Mu Zhaozhao offered generously, “You take it and use it first. Just return whatever is left.”
Shan Chengming scratched his head and took the money. “Alright then, I’ll bring back the change for you.”
Although he wanted to say he would treat her to dinner, saying that right after just meeting felt a bit too forward. After a moment’s hesitation, he accepted the cash.
Song Tingting, sitting off to the side, couldn’t fit in at all. She glared in sheer frustration. Because she had wasted her own food earlier, neither she nor Gao Hongzheng had anything left for dinner.
Gao Hongzheng had no choice but to get up and go buy boxed meals. Yet when he brought them back, she continued to pick and choose, complaining that the dishes were too plain and tasted terrible.
Mu Zhaozhao sneered from the side; she despised such overly pretentious people the most.
After dinner, Shan Chengming whispered a few words to Ruan Jingsheng, and the two of them got up and left the sleeper area.
About ten minutes after they departed, the train conductor rushed into the carriage, calling out loudly, “Does anyone here speak a foreign language? It’s urgent, and we need help!”
Everyone poked their heads out from their berths to look at the conductor, but no one answered.
Just as Mu Zhaozhao was about to ask what had happened, Song Tingting—who was sitting near the aisle—immediately raised her hand and responded, “Conductor, I speak a foreign language! I can help!”
Without a second thought, the conductor motioned for her to follow. “Hurry, come with me then!”
Song Tingting straightened her back, stood up, and cast a disdainful glance at Mu Zhaozhao. Hmph! Is a certain someone feeling embarrassed now? A village bumpkin couldn’t possibly speak a foreign language, could she?
Mu Zhaozhao laughed out of sheer amusement. “Haha~ Since you know how, hurry up and go! Don’t waste time here.”
Song Tingting smugly believed she was leaving under the envious gazes of the crowd, feeling as though she had finally won a round.
Less than five minutes after leaving, however, she returned with a pale face, slinking back in humiliation.
Just moments ago, the conductor had led her to a soft-sleeper compartment, inside of which stood five or six blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. She hadn’t caught the exact number, but she did see Ruan Jingsheng and Shan Chengming standing across from them.
She had wanted to put on a grand performance in front of Ruan Jingsheng. But the moment the foreigners opened their mouths, their fluent foreign language sounded completely unintelligible to her.
She had assumed that having gone to school and studied a foreign language for two years would be enough, but her pronunciation was clumsy and far from standard; she only knew basic, everyday phrases.
The foreigners spoke rapidly, filled with specialized vocabulary. She could only bite the bullet and blurt out, “Hi, how are you?”
Upon hearing this, the foreigners instantly lost their tempers. She couldn’t understand a word of what they shouted, but she could clearly tell from their faces that they were furious.
Shan Chengming: “…”
Is this woman seriously here to be a joke?
Ruan Jingsheng’s expression immediately turned as cold as ice, and he gave the conductor a look.
The conductor promptly ushered Song Tingting out, complaining the entire way back: “You young comrade, lying at such a young age! If you can’t speak a foreign language, why put on a show? Do you have any idea how important a matter you almost ruined just now?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Song Tingting didn’t dare talk back.
By the time she walked back into the carriage, she practically buried her head into her chest, completely unable to show her face.
Seeing the situation, Mu Zhaozhao put aside everything else and directly asked the conductor, “She doesn’t speak it? Was the problem not solved? Conductor, maybe I can help.”
She knew that Ruan Jingsheng and Shan Chengming were soldiers and guessed that the conductor looking for a foreign language speaker must be for communicating with foreign guests. This surely involved important national military affairs, so driven by patriotic passion, she stepped forward without hesitation.
The conductor had originally intended to leave directly. Being stopped by Mu Zhaozhao, he said impatiently, “You young girls lie without even batting an eye. Stop embarrassing Huaxia!”
Seeing that Mu Zhaozhao was also a young female comrade, and having just suffered from Song Tingting’s failure, he didn’t trust her at all.
Mu Zhaozhao didn’t get angry at being looked down upon. Instead, she spoke up directly in a foreign language: “Conductor, as a citizen of Huaxia, I would never tell a lie. I want to help in order to contribute to the construction of the Four Modernizations.”
Hearing this, the conductor blinked twice, utterly baffled—he didn’t understand a single word she said!
However, judging by the pronunciation, her foreign language sounded exceptionally standard and fluent.
A bright smile instantly broke across his face. “Comrade, I am so sorry. I truly failed to recognize your talent! Please, hurry and come with me.”
Mu Zhaozhao set off immediately. Saving the situation was like putting out a fire; she had no time to waste showing off to the people in the carriage.
The onlookers had seen everything. Once she left, unanimous praise erupted:
“Look at her! Both are young female comrades, but how can their ideological awareness be world’s apart?”
“It’s not just awareness—even their capabilities are like night and day!”
Hearing these words, Song Tingting looked like a frost-bitten eggplant. She didn’t dare lift her head, so embarrassed she wished she could jump right off the train.
Inside the soft-sleeper carriage, the foreign guests were currently being entertained with Huaxia delicacies.
Shan Chengming was stomping his feet in anxiety, muttering under his breath, “The assigned interpreter was supposed to board the train with the foreign guests at Jingning Station. How on earth did he miss it? Does he have any idea how crucial this negotiation is?”
Ruan Jingsheng looked displeased, standing ramrod straight. He was equally anxious inside. This critical meeting involved the acquisition of second-generation fighter jets; if it failed, it would delay Huaxia’s research and development.
Missing this opportunity could set Huaxia’s military strength back by several years. The entire matter was of immense importance.
With dark, brooding eyes, he asked Shan Chengming, “Didn’t you receive a Western education? Can’t you manage to negotiate with them somehow?”
Shan Chengming shook his head. “They speak too fast. Besides, these are obscure technical terms related to weapons R&D. I really can’t communicate.”
Ruan Jingsheng found himself at an absolute loss.
Just then, the conductor walked in with Mu Zhaozhao.
Seeing her, Shan Chengming asked in surprise, “Mu Zhaozhao, what are you doing here?”
Mu Zhaozhao raised her small face with confidence. “I’m here to help you solve your problem. I speak a foreign language.”
“You?” Shan Chengming said with obvious distrust. “Stop fooling around. Song Tingting came in earlier and babbled nonsense, making the foreign guests twist their mouths in anger. If you talk aimlessly too, I guarantee we won’t get anything negotiated today.”
The conductor hurriedly helped explain, “This female comrade is different. She really knows the language—she demonstrated it to me just now!”
“She demonstrated it to you? Do you know the language? Can you understand it?” Shan Chengming remained skeptical.
It was primarily because Mu Zhaozhao was too young, and having trusted Song Tingting by mistake earlier, they couldn’t afford any carelessness this time.
Mu Zhaozhao didn’t argue with him. Instead, her bright eyes turned directly to Ruan Jingsheng. “What do you think?”
Although she didn’t know what rank the man held, it wasn’t hard to tell that he definitely had the final say over Shan Chengming.
Ruan Jingsheng stared unblinkingly at Mu Zhaozhao and said, “Give it a try with me in a moment.”
He believed her!
Mu Zhaozhao let out a sweet, radiant smile. “Alright!”
Her smile outshone the spring peach blossoms, instantly falling deep into Ruan Jingsheng’s dark eyes and causing his breathing to tighten.
He hurriedly turned his head away awkwardly. No wonder his mother had told him ever since he was little that the prettier a woman was, the better she was at captivating hearts and consuming souls—at this moment, he truly felt it.