Night Fire Lingering

"Next is the impromptu debate, where both sides will present their viewpoints entirely in English. The topic is..."

The host's words shocked the audience:

"In English? Why didn't you say that before?"

"Didn't they always use Chinese in previous years? Why are they using English this year?"

"That's right. When it comes to speaking English, how can domestic students compare to those of Chinese descent?"

……

Gu Yanci sat in the first row of the specially invited audience seats and lowered his eyes.

Using English would be a very disadvantageous temporary rule for Wen Yan if she hadn't been better at English than Mandarin since childhood! It could even make her lose face in front of countless people!

Who deliberately changed the rules?

Amidst the shocked murmurs of the crowd, Nan Zhiyi stepped onto the stage.

She has a strong stage presence, possesses innate confidence honed by Western culture, and also has the approachability of an Asian face, making it easy for her to win the favor of college students who admire strength.

The audience quickly quieted down, absorbed in Nan Zhiyi's speech.

Ten minutes later, thunderous applause erupted; the performance was excellent.

The host asked Nan Zhiyi, "Ms. Nan, you have participated in many types of competitions and achieved excellent results. You have long been famous. What are your expectations for coming to the capital this time?"

"I hope that if I win this competition, Mr. Gu Yanci can present me with the award!" Nan Zhiyi looked at Gu Yanci in the special guest audience, her eyes seemingly sparkling. "Mr. Gu is a leader among the younger generation of businesspeople, and I admire him very much!"

"Wow!"

Many of the audience members were university students, whose gossip instincts were exceptionally sharp, and they immediately began to jeer.

Unlike girls in China who blush and blush when teased, Nan Zhiyi stands under the spotlight with an open and relaxed demeanor, like a sunny girl with no secrets.

Her feelings could be either pure admiration for Gu Yanci or the yearning of a young girl in love, making it difficult to discern and leaving no room for criticism.

Wen Yan stood behind the curtain, and through the gap in the curtain, she could just see the men in the audience.

Gu Yanci looked straight at her almost immediately, their eyes meeting through the tiny gap.

"Ah."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Gu Yanci chuckled lightly, appearing as if he were very easy to talk to.

Nan Zhiyi looked at him expectantly.

Gu Yanci sat with his legs crossed, leaning back in his chair, and said, "I only award prizes to the winners."

"Wow--!"

"how romantic!"

The students cheered even louder, and even the organizers and teachers couldn't help but take a few more glances at Gu Yanci and Nan Zhiyi on the stage.

Several law school professors who knew the inside story looked rather grim.

This is giving their students face!

The dean, unable to contain his anger, walked over to Gu Yanci and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Gu, you and Wen Yan... are divorced?"

The words "divorced" are really a bit too much to say.

Gu Yanci's gaze turned several degrees colder as he looked over.

The dean noticed his displeasure and continued, "If you hadn't gotten a divorce, and you had promised to give an award to another young girl, what would Xiao Wen think?"

The dean's defense of Wen Yan made Gu Yanci's expression soften a bit.

He countered, "Are you sure Wen Yan will lose?"

The dean was stunned.

"Next, please welcome Wen Yan from Imperial University!" the host announced.

The audience's reaction was noticeably negative, with whispers and murmurs.

"Just considering the language barrier, how can domestic students compare to those who have spoken English fluently and naturally since childhood?"

"Don't become speechless and your sentences become incoherent; that would be a real joke."

"Oh no, Wen Yan is going to embarrass herself!"

……

Gu Yanci's expression remained unchanged upon hearing these words.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up!

—Wen Yan went on stage.

The authentic London accent emanated from the microphone, and the rhythmic delivery and elegant, relaxed demeanor were refreshing; one might mistake it for a TED talk.

These ten minutes passed extremely quickly, like a visual and auditory feast.

That's all. Thank you.

Wen Yan bowed, concluding her speech.

The entire stadium was deathly silent; many in the audience remained dumbfounded, unable to process what had just happened.

Two seconds later, thunderous applause erupted.

The host asked Wen Yan the same question: "Wen, you're really unexpected! Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Holding the microphone, Wen Yan calmly said, "I only let my strength speak for itself."

The youthful arrogance and recklessness of youth fiercely retaliated against Nan Zhiyi and the temporarily changed rules!

Nan Zhiyi's face instantly turned ugly.

A distinct smile appeared on Gu Yanci's face, which usually wore a gentle mask. The smile reached his eyes, and upon closer inspection, it carried a hint of smugness, as if he were showing off something.

—His child has always been outstanding.

The dean of the law school breathed a sigh of relief, then realized what had happened and secretly glared at Gu Yanci with a hint of annoyance.

How can young people these days make the elderly worry unnecessarily?

Old man, am I part of your game?!

outrageous!

While waiting for the judges to score, Wen Yan walked to the waiting area on the side.

Nan Zhiyi's expression was no longer as relaxed and confident as before, and her eyes were filled with disbelief when she looked at Wen Yan.

She whispered to Wen Yan, "Your English... is very good."

Wen Yan smiled politely: "I assumed you had this understanding on the cruise ship."

Many people are good at everyday English, but completely unable to speak formal English like this for a speech. Nan Zhiyi naturally assumed that Wen Yan was the latter.

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Wen Yan's eyes as she asked, "What? Didn't you remind your mom that my English is good?"

Nan Zhiyi's face turned deathly pale. "You... how could you..."

How do you know that the last-minute language change was her mother's doing?

"I'm so sorry, Wen Yan..." Nan Zhiyi lowered her head, twisting her fingers together, and apologized, "My mommy didn't mean to change the rules, she just loves me too much, it wasn't targeting you... It was my fault, I should have stopped her..."

Wen Yan didn't react at all, only finding every word Nan Zhiyi said particularly grating.

The judges announced the scores.

Unsurprisingly, Wen Yan's one-point lead allowed Imperial University to secure a complete victory in both the team and individual competitions!

Gu Yanci was not originally supposed to be the award presenter, but because of what Nan Zhiyi said earlier, the school temporarily changed the award presenter to Gu Yanci.

"Congratulations." Gu Yanci handed the trophy to Wen Yan, adding the title in a voice only the two of them could hear, "—Mrs. Gu."

Wen Yan, standing on the stage, was startled when she heard such a title and instinctively looked around.

Fortunately, none of her teammates noticed, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Yanci's eyes flashed with amusement as he looked at her furtive expression. But the next second, remembering that she didn't want anyone to know she was his wife, his smile instantly froze.

He looked up and his eyes met those of Jiang Huaixu, who was wearing a work badge in the audience.

Both of them saw a strong chill in each other's eyes.