In a room full of red rosewood tones, the walls were filled with blue and white porcelain, which caught Shi Nian’s eye.
Shi Nian knew that China’s blue and white porcelain had once become a luxury item fought over by European nobility. The larger the blue and white patterns on the porcelain, the more intricate the designs, the greater the owner’s wealth was believed to be. So the blue and white porcelain displayed here was not like the kind Chinese people themselves preferred, with more elegant and sparse patterns; instead, it was almost entirely blue, with any bit of blank space becoming decorative.
Luxurious, indeed... but it looks a bit overwhelming.
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but smile gently.
She didn’t notice at all when a door nearby quietly opened, and a man holding a crystal wine glass in his hand, with rose-colored liquid swirling inside, slowly walked out.
The shiny black pointed handmade leather shoes adorned his footsteps with elegance and pride. The sound of footsteps was absorbed by the ancient Persian carpet on the walkway, making no sound at all.
Not until Shi Nian was surveying the blue and white porcelain in the entire room and turned her head did she realize that someone had silently stood behind her.
Shi Nian gasped in surprise and retreated repeatedly. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelꞁire.net
The man then laughed lightly with a rich baritone voice: "You’re Nana, right? Sorry, it seems I’ve scared you. You girls from China seem to be easily embarrassed."
He smiled and extended his hand: "I’m William Ford."
Shi Nian was so surprised she widened her eyes: "Hello, Director. A pleasure to meet you."
Quickly apologizing for keeping the Director waiting, she hurried forward to shake his hand.
Dry, slender, steady.
A tall man, around thirty-five years old, wearing a fitted black suit with a strict white shirt underneath. Traditional yet elegant. He had a face with Oriental features but had pale blue eyes. Black hair, red lips, mature and charming.
As if knowing Shi Nian was observing him, he gently raised an eyebrow.
Shi Nian blushed, quickly looking away, frankly saying: "I didn’t expect you to be so young. And—your appearance has very obvious Oriental features."
"That’s because my mother is Chinese." He replied with a smile: "So when I heard that the exchange student from China played a key role in last night’s murder case, I broke my habit of rarely coming to the school myself and insisted on seeing you in person."
"An honor." Shi Nian’s cheeks warmed.
Spicy Girl had already mentioned that this Director rarely appeared at school, and most students might go from enrollment to graduation without ever seeing him personally. Even for the regular meetings of the board of directors, he usually sent a lawyer to represent him. This time, he was willing to personally meet Shi Nian and repeatedly confirmed the time, explicitly stating the need for a face-to-face meeting, which left Spicy Girl quite surprised.
Now hearing him say this, Shi Nian felt there was a reason for him insisting to see her.
Living overseas, all those with Chinese heritage deeply pride in each other’s achievements, don’t they?
William Ford invited Shi Nian to sit, and the two sat side by side on the large sofa, as William elegantly crossed his long legs: "Perhaps you could call me by my Chinese name: Huangfu Hua Zhang."
Wow, what a beautiful name... Shi Nian silently praised in her heart.
"I wonder if last night daring to go with Jack to Zhou Guanghan’s room, you had already suspected Jack? Or was it simply because you were brave and unafraid?" Huangfu Hua Zhang asked warmly.
Shi Nian lowered her head and smiled: "I hadn’t suspected him initially, but when I suddenly saw him come in from outside that night... I started to shift the focus onto him, matching one clue after another." Shi Nian then recounted the events of last night.
Huangfu Hua Zhang listened, slightly raising an eyebrow: "You managed to deduce his personality from the seat he chose in the behavior analysis class... impressive."
Shi Nian replied shyly: "Actually, the truly impressive one is Prof. T. Compared to his deductions, mine is merely child’s play."
Shi Nian then summarized Tang Yanqing’s brilliant deductions for Huangfu Hua Zhang. Huangfu Hua Zhang squinted slightly: "I’ve heard about this Professor T."
Shi Nian nodded. Spicy Girl had mentioned that the appointment of each teaching professor at the campus required discussion by the board of directors, necessitating the Director’s signature. Therefore, for Tang Yanqing to become a visiting professor at the Eastern Research Center, Huangfu Hua Zhang must be aware.
"Behavior analysis is extremely challenging, especially for analyzing Oriental people’s behavior, which is even harder." Huangfu Hua Zhang shook the wine glass in his hand: "Because Oriental people tend to be reserved and prefer to hide their emotions, minimizing body language, thus capturing micro-expressions and gestures becomes scarce."