Chapter 216: To Win a Man’s Heart, You Must First Win Over His Taste Buds

So many people were eagerly waiting for Gu Jianing to return to the Northwest Military District, to come back to the Traditional Chinese Medicine department, and to have her treat them.

Not only that, but in the Northwest Military District Hospital, people from other departments had mixed feelings about Old Chen.

They respected her, of course, for her abilities, but there was also a bit of resentment—not real hatred, just a feeling that Old Chen was just too shrewd.

Back when Gu Jianing first arrived, Old Chen had immediately requested her for her own department.

Later, she even took Gu Jianing on as her apprentice.

Now, Gu Jianing was giving lectures, had received awards from higher-ups, become a professor, appeared in the newspapers, and was famous nationwide. What an honor that was!

If only Gu Jianing had been in their department back then, or if they had any connection to her, maybe they could have shared in some of that glory too.

—

There was a buzz of anticipation throughout the Northwest Military District, but Gu Jianing was completely unaware.

When she woke up, it was already late afternoon, almost evening.

Sheng Zexi hadn’t returned from training yet.

Grandma Sang, on the other hand, had been up for a while.

She was in the kitchen, making dinner.

Gu Jianing felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to help.

“Oh, you don’t need to help! Let Grandma handle this.”

“You just go do your own thing. There’s nothing for you to do here—just go sit down.”

Grandma Sang had come to the Northwest Military District specifically to take care of Gu Jianing. How could she let her granddaughter-in-law wait on her just because of seniority?

Back in Beijing, they had a housekeeper assigned by the authorities to take care of her and Grandpa Sang.

But it wasn’t as if Grandma Sang couldn’t cook. In fact, her cooking skills were excellent.

She just didn’t cook as often these days.

Now that Ningning was pregnant, as her great-grandmother, of course she wanted her to eat well.

Gu Jianing was shooed out of the kitchen.

She could only return to the living room and pick up a book to read.

But before long, Sheng Zexi came back.

He also wanted to help in the kitchen, but was promptly chased out by Grandma Sang.

“You just keep Ningning company. I don’t need your help here. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Sheng Zexi: Alright then.

So, Sheng Zexi sat down on the kang (heated brick bed) in the living room and chatted with Gu Jianing.

Gu Jianing talked about her life in Beijing, and naturally mentioned how Li Shuyao had been arrested in the middle of the night, and how Old Master Li had fainted from anger.

“I’ll get in touch with Zhenrong and have him keep an eye on the situation. If there’s any news, he’ll let me know,” Sheng Zexi said.

“Okay.”

Gu Jianing looked at Sheng Zexi, hesitated, and asked, “Aren’t you going to ask how I was so sure Li Shuyao was a spy?”

Sheng Zexi gazed at her intently, reached out his large hand, and held hers. “I know you have your own abilities.”

“If you want to tell me, you can. If you don’t…”

If she didn’t, Sheng Zexi would never force her.

He knew that was Ningning’s secret.

And since it was a secret, the fewer people who knew, the better—even him.

Gu Jianing hesitated, but finally said, “If Comrade Hua and the others don’t know where to start with the investigation, they can look into Li Shuyao’s cat.”

“Hm?”

“I—I can understand what that cat says.”

Sheng Zexi’s eyes widened slightly. He immediately looked around, and, seeing no one else nearby, let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Jianing knew what he was worried about and lowered her voice. “Actually, it’s not just that cat. I can understand all animals.”

It took Sheng Zexi a while to process this, but he finally accepted it.

“No wonder… No wonder whenever I see you with Amber, it’s like you’re really talking to each other.”

Whatever Amber was thinking or doing, Ningning always seemed to understand.

At first, he’d thought it was just because they were close, so Ningning understood Amber well.

He never imagined the real reason was this.

It was because Ningning could understand animals.

Sheng Zexi squeezed her hand a little tighter. “Ningning, you haven’t told anyone else about this, have you?”

“No, just you.”

“That’s good. Don’t tell anyone else.”

“And as for other secrets, just keep them to yourself. Try not to tell me either.”

Gu Jianing: Alright, this man really is cautious.

But she knew Sheng Zexi was only being careful for her sake.

Gu Jianing then told him what she’d heard the cat say in the department store that day.

As for the spy mark, she didn’t mention it.

But just from what the cat had said, it was clear Li Shuyao was a spy.

Now all that was left was to confirm it.

“I suspect Li Shuyao was using that cat to pass messages.”

That’s why she always kept the cat around.

“No wonder…” Sheng Zexi suddenly understood.

Using a cat to pass intelligence—those people really were creative.

Especially since Li Shuyao had her identity as a member of the Li family as a cover.

No one would ever suspect her.

And no one else, except Ningning, could understand animals and figure it out from what the cat said.

“Ningning, thank goodness you discovered this.”

If Ningning hadn’t found out, who knows how long Li Shuyao would have gone undetected?

Who knows how many missions and secrets might have been compromised because of her?

“Ningning, if this turns out to be true, you’ll be the one who deserves the most credit.”

“If it’s confirmed, you’ll definitely be rewarded when the time comes.”

Gu Jianing propped her chin on her hands. “I don’t really care about credit. It’s just that Li Shuyao always had it in for me before.”

“Now that she’s been arrested, I don’t have to worry about her lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike at me.”

Especially since she was going to have a child soon.

She was afraid Li Shuyao would keep hiding, and one day might go after her child.

So now that Li Shuyao had been caught, it was a relief—a weight off her shoulders.

“Now that she’s been caught, I guess I’ve done a good deed for the country,” Gu Jianing said with a smile. After all, Li Shuyao was a spy.

And spies are never good news.

“Yes, you’ve done a great service for the country!” Sheng Zexi praised her, patting her head.

At that moment, Grandma Sang brought in the food.

“Dinner’s ready.”

“Great, I’ll get the bowls and chopsticks.” Sheng Zexi was a man who knew how to help around the house. He quickly fetched the tableware and served rice for all three of them.

After tasting Grandma Sang’s cooking, Gu Jianing was amazed.

“Wow, Grandma, your food is incredible! This is god-level cooking!”

Her praise made Grandma Sang burst out laughing.

“Is it really that good?”

“Of course!”

And as Sheng Zexi explained, Gu Jianing learned that Grandma Sang had a very sensitive palate and was extremely talented at cooking from a young age.

Her food was always delicious.

In fact, Grandpa Sang had pursued her relentlessly because of her amazing cooking skills.

After all, to win a man’s heart, you must first win over his taste buds."