President Long touched his right hand somewhat shamefully, and then asked with a smile, “Was it one month or two months in between the time you were rescued and when you finally returned home? During that period, did Major General Huo consistently maintain contact with you? ”
“Yes. He visited me very frequently,” Tan Guiren blurted out, then furtively glanced at Gu Nianzhi, looking somewhat guiltily.
Speaker Long finally understood why she had been acting so strangely. His realization had also dispelled his previous suspicions about Gu Nianzhi.
He smiled and said, “Miss Tan, don’t worry. Miss Gu has already broken up with Major General Huo, am I right? Nianzhi?”
Because Gu Nianzhi had reminded her, Tan Guiren did not mention the real reason Huo Shaoheng had gone to her Long Island home, nor did she mention James.
To be honest, she didn’t actually know the name of the person who had met with Huo Shaoheng, but although Speaker Long was satisfied, Gu Nianzhi felt a little sour inside.
Yet she also knew that this was not the time to be feeling bitter or jealous. Besides, Huo Shaoheng had gone to the United States to rescue Tan Guiren. She really didn’t believe with Huo Shaoheng’s professional attitude that he would be treating women like James Bond did in the movies.
Furthermore, as far as Speaker Long knew, she was supposedly “broken up” with Huo Shaoheng, so she absolutely could not show any signs of jealousy.
Because of that, Gu Nianzhi attempted to appear as calm as she could. She tried hard to focus on what mattered at the moment instead of focusing on trivial things such as petty jealousy between the two women.
After all, she was dealing with Tan Guiren, a ticking time bomb that could go off at any second.
As soon as she remembered that, Gu Nianzhi felt her head begin to pound.
She could see now that Tan Guiren was obviously not a person who could keep a secret for long.
If she could coax confidential information out of her today, then tomorrow, others would be able to coax it out of her as well.
And Tan Guiren was not the type of person who understood the weight of her words, nor did she know her priorities.
Today, with Gu Nianzhi by her side, she might have been able to filter what came out of her mouth.
But in the future, without Gu Nianzhi there, would she still be able to think before she spoke and make sure that she didn’t say the wrong thing to the wrong person?
Of course, Gu Nianzhi couldn’t possibly follow Tan Guiren around 24 hours a day. She had her own life to lead.
So, what should she do to once and for all eliminate the threat of Tan Guiren accidentally blurting out damaging information that had to do with Huo Shaoheng’s rescue mission?
So that, even if someone else tried to coax information out of Tan Guiren in the near future, she didn’t have to worry about Tan Guiren saying what she shouldn’t be saying?
In that short span of time, Gu Nianzhi’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts.
She followed Speaker Long’s gaze, then suddenly remembered that the most impressive aspect of Senators was their ability to brainwash people.
Each one of their speeches was basically like a brainwashing session.
Whoever had the ability to brainwash their targets the best would get the most votes.
Could she also use this method on Tan Guiren?
To be honest, calling it brainwashing was stretching it a little bit.
The true academic description was to adjust the target’s memory until they fully accepted falsely contrived memories that had been introduced to them, then starts to treat the implanted memory as the truth, while unconsciously suppressing what actually did happen.
Privately and professionally, Gu Nianzhi didn’t want Tan Guiren to remember the truth of that incident. She wanted to try to adjust her memory.
Gu Nianzhi began brainstorming good ways to do so.
It would require relatively advanced knowledge in the realm of psychology. Gu Nianzhi had taken a few psychology courses as an undergrad and had read some relevant materials as well.
Yet she had never tried it on others before.
She didn’t know how favorable the outcome would be, but she knew that if she didn’t at least try, she definitely wouldn’t be successful.
Gu Nianzhi made up her mind, returned Speaker Long’s smile, and said, “Yes, we are no longer romantically involved.”
She distinctly felt Tan Guiren breathe a sigh of relief.
Tan Guiren should have been in a state of relaxation and ease at that moment. Gu Nianzhi seized the opportunity, since there was a change that Tan Guiren had her guard down, and asked her, “But Miss Tan, those police officers once saw you being held hostage by the kidnapper. In order to arrest the kidnapper, wouldn’t they need to ask you questions? ”
“Of course they did!” Tan Guiren remembered how the American police had frequented her house from time to time, and the CIA as well, then pursed her lips. “They were annoying. When I didn’t tell them who the kidnapper was, they accused me of having some sort of Stockholm syndrome. As if I would be willing to protect my kidnapper! General Huo was not the person who kidnapped me. I told them so many times, but they just didn’t believe me.”
