Wen Miao fell silent.
If they wanted to call her parents, let them call her parents. Anyway, her parents were on her side, and would help her bring Jiang Chengzhou down.
Lin Zhilan found a chair and sat down. "Director, calling just Wen Miao's parents won't be enough. She just told me that her grandfather and Chengzhou's grandfather were comrades-in-arms. Why don't we bring both old men over as well?"
Only then did Wen Miao feel afraid.
Her parents doted on her and spoiled her, but her grandfather was different. Because her parents had never amounted to much, her grandfather didn't like her either. And he cared deeply about face, so he certainly wouldn't side with her.
"My grandfather is old and it's inconvenient for him to come. There's no need to call him over, is there?"
Lin Zhilan ignored her, fixing Director Zhang with a firm gaze.
Director Zhang sighed. "I'll go make the calls."
The office was left with only Lin Zhilan, Jiang Chengzhou, and Wen Miao.
It was then that Lin Zhilan realized she had raised her nephew to be too pure-hearted, with too thin a skin.
She didn't care that Wen Miao was present, and had Jiang Chengzhou sit down beside her. "Today your aunt is going to teach you a trick. As long as you're in the right, and you can't resolve it, then the bigger the scene you create, the better."
Jiang Chengzhou glanced at Wen Miao and said quietly, "I just feel that she's a girl, and I don't want to embarrass her too much. But she really has gone too far."
Lin Zhilan smiled. "I know that's kindness on your part, but Wen Miao doesn't seem to appreciate it."
Wen Miao pricked up her ears, listening to the exchange, and snorted coldly.
Lin Zhilan continued, "So now it's you who's in the difficult position, not Wen Miao, because she holds no goodwill toward you."
Wen Miao immediately wanted to retort.
But Lin Zhilan didn't pay her any attention, saying calmly, "Let me ask you: have you ever firmly rejected Wen Miao? Have you given her any response or signal that allowed her to keep hoping?"
Jiang Chengzhou raised his hand. "I swear, I've always been completely firm. I've never given her any signal."
"Then that's it," Lin Zhilan said, lowering his hand. "You've already done well in this matter. Now your firmness still can't make Wen Miao stop her crazed behavior—so what should you do next?"
Jiang Chengzhou tested the waters. "Call the parents?"
Lin Zhilan let out a snort of laughter. "Calling the parents still isn't enough. Comrade Wen Miao doesn't look like the type to give up so easily."
Jiang Chengzhou leaned back in his chair. "Then I'll just avoid her. If I can't afford to fight, I can afford to hide."
"Nonsense!" Lin Zhilan said bluntly. "Did you forget what I just said? Then blow this thing up. Whether you report to the parents or call the police, make it as big as possible."
Wen Miao could barely contain herself.
Jiang Chengzhou voiced her thoughts the very next second. "Is it to make Wen Miao lose face?"
"Wrong," Lin Zhilan said. "Although the process will embarrass Wen Miao, that's the result of choices she made herself. I want you to blow this up so everyone takes your stance seriously. Don't be vague about things like this—whether it's other matters, or especially matters of romance."
Jiang Chengzhou had been rejecting her all along, but Wen Miao had never taken it seriously.
Everyone else was just watching the show, unconsciously and without meaning to, defining the relationship between the two.
They only saw it as a lover's game. The longer Wen Miao persisted, the more they felt her feelings were deep and not to be betrayed—completely ignoring Jiang Chengzhou's own will in the matter.
Lin Zhilan had once been pursued in exactly the same way.
Relentless pestering, unyielding pursuit. Everyone around her—all her colleagues, all her friends—knew the man existed, and assumed that one day Lin Zhilan would end up with him. No matter how she rejected him or explained the situation, it was all to no avail.
Now this was happening to Jiang Chengzhou, a boy. But when it had happened to Lin Zhilan, explaining herself as a woman had been even harder.
It was as if whether she liked the man or not no longer mattered. Everyone said: "He's such a good catch, and he likes you this much—why won't you say yes? Miss this chance and it's gone."
Everyone said she was ungrateful, that she shouldn't pass up this so-called "good man."
The pressure of public opinion pushed her forward, and then Lin Zhilan exploded.
She directly called the police and reported that the man was harassing her.
The police investigated and found that the man had indeed been frequently coming and going near her apartment and the hospital, constantly changing numbers to send her messages, often sending her gifts—though Lin Zhilan had thrown them all away.
The police initially tried to mediate, but Lin Zhilan didn't accept, and the man was detained for five days.
Lin Zhilan immediately became known as a "thorny flower" at the hospital. Quite a few people still thought she was too cruel.
But later, when the man got out of detention and spread rumors about her everywhere, Lin Zhilan used the same tactic and called the police again.
This time, no one called the man a good catch anymore.
Only then did the whole thing die down.
Lin Zhilan had seen how the grip of public opinion could push a person to an extreme.
People say, "A virtuous woman fears a persistent suitor." Lin Zhilan knew how many so-called "virtuous women" had simply given in because they had no other choice.
Wen Miao's face turned white as she listened.
"Auntie," she bit her lip and said. "I... I like Jiang Chengzhou. Why can't you give me a chance?"
Wen Miao finally put aside her pride and openly admitted she liked Jiang Chengzhou.
How could she not like him?
The first time she saw Jiang Chengzhou was at Jiang Jinzhu's house.
At that time, Jiang Chengzhou was wearing a simple white shirt, his sharp brows relaxed, his eyes holding a young man's clarity and defiance. His manner was casual and unrestrained. He only nodded slightly at her, then turned to talk to his younger siblings—so different from all the boys in the compound.
The moment Wen Miao saw him, she wanted to conquer him.
She wanted Jiang Chengzhou, like the other boys who liked her, to grovel at her feet.
The more he rejected her, the more obsessed she became, as if under a spell.
Lin Zhilan frowned. "Wen Miao, Jiang Chengzhou has rejected you time and time again. Today his stance toward you is completely clear. It's not wrong to like someone, but now you're causing trouble for someone else. In other words, is it Jiang Chengzhou's fault that he doesn't like you?"
Wen Miao was about to say something more when Director Zhang walked in with people.
Jiang Jinzhu walked toward Lin Zhilan. "Zhilan..."
"Uncle Jiang," Lin Zhilan interrupted him coolly. "Please sit down and be a witness."
Jiang Jinzhu, lost for words, sat off to the side.
Director Zhang noticed that Jiang Jinzhu seemed a little afraid of Lin Zhilan, despite being her elder, and scratched his head in confusion.
Wen Miao's parents and grandfather arrived.
Wen Miao's parents smiled and greeted Lin Zhilan. "You're Chengzhou's aunt by marriage? We've heard your name for a long time. This is our first time meeting you—we didn't expect you to be so young."
Lin Zhilan nodded and got straight to the point. "I've called you all here today to talk about Wen Miao."
