After finishing the call, Gu En abruptly hung up and got into a passing public bus, finding herself a seat.
The bus was pretty crowded. People who knew each other were engaged in conversations. The cries and noisy chatter of children only added to Gu En’s annoyance. She alighted just before the military academy gate.
However, after stepping off the bus and seeing the students in uniforms at the academy entrance, her expression changed. A gleam sparked in her eyes. She looked around for a moment, found a secluded spot to sit and once again called the office of the commander where Lan Li was stationed.
The commander was startled upon receiving Gu En’s call, "Gu En, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly calling me today? You do know Lan Li’s number, right? Your Brother Lan Li should be on a train back to the capital now. He left early this morning and should arrive by noon at the latest."
"Today is my grandfather’s birthday, I know Brother Lan Li is coming back, but I’m not looking for him," Gu En whispered into the phone with a laugh, "I’m looking for He Teng!"
When the commander heard Gu En was looking for He Teng, he was taken aback, "What do you need him for?"
"Because I bullied his sister before, I want to apologize to him," Gu En’s tone had the timid note of someone admitting to a past wrong, "He Teng is now a company commander and has his own office. Could you, perhaps, give me his office number?"
After some thought, the commander agreed, recited the number, exchanged some pleasantries with Gu En and then ended the call due to work obligations.
At this moment, He Teng wasn’t in his office. So, Gu En’s call was initially picked up by someone else. He Teng didn’t pick up the phone until he later returned to his office.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Commander He!" As soon as He Teng picked up, Gu En started with a congratulatory message. However, her tone was far from sincere.
Recognizing Gu En’s voice, He Teng did not respond with his usual thanks. Instead, he responded in a dull and indifferent manner, "What is it?"
Upon receiving Gu En’s call, He Teng’s first reaction was, did something happen to He Zhilan again?
During the time after He Zhilan returned to the capital, he only had spoken to her a few times on the phone. Most of the time, he was occupied with his work.
Naturally, He Teng was worried about He Zhilan being alone. Out of the blue, Gu En calling him, only heightened his concerns about Zhilan.
"Of course not! I didn’t call you specifically to congratulate you, nor to apologize! Commander He, I just called to ask, are all the people in the He Family as shameless as you?" One moment she was laughing, albeit falsely, yet there was still a semblance of laughter. Even when she was congratulating him, the very next moment, her tone changed sharply, filled with mockery and sarcasm. Even through the phone, it didn’t obstruct her scornful sentiment from being heard.
"Gu En, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t talk nonsense! Do you believe that I’ll relay exactly what you said to your father, so Chief Gu can see what kind of monster his daughter has turned into?!" He Teng was so furious he almost smashed the phone on the spot. Gu En’s call was utterly bewildering, and her insults were simply intolerable.
"My monstrosity? What about your He Family? He Teng, do you really think that your rapid rise to this position is due to your so-called abilities? That the military values you? You truly believe that you were promoted to platoon leader before your training because of your military merits?" Gu En sneered incessantly.