Lin Zhilan ignored them and turned to speak to her beloved nephew: “From now on, if Wen Miao keeps harassing you, just call the police directly, understand?”
With his aunt here, Jiang Chengzhou felt like he had found a supporter, and he just nodded along eagerly.
Lin Zhilan then looked at Jiang Jinzhu. “Uncle Jiang, Chengzhou was raised by me and Su Lang. Please don’t try to play matchmaker for him anymore. From now on, if Su Lang and I don’t agree to any marriage for him, he won’t be getting married at all.”
Jiang Chengzhou turned his head away and smirked.
His aunt would never actually interfere in his marriage—this was just pressure aimed at his grandfather.
Jiang Jinzhu immediately looked at his eldest grandson, and seeing that he had no objection whatsoever, he could only stammer, “Alright, alright, I promise I won’t interfere again.”
The first attempt had brought a Wen Miao into things, and Jiang Jinzhu was thoroughly shaken this time.
Lin Zhilan rose to her feet, ready to take Jiang Chengzhou and leave.
No one dared to stop them this time.
When Lin Zhilan reached the door, she turned back and added one more reminder: “If any of you in this family have a clear head, take her to a hospital as soon as possible. Whether Wen Miao ends up a criminal or a patient—the choice is yours.”
Jiang Chengzhou walked ahead to open the door for her, and asked quietly, “Aunt, can this illness be cured?”
“It can be, but it takes time. She needs to keep taking herbal decoctions to clear fire and resolve phlegm, plus rest her mind for a few months. The symptoms will gradually fade. But if she keeps indulging in this delusion, her condition will only worsen.”
Lin Zhilan took two steps out, then came back, looking at Wen Miao, who was still in a daze. “Wen Miao, do you know what Jiang Chengzhou’s college entrance exam score was?”
Wen Miao stared blankly at her.
“Out of a full score of five hundred, he scored four hundred and forty-six.”
There were more than six million candidates that year, and those who scored above four hundred were few and far between.
Four hundred and forty-six points—among the top handful in the province. It really was an excellent score.
But no one could understand why Lin Zhilan had suddenly brought this up.
Lin Zhilan curled the corners of her mouth and continued: “I said before that you are not worthy of Chengzhou. If you want to prove something, first go get four hundred forty-six points and show me.”
With that, she swept away, taking Jiang Chengzhou with her.
She walked quickly, and Jiang Chengzhou chased after her, mumbling: “Aunt, why did you tell her about my score?”
Lin Zhilan shot him a glance. “To give her something to do. She’s young, but her head is filled with nothing but love and romance—such a waste of time.”
Peach-blossom madness, also known as erotomania, was what Lin Zhilan figured this was. She figured Wen Miao was also likely having her first episode, not yet at the point of full-blown mania. With subsequent treatment to soothe the liver and nourish kidney yin, she would gradually recover.
The Wen family were all a bunch of muddled people, and Lin Zhilan had no idea whether they would send Wen Miao to the hospital.
If Wen Miao kept letting her thoughts run wild and it truly reached the category of mental illness, Jiang Chengzhou would have much more trouble on his hands.
Better to give her something to occupy her mind and divert her attention.
Four hundred and forty-six points was no easy feat. If Wen Miao actually focused on her studies, she wouldn’t have free time to obsess over Jiang Chengzhou.
Jiang Chengzhou was still shaken. “Aunt, what if she actually gets four hundred forty-six points?”
“Then what?” Lin Zhilan gave a sly smile. “She says thank you to me, of course.”
If a little goading could spark a four hundred forty-six score, the whole Wen family would be setting off firecrackers in gratitude to her.
As for Jiang Chengzhou, Lin Zhilan had never made any promise to Wen Miao.
Jiang Chengzhou finally saw through it, but by the time he reacted, Lin Zhilan was already far down the road.
He quickly caught up. “Aunt, why are you walking so fast?”
“Ouch,” Lin Zhilan stopped and reached out to pinch his arm. “You little brat—your aunt is starving to death!”
She hadn’t eaten well on the train, and she hadn’t had so much as a sip of water after getting off. The ungrateful brat was asking why she was walking so fast—she was absolutely furious.
Jiang Chengzhou grinned and pretended it hurt, dancing around her. “I’m sorry, I’ll take you out to eat.”
“Fine!” Lin Zhilan let him off, knowing he had plenty of money on him.
They spent a few days in the capital—climbing the Great Wall, visiting Fragrant Hills, and touring each of the children’s schools.
Once they were all settled in, it was time for Lin Zhilan to return to the island.
With the new term beginning, she had plenty to take care of.
As for Wen Miao, Su Bingcheng had gone to find out what happened.
She hadn’t been seen in recent days because Wen Miao’s grandfather pulled some strings to transfer Wen’s father and mother to a neighboring city—and took Wen Miao along as well.
It seemed they had taken Lin Zhilan’s mention of “peach-blossom madness” seriously.
They were sending Wen Miao away to lie low and get her treated, so that she might still find a good match in the future.
All those matters were settled, but now Lin Zhilan’s own “little lovesick one” had become a major problem.
Lin Zhilan was preparing to start the school term, and the island’s middle school also needed to open. Zhuang Yi was a teacher there and had originally planned to return with her.
Yet this time, Zhuang Yi had decided he wasn’t going back.
Zhuang Nuo was raised by Commissar Zhuang and his wife, and the elderly couple could hardly bear to part with their little granddaughter.
On top of that, changes in education policy meant many schools were short of teachers.
Zhuang Yi had no trouble transferring to the capital, and Meng Lan would later work to be transferred as well.
But that meant Su Li and Nuonuo would have to be separated.
When he learned Nuonuo wasn’t returning to the island, Su Li grabbed Lin Zhilan and insisted on going to the Zhuang household, determined to bring Zhuang Nuo back.
The two little ones had met in kindergarten.
Zhuang Nuo had been raised by her grandparents during her early years; her parents had been strikingly absent from her life, and she wasn’t particularly close to Zhuang Yi or Meng Lan.
In kindergarten, some bratty kid snatched the candy Zhuang Nuo had brought to school and threatened her not to tell the teacher.
Zhuang Nuo was too young and too frightened to speak up.
Especially since her grandparents had moved back to the capital and she barely knew her parents, she was even less bold about reporting anything.
This went on for some time.
Until Su Li noticed.
Su Li was, in fact, a boy with a strong sense of justice. He stood up for Zhuang Nuo and even fought with that bratty kid.
The brat couldn’t beat Su Li in a fight, so he started teasing that Su Li had a crush on Zhuang Nuo.
Very young children carry a kind of innocent cruelty; they have no idea how much weight their words carry.
Facing the same situation, most kids would, to dodge the teasing, deliberately distance themselves from Zhuang Nuo, or even take it further by joining in to ostracize her—all just to prove their own “innocence.”
That was a form of bullying.
Thankfully, Su Li was never a child who followed the expected script.
He planted his hands on his hips, stood in front of Zhuang Nuo, and shot back at the kid: “So what if I like Zhuang Nuo? From now on, she’s under my protection. If any of you dare mess with her again, I’ll beat you up.”
Su Li was the strongest kid in the class.
Those bratty kids were cowed by Su Li’s fierce demeanor, and with their mouths pursed, they didn’t dare say another word.
From that day on, Zhuang Nuo became Su Li’s little shadow.
And the other kids started teasing again, saying that Zhuang Nuo had a crush on Su Li.
