But if it was Qiao Nan, Father Fang had total trust in her. Moreover, he heard from his daughter that Qiao Nan was happily married with three kids and her husband was a very good catch. He was just as good as Gao Yan.

  Gao Yan knew that Father Fang and Mother Fang had a good impression of Qiao Nan. When Fang Fang was in high school, they even sent fruits to thank her for revising with Fang Fang.

  Mother Fang was a timid woman. Now that things had gone wrong, she was worried that if they took another wrong step, they would never be able to have Gao Yan as their son-in-law. “Gao Yan, are you sure this method will work? What if Fang Fang takes it seriously after we make the phone call?”

  “Auntie, don’t worry. Like what Qiao Nan said, they are just dating. It’s alright if Fang Fang takes it seriously.” Even if Fang Fang did not take it seriously, she was already in a relationship with the man. There was not much of a difference. “People like to do the opposite of what they are told. Back when you wanted Fang Fang to study at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, she applied for Ping Cheng High School behind your back. From this, we could tell that she has rebellious nature in her.”

  “If both of you insist that Fang Fang marry me, given her behavior back then, she might insist on being with the man to spite us even though she does not really love him. All of us love Fang Fang. It is alright that we suffer for the time being. What’s important is that Fang Fang will be able to lead a good life in the future.”

  Gao Yan had always been performing well in front of his future in-laws. He rarely made any mistakes.

  Otherwise, Fang Fang’s parents would not have decided on having him as their son-in-law.

  Father Fang nodded. “Alright, don’t worry. I will do as Gao Yan said. As for Fang Fang, Qiao Nan will keep a look out for her, won’t she?” Father Fang was most worried about Fang Fang’s situation at school.

  \r \r \r

  Father Fang was not worried that his daughter would take the wrong step. But her boyfriend was at the age where he would be impulsive and reckless. He would kill the man if his daughter was taken advantage of.

  “Yes, Qiao Nan will look out for Fang Fang. She will make sure that Fang Fang will not be taken advantage of.” Gao Yan was very certain of this. Fang Fang might not listen to other people, but she would definitely listen to Qiao Nan. He had to hand it to Qiao Nan for being very smart.

  She would not persuade her in the usual way that people did. For instance, someone felt itchy, and another person who was blunt and did not know how to react according to the situation tried helping the person find the itchy spot, but to no avail.

  Qiao Nan was different. She would either not do anything, or if she did, she would be right on the target.

  He believed that Qiao Nan had the means to persuade Fang Fang to protect herself. Besides, he had no other choice right now but to believe in her.

  “Alright, I will make the phone call.” Since Gao Yan had said so and was willing to give it a try, Father Fang should hesitate no more. Furthermore, Qiao Nan would keep a look out for Fang Fang.

  Mother Fang knitted her brows before she nodded in agreement. “Luckily, Fang Fang has a friend that she could talk to. Otherwise, there will be no way to resolve this problem.”

  “That’s right. Luckily, there is someone like Qiao Nan.” Gao Yan finally understood why Fang Fang was unable to be close to her parents and share her problems and troubles with them even though she had always been a filial girl. He was the reason behind everything.

  Now that they had come to a decision, Father Fang was quick and decisive. He gave his daughter a call right away and told her what Gao Yan had said to him. He told his daughter that he supported her decision and wanted her to be happy. As long as she was happy, as her parents, they would not interfere or object.

  Fang Fang was dumbstruck after the call. She then gave Qiao Nan a call right away, expressing her joy and excitement. “Nan Nan, you are right. I have won. Thank you.”

  Qiao Nan, who was on the other end of the phone, rolled her eyes. “Like I have said before, as long as you are happy, your parents will definitely support you.”

  “You are the one who gave me your unwavering support.” Fang Fang took a deep breath. “You might not have known, but on the day that I rejected Gao Yan’s proposal, not only did my parents scold me for being reckless and express their unhappiness, all the relatives and friends who were present berated me for not having good judgment. They said that although I am willful, I should not go overboard. For a moment, I wondered whether I had made the wrong decision. But I refused to bow to them.”

  Fang Fang went to the Zhai family’s residence as she wanted someone to stand on her side and support her decision.

