Chapter 174: Unable to See the Situation Clearly, Unable to Recognize Oneself

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

A servant suddenly came to report that Lin’s father had arrived.

Xiao Yutian’s expression changed instantly, and he sternly ordered, “There’s no need for me to see him. Tell him I won’t meet him.”

The servant was about to leave when Xiao Yan’s phone call came through directly to Xiao Yutian.

“Father, Sister Xue was injured. Lin Zhiwei helped me bring her back. He heard that Youyou is here, so he came specifically to take Youyou home.”

“Ha! Home? What home?” Xiao Yutian sneered, his anger rising. “This is Youyou’s home.”

“Let him come up. I’ll talk to him myself…”

After hanging up, Xiao Yutian became even more enraged and started coughing uncontrollably.

Ji Mo Sheng helped him sit down. “It’s been so many years, Youyou is already married. Why do you still hold onto this?”

“Hold onto this?” Xiao Yutian roared in anger. “I, Xiao Yutian, cannot accept such a low-class person as my son-in-law.”

Low-class?

Xiao Yutian had said this twice now, causing Ji Mo Sheng to frown slightly.

“How is he low-class? Isn’t that just your prejudice?” Ji Mo Sheng asked directly.

“Prejudice? What prejudice do I have?”

Xiao Yutian said angrily, “When I found out that Xiao Ya was dating him, I had someone investigate him.”

“At the time, the results showed that he had always been an outstanding student. From elementary to high school, he was always the top of his class.”

“I even thought then that although his family background was poor, his personal excellence made up for it, and I could barely accept him.”

“But when I investigated further, I discovered that despite being such an excellent student, he never graduated from university.”

“He didn’t graduate from university? How could that be?” Ji Mo Sheng suddenly became interested.

A student with such top grades, yet he didn’t graduate?

What happened to Lin Zhiwei in university?

“He was even on track for a guaranteed master’s degree. But in the end, he didn’t even get a diploma.”

Xiao Yutian looked at Ji Mo Sheng and asked, “Do you know why?”

“How would I know?” Ji Mo Sheng sat back down, clearly curious. “I’m waiting for you to enlighten me!”

“He had a very famous professor as his mentor. But he offended that professor, and as a result, he couldn’t graduate.”

“How did he offend him?” Ji Mo Sheng’s curiosity grew.

“I heard that the professor took on external projects, but it was actually Lin Zhiwei who wrote the research papers. When it came time to divide the profits, they couldn’t agree, so he flipped the table in anger…”

Xiao Yutian sneered. “So the professor took revenge on him and made sure he couldn’t graduate.”

Ji Mo Sheng frowned upon hearing this but still said, “Men, especially young ones, tend to be impulsive. If he did all the work but didn’t get the reward he deserved, it’s understandable that he lost his temper.”

“That may be true, but the price he paid for his impulsiveness was too great…”

“He studied architecture, which is an expensive field. Do you know how many meals his father had to cook and sell to afford his tuition? And yet, for the sake of his pride, all those years of studying went to waste.”

“What’s the use of having good grades? What’s the use of studying for over a decade? In the end, he couldn’t even get a diploma and had to go home to take over his father’s small restaurant.”

“His father was heartbroken, fell ill, and soon passed away.”

“And yet, he still doesn’t believe he did anything wrong…”

“Could there be more to the story that you don’t know?”

“Absolutely not. I investigated this thoroughly. Honestly, it wasn’t even that big of a deal.”

Xiao Yutian said, “It was just one of the many ‘unspoken rules’ of universities.”

“Unspoken rules? What kind?” Ji Mo Sheng, being from Country E, wasn’t familiar with the concept.

“It’s when a professor takes on projects, and the students do the work for them. The professor gets the credit and most of the money. It’s unfair, but it’s how things work in every university.”

“He was just a powerless student with no connections. Did he really think he could overturn such ‘rules’ just because he was angry? Of course, they destroyed him.”

“A person like him—unable to see the bigger picture and unable to recognize his own position—will never achieve great things…”

“But he was a victim too,” Ji Mo Sheng said. “Which man wouldn’t have some pride? He was outstanding from a young age, of course, he had a sense of dignity…”

“But that same dignity got him expelled, left him without a diploma, made it impossible for him to find a good job, and even caused his father’s death…”

“So he’s a victim,” Ji Mo Sheng stated bluntly. “He’s already suffered enough. Why are you still so relentless?”

“Relentless? I just hate wasted potential…” Xiao Yutian sighed. “After I found all this out, because Xiao Ya insisted on being with him, I recommended him to the best architecture firm in the country.”

“But not long after, he was accused of plagiarism and got blacklisted by the entire industry…”

Xiao Yutian was furious. “Do you know how humiliating it was when people called me about it?”

“I, Xiao Yutian, have never been so embarrassed in my life…”

“Wasn’t that plagiarism scandal your doing?” Lin Qingyou suddenly pushed the door open.

She had come after hearing that her father had arrived.

She was worried that Xiao Yutian would be harsh on her father again, so she wanted to speak to him first. But instead, she overheard his conversation with her mentor.

“Me? What did I do?” Xiao Yutian said. “Would framing him for plagiarism make me look any better? Do you think having a blacklisted architect as my son-in-law makes me proud?”

“…” Lin Qingyou was speechless. “Then what actually happened? I don’t believe my father would plagiarize…”

“He didn’t plagiarize…” Xiao Yutian admitted.

Lin Qingyou felt relieved, but then heard Xiao Yutian say, “But what he did was even worse than plagiarism.”

“Why?”

If he didn’t plagiarize, how could it be worse?

“He was falsely accused, but instead of defending himself, he just wallowed in self-pity, convinced that I was behind it all… So he just packed up and left.”

“You really had nothing to do with it?” Lin Qingyou eyed Xiao Yutian suspiciously.

Ji Mo Sheng pulled Lin Qingyou aside. “Youyou, don’t speak to your grandfather like that. If he says he wasn’t involved, then he wasn’t.”

After all, Xiao Yutian had always been a proud man.

“He didn’t have a degree from a top university, yet he got into the best architecture firm. Of course, the elite graduates weren’t happy about it… So they worked together to destroy him.”

“So that was your goal all along,” Lin Qingyou stared at Xiao Yutian.

“And what if it was?” Xiao Yutian said. “If he had real talent, I gave him the best platform. He should have used it to prove himself.”

“But instead, he couldn’t handle the hostility and scrutiny. He thought too highly of himself.”

“What did he have to be so proud of? Those other architects weren’t wrong to resent him. He was only there because of my recommendation, a parachuted hire…”

“What did he have to be proud of? In the end, he’s just a loser who couldn’t even get a university diploma!”