Speaker Long was indeed very punctual.
His first meeting had started at 8:30 in the morning and lasted for half an hour. After that, it was time for him to see Tan Guiren and ask her about what had happened in the United States.
However, seeing Gu Nianzhi accompanying Tan Guiren caught him off guard.
His eyes unconsciously went to Gu Nianzhi, who had been hit by the Prime Minister’s spokesman.
Her skin is as smooth as jade and free of any blemishes. There were also no signs of redness or inflammation to be seen anywhere.
Speaker Long nodded with relief and said in a kind voice, “Nianzhi, are your injuries all right?”
Tan Guiren felt anxious and concerned. She looked at Gu Nianzhi with a pleading expression in her eyes.
In order to stop Gu Nianzhi from suing her father and mother, she had told Gu Nianzhi her most shameful secret.
Gu Nianzhi intuitively grasped what was going through Tan Guiren’s mind and winked at her. She looked at Speaker Long and said with a smile, “Thank you for your concern, Speaker Long. My injury is all right now. I was treated by Dr. Chen of the military department. What else is there to worry about?”
She mentioned Chen Lie in order to prove that it was due to him that her wound had healed so quickly.
Speaker Long nodded with understanding. “Yeah, that kid Chen Lie is really good. Nianzhi, I’m relieved to hear that you’re doing fine.”
He, too, thought that it would be unfortunate for a beautiful girl to have her appearance ruined over this.
Even if she had sued successfully and the person that assaulted her was punished by the law, her looks still would have been permanently altered.
It was truly great to hear that all was well.
Speaker Long felt as though that was the only good news he had heard in a few days.
He had been growing weary from all of the incidents and scandals that were coincidentally occurring at the same time.
Speaker Long glanced at Tan Guiren and smiled kindly. “Miss Tan, thank you for agreeing to meet me.”
He had asked Tan Guiren to come because he genuinely wanted to ask her something, not to pressure her.
Because Tan Guiren looked somewhat uneasy, Speaker Long was worried that he was scaring her.
However, Tan Guiren’s uneasiness was not caused by Speaker Long’s phone call but was due to Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi pressed her hand firmly on Tan Guiren’s shoulders and led her toward the front of Speaker Long’s desk to sit down on one of the soft stools. “Speaker Long, Miss Tan said you asked to speak with her. I saw that it was almost time, so I sent her in,” she said. Gu Nianzhi pretended that she was going to start taking notes and said to Speaker Long as naturally as she could, “You ask, I will record everything for you.”
If Speaker Long were going to ask questions, he certainly wouldn’t be asking them alone.
Every time he worked, there had to be a record of it, even if it was something as simple as interrogating Tan Guiren.
Speaker Long originally wanted to find Special Assistant Zhuang and have him take notes, but seeing the enthusiastic expression on Gu Nianzhi’s face, and thinking again about how she was a legal intern, it seemed more appropriate to let her handle it.
Since Speaker Long wasn’t sure whether or not the matter at hand had the potential of causing any legal issues in the future, it was better to plan ahead.
Speaker Long reminded Gu Nianzhi, “Remember to record in accordance with legal procedures. The documents I have here are all legally valid.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded vigorously. She knew this would happen, and it was precisely the reason why she had volunteered herself this way.
Seeing how understanding Gu Nianzhi was, Speaker Long didn’t feel as though he had to say much more. He turned to look at Tan Guiren and began to ask her, “Miss Tan, I specifically requested you come here today to ask you about your disappearance in the United States.”
Tan Guiren’s heart sank. She didn’t want to talk about it at all.
She looked at Nianzhi with pleading eyes.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t look at Tan Guiren. She took notes with her head down, but from the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Tan Guiren’s expression. Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flickered, and she looked up after writing a few words. “Speaker Long, regarding information about Miss Tan’s disappearance in the United States, I have read about it on the Internet. I remember that Prime Minister Tan was still running in the election at that time, and due to Miss Tan’s disappearance, he received a lot of sympathy.”
Tan Guiren was too ashamed to lift her head.
Speaker Long was caught off guard by her reaction, and said in a gentler voice, “Miss Tan, you need not feel burdened. I’m not asking to tell me everything that happened to you. That is your secret. I fully understand.”
Tan Guiren nodded slightly and said in a low voice, “Thank you for your understanding.”
Gu Nianzhi was secretly impressed by Tan Guiren.
If that statement had been made to a lawyer, then the lawyer probably would have torn such an innocent creature as Tan Guiren to shreds.
But such appeals worked very well with Speaker Long.
Because Speaker Long had campaigned for his office and was elected, he paid great attention to privacy and human rights.
If Tan Guiren stated that she didn’t want to talk about the specifics of her disappearance, then Speaker Long had to respect her wishes.
Not to mention how Gu Nianzhi was secretly adding gas to the fire. “Miss Tan, rest assured, Speaker Long is not the kind of person who likes to gossip or probe into other people’s secrets. All he wants to do is to ask you a few questions, and since he is a principled person, none of those questions will intrude upon your private matters.”
Speaker Long almost burst out laughing after hearing what Gu Nianzhi had said.
His intuition told him he was right. Gu Nianzhi kept talking and promising things, and every word that came out of her mouth was part of a set-up. She wanted to make sure that he did not ask something that he shouldn’t.
