Up until now, Tan Guiren had not exactly partaken in anything that could exactly be regarded as a misdeed. She wasn’t someone like Gu Yanran and was definitely not someone like Wen Shouyi. Those two people had brought upon her harm that was substantial and irrevocable. It would be impossible for Gu Nianzhi to reconcile with them.
Tan Guiren, on the other hand, was a little better than Xu Piaohong and Gui Suyao.
With that being said, the harm that she caused to Gu Nianzhi was actually the most severe. However, Gu Nianzhi knew deep inside her heart that what had happened could not entirely be attributed to and blamed upon Tan Guiren. After all, she had her whole life planned out by her dear parents, and all she had to do was make sure that she looked pretty and elegant.
Even though she had a secret crush on Huo Shaoheng, she did not approach Gu Nianzhi brazenly and provoke her like Xu Piaohong did. Most importantly, she was outstanding at playing the violin. Gu Nianzhi had the opportunity to see her violin performance on Christmas Eve. Listening to her music was almost like listening to nature.
One’s music reflected one’s thoughts. Musicians with errant thoughts would not be able to produce such pure music. Music was just like other kinds of art; in order to reach the highest level of success, one must possess a clear conscience. It could even be said that for that to be possible, one must see no evil. True artistic success may only be reached with an exceptionally carefree heart. If an artist was so sophisticated, his works would inevitably be filled with artistry.
Tan Guiren was very well protected by her parents. She was completely different from the masses and gave off the feeling that she would be out of tune with them, which was the reason why her violin playing could produce a sound like that. But what if she left her parents’ protection?
Gu Nianzhi considered as she went to the kitchen to pour He Zhichu a cup of coffee. Tan Guiren probably would not be able to live if that happened. Tan Guiren was truly akin to a Chinese dodder flower, beautiful yet so fragile that it would die without any support. She was destined to walk away from her parents arms into her husband’s arms, then be sheltered by her husband for the rest of her life.
On the other hand, Gu Nianzhi’s English name was Cereus, also known as an epiphyllum or “the queen of the night.” It could also be regarded as a cactus, since an epiphyllum was a plant classified as part of caryophyllales, which included the cacti. A cereus was pure white and looked delicate but had tenacious vitality.
She thought about how it was a cactus that bloomed on barren land and thought that it was appropriate. Gu Nianzhi strongly felt that only it could truly portray her. She had no parents or close relatives, but with Huo Shaoheng by her side, she was able to grow up safe and sound.
Unlike Tan Guiren, she never thought of living the rest of her life under Huo Shaoheng’s protection and would never want to do that. She belonged with the cereus, the species of cacti plants that grew on barren lands. They possessed not only tenacious vitality but also bore thorns all over them. If anyone wanted to make life difficult for her, she would do the same to that person first. It was just that simple.
Gu Nianzhi held back her compassion. She walked out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee and placed them on the coffee table. “Professor He, black coffee, your favorite.”
Gu Nianzhi made herself a cup of cappuccino with some milk and sugar while He Zhichu drank his coffee in one gulp. “I need to adjust to the time difference today. I’m very tired and don’t feel like driving back. Will you let me stay for the night?”
Gu Nianzhi glanced at He Zhichu then nodded. “Let me prepare the guest room for you.”
He Zhichu sat on the sofa and watched as Gu Nianzhi moved around diligently like a little bee. He felt warm and fuzzy. He gradually fell asleep as he leaned back on the sofa.
Gu Nianzhi came out after tidying up the guest room and saw that He Zhichu was already fast asleep on the sofa. The setting sun shone through the small gaps between the curtains, and golden rays appeared on the cherrywood floorboard. It invoked a feeling of peace, calm, and comfort.
Gu Nianzhi took out the blankets and gently spread them over He Zhichu. After that, she walked into her own bedroom, closed the door, took out her cell phone, and called Speaker Long.
Speaker Long said before that she could call him up if she wanted to take the exam for a position in the secretarial office of the senate. Gu Nianzhi knew that Speaker Long must be swamped and that it wasn’t good timing. However, she couldn’t wait. Despite knowing that Speaker Long was busy, she still had to make the call.
As expected, Speaker Long was very busy. Gu Nianzhi made a total of ten calls before Speaker Long finally answered. “Nianzhi? I’m sorry, it’s especially busy today, and I left my cell phone in the study.” Speaker Long’s exhaustion was clearly audible.