  Everyone berated her and did not agree with her. They were her relatives and they used to treat her very well. But they lost their temper at her because of Gao Yan. Although Fang Fang did not listen to them, she was upset and hurt. She did not know whether her decision was right.

  When she was at a loss, she went to the Zhai family’s residence to look for Qiao Nan, hoping to get an answer from her.

  Qiao Nan was smart. She could tell right away that Fang Fang refused to admit defeat and she had a lot of grievances. If she disagreed with Fang Fang and said that Gao Yan was a good man, Fang Fang would fall out with her right away.

  Although she could not be too direct, Qiao Nan played with words and did not really say whether Gao Yan was a good man or not. This was what she said back then. “I believe that you should fight for your own happiness. As long as you are happy, it doesn’t matter that you could not get your parents’ support for the time being. I believe they will agree to it in the future. Your happiness is more important than anything else.”

  Qiao Nan did not mention Fang Fang’s current boyfriend at all.

  Although Qiao Nan played around with words, it was far better than Fang Fang’s relatives who expressed their disagreement and anger toward her. Qiao Nan’s words were comforting and assuring. Fang Fang was able to take in Qiao Nan’s words and find strength in them. “Qiao Nan, don’t worry. I will fight for my happiness.”

  Fang Fang used to think that her parents had a very good impression of Gao Yan. Although there was no need for her to go through the long march of 25,000 li like the Red Army, she knew that her revolution would not succeed in one or two days.

  She had yet to tell her boyfriend to work hard with her and persevere until the end, but her parents had already called her to say that as long as she was happy, they did not mind who she was with.

  Right then, Fang Fang felt as if she was the most fortunate person in the world. “Nan Nan, I am so lucky to have you with me. You are such a good friend. You supported me and assured me that I am right.”

  “Of course.” Qiao Nan accepted her praise. She did not feel that she was being too shameless. “Your parents dote on you the most. They will not dote on someone else. Do you agree that I am right?”

  “Yes.” Fang Fang nodded. She never felt so cared for and loved in the past.

  1298 Change of Strategy

  “Since you have understood, then you should think before you do anything in the future. You must not be so reckless again. In retrospect, do you think it is right to argue with your parents because of a man? If this man will be your husband and he will give you happiness, it is still worth it. If not, wouldn’t you be angry at yourself if anything happened to your parents as they were too angry?”

  Now that she had calmed down, Qiao Nan began to criticize Fang Fang for being too willful.

  Fang Fang smiled embarrassedly. “I have been cornered. Otherwise, can you tell me what I should do if I run into such encounters in the future? How should I deal with it?”

  Fang Fang liked her current boyfriend. He was considerate and gentle with her, treating her very well. He was unlike the good son-in-law that her parents would talk about often who used to bully her.

  But talking about marriage, Fang Fang had no confidence in her current boyfriend.

  “Foolish. If quarreling was useful, you wouldn’t come running to my in-laws’ house and complain to me, hoping that I would stand on your side. That day, you could talk it over nicely with your parents and tell them your thoughts. Why did you quarrel with them? The more you fight, the more your parents will feel that you are saying everything in a pique of anger and are irrational.”

  “It’s useless to talk it over nicely. They won’t believe me.” Fang Fang felt wronged. She was enraged and that was why she blew her top.

  Qiao Nan drank some water to soothe her throat. If she could not find any jobs in the future, she could start a counseling company or a company that would listen to other people’s grievances and chat with them. If not, she could be a matchmaker and accept red packets from the couples. “Now that you have blown your top, did anyone believe you? No matter what, nobody will believe you. Getting enraged will only affect yourself and hurt your parents’ feelings. You should have told them your thoughts and stated that you would stand firm in your decision before returning to your school. In that way, you wouldn’t feel as guilty toward your parents when you received their call today.”

  \r \r \r

  “.……” Fang Fang was speechless, but she had to agree that Qiao Nan was right.

  When she returned to school that day, she kept thinking about what happened back at home.

