Shan Lian cried for a long time in her room. Her aunt comforted her until she stopped crying, but she still looked listless.
"Alright, with your grandfather here, why are you worried about being wronged?" Her aunt gently nudged her shoulder. "Go change your clothes, wash your face, it's time for dinner."
"Aunt, I don't want to eat." Shan Lian had no appetite at all.
"We have your favorite duck feet and duck tongues."
"I really don't want to eat."
Seeing that Shan Lian really had no appetite, her aunt patted her head and said, "Okay, then you can rest well in your room. I'll keep the food warm on the stove for you. Remember to get up and eat if you get hungry in the middle of the night."
"Thank you, aunt."
My aunt smiled and went out the door.
As soon as the door closed, her expression changed, showing annoyance and impatience.
If it weren't for Shan Shengshuo spoiling Shan Lian, she wouldn't be willing to take care of such a willful and immature niece!
Not only did she monopolize all of the Shan family's resources, but even her daughter was disliked by the old man because of Shan Lian.
Honestly, Guo Zhen should hurry up and take this troublemaker away, so she won't have to go through the trouble of trying to please her!
Dan Lian had no idea of her aunt's good intentions.
Her bed was a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), which was very warm and cozy to lie on.
Shan Lian was sad, and even though her aunt comforted her, she wasn't much happier. She got up and took a pocket watch out of her jewelry box.
The brass watch case, once opened, reveals a watch still running inside, and on the other side, an oval photograph.
The black and white photo shows a gentle, smiling woman holding an infant.
This is also the only photo of Shan Lian and her mother, Shan Zixin.
Her thumb traced the small photograph, tears welling in her eyes again. She placed the pocket watch against her chest, her voice choked with emotion, "Mom..."
Since the documents hadn't been approved yet, Jiang Ci wasn't very busy. Her job was simply to complete all the tasks before the holiday, as arranged by the company.
Although she works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she hasn't missed a single piece of gossip.
She went to work the next day but didn't see Shan Lian.
According to the personnel department, the reason given was that Shan Lian was sick, and her family felt sorry for her and wanted her to rest at home.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is full of hidden talents, and not everyone necessarily believes what the personnel department says.
"It is possible that Shan Lian is sick, but this illness is probably not a common cold or fever."
"What happened?! Tell me in detail!"
As soon as these words were spoken, someone rushed to the side of the person who clearly had inside information.
The man said in a mysterious low voice, "Yesterday afternoon, an extraordinary drama took place in Dongsheng Hutong next to Huazhong University of Science and Technology!"
The person who said this was a middle-aged woman who loved to gossip. She might not be very good at her job, but she was excellent at gossiping.
In Europe, she was both loved and hated.
After all, gossip is something to enjoy. Of course, you like listening to other people's gossip, but when the gossip happens to you, well... you just want to shut her up.
The conversation was about gossip about Guo Zhen and Shan Lian, and the colleagues immediately perked up their ears.
Jiang Ci, an eyewitness at the scene, also pricked up her ears and listened again.
Then I heard that middle-aged woman start talking on and on.
This auntie was quite the storyteller. She said things like, "When Shan Lian went to the Guo family, she saw a woman in the Guo family as soon as she opened the door!" "We all guessed that it was two women fighting over one man, but guess what? It wasn't like that at all! Someone knew about the relationship between the Shan family and Guo Zhen, so they guessed that Shan Lian was Mr. Guo's daughter, and that she went there last night to accompany her father."
"This was just a guess, but who would have thought that Mr. Guo would admit it so directly! He even said he would make his wife Shan Lian's stepmother!"
"Shan Lian disagreed and started making a huge scene! The woman who wanted to be Shan Lian's stepmother pretended to be wronged and pitiful, doing whatever it took to soften the man's heart!"
"Mr. Guo did soften his heart and tried to pull Shan Lian inside to talk! But Shan Lian couldn't agree to that. As you all know, Shan Lian has a strong personality and bluntly said that she wanted to sever ties with Mr. Guo! She didn't want a stepmother!"
"Then...! Then—later!!"
Emma, this middle-aged woman, spoke with great enthusiasm and animated gestures, almost to the point of standing on her desk and dancing around.
The surrounding colleagues were excited, their eyes wide, and they kept saying, "Holy crap!"
"Shan Lian ran home, and Mr. Guo even chased after her in his car. It's estimated that the matter was resolved at the Shan family's home."
"What can be done to solve this?"
"I don't know about that, after all, I don't have the ability to go to the Shan family's house to eavesdrop, do I?"
Everyone sighed with regret.
It's like reading a super exciting family drama novel, and just when things are about to get really good, *snap*—the author stops updating.
Who wouldn't be angry! Who wouldn't feel regret?!
Anyway, it's a real shame about Eci.
She ate a melon with relish. She hadn't gone out on any work today and was comfortably working in her heated office until the afternoon.
The department had ordered another newspaper that afternoon, and it was delivered shortly afterward.
Jiang Ci was just pouring hot water to drink when she casually picked up a newspaper to read.
I caught a glimpse of a small box in the corner out of the corner of my eye.
Guo Zhen, a section chief in a certain government agency, and Shan Lian, an employee of a certain department, are father and daughter.
Jiang Ci: "..."
Well... it's quite surprising, yet somehow expected.
"Jiang Ci, what are you looking at?"
Someone noticed her staring at the newspaper and asked her a question.
Jiang Ci said "Oh," and then added, "The gossip I ate this morning has now come to a conclusion."
"ah?"
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