She had worked hard to get into the best university in the Huaxia Empire, and she had chosen a good major, but she struggled to find a job.
She wanted to stay in the imperial capital. Still, she didn’t have the imperial capital registered as her permanent residence, so she couldn’t even deliver her resume to where she truly wanted to go…
As for the jobs at state agencies that could resolve her permanent residence issue, she almost couldn’t get in there either because Gu Nianzhi butted heads with her everywhere.
Of course she felt resentful.
Why did everything go so smoothly for Gu Nianzhi?
Was it just because she had a good patron?
She glanced at Special Assistant Yang quickly and thought about how he was also her patron…
But he didn’t seem to be very effective.
Special Assistant Yang saw Rong Mingxing’s eyes flicker, and her expression changed, so he knew he had struck a nerve.
He crossed his arms and said with a smile, “I’m just making an offhanded comment, so don’t take it to heart. Besides, I just want her to get a taste of her own medicine, and I won’t really hold a grudge against her. After all, we belong to the same country, so why become a laughing stock in front of foreigners? Don’t you agree?”
Rong Mingxing nodded profusely. “Yeah, yeah, that’s what I think too.”
“Xiao Rong is a really good person.” Special Assistant Yang ceased to smile, and after staring at her dazedly for a while, he touched her head, then got up and left.
Even a while after he left, Rong Mingxing still felt the lingering sensation of his touch on her head.
…
When she woke up the next morning, Gu Nianzhi felt that her body was sticky and sweaty.
The room was as hot as a steamer.
It was only April, so why was it so hot?
Gu Nianzhi got up and looked at the temperature controller on the wall.
She was dumbfounded when she saw the number displayed on it.
31 degrees!
Why was it so hot?
Was the air conditioner in the room broken?
This was a five-star hotel…
Gu Nianzhi walked into the bathroom and reached out to press the switch on the wall.
There was no response.
There was probably a power outage.
She did a lot of research on India before coming, so she knew that power outages were also one of the norms in India.
Regardless of whether it was a rural area or in a big city, there was always an insufficient supply of electricity when people needed to use it.
But she remembered that the research information said that these big hotels and large institutions had their own generators.
Perhaps the hotel’s own generator was also broken?
Gu Nianzhi wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand and had the urge to take a shower.
Without thinking, she knew that hot water wouldn’t be available.
But fortunately, it was hot, so it was okay to take a bath without hot water.
Gu Nianzhi turned on the cold water and tested the temperature with her hands. The temperature was okay. It was quite warm.
She quickly took a shower and wiped her hair with a large bath towel as she came out of the bathroom.
Without electricity, she couldn’t even use a hairdryer.
But it was extremely hot in the room, so she thought her hair would dry out after a while.
After sitting for a while, her hair was dry, but her body was sweaty again.
Gu Nianzhi gritted her teeth, then went to the bathroom to rinse her body with cold water again, and felt much better afterward.
Right after she finished packing, the electricity returned.
The air conditioner in the room started to work again, and the temperature soon dropped.
Gu Nianzhi smiled bitterly and shook her head, then she changed her clothes and went downstairs to have breakfast.
She could order room service, or she could eat at the buffet downstairs.
Gu Nianzhi chose to go to the buffet downstairs because there were more choices.
But when she came downstairs and looked around, she knew she was overly optimistic.
The hotel breakfast buffet area didn’t have various choices like those in her country.
There were only three types of food in the breakfast area there.
There was a variety of crepes, baked, fried, or smoked, and with sauce or without sauce.
There were also all kinds of meat. There was goat meat, chicken, and sardines, but they weren’t finely cut. It was as if they were torn off by hand…
There were also a variety of bowls of curry paste of unappetizing colors.
The earthy yellow color gave her a bad first impression, and she completely lost her appetite.
Gu Nianzhi frowned and looked around, then finally took a small piece of a pie with filling, a cup of authentic Indian tea, and a bottle of milk, and sat in the corner to eat.
She only took a bite, then reluctantly gave up.
It didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t suit her taste.
Gu Nianzhi left a small tip on the table and left the breakfast buffet area as she wondered whether she should go outside to find a Chinese restaurant to eat something.
At that moment, she heard someone call her name, and when she looked back, it was Rong Mingxing.
She looked at her while holding a paper bag, and said with a smile, “Miss Gu, this is the breakfast our embassy prepared. Would you like to try it?”
Gu Nianzhi was overjoyed, and quickly walked over to ask, “Did the chefs from our country make it?!”
“Yes, it’s quite simple if you don’t mind.” Rong Mingxing said with a smile. Her attitude today was much better than yesterday.
Gu Nianzhi reached out and took the paper bag, then went upstairs with her while asking, “Where is Speaker Long? Does he have breakfast prepared by our own people too?”
“Yes, both of you do. Speaker Long doesn’t like to eat food from other countries in the morning, so our embassy prepared his breakfast carefully.”
Rong Mingxing was there to deliver breakfast.
She was followed by several Indian waiters pushing food carts. Rong Mingxing brought the food from the embassy, and they went upstairs with them.
Gu Nianzhi took the paper bag, bid farewell to Rong Mingxing, then went back to her room to eat.
Rong Mingxing went to see Speaker Long along with others to deliver breakfast.
After eating the delicious Chinese breakfast, Gu Nianzhi felt like she had been revitalized again.
It seemed true that hunger breeds discontentment!
Gu Nianzhi smiled and joined Speaker Long and the others to start the day’s activities.
The Vice President of India led the convoy and waited for them at the entrance of the hotel.
After they got in the car, they ordered the convoy to drive to the largest public hospital in New Delhi.
Gu Nianzhi had long heard of the free public hospitals in India and personally wanted to take a look.
However, when she saw the hospital building that looked like one from a rural city in the Huaxia Empire 20 years ago, she felt speechless.
It seemed true that seeing something was better than hearing about it.
But she still had to keep smiling.
When Gu Nianzhi looked at Speaker Long and saw that they all had expressions of surprise and praise, she quickly adjusted her expression as well.
After all, the cameras were on them.
As soon as she walked into the hospital, she noticed that, instead of the smell of hospital disinfectant that everyone was used to in the Huaxia Empire, there was the smell of curry.
Gu Nianzhi looked around silently, then held up the back of her hand to cover her nose.
There were a lot of people in the hospital, and the queues were very long. Most of the people wore traditional Indian clothes.
She could tell that the sari the women were wearing were probably vividly colored at first, but after several washes, the color had faded, and the decorations had fallen off as well.
It was like a beautiful woman that still had remnants of makeup left on her face.
Most of the men were in traditional Indian garb as well. Their long tops hung down to the knees. The legs of their trousers were wide and long, and since they weren’t that tall in the first place, the clothes made them appear even shorter.
And regardless of whether they were men or women, most of the people had stony expressions on their faces.
They were like people from different worlds when compared with the staff of the Indian Parliament who accompanied Speaker Long on their visit in suits and ties.
Gu Nianzhi’s height wasn’t particularly tall in the Huaxia Empire, but here, it was a bit out of the ordinary.
She followed Speaker Long closely step by step, but she could still feel the gazes of the Indian men on the side, and their stares made her very uncomfortable.
In fact, not only was she uncomfortable but Rong Mingxing, who accompanied her, also felt very uncomfortable.
But, for the sake of her job, for the sake of permanent residency in the imperial capital, she had to bear it.
The group of them observed their surroundings as they walked, and soon they arrived at the pediatric ward of the hospital.
Just as they walked over, the light bulbs in the corridor made a popping sound, and the power went out again.
…
