Chapter 1497 - Collateral Damage

Chapter 1497: Collateral Damage

Wen Shouyi was obviously stunned, but she quickly calmed herself down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. None of your interviews have anything to do with me. You weren’t accepted because of your own ability. You didn’t believe me when I said you relied on others to climb up the ranks. Now do you believe me?”

“Don’t avoid the question. I’ll find out if it was you.” Gu Nianzhi became enigmatic. “Wen Shouyi, don’t blame me for not reminding you. I’m a petty person who will seek revenge for the smallest grievance. If you want to provoke me, you’d better kill me. Otherwise, as long as I’m still alive, I won’t let you go!”

Wen Shouyi wanted to throw her phone away and sneered. “Your threat is enough for me to call the police. I’ve already recorded it. If something like this happens again, I’ll call the police.”

“Sure.” Gu Nianzhi propped her head on her hand as she said lazily, “So you recorded a phone call with brother Little Ning. Are you prepared to give evidence in court? Unfortunately, recording cannot be used as evidence unless it’s a call from a notary public.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Wen Shouyi said through gritted teeth.

Qin Zhining didn’t want the two of them to quarrel. He took out his phone and said to Gu Nianzhi, “I’ll give you an explanation for this.”

He wasn’t someone who didn’t understand the ways of the world. Since the Qin family had such a relationship with these four big law firms, Wen Shouyi could easily sabotage Gu Nianzhi.

He had already believed her.

Qin Zhining took his phone and walked to the corridor outside. He lit a cigarette and said in a slightly cold voice, “Shouyi, I’ll ask you one more time. Did Nianzhi’s rejection at the interview have anything to do with you?”

Wen Shouyi’s heart skipped a beat.

Qin Zhining had never spoken to her like this before, and his attitude made her even more uneasy.

She held her phone and looked at Qin Yaoguang’s ward. From the half-open door, she could only see that the person inside had just sat down and was about to have a long talk.

She bit her lip and whispered to Qin Zhining, “Ah-Ning, you don’t believe me, but only Gu Nianzhi?”

“I trust the evidence.” Qin Zhining’s feelings were complicated, “We’re both adults and have been in society for so many years, and you want me to trust you just because you say you didn’t? Shouyi, am I too stupid in your heart, or do you think I’m not important enough to know the truth?”

Men and women in love were most afraid of deception.

Betrayal was the sharpest weapon that could cool a relationship.

Wen Shouyi was angry and anxious. She said angrily, “You’ve only been with Gu Nianzhi for a few days, yet you trust her so much and don’t trust me? !”

Her heart turned cold. She couldn’t believe that even Qin Zhining would leave her the moment Gu Nianzhi returned..

She had once deeply believed that this man would never leave her.

No matter what she did to him, no matter if he was in her heart or not, this man would love and protect her for the rest of his life.

Had she overestimated this man’s infatuation with her?

Or was Gu Nianzhi just too good at seducing men?

She was only nineteen years old, and she was simply unbridled.

Wen Shouyi couldn’t have looked down on Gu Nianzhi more.

But no matter how much she looked down on Gu Nianzhi, she would never let go of Qin Zhining.

Wen Shouyi rubbed her temples and lowered her voice even more.

She smiled bitterly. “Ah-Ning, I didn’t want to tell you this, but since you asked, I can’t hide it from you even if I have to hide it from everyone.”

Qin Zhining’s expression darkened inch by inch. “So, You really were behind Gu Nianzhi’s interview rejections.”

“Don’t make it sound so bad.” Wen Shouyi said sulkily, “How capable can I be? Why would she listen to me?”

“Then what do you mean?” Qin Zhining frowned. “You just admitted it.”

“Did I just admit it?” Wen Shouyi couldn’t help it. “You’re really stupid. I made the call, but it wasn’t my idea. Her own mother didn’t want her to get a good job, and this is my fault?”

“Huh ? You’re saying… Auntie Qin asked you to do it?” Qin Zhining widened his eyes in shock. “Why did she do it? Nianzhi is her biological daughter!”

