Chapter 600 I’m Not Small Anywhere!

Chapter 600: There's Nothing Small About Me!

Jiang Yu was about to leave when she noticed a tear in Jiang Ye’s sleeve and let out a wry laugh.

"I know you live for your work and even skip meals, but you should still take care of yourself."

Jiang Ye froze, unsure what she meant—until she tugged at his sleeve. He sheepishly covered the hole.

"It’s still wearable. I’ve worn worse before."

It bothered Jiang Yu, and she decided she’d make him a new one later.

"When you're by yourself out here, you’ve got to look after yourself."

Seeing she still treated him like a child, Jiang Ye smiled helplessly.

"Sis, I know. But you—in your condition, you shouldn’t be running around."

He was dead set against her coming back to Nanhe Village with him tomorrow, just in case.

"Alright, I won’t nag. I’ll head back now and let you work."

Leaving the repair shop, Jiang Yu dropped by to visit her great-aunt.

After chatting for a bit about Jiang Xin, she finally took her leave.

Her great-aunt had once preferred living alone, but as she aged, she occasionally felt lonely.

Now, with Jiang Xin around, she found having a child’s company wasn’t so bad.

Little by little, her health even improved.

Back at the residential compound, Jiang Yu learned from Xu Lihua that Jiao Zongyao had come by.

But with no one home at Jiang Yu’s place, he’d left in a huff, empty-handed.

"Did he leave any message?"

Xu Lihua shook her head. "Not a word."

He hadn’t looked happy when he left, nor did he say whether he’d return tomorrow.

Jiang Yu kept her face blank. "Don’t give him the time of day."

Whether he came or not, it didn’t matter.

Xu Lihua clicked her tongue—only Jiang Yu would dare say that.

"I heard something happened during your summary meeting?"

Jiang Yu stopped short, thought for a moment, then smirked.

"Aunt Xu, I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you asked, I’ll tell you. You can judge for yourself."

Curiosity piqued, Xu Lihua patted her chest. "Go on, tell me. I’ll give it to you straight."

So Jiang Yu laid out what went down at the meeting.

"I gave generously, thinking that the people in the disaster area were having a hard time, so giving more money was nothing. Being heavily pregnant, besides money, there wasn’t much else I could do for them. But now I’m left feeling wronged with no way to defend myself—donating money has somehow become my fault!"

Xu Lihua clicked her tongue indignantly. "Isn’t this just biting the hand that feeds you? If he thought there was a problem with the money, he shouldn’t have used it in the first place! Now that the money’s all spent, he’s talking about questioning where it came from?"

Jiang Yu stamped her foot in frustration. "Exactly! That’s why I’m so angry!"

Xu Lihua’s eyes darted around, and a lightbulb went off in her head.

"Do you think he’s targeting you? Why does he keep picking on you?"

Jiang Yu sighed, hesitating before speaking.

"Probably. I don’t know. But even if it’s not me, it’s definitely aimed at our Second State Cotton Mill. I’d rather he just target me alone, so others don’t get dragged down with me."

Though she didn’t say it outright, Xu Lihua could tell from Jiang Yu’s aggrieved expression that it said it all.

It must be true!

Thanks to Xu Lihua’s eager gossiping, by the next day, word had spread throughout the residential compound that Jiao Zongyao was deliberately targeting Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu went about her business like nothing was wrong and went back to Nanhe Village with Jiang Ye as usual.

The moment she left, Jiao Zongyao showed up again.

Unsurprisingly, he missed her once more.

His expression darkened as he looked at Xu Lihua, who was sitting by the door entertaining a child.

"Where’s Jiang Yu?"

Xu Lihua snorted. "Not home."

Jiao Zongyao clearly sensed her hostile attitude but couldn’t figure out how he’d offended her.

"Sis, where did Jiang Yu go? Will she be back today? Or just tell me directly, and I’ll go find her."

Xu Lihua snorted. "What do you want with her? To ask where she got the money to donate to disaster relief? You’re a leader too—how much did you donate? If Jiang Yu could come up with the money and you couldn’t, maybe you should take a hard look at yourself!"

Jiao Zongyao went rigid, nostrils flaring in anger.

Jiang Yu must have told her about this!

"Sis, it’s all a misunderstanding..."

Xu Lihua brushed him off with a wave, uninterested in his excuses.

"Once or twice is a misunderstanding, but you keep targeting Jiang Yu—how is that still a misunderstanding? Deputy Director Jiao, you’re a big shot, and the people you usually deal with are subordinates who don’t dare to criticize you. Since you called me ‘sis’ today, I’ll do you a favor and school you—men shouldn’t be so petty."

Jiao Zongyao: "..."

Call you ‘sis,’ and now you’re getting all uppity!

"A man shouldn’t be lacking in any department, especially in generosity—you know that, right?"

Jiao Zongyao’s face turned livid, especially when her eyes dipped toward his crotch. He lost his cool.

"There’s nothing small about me!"

Xu Lihua clicked her tongue, giving him a sidelong look.

"Well, I’ll be, at my age, I've never heard a man admit he's lacking. Men’s mouths are full of lies."

Jiao Zongyao: "..."

If he couldn’t win, he could at least avoid it.

"Since you don’t know where Jiang Yu is, I’ll come back another day."

He’d barely stepped out of the compound when he ran into Lin Donghua.

Lin Donghua asked, "Deputy Director Jiao, back for Jiang Yu again?"

Jiao Zongyao let out a quiet breath—finally, a normal person.

"Comrade, do you know where Jiang Yu went?"

Lin Donghua snorted, "And you still have the nerve to look for her? She’s a pregnant woman, must you push her so hard? Are you trying to drive her to her death? Bosses like you, who can’t tell right from wrong, will get exposed sooner or later! So damn petty—you’re the smallest man I’ve ever met."

Jiao Zongyao’s ears turned red, his temples throbbing. Right now, he couldn’t bear hearing the word "small."

If not for the last shred of his rationality, he would’ve thrown a punch already.

He had no intention of arguing with Lin Donghua. With a cold snort, he turned and walked away.

For the first time, the alley felt endless.

Every few steps, someone recognized him, throwing shade his way.

Their mocking, disdainful gazes needled him, making him wish he could sink through the floor.

Only after finally escaping the residential compound did he exhale deeply, like a burden lifted.

"Jiang Yu!"

He refused to believe today’s events weren’t her doing.

Jiao Zongyao marched back to his office with a livid expression, his subordinates too afraid to speak.

Only his secretary followed him in.

"Director, Director Qian sent someone breathing down our necks this morning."

The moment the door closed behind them, Jiao Zongyao swiped everything off his desk with a furious swipe of his arm.

"Screw their update!"

Hadn’t he suffered enough today?

The secretary stood stock-still, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Jiao Zongyao clenched his jaw, forcing himself to take deep breaths.

"Any progress from Zhong Yue?"

"None. The Xiong brothers won’t even acknowledge their own sister. After kicking Xiong Shuihua out, they washed their hands of her. Only Xiong Laosan still talks to Jiang Yu."

But it was useless—since the Xiong brothers ignored Zhong Yue entirely, he couldn’t even plant any fake leads with Jiang Yu.

In other words, Zhong Yue was a worthless piece.

Jiao Zongyao’s jaw clenched, his teeth set on edge.