Gu Nianzhi was vaguely aware that when Hong Kangquan escaped, he had possessed solid evidence. However, she had no idea what it actually was.
That had been the only reason why he could make the Japanese risk everything and be willing to sacrifice all the espionage connections they had built in the Huaxia Empire to help him escape.
Their plan had failed in the end and the Huaxia Empire had nearly lost many elite personnel from the Special Operations Forces.
If it wasn’t thanks to Gu Nianzhi and Song Jinning’s amazing abilities, Huo Shaoheng and his men would be the ones drowned in the Japan Sea instead of the Japanese elite frogman squad.
Now that Reinitz was telling her Hong Kangquan had contacted the Americans before contacting the Japanese, she thought it finally made sense.
Gu Nianzhi had always known that the Americans were supporting Hong Kangquan, so she had been slightly shocked when she had learned that the Japanese were the ones who had intercepted him.
She immediately asked, “He contacted the Americans? Who did you hear this from?”
Reinitz chuckled magnetically, “…I’ll pick you up after work tonight. Then, I’ll make you dinner and tell you about the details.” He ended the call.
Gu Nianzhi stared at her phone while she secretly loathed Reinitz for being so rude.
He had got her appetite worked up and forced her to eat the dinner he was going to make…
Gu Nianzhi looked miserable when she turned on her computer. Suppressing her feelings of unease, she began to work.
She hadn’t been there for several days, but there wasn’t much in her inbox. However, Special Assistant Zhuang sent her contract over.
Gu Nianzhi printed the contract and carefully read it. She saw it was only for a period of two years and provided a decent salary. She signed it with confidence before personally delivering it to Special Assistant Zhuang.
Special Assistant Zhuang was now working on the same floor as Speaker Long, so his office was directly across Speaker Long’s office.
“Special Assistant Zhuang, I still need Speaker Long’s signature here. Do you want to deliver this to him, or should I ask Speaker Long for a signature?” Gu Nianzhi smiled as she set the printed and signed contract on Special Assistant Zhuang’s desk.
Special Assistant Zhuang quickly glanced over at the contract and signed his name before saying, “Leave it here, I’ll bring it to Speaker Long and ask for his signature after he is finished with his meeting.”
“Thank you, Special Assistant Zhuang.” Gu Nianzhi smiled respectfully at him and chatted some more before opening the door to go outside.
When Gu Nianzhi went to her office, she saw Rong Mingxing again. She was standing at her door and poking her head around.
Gu Nianzhi coughed behind her and said, “Miss Rong, is there something I can help you with?”
Rong Mingxing instantly turned and saw Gu Nianzhi standing behind her. Her tiny, fair face instantly flushed as she mumbled, “Miss Gu, do you have a moment? There is something I need to talk to you about.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded, “Please come inside.”
She walked inside first.
Rong Mingxing followed her and closed the door.
Half the walls in Gu Nianzhi’s tiny office were glass, so people outside could see inside the office.
There was only a bit of privacy when the blinds were closed.
Gu Nianzhi saw that Rong Mingxing wanted to say something, so she politely asked, “Do you want me to close the blinds?”
“Oh, that’s fine. This is ok.” Rong Mingxing carefully sat in front of her.
Both girls had their sides facing the glass wall.
Gu Nianzhi picked up an unopened bottle of spring water from the desk and passed it to Rong Mingxing, “…I took this from the kitchenette in the Secretariat.”
Rong Mingxing accepted it and thanked Gu Nianzhi before looking at her. She bit her lip without saying anything.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t say anything either as she looked at her with a kind smile.
Who would outlast the other in the silence?
Gu Nianzhi had only ever lost to Huo Shaoheng in the past, so Rong Mingxing’s little antics were not up to measure.
The two girls stared at each other for a full two minutes before Rong Mingxing lost the battle.
She averted her gaze as she looked down at Gu Nianzhi’s office desk. She mumbled, “Miss Gu, aren’t you curious about what I have to say?”
“What do I have to be curious about? I wasn’t the one who invited you for a conversation.” Gu Nianzhi answered her calmly in an even tone. Her voice was completely devoid of emotions and carried an obvious business-like manner.
Rong Mingxing suddenly couldn’t breathe from Gu Nianzhi’s powerful aura.
It was like she wasn’t facing a 19-year-old girl who had just finished her Master’s degree, but a calculating and cunning old man who had been working in the political realm for over a decade…
But this obviously wasn’t the case with Gu Nianzhi…
Rong Mingxing couldn’t exactly explain what she was feeling. Her legs shook so badly that she wanted nothing more than to make a run for it. But when she thought about how she would be left with nothing if she ran, she quickly found courage.
She balled her hands into fists under the table to cheer herself on while she looked up at Gu Nianzhi to say quietly, “Miss Gu, I heard you already signed a contract.”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
Didn’t she just drop the contract off?