Wen Shouyi scoffed, “Why are you guys still so stubborn? Auntie Qin had said so many times that she didn’t treat her as her biological daughter. She was disobedient now, and Auntie Qin had said that she wanted to teach her a lesson. If she didn’t live a good life outside, she would naturally think of the good things at home. Don’t get involved. This matter has nothing to do with you and me. Mother and daughter are fighting each other, so don’t get involved.”

After a pause, she reminded Qin Zhining, “You and I are the collateral damage.”

Qin Zhining fell silent. After a while, he asked, “Is it really Auntie Qin?”

“If you don’t believe me, you can call her or ask General He.” Wen Shouyi was impatient. “Auntie Qin asked General He for permission. General He acquiesced.”

“It’s my fault after all.” Qin Zhining now understood that Gu Nianzhi’s bad luck this time was all because of him.

If he hadn’t blabbed to Wen Shouyi about Gu Nianzhi getting an interview with one of the four big law firms, she wouldn’t have been so unlucky.

Wen Shouyi understood what he meant. She knew he was blaming himself, and of course he was blaming her.

She couldn’t say that it wasn’t right. It was indeed Qin Zhining who had proudly complimented Gu Nianzhi on the phone while chatting with Wen Shouyi. Wen Shouyi had “accidentally” let it slip and told Qin Yaoguang about it.

The atmosphere in Qin Yaoguang’s ward was no more relaxed than it was outside.

There were some visitors in her ward.

The nurse cut some fruits for them and brought them over. She smiled and said, “Old Mr. Qin, please sit here.”

“Dad, why are you here?” Qin Yaoguang pressed the button on the bed and pushed it up.

Her face pale, she sat on the bed.

Sitting in front of her was an old man with white hair and a rather youthful face. His eyes were big and bright, but his expression was very serious.

Old Master Qin was the current head of the Qin family and Qin Yaoguang’s father.

“Yaoguang, I heard that Nianzhi is back. Are you treating her badly?” Old Master Qin’s expression was very serious as he played with two steel walnuts that were wrapped in starch. “Your own biological daughter isn’t being treated well. You even pushed her out and treated a gardener’s daughter like treasure. Are you out of your mind?”

Old Master Qin had just arrived at the imperial capital from City Z. He was allegedly here to see his granddaughter, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.

Qin Yaoguang frowned and avoided the topic. She said softly, “What’s wrong with your brain? Watch your words. Yes, she is back. She has been back for almost two weeks. What’s wrong? Aren’t you here to see me?”

She reached out her hand, which was still wrapped in a white bandage, to Old Master Qin. “This is all thanks to her. The moment she came back, she attacked me and cut my hand!”

“Didn’t she resist because you wanted to perform the surgery on her?” Old Master Qin glared at her. “I think you brought this upon yourself!”

“Dad! I’m your biological daughter!” Qin Yaoguang called out in a long voice. She was almost 50 years old, but she still acted coquettishly in front of her father. Old Master Qin’s henchmen got goosebumps.

Old Master Qin only had one daughter in his life. She had been a good child since she was young, and he really doted on her.

His only dissatisfaction was probably her attitude toward her daughter.

“You also know that you’re my biological daughter? Don’t you know how you treat your biological daughter?” Old Master Qin hit Qin Yaoguang without hesitation. “You’re already so old, yet you still don’t know the importance of your actions. You only have this one child. Even if you don’t like her father, she’s your biological daughter!”

Qin Yaoguang curled her lips and leaned against the hospital bed. She said indifferently, “I’ve also said before that the biological child that I approve of should be a child born from mutual affection. Is she even worthy?”

“You’re her biological mother, and she’s the only child that survived after you being pregnant for ten months.” Old Master Qin said meaningfully, “I thought you would value her very much.”

“I know. So what? It only proves that the experiment was successful.” Her expression indifferent, Qin Yaoguang shrugged. “Do I have to pour maternal love into my room of lab rats? Dad, do you think this is fair to me?”