Gu Nianzhi cut to the chase and said, “Speaker Long, I know you’re busy, so this call I’m making is to offer you some help.”
“Oh? You want to help?” Speaker Long laughed. He sat down, took a breath, and drank some tea. “How do you propose to do that? Have you decided to take the exam?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded profusely. “That’s right, I’ve decided. But I heard that I will have to wait for a month before the exam. In the meantime, since you’re swamped right now, will you let me work for you as an intern? I can help you with last minute election matters, and at the same time familiarize myself with the workflow so I’ll be able to start work immediately when I pass the exam later.”
Speaker Long gave it some thought and felt that it would work. There were plenty of internship positions at the senate, anyway. Gu Nianzhi was a student from B University’s Master of Law program and also an outstanding student who graduated in advance. He even recommended her for the secretarial office of the senate. Hence, her internship at the senate was a matter of course.
It was also a fact that Speaker Long was low on manpower. He wanted to try it out even more to see if Gu Nianzhi was as outstanding as he thought she was. Special Assistant Yang mentioned to Speaker Long before that Gu Nianzhi was outstanding, but it was because she was standing on the “shoulders of giants” and not based on her own merits. Special Assistant Yang did not explicitly state so, but Speaker Long already knew that he was referring to both He Zhichu and Huo Shaoheng.
One was Gu Nianzhi’s postgraduate tutor at college, while the other used to be her guardian and was the youngest major general in the military. He had power and authority, with tens of thousands of subordinates all over the world under his command.
“Sure. If you’d like, you can come by tomorrow and follow my lead. I will personally assign work for you.” Speaker Long started to ramble. “You know about it, right? The re-election will begin in two weeks’ time, and the senate will be crazy busy then.”
“Of course I know about it. It’s in the headlines these days. I’m afraid there’s no one in the country who doesn’t know about it.” Gu Nianzhi chuckled. “Then I’ll go start work tomorrow.”
“Okay, you can come to my office directly. I’ll let Special Assistant Yang know so that he can make the necessary arrangements.” Feeling happy, Speaker Long gave the table a knock. The person that he had his eyes on was not only talented but also had the initiative to look for and volunteer herself for work. In Speaker Long’s eyes, half the battle was already won.
The remaining half would depend on Gu Nianzhi’s actual performance at work. Speaker Long had set his mind on the qualities that his successor should possess. His successor must not only be someone with a good attitude but must also be someone who was able to produce quality work. Good attitude with low quality work would not do. Of course, good quality work but a bad attitude would also be hard to accept.
Both Speaker Long and Gu Nianzhi finalized the matters for the next day, then Speaker Long informed Special Assistant Yang about it. Special Assistant Yang had also been extremely busy these days and was looking for someone to assist him with his work. However, the candidate that he had in mind, and whom he thought of highly, was Rong Mingxing, a female junior from his high school, who was now a fourth year student in B University’s Law Department.
But that didn’t matter since Speaker Long already told Gu Nianzhi to follow him. There wouldn’t be any conflict with Rong Mingxing this way. Since they were all interns anyway, Special Assistant Yang could still free up an additional internship position.
…
Gu Nianzhi hung up the call. She saw through the windows that the lights outside were illuminated. It was nightfall. He Zhichu had fallen into a deep slumber. Gu Nianzhi looked back but didn’t wake him up. She was planning to prepare some dishes in the kitchen.
Just then her cell phone rang again. The ringtone that was playing was one that was customized and assigned to Huo Shaoheng. “Nianzhi?”
Gu Nianzhi replied with a “Mhm” and said, “Master Huo, what’s up?”
Huo Shaoheng sounded very calm. “Is Professor He still at your place? Is there anything else he has to do there?”
He Zhichu had entered her apartment in the afternoon, and it was already night time, but he was still not out yet. Huo Shaoheng must be checking up on her? Gu Nianzhi whispered, “Professor He has fallen asleep. I didn’t want to wake him up.”
Huo Shaoheng was at a loss for words.
“It’s alright. Professor He is a man of honor.” Gu Nianzhi quietly dispelled Huo Shaoheng’s concerns and changed the subject ingeniously as she gently said, “Master Huo, I have an idea. Tomorrow, I will be helping out Speaker Long. Give me another three days, and I will make sure that for the rest of her life, Cai Songyin won’t have the courage to start a suit.