Gu Nianzhi’s lawyer habits kicked in and she couldn’t help but ask Tan Guiren before Speaker Long had a chance to say anything, “You told the American police and the CIA that the person who rescued you was General Huo?!”
If it were true, that would be a huge deal!!
Speaker Long also became serious. “Tan Guiren, did you really tell them that?”
Tan Guiren waved her hands and said with a smile, “No, you both misunderstood me. At that time, I didn’t know it was General Huo. When he rushed to the small building to rescue me, he had only told me that my father had sent him to find me. Before that, I didn’t know him at all. Afterward, he came to visit me but still didn’t say who he was. How could I know? I just repeatedly told the US military and police that the person who came to rescue me that night was not my kidnapper.”
Recalling what had happened, Tan Guiren began to feel very offended as she spoke. “But they just wouldn’t believe me. They kept saying that I had this ‘Stockholm Syndrome,’ and that I had gone mad. After that, I wouldn’t talk to them anymore when they came to see me. It’s not like they could have forced me to, anyway.”
Tan Guiren curled her lips in self-satisfaction.
Gu Nianzhi breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a thumbs up to praise her. “Miss Tan, you dealt with the situation so coolly!” she said.
She then proceeded to ask, “So many American police and even the CIA went to your house to interrogate you. Did you happen to encounter General Huo?”
As Gu Nianzhi said this, she carefully observed Speaker Long’s facial expression. Sure enough, Speaker Long raised his ears and was listening attentively.
Judging from his body language, Speaker Long was deeply interested in the topic!
This was the most interest he had shown in any of the topics they had discussed that day.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes rolled as she realized something. She suddenly understood the real reason why Speaker Long had asked Tan Guiren to come in for questioning.
Had Speaker Long perhaps suspected that when Huo Shaoheng was in the United States, he had established dubious ties with the enemy?
After confirming that, the required focus of Gu Nianzhi’s brainwashing – er, memory adjustment operation became even more apparent.
“Miss Tan, when you returned to your home in the United States, did the US military, police, or the CIA come looking for you?”
“Yes,” Tan Guiren replied.
“What did you say to them?” Gu Nianzhi asked.
“I told them that he wasn’t the kidnapper, and told them not to ask again. The real kidnapper had been killed by the man that rescued me,” she said.
“Did you know who that person was then?” Gu Nianzhi continued.
Tai Guiren thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” she finally replied.
Gu Nianzhi did not stop and instead continued relentlessly. “The US military and the CIA really came to you in search of the kidnapper?”
“Yes,” Tan Guiren said.
“Did you tell them who the kidnapper was?” Gu Nianzhi asked.
“No. I didn’t know who he was.” Tan Guiren had answered much faster than before.
Gu Nianzhi then changed her approach and asked, “When the US military and the CIA came to you, did you happen to encounter the person who saved you?”
“No. That person was impressively elusive and managed to evade them every time they came,” Tan Guiren answered bluntly.
“So, what you’re saying is, his activities weren’t restricted, he had his own living quarters, and he stayed hidden in the dark while protecting you. Am I right?” Gu Nianzhi concluded.
“Yes. He was able to move about freely. He had lived somewhere by himself and had remained in the dark to protect me.” Tan Guiren repeated what Gu Nianzhi had said, like a robot given commands.
Speaker Long saw how Gu Nianzhi had been probing the situation from various angles, and couldn’t help admiring her even more.
She was a seed with a great potential for growth!
She could assess the situation from various angles without even needing his guidance!
Speaker Long felt that even if he himself had asked, he couldn’t have done so in such a comprehensive manner.
She truly was a silver-tongued prodigy!
Under the watchful eye of Speaker Long, Tan Guiren felt more and more nervous and started to focus on Gu Nianzhi’s questions and answers more and more.
After fifteen minutes, Gu Nianzhi stopped finding new ways to ask the same question.
For the past fifteen minutes, she had kept pushing the same story deeper into their minds. Although the US military and the CIA had kept interrogating Tan Guiren, Tan Guiren never disclosed any confidential information because she did not know Huo Shaoheng’s true identity at that time.
Huo Shaoheng, due to his professional expertise and vigilance, had never encountered the US military or the CIA in person, let alone gotten himself captured.
Under the repeated hypnotic questioning and misleading guidance of Gu Nianzhi, Tan Guiren’s memory began to subconsciously adjust itself and start to believe what Gu Nianzhi had been stating over and over again.