But she also knew that there were no such things as secrets when working here.
A work contract was not really confidential. Once Speaker Long signed it, it would be posted on a public bulletin board for everyone to see for a month, to ensure no one had any objections. Only then would she be officially hired.
Everyone had ways of knowing who was hired, who quit, or who offended someone.
Rong Mingxing was soon able to see Gu Nianzhi’s work contract on the public bulletin board. Even her salary was fully disclosed.
This was because the salary information for the Senate and government institutions were not considered confidential information, so it must be made public.
Gu Nianzhi quickly understood that point and nodded, “Right, I just signed it. What about it?”
Rong Mingxing squeezed her shirt hem, her thin lips trembling slightly. After hemming and hawing for a long time, she finally said, “…Then can I ask you to help me with a favor, since we are schoolmates…?”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
She really wanted to say, why should I help her? Just because they were schoolmates?
But she didn’t even know about Rong Mingxing’s name when she was in school. One of them was a graduate student, while the other was an undergraduate student—it was like asking a complete stranger for a favor.
While Gu Nianzhi grumbled internally about it, she didn’t say anything out loud.
Fine, she would help if it’s something she could do.
Gu Nianzhi noticed that Rong Xingxing was dressed very plainly. Even though her clothes were in the latest style, they were obviously bootlegs—the unfinished hems were visible, the cloth and cutting were very generic. While the shape was correct, it didn’t look right and it was obvious that her family wasn’t very wealthy.
Gu Nianzhi sighed to herself and adopted a much softer tone, “What do you need help with? Tell me about it.”
Rong Mingxing could instantly tell that she had a chance and perked up.
She immediately answered, “Do you promise to help me? I’ll tell you if you promise to help me.”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
Did people actually ask for favors like that?
She didn’t tell Gu Nianzhi what she needed but was already demanding for her to agree to it and refused to say what it was until she agreed.
Gu Nianzhi lost her patience in dealing with Rong Mingxing, so she replied coolly, “Then you don’t need to tell me. I won’t be seeing you out, please remember to close the door.”
As Gu Nianzhi said this, her eyes drifted toward the computer and she began to ignore Rong Mingxing.
Rong Mingxing didn’t expect Gu Nianzhi to turn her back on her immediately. She was humiliated but didn’t want to leave yet.
She originally had the support of Special Assistant Yang, but she heard that he had lost his job because he had offended Gu Nianzhi.
Rong Mingxing couldn’t rely on Special Assistant Yang anymore, so she could only set her sights on Gu Nianzhi.
She thought about it again and finally said, “Miss Gu, the thing is… I was thinking that since you’ve already signed a contract, can you not take the exam? Or can you not take it seriously, as long as you don’t pass…”
Gu Nianzhi looked at her again, then shook her head, “No, isn’t that cheating? I won’t do that.”
“But Miss Gu, you’ve already signed the contract. I also heard from Special Assistant Zhuang that even if you fail the exam, it won’t stop you from getting the job. Why do you still have to be so ruthless?”
Rong Mingxing was extremely confused.
It was clearly just a simple favor, so why couldn’t Gu Nianzhi help her as a fellow schoolmate?
“…As long as you fail the exam, I will be able to get the position.” Rong Mingxing replied anxiously, “I don’t come from a strong family background and don’t have any connections, so I really need this job. Miss Gu, I know you know lots of people and many of them are high-ranking officials. You don’t need to squeeze into the commuter line like the rest of us regular citizens. You’ve already signed your contract anyway, so the exam is just a procedure. Why can’t you give up showing up for a procedure?”
Rong Mingxing already inquired with Special Assistant Yang about it.
The Senate was only hiring for one position this time.
However, Gu Nianzhi was considered a special hire so it meant that even if she failed the exam, her position was an added one, which wouldn’t count toward the official position for hire.
With the exam questions Special Assistant Yang leaked, Rong Mingxing was very confident that she would be in the first place and officially earn the position.
Of course, this depended on the top student Gu Nianzhi not doing so well on the exam.
If Gu Nianzhi was also first place for the written exam, then there would not be an additional position. Rong Mingxing could not possibly become an official employee.
Gu Nianzhi let Rong Mingxing finish speaking before comprehending why she needed her help.
She began to hesitate.
It was true that Rong Mingxing had a point.
Gu Nianzhi had already signed her contract, so she already had her position regardless of how well she did on the exam. Why should she compete with someone else?
But what did Rong Mingxing mean?
According to what Gu Nianzhi knew, Rong Mingxing wasn’t the only student taking the exam aside from herself.
But Rong Mingxing was acting very confidently, like she was certain to be in the first place as long as Gu Nianzhi failed the exam…
Gu Nianzhi squinted her eyes and replied, “I can’t give you an answer about this right now, I need to think about it thoroughly.”
