Chapter 55

In the conference room on the third floor of the administrative building.

The examiners gathered together to comprehensively evaluate the performance of the four candidates from the afternoon.

“All four of them performed well in the written test, but I’m more optimistic about He Xuting. His written test paper has a clear grammatical structure and coherent logic. It’s already quite good.”

One of the examiners held He Xuting’s written test paper and circled the parts he thought were good.

The female examiner who had been in Song Shishi’s written test room went forward to look at He Xuting’s test paper, but she shook her head, “You can take a look at this test paper. Both the grammatical structure and the logical thinking are excellent. Even some subtle political implications and Beijing information, she handled them perfectly through clever translation.”

“Moreover, I think that both in the written test and the interview, Comrade Song’s translation accuracy was the highest among the four.”

Everyone had their own opinions. Some said that Song Shishi’s appearance was too striking and that she wasn’t suitable to be a foreign affairs translator.

The female examiner didn’t argue with the other examiners. She turned to Xie Youan, who was sitting in the middle and had been silent the whole time, and asked, “Comrade Xie, you are the main person in charge of receiving foreign diplomats. The final decision is up to you.”

…

Song Shishi followed Director Zhao to the restaurant and met Director Gong, who Director Zhao had mentioned.

Director Gong was much younger than she had imagined, about thirty years old, with a refined appearance.

“Comrade Song, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Director Gong got up and politely extended his hand to shake hers.

Song Shishi shook his hand respectfully, “Hello, Director Gong.”

“Comrade Song, please have a seat. I’ve been telling Lao Zhao that I wanted to find a chance to have a good chat with you.”

Director Gong was very enthusiastic towards her. After sitting down, he kept asking questions and even chatted with her about his rags-to-riches story.

Director Gong was a funny talker, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“By the way, I invited you to dinner today, but there’s actually something else. I want to take this opportunity to introduce someone to you.” Director Gong suddenly said when the dishes were almost all served.

Song Shishi turned to look at Director Zhao beside her, who shook his head. He obviously didn’t know about this either.

“I didn’t tell Lao Zhao about this.” Director Gong explained with a smile, waving his hand, “The main reason is that the person I want to introduce you to was sick a while ago and had surgery. He’s stubborn and doesn’t want to stay in the hospital. He just got back to Beijing today. I’ve been recommending you to him. When he heard that I was going to invite you to dinner, he said he would come and see you too.”

So, Director Gong only found out about the person wanting to see her today?

If so, that made sense.

“But why does the other party want to see me?” Song Shishi was puzzled. Even if Director Gong introduced her, why would the other party want to see her?

“It’s like this. The translation documents you submitted, although I’ll check them all, they ultimately need to be handed over to Mr. Xie.

He is a leading figure in our country’s foreign affairs field and has a lot of influence.

But because of his health, he believes he can’t stay in such an important position for too long, so he’s been trying to cultivate an excellent successor for the past two years.

But he has a strange temper and is very strict, so many people are intimidated.

And he doesn’t like anyone who wants to be his apprentice.”

Director Gong lowered his voice and continued, “I saw that you’re a good prospect, so I mentioned you to him several times.

Of course, it was also because your work was excellent that caught Mr. Xie’s attention.

This is a rare opportunity. You have to seize it.”

Although she didn’t know who this Mr. Xie was, she could tell from Director Gong’s words that this Mr. Xie was quite a high-ranking official.

If she could be noticed by such a person and become his apprentice, then she could really return to the city early.

Song Shishi had just nodded in agreement when the door to the private room behind her was pushed open from the outside.

When the door to the private room opened, Director Gong and Director Zhao both got up.

Song Shishi also stood up and turned to face the door.

“Mr. Xie, you’re finally here. How are you feeling?” Director Gong greeted him with a smile.

Song Shishi looked up towards the door. When the figure appeared in her line of sight, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Such a coincidence?

The person was Xie Yushan, her father Song Zhenhua’s friend.

When she saw him in the hospital last time, he was being pushed into the operating room. Now, his complexion looked much better.

“I’m fine. It’s just an old ailment.” Xie Yushan’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

When Xie Yushan’s gaze fell on her, her palms became sweaty with nervousness.

This nervousness came so suddenly that she didn’t even know the reason.

Xie Yushan smiled faintly, “This should be Comrade Song that you mentioned to me before, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes. How are you?” Director Gong, like he was showing off a treasure, formally introduced Song Shishi to Xie Yushan.

Xie Yushan nodded, but he didn’t respond. No one knew what he was thinking.

“You look familiar. What’s your full name, Comrade Song?”

After a long silence, just when Song Shishi felt that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Xie Yushan spoke again.

She didn’t expect Xie Yushan to suddenly ask her. Song Shishi clenched her fists, forced herself to remain calm, and replied, “Song Shishi. My name is Song Shishi.”

“From Beijing?”

“Yes.” Song Shishi nodded.

She didn’t understand Xie Yushan’s intentions, so she answered honestly.

It seemed that Xie Yushan didn’t know that the person who donated blood to him that day was her.

When Xie Yushan’s attention shifted away from her, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, during the rest of the dinner, Xie Yushan didn’t interact with her. He only chatted with Director Gong about literary creation and international affairs.

Of course, they talked about general topics. Neither of them mentioned anything about internal affairs.

After dinner, Director Gong personally sent Xie Yushan back, saying that he had more to say to him.

After Director Gong and Xie Yushan’s car left, Director Zhao wanted to send Song Shishi back, but she refused.

“You’ve had a lot to drink tonight. The guest house is nearby. Why go through so much trouble? Just go back and rest. I grew up in Beijing, so I know this road very well. I won’t get lost. Don’t worry.”

Director Zhao waved his hand, “How can that be? It’s so late. How can I let a young girl go back alone? What if something happens on the way? I can’t explain it to anyone.”

Director Zhao’s movements were a little too big, and he almost fell to the ground.

Song Shishi quickly stepped forward to support his arm.

Director Zhao was clearly drunk, but she couldn’t take him to the guest house alone.

She tried to call out to him a few times, but Director Zhao was no longer conscious. He was mumbling something, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Just when Song Shishi was at a loss, a black car stopped in front of her.

“Comrade Song, what a coincidence. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

The person who got out of the car was Xie Youan, the examiner from the oral exam earlier today.

“It seems like you need help. Why don’t you get in my car? I’ll help you.”

Song Shishi looked at him and instinctively refused, “No need, I…”

Before she could finish speaking, Xie Youan smiled and said, “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s so late. You probably can’t take your friend back alone, can you?”

As he spoke, Xie Youan reached out to take Director Zhao from Song Shishi’s hand.

She was very displeased with Xie Youan’s actions. She frowned, took a step back, and avoided his outstretched hand.

“Comrade Xie, thank you for your kindness, but I really don’t need it.”

“I really don’t mean anything else. I just want to help you.”

Xie Youan didn’t take Song Shishi’s refusal to heart. He stepped forward again, and one hand had already grabbed Director Zhao’s arm.

Song Shishi was already a little annoyed. Before she could speak, a familiar voice came, “Shi Shi.”