The thought of how Huo Shaoheng had asked Fan Jian to send her away just two nights before, right after the cyberwar had ended, and then ceased contact with her made Gu Nianzhi feel uneasy.
However, this time, she did not start relentlessly inquiring about Huo Shaoheng’s whereabouts as she had during the German crisis.
She was trying to learn from past mistakes.
Nevertheless, before she even realized what she was doing, Gu Nianzhi stepped forward and asked, “Are these two people here waiting for Speaker Long? Please, stay in the meeting room over there for a while. When Speaker Long’s meeting is over, he will attend to you two right away.”
Gu Nianzhi intended to get the two of them out of the way first, and then she was going to find a way to force some information out of Tan Guiren.
Hong Kangquan glanced at Gu Nianzhi with disinterest. Ignoring her, he turned toward Special Assistant Zhuang with a frown and said, “Give me a specific time.”
Miss Tan thought that Hong Kangquan had acted too rudely, and, feeling somewhat embarrassed, said to Gu Nianzhi, “Miss Gu, are you here to see Speaker Long as well?”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head with a smile. “I’m just an intern here, and I’m in charge of attending to you two.” Then she turned to Special Assistant Zhuang and said, “Chief Secretary Zhuang, how about we invite Director Hong and Miss Tan to have a seat in the reception room over there. How does that sound? ”
Special Assistant Zhuang was just a Special Assistant. His current rank was far below that of a Chief Secretary.
But Gu Nianzhi referring to him as Chief Secretary somehow felt very endearing.
After all, Chief Secretary was the highest rank in the Secretarial Office.
Special Assistant Yang had been a Special Assistant for five years, yet failed to achieve the rank of Chief Secretary.
Special Assistant Zhuang nodded while beaming. “Nianzhi, see to it that Director Hong and Miss Tan are attended to. I’ll see what’s going on with Speaker Long.”
Hong Kangquan had no choice. Seeing that Tan Guiren had already started to walk with Gu Nianzhi toward the reception room, all he could do was follow them.
Speaking with Tan Guiren as if they were already well-acquainted, Gu Nianzhi whispered while smiling, “Miss Tan, what time is your appointment with Speaker Long?”
“Nine o’clock.” Tan Guiren frowned slightly. “To be entirely honest, there’s still ten minutes to go until the appointment time. I have no idea why Director Hong is in such a hurry.”
“Oh,” Gu Nianzhi uttered. She didn’t know what to say in terms of what his impatience showed about Director Hong’s character.
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and led Tan Guiren into the reception room. She originally wanted to coax some information out of Miss Tan, but Hong Kangquan had followed them in. Hong Kangquan said to her disdainfully, “Miss Gu, check to see if Speaker Long’s conference is over. Is he really planning on making an appointment with us, yet not abiding by the promised time? We also have other business to attend to as well.”
Gu Nianzhi was not so polite to Hong Kangquan, either. She turned around and asked with composure, “Director Hong, what time did President Long agree to meet with you?”
Hong Kangquan was caught off guard and froze for a moment, then said, “Nine o’clock.” He raised his wrist and pointed at his watch. “Look, it’s time!”
“It’s still ten minutes until nine,” Gu Nianzhi said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t understand why Director Hong is complaining about Speaker Long’s lack of punctuality when the appointed time has not even arrived yet.”
“It’s only ten minutes anyway.” Hong Kangquan’s face grew sullen. He was surprised by the fact that an insignificant intern had dared to talk back to him so brazenly and contemptuously.
He raised his hand with displeasure. “When did I ever complain about Speaker Long’s lack of punctuality? Don’t take words out of context and twist them around,” he said.
Gu Nianzhi merely shrugged. “You just accused him of making an appointment yet not abiding by the promised time. Is this not a complaint against Speaker Long’s lack of punctuality? In fact, you are the one not abiding by the promised time,” she said.
Hong Kangquan suddenly remembered who she was, and squinted at her. “You’re that girl under Huo Shaoheng’s custody, aren’t you? Why are you interning at the Senate? I remember you studied law, right?”
“Director Hong certainly has an exceptional memory,” Gu Nianzhi sneered. “Huo Shao hasn’t been my guardian for a long time, or did your memory stop working seven years ago? Besides, I have graduated with a master’s degree. Interning at the Senate is a good opportunity.”
Hong Kangquan was taken aback by the harshness of Gu Nianzhi’s tone and was extremely displeased. He pursed his lips and decided to ignore her for the rest of the time they were there. He sat on the sofa by himself and picked up the newspaper that was on the coffee table in front of him.