“My job is to do experiments. My Dream is to find scientific and efficient treatments to overcome all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases.” Qin Yaoguang turned her head away, “Back then, it was that lunatic Gu Xiangwen who suggested doing experiments, but I was the one who did the follow-up work. I’ve failed so many times and finally succeeded once. Are you satisfied? Now that you remember that Nianzhi is a human being, you immediately threw all the mess onto me. You turned around and accused me of being inhumane!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just like this. I can’t develop motherly love for experimental equipment and items!” Qin Yaoguang’s neck was stiff, and her face was red with anger. Old Master Qin was almost choked speechless.

“Evil creature! You evil creature!” Old Master Qin pointed at her and coughed violently. “Come with me to apologize to Nianzhi! You can’t be like this in the future! No matter what, she’s Young Master He’s fiancée. Don’t look at Nianzhi, look… for the sake of the He family, treat her better…”

Old Master Qin fainted as he spoke, and Qin Yaoguang was so scared that she almost fell off the hospital bed.

“Dad! Don’t scare me? Are you okay? Call a doctor! Call a doctor!”

They were in the Qin family’s private hospital. The chairman of the board of directors suddenly fell ill in his own hospital and immediately received first-class treatment.

Wen Shouyi saw the doctor run in and push Old Master Qin out. She quickly said to her phone, “I have something to do, talk to you later.”

She hurriedly hung up the phone and ran into Qin Yaoguang’s ward.

Qin Yaoguang ordered her with a cold face, “Get me discharged. I want to be discharged.”

..

Qin Zhining returned to Gu Nianzhi’s hotel room. His heart racing, he looked down at his phone.

Gu Nianzhi looked at him in disdain and said, “You can go. I’m moving out today too.”

“Where are you moving to?” Embarrassed, Qin Zhining leaned against the door. “I’ll send you there.”

“I’m going to rent a house,” Gu Nianzhi said as she started to pack her suitcase.

She had spent 15,000 yuan after staying here for three days.

She only had the 100,000 yuan He Zhichu had given her. She had spent 60,000 yuan on a car and 15,000 yuan on a hotel. In addition to the food and groceries she had bought over the past few days, she only had around 20,000 yuan left.

It was only enough for her to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the cheaper residential area of Nan City District.

Gu Nianzhi had already made an appointment online to look at the apartment today. If it was close enough, she could move in immediately.

Qin Zhining felt guilty. Even though Gu Nianzhi was being mean to him, he didn’t take it to heart. He had followed her all the way to Nan City District to look at the apartment and watched her sign a six-month lease with the landlord.

The small house here cost 3,000 yuan a month. After paying the six-month rent and deposit, Gu Nianzhi only had 2,000 yuan left on her card.

The house had simple furniture. It was okay to live in, but she still had to buy some daily necessities.

Qin Zhining followed her to the supermarket to buy kitchen utensils and bathroom supplies.

Gu Nianzhi’s taste in shopping was tricky.

Qin Zhining helped her pay for the whole set, which cost close to 10,000 yuan.

Gu Nianzhi wasn’t worried about having too much debt, so she said indifferently, “Put it on the tab. I’ll pay you back 110,000 yuan when I have the money.”

Qin Zhining: “…”

..

Gu Nianzhi rented a house, bought some daily necessities and some simple furniture, then decorated the house. It looked a bit like the apartment she had in C City.

The second-hand house she had bought with her own money.

Qin Zhining saw that she had settled down, so he started covertly protecting her in C City.

Gu Nianzhi began her nine-to-five working life.

The work at the law firm was especially simple.

During her first month, Jin Dazhuang had only asked her to familiarize herself with the cases here, to understand the applicable laws, and to see if there were any mistakes in the previous cases. He only needed to write a memo for her.

She didn’t have to worry about receiving clients or contacting new clients for the time being. She just followed along and studied.

