Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Mutual Admiration
The girl, being pulled along by a classmate, reluctantly agreed. Still, her eyes couldn’t help but drift toward Gu Jiaojiao.
’Watching that beautiful figure fade into the distance... Fate is so unfair. Some people can look absolutely divine without a lick of makeup.’
’While others spend ages piling on makeup, only to fail at covering their dark circles.’
’Look at that flawless skin, those plump, vibrant red lips, and that thick, lustrous hair.’
The girl closed her eyes, trying to hide the jealousy practically spilling out of her.
She felt a deep sense of resentment. ’Why should *I* have to clean the lab?’
She was a third-year medical student, twenty-three years old. Her family was well-off; both her parents were government officials.
Though her family wasn’t based in the Imperial City, they were considered prominent back in their home city.
Her name was Guo Xin. Ever since she was little, her dream had been to become a surgeon, a dream that fueled her diligent studies.
From elementary school through university, she had always been at the top of her class. Yet now, she was stuck in the lab, mopping the floor for a group of first-year students.
It was simply unbelievable!
Her expression was grim, a mixture of wanting to leave and being too resentful to do so. After all, two male classmates from her class had also been told to stay and clean.
The instructor had simply pointed at their row and ordered them to stay behind to clean.
"What’s the matter with you? Why haven’t you started?" a fourth-year girl next to her said, giving her a shove.
"Guo Xin, what’s wrong today? Are you not feeling well? You look so pale," the boy who had been pulling her arm earlier asked with concern.
The two of them were in the same class, and the boy had a long-standing secret crush on Guo Xin.
"I’m fine. Let’s start cleaning," Guo Xin said feebly.
"Guo Xin, why don’t you just sit aside and rest? I can clean for you," the boy said, full of concern.
"Yeah, yeah, Guo Xin, you go rest by the door. We can handle the cleaning," the other male classmate chimed in.
Guo Xin was sweet-looking with excellent grades. She was the belle of her third-year class and the darling of her male classmates.
But the fourth-year girl was no ordinary person. She was Han Jingzhi, the granddaughter of the Han family’s patriarch.
With her impatient and fiery temper, she had no tolerance for girls who played weak to win sympathy from their male classmates.
’And this third-year girl had the audacity to be jealous of her Great-Aunt? Unacceptable!’
The first time she saw her Great-Aunt, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, she had been awestruck. Ever since, she’d paid close attention to her every move.
Just now, she had seen it clearly: as the girl stared at her Great-Aunt’s retreating back, her face had twisted into an ugly, jealous snarl.
"What do you think you’re doing? The instructor told all of us to stay and clean. Everyone has to do their part. If you do her work, who’s going to do yours?"
Han Jingzhi demanded fiercely, grabbing the boy beside Guo Xin. "You two, go wipe down the surgical tables. Now."
Then, she turned to Guo Xin, her tone harsh. "Count yourself lucky I’m not making you clean the surgical tables. Get to sweeping the floor."
Guo Xin stared blankly at the sudden turn of events, a seed of resentment growing inside her.
But she didn’t dare to talk back. Feeling deeply wronged, she could only turn to grab a broom.
After being accosted by Han Jingzhi, the two boys didn’t dare make another move and obediently went to wipe the surgical tables.
Both of the boys from Guo Xin’s class were from the Imperial City; they knew the Han family was on a level far beyond their reach.
The other students didn’t dare say another word and quietly continued with their tasks.
Han Jingzhi usually had an icy demeanor, but her classmates were still rather fond of her.
She wasn’t pretentious or fake, and as long as no one provoked her, she wouldn’t go out of her way to bully anyone.
"Jingzhi, let me help you with that." Han Jingzhi was also the belle of the fourth-year class.
She was beautiful, a top student in the medical department, and considered one of the ten most beautiful women in the entire university.
Plenty of students scrambled for the chance to help her, but Han Jingzhi never accepted such offers.
She was keenly aware that she was engaged. At school, she always turned a blind eye to any male student who tried to get her attention.
She remained cold to everyone and never gave other male students a second glance. It wasn’t that she was arrogant; it was because she had been engaged since childhood.
Her fiancé was serving on the front lines with her eldest cousin. His family was also prominent, a perfect match for the Han family in terms of social standing.
Guo Xin knew of Han Jingzhi, of course. She had once been fiercely jealous of the older girl’s beauty and talent.
’Now, watching Han Jingzhi order the other students around while she was stuck just sweeping the floor... On what grounds?’
"Guo Xin, why are you just standing there spacing out instead of sweeping?" a boy from another class asked, noticing her daze.
Guo Xin heard him and glanced up, replying flatly, "Oh."
The boy wasn’t angered by her attitude. He just smiled and turned back to cleaning the scalpels and instruments.
Seeing this, Guo Xin grew even more irritated. ’I thought he was just making an excuse to hit on me.’
’But he just went right back to work. Now there’s nothing I can do, since he’s not even looking at me anymore.’
So, Guo Xin could only resentfully resume her sweeping, cursing Gu Jiaojiao and Han Jingzhi a thousand times over in her mind.
Gu Jiaojiao, of course, had no idea what was happening in the lab. She was currently being cornered by Frank. "Teacher Jiaojiao, your surgical technique is even more practiced than mine!"
"Professor Frank, am I not allowed to be just a little bit better than you?" Gu Jiaojiao teased.
"Of course, of course you are! Teacher Jiaojiao, did you know, I once thought about offering to trade my surgical knowledge for your acupuncture skills!"
Foreigners tend to be direct, after all; they aren’t like Imperial people, who prefer to be more roundabout.
"You’re too modest, Professor Frank. Your accomplishments in surgery are far beyond what we could hope to achieve. We should certainly exchange ideas more when we have time."
Gu Jiaojiao said with utmost sincerity. It was a tremendous honor to be able to discuss and exchange ideas with the father of surgery.
She had forgotten that Professor Frank wouldn’t become famous for several more years. At this point in time, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if she were *his* mentor.
Professor Frank and Gu Jiaojiao had a mutual admiration for one another, so their discussion was quite pleasant.
Time flew by, and soon, the day was over. "Professor Frank, let’s continue our discussion next Monday."
"Goodbye, Teacher Jiaojiao. A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study."
"Haha... you flatter me, Professor Frank." With that, Gu Jiaojiao walked out of the professor’s office.
"Jiaojiao, done for the day?"
"Grandpa, why haven’t you gone home yet?" Gu Jiaojiao asked, walking up to take Grandpa Gu’s hand.
"I was waiting for you in the office next door. Your second brother wants to find a matchmaker to propose a marriage to the Li family. As you know, after all those years raising pigs in the countryside, we don’t really know anyone well in the Imperial City."
"So you want me to find someone we know to act as a go-between? Grandpa, for something this simple, you could have just given me a call."
