Chapter 318: Face-Slapping – 2
Chapter 318: Face-Slapping – 2
Fu Zhi took a look at the security guard in the airport. Then, she waved her hand at him without any hesitation and said in a foreign language, enunciating every word that escaped from her lips, “This man over here is trying to molest an underage girl. He’s simply a scumbag. I’m a stranger in a strange place and I’m so weak that I can’t even truss up a chicken. Please take him away and protect me.”
Jiang Zong was so stunned that he did not know what to say.
‘The hell? You’re so weak that you can’t even truss up a chicken? Have you forgotten who punched me in the face?’
Gritting his teeth in exasperation, he grabbed the back of Fu Zhi’s collar and pulled her back to his side.
It was almost 6 p.m. The westbound sun was warm and looked like an egg yolk in the sky. It cast a warm light on Fu Zhi’s face, dyeing her eyelashes gold and effectively accentuating her beauty.
Jiang Zong’s heart melted. He stared at her for a long while before he finally came back to his senses. Coiling his arms around her neck, he gritted his teeth and said, “Be careful when you’re sleeping tonight. I will come and haunt you in your dreams!”
Casting an askew glance at him, Fu Zhi scoffed, “Hah.”
Then, before Lu Yubai could kick him away, she turned around and gave him a slap on the cheek. After doing that, she turned back to the security guard and said, “You see? This is proof. He even tried to threaten me.”
“...”
Jiang Zong was at a loss for words again. His chest was heaving up and down heavily, and his expression was dark. It took every ounce of strength in his body to prevent himself from lashing out at Fu Zhi. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Shut up and let’s go!”
Then, without waiting for the group, he walked away hurriedly with his head hung low. His secretary was following him, and neither of them was paying attention to the situation around them.
Fu Zhi then turned her body and saw a sign. There were a few Chinese characters on the sign that spelled the words “Welcome, Chinese Team”!
The vice-president went up to Fu Zhi and said, “Fu Zhi, that’s the guy who’s going to pick us up!”
He approached the man and greeted him. It occurred to Fu Zhi that they were friends.
After the two of them finished exchanging pleasantries, the young man turned to Fu Zhi and greeted her with a straight face. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Fu. The name is Zhao Hua. I’m also a member of the Physics Association, and I’m here to pick you guys up on behalf of my master, Yuan He.”
Fu Zhi and her party’s resting place had been arranged in the branch of the Physics Association in Country M.
Before Fu Zhi had come here, the vice-president had told her that Yuan He was the leader of the branch and Gu Yan’s teacher, who had introduced Physics to her.
The two of them shared a deep relationship, and Yuan He treated Gu Yan like her own daughter. Therefore, there was no way she would go to receive them at the airport since Gu Yan was not coming.
Zhao Hua then said, “The car is just outside.”
Fu Zhi nodded and replied simply, “Thank you. Let’s go then.”
Other than Lu Yubai and Fu Zhi, everyone else headed toward the residence arranged by the association in an MPV van.
At night, Lu Yubai and Xia Tian could not adapt to the sudden change of climate and vomited after having dinner.
Yuan He did not show up at all. She just asked Zhao Hua to bring the following message to them: “If you’re not feeling well, then do something about it. As professional participants, it’s your duty to stay in tip-top condition, and those who’re unable to do that are nothing but rubbish. Everyone must be present at the exchange meeting tomorrow. No excuses will be tolerated, and those who fail to obey will be punished!”
Fu Zhi looked at the steak and the pot of rice porridge. They seemed to have grown accustomed to this kind of diet, but the same did not apply to Xia Tian and Lu Yubai. Both their faces turned even paler, and their stomachs were doing flip flops.
She figured that she should hire another chef so that they would get well soon and be able to handle the competition in their fittest condition.
Shooting a cold gaze at Zhao Hua, she said, “We’re not free tomorrow.”
“We won’t take no for an answer,” Zhao Hua replied firmly. “Putting aside the hard work that Gu Yan has poured into this exchange meeting, even our branch has received an unreasonable request from them, and we had to pay 800,000 dollars out of our own pocket to arrange the meeting at Restaurant Guo Wei. The exchange meeting is a very important occurrence for the Physics Association. If you refuse to go, then perhaps you should invite Gu Yan over here and let her take part in your stead.”
Xia Tian, who was lying listlessly on the table, felt his eyes glow when he heard what Zhao Hua had said. “Restaurant Guo Wei? Oh, I’m definitely going!”
As if he had recovered, Xia Tian pulled at Fu Zhi’s arm and said, “Let’s go, Fu Zhi. Restaurant Guo Wei is one of the top three restaurants in the world! It is said that it is a temporary partnership formed by a group of workers who encountered difficulties while working here. Later, someone invested in them and introduced a number of black technologies, such as robot-sliced noodles and rice-planting techniques... Anyway, this restaurant gave a lot of workers a chance to bring food to the table and has now become a high-end patron club!”
Zhao Hua shot a glance at Xia Tian and then added, “Besides, they only receive seven groups of customers a month. When we went to make a reservation, we were told that we’d have to wait three years. Had we not paid the 700,000-dollar expedited fee...”
“Ah...” Lu Yubai turned around, interrupted him, and said weakly, “This sounds rather familiar...”
Fu Zhi did not know what to say.
Initially, Fu Zhi had not planned on going. However, since the venue of the meeting was a restaurant and the financial condition of the Physics Association was not good, she said, “Alright then. Let’s go and have a look.”
*
The following day at 2:00 p.m...
