The Department Head sensed something wasn’t quite right.
Ji Ya’s words were inappropriate. Whether Ji Jiang Yuan wanted to return to America was his own business, an internal matter for the Ji family. How could they harass others just because they couldn’t convince Ji Jiang Yuan?
The Department Head’s brow creased imperceptibly – having the school handle such matters was a waste of educational resources!
“Sister Ji- ahem, Comrade Ji, have you asked Ji Jiang Yuan’s opinion on this? It’s not right to approach Student Xia Lan without any basis, is it?”
If young people were dating, and Ji Jiang Yuan didn’t want to return to America, their parents should work on convincing Ji Jiang Yuan – what use was there in confronting Xia Xiao Lan? The Department Head was surprised; in their minds, Ji Ya had always seemed above worldly concerns. After living abroad for so many years, she should have been more open-minded. Who would have thought that when it came to matters involving her son, Ji Ya would be just like any other middle-aged woman, equally unreasonable?
Ah, had he just described Sister Ji as a “middle-aged woman” in his mind?
The Department Head couldn’t bear this stark change in Ji Ya’s image; it pained him deeply.
Ji Ya let out a cold snort, refusing to answer the question.
The Department Head was getting a headache. For Professor Ji’s sake, he wanted to help Sister Ji when possible, but she needed to be reasonable – this was just making trouble! He could only turn to Guan Hui E:
“Comrade Guan, this incident indeed reveals shortcomings in our work. We haven’t paid enough attention to our students’ lives, including Student Xia Xiao Lan! We will strengthen this aspect going forward. We’ll protect every student at Hua Qing… This won’t happen again. We’ll speak with Student Ji Jiang Yuan.”
If Ji Ya wouldn’t be reasonable, surely Ji Jiang Yuan would be?
When children are young, parents guide their behavior because children don’t understand right from wrong.
When children grow up and parents age, parents might become confused – why else would we have the saying “senile old folks”? That’s when children need to guide their parents’ behavior.
When the Department Head mentioned speaking with Ji Jiang Yuan, Ji Ya objected.
“This has nothing to do with my son. Whether I tell Xia Xiao Lan to stay away from him or offer to send them abroad together, it’s all with good intentions!”
The Department Head couldn’t understand this and advised earnestly:
“Sister Ji, children grow up and need to be let go. Regardless of your intentions, your behavior is troubling Xia Xiao Lan, and I’m sure your son Ji Jiang Yuan wouldn’t want to see this either. If you won’t apologize to Student Xia Xiao Lan, I’ll have to speak with Ji Jiang Yuan. You must promise not to come to Hua Qing again to trouble Xia Xiao Lan over these groundless matters!”
About returning to America – well, they hadn’t left yet, had they?
Surely American universities would also look at Ji Jiang Yuan’s records.
The Department Head felt he’d completely lost face today. Why had he blurted out “Sister Ji” earlier? If he hadn’t taken a firm stance now, with Guan Hui E and Xia Xiao Lan watching, they would surely think he wasn’t handling this impartially.
The Department Head’s attempts at mediation were really out of respect for Professor Ji.
But his compromising attitude only angered Guan Hui E. She could see that the school had no real control over Ji Ya’s behavior; no matter what the department leadership said, Ji Ya remained unmoved.
Well, the school wasn’t the police. Ji Ya’s behavior was disgusting but not a violent crime. If Ji Ya didn’t cooperate, the school couldn’t do anything about it. They couldn’t possibly punish Ji Jiang Yuan for his mother’s inappropriate behavior, could they?
They could only talk to Ji Jiang Yuan, hoping he would handle his family members.
It wasn’t that Guan Hui E looked down on people, but even without meeting Ji Jiang Yuan, she knew the young man definitely couldn’t handle this – otherwise, Ji Ya wouldn’t have approached Xia Xiao Lan twice. In terms of determination, he was far inferior to her son Zhou Cheng. When Zhou Cheng brought Xia Xiao Lan home, she firmly opposed it but couldn’t overcome Zhou Cheng’s persistence.
Guan Hui E’s feelings were complex. Zhou Cheng was about the same age as these university students, and while having determination was good, using it against his mother showed how a son forgets his mother once he has a wife. But to manage internal affairs, one must first secure external threats. Now they needed to drive away the Ji family; she could deal with Xia Xiao Lan and Zhou Cheng’s matter behind closed doors!
“Forget it, I can see you can’t handle her. Let me be clear: if this Ji woman dares to bully Xiao Lan again, for every move she makes, I’ll counter with something worse! The Ji family may have students and disciples everywhere in education circles, and if no one can stop the Ji family from making trouble and bringing shame to themselves, then I’ll handle it!”
Guan Hui E didn’t want to waste words with Ji Ya. With Ji Ya’s way of handling things and her attitude, she would eventually alienate everyone associated with the Ji family!
Of course, Ji Ya probably didn’t care. She lived abroad and even talked about taking Xia Xiao Lan overseas – surely life abroad must be good… Huh, finding China uncomfortable? Well, Guan Hui E would be stubborn about this; she’d make sure Ji Ya stayed put in China. Look at Ji Ya’s delicate appearance – at her age, still acting as fragile as a young girl.
Was this how a mother should act?
All that affected capitalist behavior!
“Xiao Lan, come with me. There must be somewhere in this world where reason prevails.”
If Ji Ya wouldn’t be reasonable, fine! Guan Hui E wasn’t afraid of unreasonable people. If the Zhou family did something, it wouldn’t count as bullying the Ji family, right? Professor Ji was the Ji family’s protective talisman – as long as the Ji family lived and worked honestly, this talisman would protect them for many years.
Now Ji Ya was tarnishing Professor Ji’s reputation herself, and Guan Hui E would make sure she succeeded!
“Ah, Comrade Guan, Comrade Guan…”
The Department Head called out several times, but Xia Xiao Lan, firmly led away by Guan Hui E, could only give him a helpless look regarding his anxiety.
Watching Guan Hui E and Xia Xiao Lan disappear down the hallway, the Department Head finally sighed to Ji Ya:
“Sister Ji, you used to be such a clever person. Why are you so stubborn when it comes to your son? We could have resolved this amicably – why make it so contentious?”
Student Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t a pushover either.
Though the school didn’t encourage student relationships, Xia Xiao Lan had one and was open about it. She was from Yunan Province, wasn’t she? Her parents couldn’t come to stand up for her, but was this woman today her future mother-in-law?
Ji Ya refused to admit her mistakes and remained stubborn, while Student Xia Xiao Lan’s future in-laws weren’t pushovers either. The Department Head was worried; for Professor Ji’s sake, he certainly didn’t want the Ji family to get into trouble – but he couldn’t control Ji Ya! The Department Head felt exhausted. Since his advice to Ji Ya was useless, he decided to dig out Elder Brother Ji’s phone number later – this matter needed to be brought to the attention of other Ji family members.
George held Ji Ya tightly:
“Darling, what did she just say? Don’t be afraid, this is China – they give preferential treatment to Americans. I’ll do my best to help you and Jiang Yuan return to America!”
The Department Head secretly rolled his eyes. Americans were truly too open – this was a school office, yet they were hugging right in front of him, acting as if he didn’t exist, as if he couldn’t understand English.
Yes, foreigners did receive preferential treatment.
That was when comparing ordinary citizens to foreign guests.
But it depended on the foreigner’s status – were they bringing money to China? Providing technical assistance? Coming for diplomatic friendship? If none of these… then they were just foreigners, not distinguished foreign guests!