Chapter 1193: Ideal Partner (2)

When she said that, for some reason, Qi Lei could actually hear a hint of sadness as if she was mocking herself.

He looked up at her, yet he realized that she had already turned away and continued to arrange the bookshelf before her. However, he also suddenly saw a trace of bleakness and loneliness.

"It's a good thing that the living can fight for some things. It's better than dead people. Many times, all the so-called not fighting for something is just a weakness. Humans are so insignificant, but we might not be that insignificant either."

Dongfang Liuyun paused. When she saw that Qi Lei did not say anything, she continued.

Qi Lei gripped the cup in his hand tighter after a moment. He hesitated for a long while, then smiled and said, "Are you discussing the philosophy of life with me right now?"

Upon hearing that, she stopped what she was doing and silently turned to him. Her beautiful eyes were as bright as the stars as a light of amusement gathered in them while she squinted at Qi Lei. "If you want to think of it that way, that's fine too. To me, you really do seem like a rebellious student sometimes."

"But I'm not your student!" A devillish smile appeared on Qi Lei's lips.

Dongfang Liuyun raised her brows. "If I had a student like you, I'd age quickly."

"Why don't I see you online as much these days?" Qi Lei nonchalantly lowered his head to sip his tea as he asked. He obviously did not express that without her online for the past few days, he did not see the point in playing himself.

"I left City Z for a few days. I had a friend who managed to get quite some gems over there, so I went over to take a look and only returned recently. I'm not so free like you. After all, I've got a business to run."

"Mr. Dongfang's heir, it's not a bad thing to just look around. Why do you have to work so hard as a woman? If you're so capable, men might not like it!" Qi Lei began to sound like an egoistic man now. He squinted at Dongfang Liuyun. You could see the fatigue in her eyes. In fact, her dark circles seemed quite obvious too. Even though she had put on simple makeup, you could still faintly see it.

Dongfang Liuyun smiled calmly, the corner of her lips curving up. "Weak men are usually afraid of their own women being too capable. If a man can't even like themselves, how are people going to like them? Sometimes, I really don't like men who earn more than I do."

"Why not?" Qi Lei was confused by Dongfang Liuyun's thought process now. He widened his eyes. "What woman wouldn't hope for their man to earn lots? What kind of thought process is this?"

"To conquer men through capabilities makes me feel more accomplished. Aren't you men like this too? You're always hoping that your women can help you step up in career. In politics, you hope that your women can help you have a meteoric rise in your career. In business, you hope your women can merge with you for strength. That's just reality."

As Dongfang Liuyun said this, her tone was calm and you could not hear anything from her voice. Qi Lei wanted to analyze something from her eyes, but he only caught plain bleakness.

"Aren't your Mr. Dongfang's heiress too?"

Qi Lei did not quite understand Dongfang Liuyun. It should be women with poor conditions that felt angry and indignant, but now...

The Dongfang family was considered in the upper echelon within City Z, and Mr. Dongfang and his wife were quite influential in City Z too. Even though he does not have much contact with them, Qi Lei knew that with Dongfang Liuyun's identity, she was a bright pearl in City Z although she merely had always been low-profile, so the outsiders rarely heard about her relationship with the Dongfang family.

"What's his is his. That's got nothing much to do with me. That's his glorious life. Even if I want to be an idle second generation, what difference would it be from rearing a pig?"

"Rearing a pig?" Qi Lei was shocked. He then cleared his throat and lowered his head to take a sip of tea. "We can still eat the pork when the pig's slaughtered, but for humans, I don't think..."

At this, he wanted to say more, but—

Ding ding—

At this moment, the beaded curtains could be heard again, so Qi Lei immediately stopped talking and turned to look. When he saw who walked in, he was taken aback.

"Mayor...Uncle Xi..."

That was right. The person who had walked in was Xi Mushan!

When Xi Mushan saw Qi Lei, he was clearly shocked too. He stopped walking and asked in surprise, "Qi Lei? What are you doing here?"

Xi Mushan came to visit Dongfang Liuyun personally today. Classes were about to start soon and Dongfang Liuyun had yet to agree to lecture at University A. She only agreed to be a visiting professor, so Xi Mushan had come over to talk to her.

Dongfang Liuyun turned around. When she saw Xi Mushan, she smiled politely. "Long time no see, Vice-Chancellor Xi!"

"Miss Dongfang, I've presumptuously come to bother you again," Xi Mushan smiled and said humbly.

"Have a seat. Chancellor Su has told me before, and I've been considering it these past few days," Dongfang Liuyun said as she swiftly handed Xi Mushan a cup of tea.

By now, Qi Lei could tell that this should be about Dongfang Liuyun lecturing at University A. He did know about that at least.

"We've earnestly considered the conditions from you, Miss Dongfang, and I think we can accept them, but we're just hoping that about applying to study your Ph.D., you could help us out. With your talents, I trust that we'll have a good chance of success," Xi Mushan said.

Dongfang Liuyun sat down casually and pondered for a moment. Then, she nodded and said, "Your university does have the capacity to integrate it, so I'm not too worried about that. I'll do my best."

"Have you decided to stay and teach at University A?" Qi Lei was thrilled.

Previously, Dongfang Liuyun seemed to be planning on going to the West with an inspection team. He had subconsciously been hoping that she would not have to go far. It was dangerous and she was a girl, so it was best for her to stay here.

"Mmm, I've been busy for quite a few years now. I think it's time to pause for a year or two," Dongfang Liuyun lowered her gaze and answered calmly.

"That would be really great. We really welcome you to our team."

"No worries, Vice-Chancellor Xi. Just call me Dongfang, or Liuyun works too." Dongfang Liuyun beamed gladly. "I know your daughter, Miss Xi, too. Earlier, Elder Mu even called me about this. You have all worked hard."

"It's not hard at all. As long as you're willing to come teach at University A, it's a great thing to celebrate."