Night Fire Lingering

Gu Jinzhi lowered her voice and asked cautiously, "Wen Yan, did you have a fight with my third brother?"

Wen Yan looked at her in astonishment.

How did they discover that little brain?

"Why are you looking at me like that?! Do you think I'm stupid and shouldn't I have noticed?" Gu Jinzhi jumped up and down.

"No, I didn't, you're lying." Wen Yan denied it three times without changing her expression.

Gu Jinzhi pouted: "Did you two have a fight?"

Wen Yan picked a dessert shop nearby and led Gu Jinzhi inside to sit down.

Wen Yan spoke frankly, "It's more serious than arguing."

"You're getting a divorce?" Gu Jinzhi couldn't understand. "Why? My third brother is smart, generous, and handsome. Although he may seem like a gentleman on the surface but is actually a beast in disguise, he's not a bad person. Most men are trash, but he's still better than those trashy guys out there!"

Wen Yan: "..."

Does your third brother know that you're praising him like that?

Gu Jinzhi stirred the double-skin milk that the waiter had just brought over: "You want a divorce? Grandpa won't agree. Grandma likes you so much, she won't agree either."

Wen Yan nodded: "I know it's not easy."

But anything is possible with effort; we should always give it a try first.

She'd had enough of this kind of life after three years.

After separating from Wen Yan, Gu Jinzhi called Gu Yanci indignantly.

"Third Brother, you gave Wen Muzhi a sapphire diamond the size of a pigeon egg? You didn't give it to Wen Yan, and you didn't even give it to me, but you actually gave it to an outsider! No way, I want one too!"

She paused, then added, feigning reluctance, "Cash is also acceptable!"

Gu Yanci was working on some documents. He had just put down his pen when he asked, "How is Wen Yan?"

"Oh? That's great." Gu Jinzhi said while eating ice cream. "So she has money? She transferred the money you used to buy her clothes to me."

Wen Yan accepted the clothes Gu Jinzhi chose, but she transferred the money back to Gu Jinzhi without any change.

"You took money from her?" Gu Yanci's brow twitched upon hearing this.

"Yeah, she has her own money and doesn't want to spend yours, is there a problem? I'm so envious of her!"

Gu Jinzhi thought to herself, if she were that rich, she wouldn't have to beg for food all the time!

Gu Yanci didn't want to say another word to this unlucky younger sister and hung up the phone.

-

Wen Yan planned to go to the Gu family's old house the next day to confront Old Madam Gu. Just as she was about to leave, she received a call from the school, asking her to come back to the school because there was an important and urgent matter.

The department head closed the office door and said, "Wen, the college wants to give this direct PhD spot to Mingzhu."

Wen Yan's mind went blank for two seconds before she belatedly realized that Mingzhu and she were in the same school and major, except that Mingzhu was admitted to the Imperial University of Beijing as a music major, and her academic scores were not high.

"If I remember correctly, Mingzhu's academic performance, awards, and publications are all inferior to mine. I don't understand why they would give Mingzhu a direct PhD spot."

Wen Yan remembered the top ten people in her major, and Mingzhu was not among them.

Wen Yan has the highest GPA in her grade and has won many national competition awards. She has published three papers in core journals and has two papers under review. She is the top student in the college by a wide margin.

“You’re mistaken.” The department head handed Wen Yan a pre-printed document of Mingzhu’s information. “Mingzhu’s GPA is only 0.2 points lower than yours, and she has published four papers and won more international awards than you. Therefore, her overall score for recommendation is higher than yours.”

Wen Yan glanced at Mingzhu's resume, which indicated that she had been recommended for postgraduate studies.

Those so-called international awards either require money to enter and have a lot of room for manipulation, or they are art competitions for piano and violin, or they are group competitions that are suspected of being half-hearted.

Let’s not mention these for now.

Wen Yan pointed to the journals in which Mingzhu had published her papers: "Teacher, putting aside the prestige of these awards, none of the journals she published in are core journals, and they were all published within the last six months, with different research directions. You yourself are an academic, so you should know what this means, right?"

Human experience is limited. Very few people can publish four papers in six months, and in different research directions. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that they are either hiring ghostwriters or buying journal placements!

"Furthermore, I clearly remember that Mingzhu was not among the top ten students in terms of GPA, and her original GPA could not have been only 0.2 points lower than mine."

Being openly called out, the department head's face turned ugly, and he said sternly, "Student Wen, this is the college's decision. We are informing you, not discussing it with you!"

If the direct PhD spot were given to the second or third person ranked after her, that would be fine, since everyone is genuinely working hard. But the college seems determined to give it to some unknown gem who just popped out of nowhere!

Wen Yan gave a sarcastic smile: "Teacher, aren't you afraid I'll report you to the Education Bureau for doing this? We law students are best at using the weapon of law to defend our legitimate rights."

Her expression and tone were extremely serious, and the department head felt that she was really capable of doing such a thing.

"This is outrageous!" The department head slammed his fist on the table in anger. "You're a local from Beijing, right? Call your parents! I'll talk to them directly about this!"

Weighing the pros and cons, using both threats and inducements, it's certainly easier to talk to parents about this than to talk to a fearless and impulsive student!

Wen Yan remained unmoved; she wasn't going to call her parents!

"These students these days are really outrageous!" The department head was so angry that he paced back and forth while flipping through the student directory and dialing a number.

"Hello, I am Wen Yan's department head. Please come to the school immediately. I need to talk to you about Wen Yan's matter!"

Wen Yan looked at him suspiciously.

She doesn't get along with the Wen family. When she enrolled, the school asked her to fill in her parents' contact information, but she didn't. So who is the department head calling now?

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The department head would occasionally lecture Wen Yan for "not cooperating with the college's arrangements," but Wen Yan ignored it.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.

The man was wearing a light blue shirt and black suit trousers, with gleaming custom-made leather shoes. His tie had probably been torn off halfway there, and now his shirt collar was slightly open, revealing his long neck and a hint of sexy collarbone.

That face was truly exceptional; he was tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist, possessing an innate air of authority that exuded self-discipline and propriety. His breathing was slightly disordered, as if he had rushed over in a hurry.

Wen Yan was so shocked that she instinctively stood up.

Gu Yanci?

No, why is her parent Gu Yanci?

When did she fill in Gu Yanci's contact information?

Gu Yanci immediately noticed Wen Yan sitting on the sofa, then looked at the middle-aged man with a receding hairline in the office chair and said, "I am Wen Yan's guardian."

The department head was taken aback by the fact that such a young man had come; he paused for a moment, then quickly regained his angry expression.

"Are you Wen Yan's brother? Wen Yan is not cooperating with the college's work arrangements, arbitrarily questioning the college's fairness, and even threatening teachers. I hope you parents can educate her properly!"

What is this person talking about?

Gu Yanci looked Wen Yan over from head to toe, making sure she was unharmed, her clothes were wrinkle-free, and her hair was neat. She didn't look like she had been in a fight or bullied, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He then looked at the department head again, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny and condescension:

"who are you?"