Fu Zhi waited until Lu Yubai and Xia Tian had recovered and only then took them downstairs to meet up with Yuan He and the other members of the association.
Yuan He was a woman in her mid-forties who looked elegant. This was the first time she saw Fu Zhi. She frowned at her but then did not say anything to her. When all of them got in the car, she turned her head around and announced, “Yanyan has taken care of everything, and all you guys need to do is behave yourselves. When we get there later, don’t do anything stupid and don’t act like *sses. Try your best to learn from them, and most importantly, don’t disgrace Yanyan.”
The two secretaries behind Yuan He then chimed in, “Ms. Fu, since you have gotten all the credit from Gu Yan, then you’d better behave yourself and not ruin the exchange meeting!”
“When we get there later, you’ll just record everything with a recorder. We will discuss it with Gu Yan and let you know what you should do afterward. All you have to do is stay quiet and be a good girl. We will lead you to victory!”
It was very apparent that they were still looking down on Fu Zhi.
Fu Zhi was playing her games in the car. After she heard what they said, she replied flatly, “Okay.”
A trace of disdain crossed Yuan He’s eyes when she saw Fu Zhi’s lackadaisical attitude.
‘It’s no wonder Yanyan said she’s a lazy good-for-nothing. She’s about to meet her opponents, yet she’s still in the mood to play games. She really does not appreciate how important this meeting is.’
*
Very soon, the car arrived at Restaurant Guo Wei.
The restaurant was located in the suburbs and surrounded by mountains and rivers. There was a garden of Hoary stock, and the courtyard was decorated with tables and chairs, as well as a wooden swing.
Not far away from the restaurant was the rice field, and they could also see some cattle grazing in the grass field next to an orchard farm.
The moment Yuan He got out of the car, she saw the team leader of the team from Country M, the youngest daughter of the Ford Family, Mia.
Yuan He gave her a smile and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Mia lifted her chin and replied, “It’s okay.” Then, she gazed behind Yuan He. When she could not find the person she was looking for, she asked in surprise, “Where is Gu Yan? Why isn’t she here yet?”
Yuan He looked at Fu Zhi indifferently and then replied, “She couldn’t make it. Anyway, this is our new team leader, Fu Zhi. Fu Zhi, this is Ms. Mia, the Physics genius I told you about!”
Fu Zhi bobbed her head in greeting at Mia and said, “Nice to meet you.”
Mia did not reply. Her eyes ran over Fu Zhi from head to toe before stopping on her delicate face. She brought her brows together in a tight frown and said, “Yuan He, the reason I agreed to meet up with your people and give them a tutoring session before the competition is because of Gu Yan. Otherwise, why should I waste my precious time on participants that come from a backward country that has not produced any decent geniuses in more than 100 years?”
A few of her teammates behind her were also laughing. One of them then asked, “Since Gu Yan is not participating in the competition, what are you guys still waiting for? Do you really think you can win the competition? Don’t make me laugh!”
Fu Zhi’s gaze turned cold. Lu Yubai and Xia Tian’s faces were ugly as well.
They were not only looking down on Fu Zhi, but they were also holding every Chinese person in contempt except for Gu Yan.
With a grim expression, Lu Yubai chimed in, “We’re here to win the competition!”
Mia did not even take his words seriously. They had to face this kind of provocation every day, so she was not affected by Lu Yubai’s statement at all. Holding the invitation in her hand, Mia said, “There is only one person who can enjoy the opportunity to learn from us, and that person is Gu Yan. As for you guys, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”
There was no way she was going to tutor someone like Fu Zhi.
In her opinion, Gu Yan must have fallen into Fu Zhi’s trap. That was why she had lost her position as the team leader.
In China, Fu Zhi might have some connections, but she was in a different country right now. As the saying went, a mighty dragon was no match for a snake in its own lair. There were plenty of people who could get rid of Fu Zhi here.
After Yuan He heard what Mia had said, her face turned grim, and she shot an angry glance at Fu Zhi.
If she had not been so greedy or tried to make a name for herself at the exchange meeting, none of this would have happened.
At the same time, Yuan He’s secretary went forward and attempted to calm Mia down. However, Mia was not moved at all.
The secretary could not resist complaining to Fu Zhi. “Do you know how strong Mia and her team are? Her teacher is one of the judges this time, so she must have some information about the competition that the others don’t have. Initially, she agreed to share everything she knows with Gu Yan, but she refuses to tell us anything now, and it’s all your fault!
“I understand that you crave publicity, but why can’t you pick another time, huh? Mia is refusing to continue the exchange meeting, and I really want to see how you’re going to explain this to everyone in the Physics Association!”
*
On the other side, Yuan He was still trying to talk with Mia, while Fu Zhi was surveying the size and overall layout of the restaurant, her insouciant attitude ticking Yuan He off.
Xia Tian mumbled, “Although I don’t like how Mia described us, what if she refuses to show up at the exchange meeting if we don’t submit to her? If we couldn’t get any information on her or her team, there’s a probability we may lose the competition and the Physics Association might blame you.”
Fu Zhi trailed her fingers along the vine outside the door and yanked a grape into her mouth. Then, she said, “It’s okay, they wouldn’t dare.”
Xia Tian was speechless.
‘Alright, as long as you like it.’
Yuan He retracted her gaze. She was at her wit’s end, so she could only call Gu Yan. “You wait a moment, Mia. I will let Yanyan talk to you.”
Very soon, the phone was picked up. It was a little noisy on Gu Yan’s side, and it seemed to them that she was in a restaurant right now. After Yuan He filled her in on everything, Gu Yan said, “Give her the phone. I will talk to her.”