Many people were eagerly waiting for Gu Jianing to return to the Northwest Military District and resume her work in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department so they could seek her treatment.
Not only that, but the other departments in the Northwest Military Hospital had mixed feelings toward Old Chen-respect and resentment.
Respect, of course, came from his abilities. Resentment-though not true hatred-stemmed from the belief that Old Chen was simply too shrewd.
Back when Gu Jianing first arrived, he had immediately taken her under his wing.
Later, he even accepted her as his apprentice.
Now, Gu Jianing had given lectures, received commendations from higher-ups, become a professor, and gained nationwide fame through newspaper features. What an honor that was!
If only Gu Jianing had been in their department, if only they had some connection with her-they could have basked in her glory too.
Unbeknownst to Gu Jianing, the atmosphere in the Northwest Military District was buzzing with such sentiments.
When she woke up, it was already late afternoon, nearing evening.
Sheng Zexi hadn’t returned from training yet.
Grandma Sang, however, had been awake for a while.
She was already in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Gu Jianing wanted to help.
“Aiya, what are you helping for? Leave this to me.”
“Go do your own thing. If you have nothing to do, just sit down and rest.”
Grandma Sang had come to the Northwest Military District specifically to take care of Gu Jianing-how could she let Gu Jianing, out of respect for seniority, end up serving her instead?
Though back in Beijing, she and the old man had a government-assigned housekeeper to look after them, Grandma Sang was perfectly capable of cooking. In fact, her culinary skills were excellent.
It’s just that she rarely cooked these days.
But now, with Ningning-her granddaughter-in-law-pregnant, Grandma Sang naturally wanted her to eat well.
Gu Jianing was shooed out of the kitchen.
Left with no choice, she returned to the living room and picked up a book to read.
Before long, Sheng Zexi came back.
He, too, tried to help in the kitchen, only to be chased out by Grandma Sang.
“Go keep Ningning company. I don’t need you here. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Sheng Zexi: Fine, then.
So, he joined Gu Jianing on the living room’s heated kang, chatting with her.
Gu Jianing talked about her life in Beijing, including how Li Shuyao had been arrested late last night and how Old Master Li had fainted from anger.
“I’ll contact Zhenrong about Li Shuyao’s case and have him keep me updated on any developments,” Sheng Zexi said.
“Okay.”
Gu Jianing hesitated for a moment before asking, “Aren’t you going to ask how I confirmed Li Shuyao was a spy?”
Sheng Zexi gazed at her intently, his large hand enveloping hers. “I know you have your own abilities.”
“If you want to tell me, you can. If not…”
If not, he would never force her.
Besides, he knew it was Ningning’s secret.
And secrets were best kept known to as few people as possible—even if that included him.
After a brief pause, Gu Jianing finally said, “If Comrade Hua and the others struggle with investigating Li Shuyao… they should look into her cat.”
“Hmm?”
“I… I can understand what that cat says.”
Sheng Zexi’s pupils dilated slightly. He immediately glanced around, relieved to find no one else nearby.
Gu Jianing understood his concern and lowered her voice. “Actually, it’s not just that cat. I can understand all animals.”
It took Sheng Zexi a long moment to process this.
“No wonder… No wonder I always felt like you and Amber were having actual conversations.”
Whatever Amber thought or did, Ningning understood it all.
At first, he thought it was just because the girl and the dog were close, so Ningning understood Amber well.
But he never expected the real reason to be this-it was because Ningning could understand animals’ speech.
Sheng Zexi tightened his grip slightly on Gu Jianing’s hand. “Ningning, you haven’t told anyone else about this, have you?”
“No, just you.”
“Good. Don’t tell anyone.”
“And any other secrets you have-keep them to yourself. You don’t even need to tell me.”
Gu Jianing: Alright, this man is really cautious.
But she knew Sheng Zexi was being so careful for her sake.
Gu Jianing then told him about what she had overheard the cat say at the department store. However, she didn’t mention the enemy spy’s mark.
Still, just from the cat’s words, it was clear that Li Shuyao was undoubtedly an enemy spy. Now, all that was left was verification.
“I suspect Li Shuyao uses that cat to pass messages.”
That was why Li Shuyao had kept the cat all this time.
“No wonder…” Sheng Zexi suddenly understood.
Using a cat to relay intelligence-those people really came up with something clever.
Especially since Li Shuyao had the cover of being a member of the Li family.
No one would suspect her.
And no one else could, like Ningning, understand animals’ speech and deduce that Li Shuyao was a spy from the cat’s words.
“Ningning, thank goodness you found out.”
If she hadn’t, who knew how long it would have taken for Li Shuyao to be exposed?
Countless missions and classified information could have been leaked because of her.
“Ningning, if Li Shuyao’s case is confirmed, you’ll be credited as the key contributor.”
“When the matter is settled and rewards are given, you’ll definitely receive recognition.”
Gu Jianing rested her chin in her hands. “I don’t really care about the credit. It’s just that Li Shuyao has always had ill intentions toward me.”
“Now that she’s been caught, I don’t have to worry about her lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike again.”
Especially since she would soon have a child.
She had been afraid that Li Shuyao might target her baby someday.
So, with Li Shuyao arrested, it was a relief-one less threat to worry about.
“With her caught, I’ve basically done the country a favor, right?” Gu Jianing smiled.
After all, Li Shuyao was an enemy spy.
And enemy spies were nothing but trouble.
“Yes, you’ve done the country a great service!” Sheng Zexi patted her head in praise.
Just then, Grandma Sang brought in the food.
“Time to eat.”
“Alright, I’ll get the bowls and chopsticks.” Sheng Zexi, ever the proactive man, quickly helped set the table and served rice for all three of them.
After tasting Grandma Sang’s cooking, Gu Jianing was utterly amazed.
“Ahh, Grandma, your cooking is incredible! This is god-tier culinary skill!”
Her enthusiastic praise made Grandma Sang burst into laughter.
“Is it really that good?”
“Absolutely!”
From Sheng Zexi’s explanation, Gu Jianing learned that Grandma Sang had an exceptionally sensitive palate and had shown remarkable culinary talent since her youth.
Her dishes were extraordinarily delicious.
Grandpa Sang had pursued her relentlessly precisely because of her cooking skills.
After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
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