  She remembered that her mother was so angry that her eyes had turned red, while her father who was getting on in years trembled slightly. Fang Fang used to be filial to them, so she felt very guilty at how things turned out. She was torn between being filial to them and fighting for her own happiness. After returning to school, she went sleepless for several nights. Her boyfriend asked her out three times in a row, but she rejected him.

  In the end, she hurt the feelings of her parents and her boyfriend. “What should I do in the future?”

  “Why do you think about the future? Haven’t your parents compromised and given in? Since you feel guilty, you should stay home with your parents after the semester ended and spend more time with them, chatting with them. You can take them for a walk or stroll around the garden. When you are free, you can call them twice or three times a week to chat with them. You can talk about your school life, your feelings, and whatever you encounter in school. They will get to know you better through more frequent communication, and they will no longer quarrel with you over an ‘outsider’ in the future.”

  Qiao Nan tried to coax and cajole Fang Fang. “There is a reason why your parents like Gao Yan so much, and you can’t match up to him in terms of this. Gao Yan is very good with words in front of your parents. It seems as if he is their son. However, you are their biological daughter. If Gao Yan can do it, you must be better than him. You must regain your parents’ affection. Without your parents’ support, Gao Yan can no longer interfere in your relationship with the man that you want to marry in the future.”

  Fang Fang felt that Qiao Nan made a lot of sense. She almost gave in because of her parents’ attitude.

  If her parents sided with her and no longer placed high importance on Gao Yan, she did not need to be bothered about Gao Yan’s comments.

  Most importantly, she must make sure that her parents sided with her!

  Once she grasped this fundamental point, all the rest would follow. It was as if she was enlightened and invigorated. She was no longer as dejected as before. She seemed like a rooster who was in high spirits and felt energized. “Nan Nan, you are indeed my best friend. You have made a very helpful and effective suggestion. You can rest assured. I know what to do in the future. I won’t allow Gao Yan to take advantage of me again.”

  From the phone call that her father made today, even though her parents were all praise for Gao Yan, saying that he was a role model for all children, she was still their biological daughter. Her parents would stand on her side instead of siding with Gao Yan.

  She had the upper hand as she was their biological daughter. It would be miserable if she lost to Gao Yan again.

  With Qiao Nan as her strategist and military counselor, Fang Fang, who was reserved and reticent, decided to interact more with her parents. She called them frequently on the phone and chatted with them.

  Initially, her parents were not used to it and they could not understand Qiao Nan’s rationale. But they felt that it was a good idea to have more frequent chats with their daughter.

  Mother Fang gradually understood Qiao Nan’s intention and the reasons behind these phone calls. “Oh, it’s so late. It may not be safe. It’s better if you don’t go out. If you want to go on a date, you should go in the daytime.”

  “I see. It’s not that I forbid you from experiencing life. But you are still a student, and studies must be your top priority. After you graduate, even if you feel like staying at home and depending on us, I won’t allow you to do so.”

  “You want to stay outside the school? You are still considering and you are asking me for my opinions? My opinion doesn’t matter. What’s important is how you think. Alright, I will share my thoughts with you. You can take it as a reference and decide for yourself. Fang Fang, you are an adult. As your mother, I trust your judgment. Aside from putting aside a sum of money for the rental, what I am most worried about is your safety. If you stay at school, you will have several dormitory mates who stay with you. I feel assured as you are not alone. Otherwise, I might be so worried for you that I cannot sleep a wink.”

  As a student, even when she was in college, for people like Fang Fang, who was a top student, her school life was very boring. She did nothing apart from studying.

  Although Fang Fang began to spend more time chatting with her parents, there were not many topics to chat with them.

  Besides talking about her school, she would occasionally talk about her boyfriend. Her intention was to boil the frog slowly. However, she did not realize that she was the one who was being boiled in the pot.

  Mother Fang had finally found the right method to communicate with her daughter. She would not make harsh comments or pick on the man. Through showing concern for her daughter, she gradually made her accept her suggestions and thoughts.

  Dating in the middle of the night? What if the brat took advantage of Fang Fang?

  Working part-time? She and her husband merely praised Gao Yan and Fang Fang was jealous of him. If she worked part-time and experienced life, she would be angered to death. In that case, the brat would have a chance to console and comfort her.

  Moving out of school? Dream on!