“Comrade Ji Lin, I think Xiaolan isn’t wrong. If someone’s ill, they should seek treatment promptly. If the Ji family isn’t familiar with this area, I can recommend a couple of hospitals!”
Guan Huie, who previously thought Xia Xiaolan’s argument too mild, now quietly watched how she would handle this. Arguments weren’t really about volume – they were about hitting sensitive spots, not cursing like a shrew but making points the other side couldn’t refute.
Guan Huie’s offer to recommend hospitals left Ji Lin speechless.
She used to be a doctor and now worked at the Ministry of Health. This wasn’t about throwing her weight around – she could genuinely recommend psychiatric hospitals for Ji Ya!
Ji Lin wanted to avoid conflict with Guan Huie. However aggressive Xia Xiaolan might be, she was just a young student, but Guan Huie was a battle-tested comrade who wasn’t easy to deal with.
“Student Xia, you and Jiangyuan are classmates – why push his mother this far? Even if my sister did something wrong, suggesting sending her to a psychiatric hospital is too much! Be merciful when you can. The Ji family can offer more than you might imagine… Student Xia, please reconsider.”
Ji Lin thought he was being sincere, but Xia Xiaolan still shook her head:
“A patient doesn’t need to apologize – I forgive her inability to control her behavior. But if her condition isn’t severe enough to require hospitalization, then I reject any other form of apology. I think Classmate Ji Jiangyuan would understand – we’re students of the new era, everything should be based on facts and reason, each matter dealt with separately, seeking truth from facts!”
Ji Lin’s compensation would just be some privileges or economic benefits, right?
Xia Xiaolan needed neither.
She just wanted an apology. Ji Ya’s second confrontation happened in front of other students who, unlike her lovely roommates, couldn’t unconditionally believe her. Xia Xiaolan had worked hard to live well at Huaqing – why should Ji Ya be allowed to destroy that?
Guan Huie supported her: “Comrade Ji Lin, is only your female comrade precious while others are worthless?”
Even when Zhou Cheng accidentally hit a woman without apologizing, Guan Huie thought her son lacked grace. The Zhou family had severely reprimanded him, only relenting after learning others had provoked him first. But wrongdoing always carried consequences – the Zhou family had suspended Zhou Cheng’s business dealings and delayed his next promotion as his “price.”
Why should Ji Ya’s wrongdoing be settled with meaningless words from others?
Guan Huie refused to indulge Ji Ya’s bad attitude – did eating foreign bread in America for a few years make her noble?
Xia Xiaolan and Guan Huie shared similar attitudes, leading to an unhappy parting with Ji Lin.
Watching Ji Lin leave, Xia Xiaolan didn’t regret refusing “compensation.”
Guan Huie thought Xia Xiaolan handled things well. She’d done two things right at today’s gathering: first, promptly telling her about the grudge with Xia Ziyu, without any awkward “keep family shame private” notions. Otherwise, when Xia Ziyu caused trouble, Guan Huie would have been caught off guard!
The second was rebuffing Ji Lin.
The Zhou family was ready to defend Xia Xiaolan – if she had easily forgiven Ji Ya, what was the point of Guan Huie’s anger?
“You did the right thing. Who needs compensation? What matters is an apology.”
Something so easily resolved in the department office – Ji Ya’s arrogance irritated Guan Huie too.
As Xia Xiaolan and Guan Huie had been circulating the venue, their unpleasant parting with Ji Lin didn’t attract attention.
In a corner, Tong’s mother pulled Tong Lili’s arm:
“Can’t you show some backbone?”
What was there to hide from seeing Guan Huie bring Zhou Cheng’s match to the gathering?
She had taken her daughter to the Zhou family, but if Guan Huie wouldn’t accept the match, what could she do?
Fortunately, neither family had made things explicit, and outsiders didn’t know. There was nothing wrong with properly greeting Guan Huie. But Tong Lili refused, remembering her words at the Beijing Hotel – proudly declaring she and Zhou Cheng were a proper match, saying the Zhou family would never accept a vixen like Xia Xiaolan.
Yet the Zhou family had accepted her!
Zhou Yi said Tong Lili was deluding herself.
Seeing it with her own eyes, Tong Lili couldn’t deny it anymore.
Not only had Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng stayed together, but they’d also gone public. Meanwhile, Tong Lili’s unrequited love for Zhou Cheng forced her to accept her family’s arrangement to meet Shao Guangrong. Though they already knew each other, this “matchmaking” was just families formally proposing “marriage.” Tong Lili felt Shao Guangrong couldn’t compare to Zhou Cheng and was too flirtatious – everyone knew about his many girlfriends!
Tong Lili reluctantly followed her family’s wishes to get to know Shao Guangrong, but that playboy wouldn’t play along. To reject her, he told her family some nonsense about wanting to continue studying.
“Don’t want to hold Lili back.”
That one sentence rejected Tong Lili.
Shao Guangrong’s rejection hit Tong Lili hard.
Meeting Xia Xiaolan again at this time made her cheeks burn with shame.
Wouldn’t Xia Xiaolan mock her? Tong Lili pulled her mother far away, avoiding Xia Xiaolan!
This face-slapping occurred without anyone noticing, including Xia Xiaolan herself.
With the Ji family matter unresolved but Guan Huie’s socializing goal achieved, it was time to return to the dormitory. Once Xia Xiaolan left, people like Xia Ziyu, Wang Jianhua, and Tong Lili could finally breathe easier.
If Xia Xiaolan had stayed longer, everyone’s faces would have kept stinging!
Xia Xiaolan returned close to 10 PM, learning that department teachers had looked for her. She’d have to wait until tomorrow to see them.
…
Far away in Fujian Province, Zhou Cheng and his fellow trainees, who had been lying low and waiting, finally received their action orders.
“You’ll be facing armed smugglers, mostly Hong Kong gang members and local coastal fishermen. Everyone involved in smuggling is a criminal, some are dangerous fugitives and wanted criminals. Our goal is to intercept smuggling vessels, stop illegal trades, and arrest the smugglers… All battle plans and personnel will be from this term’s academy trainees. Don’t betray the organization’s trust – this isn’t just an exercise but a mission where blood might be shed and injuries sustained. Everyone must take this extremely seriously!”
Zhou Cheng held his gun, listening to the academy commander’s briefing.
Due to his rich frontline combat experience, he was selected as deputy battalion commander for this operation.
While the commander coordinated from the center, Zhou Cheng would lead the actual coastal and nearshore combat team. Some trainees outranked him, and his leadership wasn’t universally accepted – Zhou Cheng needed this battle to prove his capability.
Fighting in coastal waters would be his first time.