Gu Mang leaned carelessly on the railing in her black sweatpants. Her legs were long and straight. She keyed in Lu Chengzhou’s mobile phone number with one hand, opened the cigarette case with the thumb of her other hand, knocked one out, bit it with her mouth, and lit it up with the lighter.
After keying in the phone number, she pressed the dial button and draped her arms randomly over the railing, her fingers holding the cigarette.
“Why did you shut down your phone?”
After only one ring, Lu Chengzhou picked up, and a low voice was heard from the other end.
Gu Mang’s eyebrows were drooping and her voice was a little cold. “The interviews will begin tomorrow. There were too many calls. So annoying.”
Lu Chengzhou stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Seal Palace condominium. The bustling night view of the city was colorful.
Holding a cup of honey water in his hand, his trimmed fingertips gently rubbed the edge of the cup, and he asked in a low voice, “You haven’t thought of what to major in?”
There was silence on the phone and it took a while before Lu Chengzhou heard Gu Mang’s voice. “TCM.”
“Capital University, Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Capital Medical University. You can choose one of these three universities.” He seemed to be prepared. “The faculty at Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is better. If you don’t want to be in the same school as Gu Yin I will deal with it.”
He had guessed what she wanted to study again. He really knew her well.
Gu Mang flicked the ashes and the chilly feeling between her eyebrows faded slightly. She said indifferently, “Ah, no, she won’t pick Chinese medicine. Even if I went to Capital University, we won’t go in the same direction.”
“You really wouldn’t mind?”
Lu Chengzhou took a sip of honey water, his eyes a little deep. He was not sure about this. In his impression, Gu Mang had been cruel to everyone but was only merciful towards Gu Yin.
Gu Mang let out a lazy ‘hmm.’ Then, she remembered the conditions set by the schools in the messages sent to her inbox. “M University in Country K is offering me free tuition, 50,000 yuan per month, and priority access to all resources. I am kinda interested.”
It would save her quite a sum of money.
When Lu Chengzhou heard this, he smiled. “Didn’t I transfer 100 million to you? It’s gone already?”
There should have been another 500 million yuan from legal compensation from the assault incident. The thought of that annoyed Gu Mang.
Yu Zhongjing, that old man, had seen a bigger flow of funds recently. She heard that he was researching new medical technology again. The only way to return capital was to wait for medical technology to take form.
“Would you like to check your pulse? Three hundred thousand each,” Gu Mang asked suddenly.
Lu Chengzhou was speechless.
After calling him, within a few minutes, there was another 100 million in Gu Mang’s account.
At the same time, there was an unread message on WeChat. “Paying a year’s salary in advance, I would like to ask Ms. Gu, how much would it be to buy out?”
Gu Mang looked at her phone screen and squinted. Then, she tutted. “In your dreams.”
She extinguished the cigarette and walked into her dormitory slowly.
…
The next day.
The interviews started at Ming City High School. Teachers from the Political and Education Office came to make preparations. At the entrance of the interview hall, Gu Mang, Qin Yaozhi, and Shen Huan stood to the side. There were students from other classes as well.
Qin Yaozhi was bored and glanced around. She saw someone who shouldn’t be there. “Sister Mang, why is Gu Yin here? I heard that Gu Yin was admitted to Capital University. Why is she still coming for an interview?”
From afar, a bunch of students walked towards their direction.
Shen Huan heard and turned around. “She has already been admitted to Capital University. Yet she still came here. Isn’t that disrespectful to Capital University?”
Qin Yaozhi nodded. Gu Yin had totally offended Capital University. Gu Mang did not answer. She was texting Lu Chengzhou on the phone. The front of the interview hall was very spacious and Gu Mang was standing next to a pillar.
Gu Yin was quite a distance away from her. She looked at Gu Mang.
In the early morning of last night, a group of people came to Ming City. Director-General Lu and Uncle had gone to pick them up personally.
