Wen Shouyi felt her blood run cold. She was acutely aware that she had touched a nerve…
She, too, regretted her conduct with Gu Nianzhi. She thought she had gotten away with it when He Zhichu did not press the matter after listening to the recording, but it was now apparent that He Zhichu had merely chosen to bide his time, waiting for just the right moment to express his anger.
In retrospect, she should have seen it coming. It was only natural for someone like He Zhichu to keep his cards close to his chest.
If he wanted to punish someone, he would do it without ever revealing his real reasons for doing so.
Two years ago, when he was only 26 years old, he became a partner at the largest law firm in the United States. He had accomplished this feat not only because of his exceptional talents as a lawyer, but also because he was always one step ahead of everyone else…
“Professor He, forgive me, I was wrong,” said Wen Shouyi as she stood up quickly, “but what about this case? Will you take it?”
“No, I won’t,” said He Zhichu impatiently as he, too, rose from his seat, “and stop bringing me all these garbage cases. You’ve been sloppy recently. Perhaps you’re overworked? Shall I give you a nice, long vacation? Or perhaps you’d like to resign and go home to your folks? I can always get another assistant.”
Wen Shouyi’s composure evaporated upon hearing this. Her mind was reeling. She never imagined He Zhichu would actually send her away!
“Professor He! Please forgive me, just this once! I’ve been loyal to you for so many years!” Wen Shouyi’s eyes were wet with tears; she looked like she was ready to kneel and grovel before He Zhichu.
Gone was her calm and gentle demeanor. Her face was full of terror, her entire body trembled, and her full, luscious lips quivered.
He Zhichu looked quietly at her for a few moments. He reached out, his cool fingertips brushing her cheek as he wiped a few drops of tears from her face. His voice was clear, but also cool and deliberate, as he said, “Very well. But there will not be a next time.” He went out the door as he said this.
Wen Shouyi let out a long sigh of relief. She steadied herself on one corner of the office desk, not trusting her legs to be able to support her just yet.
She lifted a hand and touched her face, where He Zhichu had wiped away her tears, and told herself that she could not afford to make another mistake.
She knew exactly how cold-blooded and merciless He Zhichu could be.
…
Gu Nianzhi walked happily out of the administrative building for the law department, and ran over to Mei Xiawen, who was waiting for her at the sheltered parking spot nearby. She showed him the enrollment email on her phone, and said, “Professor He has accepted me as his student!”
“He admitted you right then and there?” Mei Xiawen was smiling, too. He peered at the email on her phone. “Oh, it really is a letter of admission for B University Law School. Congratulations, Nianzhi!”
Mei Xiawen, swept up in the moment, grabbed hold of Gu Nianzhi’s hand, then put his arm over her shoulders, practically holding her in his arms as he bundled her into the car.
Gu Nianzhi was feeling a little uncomfortable by this, but luckily for her Mei Xiawen released her as soon as they were inside the car; he had not lost all sense of propriety. But when he leaned over her to get her seat belt, she hastily pushed his hand away, saying, “I can do it myself.”
Mei Xiawen did not insist. He started the car and began driving towards the dormitory block, smiling as he said, “I’ve made reservations for a nice hotel dinner. We’ll be celebrating your grad school admission tonight!”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Class Rep!”
As she said this, Gu Nianzhi’s phone began to ring. It was Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong laughed heartily as he congratulated Nianzhi over the phone. He said, “…Wait till Mr. Huo hears about this, I bet it’ll knock his socks off. I’ve already sent him a message.”
“Thank you, Brother Xiong,” said Gu Nianzhi, a smile on her lips.
Right after her phone call with Yin Shixiong, a text message from Chen Lie arrived: “Congratulations, Nianzhi! When you get back, I’ll treat you to a nice dinner!”
“I recall Brother Chen being a man of his word.” Gu Nianzhi texted back in reply.
Chen Lie’s message arrived almost immediately: “Of course. Has your Brother Chen ever lied to you? By the way, will you be going back to your apartment this weekend?”
Gu Nianzhi sent a “?” in reply.
Huo Shaoheng was not in C City right now. Gu Nianzhi did not want to go back to the apartment if he wasn’t around.
Chen Lie sent another text: “You still have to get a check-up every week, for a month at least.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be back this weekend, then.” Gu Nianzhi thought Chen Lie was being paranoid.
She felt perfectly fine, and she certainly hadn’t been “feeling funny” around men, either. She could not understand why Chen Lie was so obsessed with running his barrage of tests on her.
She gave a small pout, put her phone away, and began chatting with Mei Xiawen. “Class Rep, what about you? No plans on going to grad school?”
Mei Xiawen shook his head as he handed Gu Nianzhi the Greek yogurt he had bought for her. He said, “My family wants me to help out with the family business. I’ve already passed the bar exam. I can get my lawyer’s license after interning for a year.”
The Mei family’s business was based in C City, which meant he would have to remain in C City after graduating.
And Gu Nianzhi would be attending graduate school at the imperial capital next spring.
Were they going to be separated?
Mei Xiawen seemed to sense what Gu Nianzhi was thinking. He said, laughing, “My family is going to expand the family business in the imperial capital. When it’s time for you to go there, I’ll ask my family to send me there as well, as an advance party to pave the way for our business.”
That way, he would be able to accompany his sweetheart in her studies.
How thoughtful and considerate of him…
Gu Nianzhi’s face had grown redder than a tomato. She turned to look out the window in childish defiance, but the corners of her lips were already curved upwards.
Mei Xiawen had just pulled up in front of Gu Nianzhi’s dormitory when a message arrived on his phone with a ding.
[Weinan]: “Class Rep, things aren’t looking great for me right now… Sob sob sob… Class Rep, send me some hugs and comfort please…”
Mei Xiawen glanced at the message, then quickly unlocked his phone and dialed a number. His voice was relaxed and amused. “Weinan, you little tomboy, what’s with the girly message? So tell me, what’s up?”
“My family’s in a bit of a jam right now. Class Rep, can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back soon as my dad’s company collects!”
“No problem. Go on, how much do you need?”
“…I need a hundred and fifty thousand, just to pay the interest on our bank loans for the week. We’ll be back on our feet after that.”
“A hundred and fifty thousand? Okay. Give me your bank account number, I’ll send it over,” said Mei Xiawen easily as he checked the balance for his bank account with his phone.
Whoever was on the other end sent him a bank account number. Mei Xiawen promptly transferred a hundred and fifty thousand yuan into the account with a single swipe of his finger.
“Thanks, Class Rep!” A woman’s hearty laughter sounded over the phone, loud and happy.
Mei Xiawen ended the call and saw Gu Nianzhi’s puzzled look. He said, without waiting for her to ask, “It’s an old classmate of mine, from high school. Her family’s in a tight spot right now so she asked if I could lend her some money.” Gu Nianzhi opened the car door and got out. She was a little surprised that Mei Xiawen had loaned out such a large sum of money, just like that. “…Are you sure it’s your classmate? Could be a scam, you know.”
She had read about similar scams on the internet.
Mei Xiawen smiled as he reached out and tousled her hair. “Nianzhi, are you worried about me?”
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes, and said, “I’m just worried about dinner, we can kiss our dinner plans goodbye if you lose all your money to a scammer.” After a small pause, she continued, “…How about this: I’ll pay for dinner tonight. I was thinking of treating my dear dormitory sisters to dinner, anyway.”