He didn’t think poorly of her because of it. If anything, it made Gu Nianzhi seem more impressive.
“Yes, Miss Tan, all I will ask are dignified questions. I am not like those unscrupulous reporters who abandon their morals for the sake of more view.” Speaker Long thought of Cai Songyin, and could not help but feel the truth of his own words even more profoundly.
Although Cai Songyin wasn’t a highly principled media reporter herself, the daughter she raised was indeed very different from her.
Although Speaker Long bore no ill will for Tan Guiren, he despised how Cai Songyin manipulated the media.
Gu Nianzhi thought of Cai Songyin as well, but Tan Guiren didn’t seem to understand what was being implied.
She had a solemn expression and kept nodding. “Speaker Long, you are right. I rarely bother with the news because my mom says that most news sources are questionable anyway, so it’s better not to watch.”
“Oh, really? Are those Mrs. Tan’s own words?” Speaker Long crossed his hands on his desk, asking with great interest.
Gu Nianzhi smiled and tacitly brought the conversation back to the original topic. “Mrs. Tan did a good job and was very smart about keeping private matters out of the media. So, when I read the news, I only knew that Miss Tan was missing in the United States and that she was later found by our people. At that time, wasn’t there also news on TV that Miss Tan was sent back on a private plane?”
It was that particular piece of news that had overwhelmed Gu Nianzhi.
She recalled herself crying so much that she became hysterical.
However, on the surface, she mentioned that news report so casually and indifferently that it seemed like it had nothing to do with her.
In fact, neither of the two here knew how much that piece of news mattered to her personally.
Tan Guiren had a bashful expression on her face, and she summoned the courage to whisper, “Yes, I would like to thank Major General Huo. If it were not for him, I would have died in the hands of my kidnappers in the United States.”
Speaker Long also became serious as well. He furthered the conversation on Huo Shaoheng by asking, “Miss Tan, what happened after you were rescued by Major General Huo? Do you remember? To be honest, I saw the American police rescuing you live on American TV. Was Major General Huo among those who saved you?”
Tan Guiren remembered that scene very clearly. She thought about it, then bit her lower lip and asked, “Do I have to answer that? At that time, Major General Huo requested that I keep that information confidential.”
Speaker Long thought for a moment, then said, “You can speak freely here. Anything you say will be treated as though it is highly classified.” Then, he glanced at Gu Nianzhi. “Nianzhi, your security rank…”
Gu Nianzhi said immediately, “Speaker Long, my security rank is high enough. If you don’t believe me, you can check it right now. If I am lying, you can shoot me on the spot.”
Huo Shaoheng had told her that one of the primary motives of him marrying her was to improve her security level quickly.
She remembered that very well and believed that Huo Shaoheng would not lie to her about something like that.
Speaker Long nodded and said, “Of course, I will check.”
But he didn’t press the matter further. He turned to look at Tan Guiren, saying, “I’ll ask you a few questions. If you can answer, you can answer. If you can’t answer, then you won’t need to speak. Is that alright with you?”
Tan Guiren nodded. “Okay, Speaker Long.”
Speaker Long thought for a moment before he asked, “The night you were rescued by the American police, was Major General Huo there? Was he with you, or…?”
Miss Tan Guiren had thought that since the incident was televised, Speaker Long likely had already seen it on the news, so it would be alright for her to tell the truth.
But before she said anything, she carefully glanced at Gu Nianzhi.
Speaker Long caught this, and he also stared at Gu Nianzhi thoughtfully.
Gu Nianzhi felt bitter inside. People as innocent as Tan Guiren were like double-edged swords. Although you could consider exploiting her naivety and using it against others, others were thinking the same about you.
Fortunately, Gu Nianzhi knew how Tan Guiren would act pretty well and prepared several ways to deal with her. She said calmly, “Miss Tan, don’t be afraid. Who do you think Speaker Long is? He won’t spill your secret to anyone.”
She had calmly twisted it around and made it seem as though Tan Guiren was glancing at her because she was worried about her private matters being exposed.
Tan Guiren was relieved. Her gaze shifted to Speaker Long, and she whispered, “If Speaker Long watches TV, then he would know that the instant Major General Huo rescued me, he was taken by the US police. They thought he was the kidnapper.”
The corners of Gu Nianzhi’s mouth curled, and she quickly recorded what was said.
“What happened next?” Speaker Long was most concerned about whether or not Huo Shaoheng had been detained.
“The US police were very annoying. I tried to explain everything to them, but they didn’t listen and arrested Major General Huo. However, Major General Huo was impressive, and he fled quickly.” Tan Guiren stated again that Huo Shaoheng was very impressive, and then added, “And he visited me at my home in Long Island the next day.”
“He came to you the very next day? With so many American police officers there that night, it seemed like there were even soldiers amongst them. Didn’t he get caught? What about his mental state and physical condition?” Speaker Long asked.
“No. Major General Huo is so impressive. How could those US military people catch him?! They’re not on the same level at all!” Tan Guiren spread out her hands and blurted out excitedly, “But he suffered some minor injuries. Scrapes and scratches. Nothing serious.”
Tan Guiren had suddenly turned into Huo Shaoheng’s fangirl, full of admiration and awe for his impressive abilities.
Speaker Long didn’t respond.
Why did he suddenly feel like his faith in Huo Shaoheng couldn’t even compare with this silly little girl’s faith in him?!!
