Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 8

The following morning, Ling Yu awoke at the old residence to a phone call from her academic advisor, Professor Wu.

“Have you found an internship placement yet?”

Ling Yu opened her wardrobe and selected a simple, solid-colored business suit. As she slipped it on, she replied, “Don’t worry, Professor. I’ll have it settled by today at the latest.”

Once she was properly dressed, Ling Yu did not forget to slip the blue recording pen from her vanity into her pocket.

Afterward, she opened the door and headed downstairs.

The clock hanging on the first floor had just struck seven. Xu Miao had stayed up late playing PUBG last night and was still asleep.

When Auntie Hu, the housekeeper, saw Ling Yu descending the stairs, she promptly brought out the breakfast she had prepared in advance.

Ling Yu nodded in thanks, pulled out a dining chair, and casually stuffed a fried dough stick into her mouth.

She had assumed Professor Wu would end the call after hearing her answer.

However, he clearly had something else to discuss. Instead of getting directly to the point, he began awkwardly making small talk about her daily life.

“You haven’t been staying in the dormitory lately.”

Ling Yu raised an eyebrow and pulled the half-chewed fried dough stick from her mouth.

Under ordinary circumstances, an academic advisor would not concern himself with a fourth-year student’s sleeping arrangements.

Students at this stage were either completing internships or searching for jobs outside the university.

Very few continued living in the dormitory for extended periods.

As a transfer student, Ling Yu had met Professor Wu only a handful of times. There was certainly no meaningful bond between them as teacher and student.

More importantly, she had never lived in the women’s dormitory belonging to the School of Literature after transferring. She had used her connections to move into the graduate dormitory of the School of Law, where Gu Qing lived.

Professor Wu had never asked about it before. There was no reason for him to investigate where she slept now, when she was close to graduating.

Suppressing her surprise, Ling Yu answered unhurriedly, “My great-grandmother is ill, so I’ve been staying at home for the past two days.”

After a pause, she politely asked, “Professor, is there something urgent you wanted to discuss?”

Professor Wu coughed lightly.

Perhaps worried that Ling Yu might become rebellious, he tried to address the main subject as gently as possible.

“Here’s the situation. The Office of Academic Affairs received a report yesterday accusing you of working as a hostess at a club in the red-light district… Is that true?”

Ling Yu thought she must have misheard him.

Gritting her teeth, she repeated, “The red-light district? Working…as a hostess?”

Her voice was almost a murmur. Professor Wu clearly failed to hear the suppressed emotion in her question.

His voice came through the phone once more.

“You studied diligently for many years. Your parents and the country invested a great deal to cultivate you into an outstanding student. I understand that, as your teacher, I cannot interfere with your personal choice of career. However, soliciting customers at a red-light-district club is not a respectable profession. Ling Yu…”

Professor Wu appealed to both her emotions and reason. Adopting the manner of the strict dean he had once been, he carefully explained a university student’s proper ambitions and principles.

He sounded determined to guide a wayward young woman back onto the correct path.

“Considering your young age, I’ve suppressed the matter for the time being. However, to guide you toward a proper career, I’ll strictly monitor your daily schedule during your final six months at the university. Therefore, Student Ling Yu, move your belongings back into the School of Literature’s dormitory today. I’ll conduct frequent room inspections.”

Room inspections?

Moving dormitories?

Ling Yu’s expression stiffened.

Remembering Gu Qing’s harsh warning yesterday, how could she possibly fail to understand what had happened?

Besides being harsh and heartless, that woman Gu Qing used every means at her disposal.

When she could not win a fight, she reported Ling Yu to her teacher.

Frankly, that move was remarkably underhanded.

Ling Yu ground her teeth in disbelief.

She drew a deep breath and patiently explained the entire situation to Professor Wu. Finally, she produced proof of the family matriarch’s hospitalization. Only then did Professor Wu abandon his intention to monitor her daily schedule.

Before ending the call, Ling Yu said with a smile, “Professor, even if you don’t trust me, you must trust Senior Gu’s character. We share a dormitory room, so you can ask her to supervise me.”

Hearing this, Professor Wu reluctantly agreed.

After ending the call, Ling Yu rubbed her chin. She crushed the final half of her fried dough stick before feeding it into her mouth.

Her teeth crunched ominously.

008 was so frightened that it did not dare utter a single syllable.

Kaihe Law Firm was located within the central loop of Yuncheng’s largest business district.

At eight in the morning, crowds flowed through the area like woven threads.

Outside the reception hall of Kaihe Law Firm, Old Wang, the security guard, stopped Ling Yu.