Jin Dazhuang was a very good boss. He had given her the opportunity and time to study. Eager to teach her step-by-step, he was like a teacher in school.

Gu Nianzhi also studied very seriously. She wanted to understand the difference between the legal system here and over there so that she could really start her work and not make a fool of herself.

In her free time, she would use her phone to surf the internet and understand the situation in this world.

Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win a hundred battles.

Gu Nianzhi had always remembered Huo Shaoheng’s words. If she didn’t make a move, then so be it. Once she made a move, she had to have absolute confidence that she would be able to kill her opponent.

..

Soon, Gu Nianzhi’s first week at work passed in peace.

It was another Monday. Gu Nianzhi woke up one morning and felt cold. She pushed open the window and reached out her hand. It seemed to have suddenly become cold outside.

Autumn had officially arrived.

The streets were littered with ginkgo leaves, like small fans.

Just like the ginkgo tree at the entrance of Huo Shaoheng’s Special Operations Forces’ official residence.

Gu Nianzhi stared at the street scenary blankly for a while before closing the window tightly.

After washing up, she changed into a peach-red woolen cardigan and a black wool pencil skirt. She carried her Hermès Birkin bag out the door.

“Miss Gu, are you going to work?” The neighbor greeted her with a smile. “Have you had breakfast? I have fried rice cake and steamed dumplings here. Do you want to order something less expensive?”

Gu Nianzhi shook her head with a smile and learned to speak C City language. “I’ve already eaten. Thank you, Grandma.”

“Okay, okay. This bag is really nice. Where did you buy it? How much did it cost?”

Gu Nianzhi blinked and said calmly, “This is a knockoff. I paid one to two thousand yuan for it.”

The Hermès Birkin bag that was worth hundreds of thousands of yuan yet she said that it was a knockoff..

..

She drove to the east side of the city. The building she worked in was called the Lu building. It had a total of thirty-six floors, and it towered into the clouds.

After parking here car, she didn’t take the elevator. Instead, she took the stairs from the underground parking lot to the second floor. It was convenient and fast, and she could also exercise.

She had arrived a little late today because of the traffic jam on the road. However, Jin Dazhuang wasn’t particularly concerned about tardiness. When he saw that she had arrived, he just nodded casually and said, “I’m going out to meet a client today. Remember to stay here in the morning. Xiao Zhang of the front desk took half a day off today and will only arrive at noon. If you leave, there will be no one in the office.”

Gu Nianzhi quickly said, “No problem, leave it to me.”

She had nothing to do all morning, so she finished her daily work. When it was time for lunch, Xiao Zhang arrived at the front desk.

Both of them were young girls, and the boss wasn’t around, so they quickly got together and started gossiping.

Xiao Zhang said mysteriously, “Lawyer Gu, do you know if there are any big shots coming today?”

Gu Nianzhi: “…”

“I don’t know.”

In a small law firm like theirs, the presence of a street director was already considered a big shot.

Little Zhang tugged at her sleeve. “It’s really a big shot. I heard that the chairman of the Qin Corporation is coming. When I went upstairs, the entrance of the building was already cordoned off.”

Gu Nianzhi: “…”

“Qin Corporation? Which Qin Corporation?” Wondering if it was such a coincidence, Gu Nianzhi asked cautiously.

It really was such a coincidence.

“… The Qin Corporation that runs private hospitals! Don’t tell me you don’t even know about the Qin Corporation’s private hospitals?” Little Zhang rolled her eyes at Gu Nianzhi.

Gu Nianzhi smiled and said casually, “Is it famous? I’m from the countryside, so I don’t know.”

Before she could finish, a man pushed open the small glass door of their law firm.

His hair neatly combed and shiny, he was dressed in a well-ironed suit. It was as if he had written “I am the President’s secretary” all over his body.

“May I ask if Miss Gu Nianzhi is here? Our Chairman Qin wants to see her.”

The man said politely and gave Xiao Zhang, the receptionist, a glimmering business card with the smell of perfume.