964 Who Gave You the Courage
Gu Nianzhi’s eyebrows moved slightly, but her facial expression remained unchanged. She had sensed that Special a.s.sistant Yang disliked her long before, so she wasn’t very angry that he said harsh words to provoke her. Although she wasn’t angry, she wouldn’t take this insult lying down. It was one thing to take a loss in front of Huo Shaoheng, but who did this Special a.s.sistant Yang think he was? He dared to seek trouble from her?
Gu Nianzhi blinked. Lowering her head to take a sip of the sweet fragrant milk tea, she replied calmly, “Special a.s.sistant Yang, you’re also Speaker Long’s capable special a.s.sistant. How can you speak so illogically? Which university did you graduate from? The quality of teaching is worrisome, indeed…”
Special a.s.sistant Yang was more proud of his education than anything else. He relied on his own abilities to be admitted into the B University Faculty of Law, then slowly climbed his way up to the head position of the Senate Secretariat. He wasn’t incompetent at all. Somehow he was being accused of “speaking illogically” by a mere pretty-faced girl he looked down on?!
“Haha, I already told you that I’m a fellow alumni of the B University Faculty of Law. Looks like your memory isn’t that great, either. If I’m illogical, then I’m afraid that Miss Gu doesn’t even know how to spell the word ‘illogical."” Special a.s.sistant Yang didn’t mince his words with Gu Nianzhi. Since she wasn’t accepting his respect, she didn’t deserve any of it, either.
Gu Nianzhi snickered. c.o.c.king her head slightly, she lazily glanced at Special a.s.sistant Yang and said, “Fellow B University alumni? Hehe, all sorts of birds appear when the forest grows too big. It’s not unusual for the B University Faculty of Law to have alumni like Special a.s.sistant Yang.”
“What do you mean by that?” Special a.s.sistant Yang’s face fell. “It’s not honorable to speak with hidden malice.”
Gu Nianzhi brought a piece of crystal wintersweet cake to her lips and swallowed it slowly before finally shaking her head. “Special a.s.sistant Yang, I could say the same about you. Could you not be the person to speak with hidden malice in the first place?”
“I was speaking the truth, so that’s considered hidden malice?” Special a.s.sistant Yang laughed and felt even more disdain towards Gu Nianzhi. He hadn’t spoken any more harshly than normal, so what on earth did Speaker Long see in her? Could it be because of Xie Qingying?
Gu Nianzhi chuckled briefly. “You’re speaking the truth? You were clearly being illogical, and you still dare to claim that you were speaking the truth?”
She noticed that Special a.s.sistant Yang was about to explain himself again, so she didn’t give him a chance to speak at all. Getting up from the bay window seat, she stood before Special a.s.sistant Yang and said haughtily to him, “Listen to what you said just now. I was indeed guided and protected by a professor in order to graduate early. As for how I have a job lined up outside my door as soon as I graduated, you didn’t say it, but we all know that Speaker Long was the one to mention that job position today. The two parties in question are Professor He at B University and Speaker Long of the Senate. Do you know what kind of person Professor He is? What’s more, you should know what kind of person Speaker Long is. Are these two people who could be directed by Major General Huo?”
Special a.s.sistant Yang almost bit his own tongue as he quickly replied, “Of course not! What kind of person is Speaker Long!? Benign and open-hearted! His character is the best possible! How could he listen to directions from someone else!?”
“That’s right!” Gu Nianzhi clasped her hands together. “So Speaker Long appreciating me and inviting me to join his secretariat has nothing to do with Major General Huo. How could you say that Major General Huo gave me resources? Hmm?”
Special a.s.sistant Yang’s expression turned very ugly. The small sitting area wasn’t very big, so the people sitting there all heard what they said. They looked over curiously.
“And Professor He? Do you even know what kind of person Professor He is? I’ll a.s.sume you don’t know since you’re not saying anything. Not only is Professor He a specially appointed professor at B University’s Faculty of Law, but he is also a tenured professor at Harvard Law School. He’s also a partner of the largest law firm in the United States. May I ask how a person like that could be directed by Major General Huo?”
Gu Nianzhi picked up a napkin to wipe her hands, then raised her voice even louder. “Professor He and Speaker Long—are these two people who need to act in accordance with the whims of others? If that’s not the case, how could you say that I am enjoying the shade from the big tree? Who gave you the courage? Liang Jingru*?”