His face creased with worry.

“Miss Ling, aren’t you making things difficult for me?”

They were already familiar with each other. Old Wang was ordinarily kind and amiable. Although his superiors had docked half a month’s wages because he repeatedly allowed Ling Yu inside, he could not bring himself to use much strength when blocking her after seeing her sweet, obedient, girl-next-door smile.

Ling Yu smiled brightly and stuffed one of the breakfasts she had packed that morning into Old Wang’s hands.

He hurriedly stepped back.

“What are you doing? I can’t accept this… No, no, absolutely not.”

“Don’t worry. Please accept it. This barely costs anything, so it couldn’t possibly count as a bribe.”

Uncle Wang’s face reddened.

“You young girls are full of tricks. From where I’m standing, you’re clearly trying to bribe this old man so you can go inside and find Attorney Gu. Let me tell you—”

“I’m really not.”

Ling Yu laughed along with him.

“Uncle Wang, Human Resources asked me to come for an interview today. I’m entering openly and legitimately.”

As she spoke, she retrieved her interview pass from her handbag and held it out to him.

Then, under Uncle Wang’s astonished gaze, she strode into the Kaihe Law Firm building on her long, straight legs.

Ling Yu was a university student from the School of Literature who would soon graduate.

She had applied for an internship in the archives department.

The work involved storing records from the firm’s cases and organizing documents.

Kaihe Law Firm had emerged as a powerful new force over the past year. The number of graduating students hoping to intern there was practically countless.

Many applicants were already gathered in the lobby. Each department had only a limited number of internship positions available, making the competition extremely intense.

Ling Yu approached the reception desk and registered her identity. She was then instructed to wait until she could enter a first-floor office for preliminary screening.

She joined the very end of the line of applicants in the lobby.

It was eight fifteen. Since the firm’s working day began at eight thirty, they still needed to wait another fifteen minutes.

“I didn’t expect so many people to come.”

A young man standing ahead of her lowered his voice and leaned toward the young woman in front of him.

“What’s so surprising about that? Kaihe Law Firm has been flourishing over the past several years and developing at an incredible pace. More importantly, the primary person leading its teams is Gu Qing…”

“Gu Qing?” The young man looked surprised. “The same Gu Qing I’m thinking of?”

“She’s Attorney Gu, the one who single-handedly overturned the outcome of that school-bullying case a year ago and forcefully exposed the local powers operating behind it,” the young woman added.

“So it is her. Then…there really is nothing surprising about this.”

The young man looked enlightened and agreed, “Come to think of it, Gu Qing is around our age, but she has already become famous far beyond the legal profession. Several months ago, a renowned industry magazine named her the pride of law-school master’s students. Apparently, foreign law firms offered her astronomical salaries, but she rejected every one of them!”

While the two conversed quietly, a commotion suddenly broke out among the people at the front of the line.

Everyone simultaneously turned toward the woman approaching in a fitted pencil skirt and suit jacket.

“Look, it’s Gu Qing.”

“My God, she’s even more beautiful in person than she is on television.”

“H University produces nothing but beauties. Look at the woman at the very end of our interview line—the one with the fishtail braid and the lollipop in her mouth. When she registered her information earlier, I think she wrote H University in the school section too.”

“Damn, you have some sharp eyes…”

“Hehe… Actually, the first thing I noticed was those long legs of hers. Brother, let me tell you—if a single man doesn’t keep his eyes busy, he’ll never stop being single.”

The two men at the front exchanged smiles, their eyes filled with lecherous fantasies.

They spoke without restraint, and their voices grew slightly too loud.

Gu Qing had been walking straight toward the private elevator without glancing aside, but her footsteps abruptly stopped.

She turned and swept her peripheral gaze across the line of applicants.

Then her eyes appeared to drift casually toward the woman standing at the very end—her hair woven into a fishtail braid, a lollipop between her lips as she listened to the gossip.

“Attorney Gu, the legal consultant sent by Sleda Corporation is already waiting in your office.”

The assistant behind her opened the elevator and politely reported her schedule.

Gu Qing gave a cold hum and withdrew her gaze. She pointed toward the two men at the front of the line, whose eyes were still filled with vulgar amusement.

Her pale lips pressed together slightly.

“The firm does not hire employees who gossip about people behind their backs.”

The assistant froze briefly. A moment later, she understood what Gu Qing meant.

“Yes, of course. I’ll speak to Human Resources shortly.”

In the next second, Gu Qing spoke again.

This time, her finger pointed toward Ling Yu in the distance.

Her instruction was concise.

“Remove her from the interview list.”