Miss Tan found the stuffy and tense atmosphere unnerving. She stood up to ask Gu Nianzhi, “Miss Gu, may I use the bathroom here?”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart leaped at the golden opportunity to get some information, and said quickly, “It’s not far from here. I’ll show Miss Tan the way.”
Tai Guiren nodded. “Thank you for your kind offer.”
Hong Kangquan’s entire face was hidden behind the newspaper, so his expression couldn’t be read.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t care about Hong Kangquan’s attitude, though, and led Tan Guiren out. They turned left then walked straight, and after turning two corners, they finally arrived at the women’s restroom.
After entering and closing the door, there would be no surveillance.
After they got to the restroom, Gu Nianzhi waited for Tan Guiren to enter then opened each of the stalls in the bathroom to make sure that they were completely alone. She then smiled and asked, “Miss Tan, did Speaker Long make an appointment with you alone, or with Director Hong?”
Tan Guiren entered a stall and locked the door. After she finished, she came out. While washing her hands, she said to Gu Nianzhi, “I don’t know about Director Hong, but Speaker Long called me personally and told me to come to see him at nine this morning because he had something to ask me. ”
“Then, Director Hong wasn’t asked to come to the appointment with you?” Gu Nianzhi asked in surprise.
So, Tan Guiren was saying that Speaker Long made an appointment with her alone.
Tan Guiren didn’t understand what was happening, either. She groaned and said, “I bumped into Director Hong at the gates of the Parliament building. He said that he was coincidentally here to see Speaker Long as well, so he came in with me.”
“So what you’re saying is that Speaker Long actually only made an appointment with you.” Gu Nianzhi was amused.
Hong Kangquan really was a piece of work. He even had the audacity to ride Tan Guiren’s coattails into the meeting.
From his righteous tone just earlier, Gu Nianzhi had thought he was the one Speaker Long had made an appointment with!
She was even confused about why the two of them had shown up together.
Her intuition hadn’t been wrong after all. He was leeching off of other people for his own personal gain.
Gu Nianzhi handed a paper towel to Tan Guiren and asked in a coaxing manner, “Did Speaker Long ask you to come here because he wants you to work in the Senate Secretariat? That’s how I was pulled in to this position by him.”
Tan Guiren laughed, took the paper towel and wiped her hands with it, then threw it into the trash can. “I’m nowhere near as capable as you, Miss Gu. All I can do is play the violin,” she said. “Speaker Long will not want me to work here. He invited me to come in today to ask me about the details surrounding Huo Shaoheng’s rescue mission in the United States.”
Gu Nianzhi’s felt herself tense up inside but maintained the facade of innocent curiosity on her face. “Ah, really? Why is Speaker Long asking about that? Huo Shao’s mission was highly confidential. Moreover, didn’t Huo Shao write about it in the report he made after returning?” she asked.
Hearing this, Tan Guiren also frowned.
She remembered how Huo Shaoheng had said the exact same thing to her in the United States, especially when he had met that American.
“I’m not sure about it either. In fact, I don’t really know much about Major General Huo’s mission in the United States. In short, I will answer whatever Speaker Long asks. If I cannot answer, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Tan Guiren was a simple person.
Gu Nianzhi thought over what had been said for a moment. As long as Hong Kangquan wasn’t present, she should be able to accompany Speaker Long and listen in on what Tan Guiren had to say about the incident in the United States.
Who knew what badly timed things could spill out of that naive woman’s mouth?
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t willing to take the risk.
At that moment, she was glad she had gone in to work.
Otherwise, who knew what mistakes could have been made.
Gu Nianzhi glanced down at her watch. Only two minutes left until nine o’clock.
She linked Tan Guiren’s arm in hers. “It’s almost time. I’ll take you to see Speaker Long,” she said.
Tan Guiren was caught off guard. Being led by the arm, she asked in confusion, “But what about Director Hong? He’s still in the reception room.”
“Speaker Long didn’t invite Director Hong, so I’ll take you to see Speaker Long first.” Gu Nianzhi insisted that Hong Kangquan did not have an appointment with Speaker Long, and did not give Tan Guiren any chance to say anything else on the matter.
As Hong Kangquan began to grow impatient and agitated in the reception room, he finally realized that it was ten minutes past nine o’clock. Gu Nianzhi had already brought Tan Guiren into Speaker Long’s office.