The people in the sitting area couldn’t help but collapse from laughing so hard, and some people even spat out the coffee in their mouths. The servants waiting at the entrance of the sitting room quickly ordered people to come over for a cleanup.
There was a rather large commotion there, so all the military elite holding a meeting in the living room looked over. At first glance, Huo Shaoheng could see Gu Nianzhi standing in front of Special a.s.sistant Yang. Although Gu Nianzhi’s back was to them, Special a.s.sistant Yang was facing them.
From Special a.s.sistant Yang’s shocked and humiliated expression, Huo Shaoheng knew that Gu Nianzhi hadn’t suffered any losses, so Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything before taking out cigarettes and offering a round to everyone.
Because they needed to smoke, the door between the living room and the small sitting area was closed. The military elite smoked away in the s.p.a.cious living room and also took the opportunity to continue their ad hoc meeting.
Gu Nianzhi saw that the door to the living room was closed, so she didn’t need to worry about being overheard by the people in the living room anymore. She replied with even more energy, “So Special a.s.sistant Yang, tell me if you were being illogical? Also, is it because of your inferior skills that you needed to use backdoor connections to enter the senate secretariat and thus, figure other people are like that? But while you enjoy using backdoor connections, that doesn’t mean others would do the same. Professor He decides when I can graduate. Speaker Long decides whether or not I can join the senate secretariat. It’s not something you need to worry about.” Gu Nianzhi finished saying this and left the bay window. She found a seat by the door and calmly took out her phone to begin playing a game.
Special a.s.sistant Yang was furious. But seeing all the people around them, he couldn’t actually start an argument with Gu Nianzhi. After watching her with a dark expression for some time, he didn’t follow her. He also took out his phone to check if he had any important emails. He hadn’t looked at it for very long before receiving a text from Cai Shengnan.
Miss Cai: Special a.s.sistant Yang, are you at General Ji’s home?
Special a.s.sistant Yang immediately replied, “Yes.” The two of them began chatting for a bit.
Miss Cai: Who’s there? It’s too bad I didn’t have a chance to go give New Year’s greetings at General Ji’s home. My uncle and aunt aren’t going, so there’s no way I could go. I’m jealous of you!
Special a.s.sistant Yang: Miss Cai speaks too kindly. This is just like work to me, so Speaker Long giving New Year’s greetings is also considered work.
Miss Cai: Oh right, it’s just work. Yes, I heard Major General Huo also went. Is that true? He’s also there?
Special a.s.sistant Yang saw this and looked up to quickly dart his eyes towards Gu Nianzhi sitting at the door. He then sent Cai Shengnan a text.
Special a.s.sistant Yang: Huo Shao is here. He even brought Gu Nianzhi along, too.
Cai Shengnan seemed to be in shock for some time after she read this message. She didn’t reply to his text for several minutes.
Special a.s.sistant Yang curled the corners of lips into a smile. Both of these people were his compet.i.tion. Just as Special a.s.sistant Yang thought that Cai Shengnan wouldn’t be replying to him, she sent him another message.
Miss Cai: Really? That’s so interesting. I heard that they already broke up. Could the news be inaccurate?
Special a.s.sistant Yang: Miss Cai, your news was very accurate. They certainly broke up already, and today Gu Nianzhi came with Major General Huo to General Ji’s home to give New Year’s greetings as his nurse. Major General Huo was injured.
Cai Shengnan became even more worried, so she stopped sending text messages and directly gave Special a.s.sistant Yang a call. “Special a.s.sistant Yang, what did you say? Major General Huo was injured? Where did he injure himself? Is it serious?”
Special a.s.sistant Yang looked at Gu Nianzhi with a smile. “It looks like it was his arm. It shouldn’t be too serious.”
Gu Nianzhi had buried her head in the game, so she didn’t notice Special a.s.sistant Yang’s sly moves at all.
“If his injury isn’t serious, why is Gu Nianzhi accompanying him as his nurse? How could this person be like that? What is she thinking? Also, doesn’t Major General Huo have his own personal secretaries? Why would she be accompanying him?” Cai Shengnan expressed her confusion.
Special a.s.sistant Yang agreed wholeheartedly. He shook his head. “Major General Huo’s personal secretaries didn’t come today. Miss Cai, you think everyone relies on their abilities to make a living, like you? Also, she is just an orphan girl, and her father pa.s.sed away early. She’d be an idiot if she didn’t cling onto Major General Huo’s leg!”
*Liang Jingru: Celebrity known for being very bold.