both hated and feared his wife, Zhao Siyu. He hated her for ruining his life, and he feared that she might go crazy at any moment and embarrass him.
His marriage to Zhao Siyu was a conspiracy. On the eve of the college entrance examination, Zhao Siyu ran away from her hometown and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was home, got him drunk and had sex with him.
Then they pressured him to take responsibility, otherwise they would report him to the police for rape and prevent him from getting into university.
At that time, the country had begun a crackdown, and rape was considered a crime of hooliganism, which was punishable by being forced to eat rice.
Having no other choice, he had to sign a guarantee to marry Zhao Siyu.
When he took the college entrance exam, Zhao Siyu went directly to the school with him, ostensibly to take care of him, but in reality, she was keeping an eye on him, controlling him, and preventing him from having contact with other women.
After graduating from university, he stayed on to work at the university and married Zhao Siyu. They had a son after marriage, but Zhao Siyu did not reduce her control over him and wished she could follow him 24 hours a day.
Whether it's female classmates or female colleagues, they all avoid him, making him feel particularly embarrassed in the school.
“Speaking of which, Dr. Li and I were high school classmates. I wonder if Dr. Li still remembers me?” Zhao Siyu asked, looking at Li Xiaoyi.
Li Xiao adjusted her glasses and said with a smile, "Of course I remember. I could forget anyone but you. After all, you and your clique bullied me for so long back in school."
Zhao Siyu's lips twitched. She hadn't expected Li Xiao to be so direct about how he had bullied her back then.
Everyone looked at Zhao Siyu with strange eyes, never expecting that she was someone who bullied classmates by forming cliques when she was in school.
Considering her warning to female students who were close to the teacher, bullying classmates does seem like something she's capable of doing.
"Dr. Li, you really love to joke. You're the Commander's granddaughter, who would dare bully you at school?" Zhao Siyu said with a forced smile.
Li Xiao is very successful now, but who knows if her success is due to her commander grandfather?
Li Xiao said, "You, I never joke. After all, I wasn't your classmate from the beginning, nor was I the commander's granddaughter."
Zhao Siyu: "..."
"Dr. Li, I know you are very mature now, but I want to ask you something: as a woman, you are almost thirty years old, but you are not married or have children. Don't you think this is a failure for you as a woman?"
“I didn’t go to university, but my husband married me right after he graduated, and our son is already in elementary school. I feel incredibly happy and content with my life right now,” Zhao Siyu proudly boasted.
The others looked at her as if she were an idiot. Did she know how much Dr. Li had accomplished at such a young age and how much he had contributed to the country and society?
They actually said that Dr. Li's age and lack of marriage is a failure as a woman.
The school leaders also looked at Yu Jingming with dark faces, wondering if he could stop letting his wife embarrass him.
Li Xiao smiled and, holding the microphone, said, "Everyone has a different definition of success or failure because people's pursuits are different. Your pursuit is marriage and children, so you define marriage and children as your goal."
“But I’m different from you. Our pursuits are very different. I don’t think that being almost thirty and still not married is a failure for a woman.”
"Personally, I believe that a woman's value is not limited to marriage and children. There are many other things a woman can do. She can contribute to national development and social progress. For me, at this stage, there are more important and meaningful things to do than marriage and children."
"Therefore, I don't think that my not being married or having children is a failure as a woman. On the contrary, I think it's a success as a woman."
"Because I don't need to prove my worth as a woman through marriage and children."
"Clap clap clap..."
As soon as Li Xiaoyi finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Zhao Siyu wanted to say something more, but the microphone was snatched away by the student next to her who was handing her the microphone.
Xue glared at her and handed her the microphone, saying it was a complete waste of a question.
Does she know about Dr. Li's international achievements?
How dare she shamelessly say that Dr. Li's lack of marriage and children is a failure as a woman?
A woman like her, who only knows how to stare at men all day and mistakes ignorance for confidence, is the real failure and a disgrace to women!
After the speech and exchange, the school leaders escorted Li Xiaon away from the school, and Yu Jingming followed behind. He really wanted to talk to Li Xiaon, but he couldn't find an opportunity.
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