She had better not turned pale and trembled in fright, shaming her country and people. She was a woman after all. He Yi could not possibly hope that Qiao Nan would be able to take charge of the situations. He could not possibly think of grooming her to become a competent female diplomat.

Don’t be kidding!

No matter what kind of special treatment Qiao Nan was given, Deng Wenchang kept silent and did not say a word. He was waiting for a chance to give her a fatal blow. By then, everyone would be in awe at his capabilities. It was useless to be able to produce good reports. As part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one had to be presentable and deal with foreign diplomats!

He wondered whether all those people would continue to suck up to Qiao Nan like today and neglect him who had the real abilities by then.

Peng Yu told him that he would have an opportunity to shine very soon. Deng Wenchang clenched his fists in excitement, pursing his lips into a thin line. He lowered his eyes so that no one would notice the glitter of anticipation and sparkle of light in his eyes.

Peng Yu was right. He could not be furious or be thrown into confusion. He had to work hard so that he would amaze the world with a single brilliant feat.

At the thought of this, Deng Wenchang calmed himself down. He ignored the harmonious atmosphere surrounding Qiao Nan. He took a deep breath, controlling his expression when he looked at Qiao Nan. She might be smiling brightly now, but what was important was who would be able to have the last laugh.

Qiao Nan could never dream of being the minister of foreign affairs.

Deng Wenchang would compete with Qiao Nan secretly. Although he found Qiao Nan to be an eyesore and was displeased that the older colleagues treated Qiao Nan so much better than him, he would not complain about it. Deng Wenchang learned to hide his feelings.

It was only when Qiao Nan was around would there be a dark look in his eyes.

Qiao Nan had been converted to a permanent employee. Since Deng Wenchang did not make any huge mistakes in the past two years—with the Deng family’s and the Peng family’s help—Deng Wenchang became an official employee as well.

Now that everyone was at the same starting point, Deng Wenchang felt confident of himself. When he was given a chance, he would definitely outshine Qiao Nan.

Sometimes, if one thought very hard about something, it would happen eventually.

Not long after Qiao Nan joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an official employee, Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang were given the first important assignment since their official employment. They had to receive ambassadors from the United Kingdom.

Qiao Nan’s and Deng Wenchang’s responsibilities were to fulfill their duties and make the guests feel at home. The two of them must not cause the guests to have any misconception of China due to their own personal conflicts.

China was known as a state of etiquette and ceremonies. China would not make it difficult for the ambassadors on its own territory, causing tension between countries.

This was not a simple exchange. Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang had to pick their words carefully. They must not embarrass themselves in front of the foreign guests, which would result in them underestimating China.

“Are you confident?” He Yi passed the information on the visiting ambassadors to Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang in advance so that they could look through and memorize them by heart. The two of them had been officially employed by the ministry. He Yi had to give Qiao Nan and Deng Wenchang some serious work to do.

It was the rule for every department to enable workforce rejuvenation.

If Deng Wenchang performed as well as Qiao Nan, He Yi was ready to welcome another young diplomat to his department. In the future, the world would be in the hands of the younger generation. This was the same for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There was a sparkle of light in Deng Wenchang’s eyes. “Minister, since you assign such an important task to me—I mean, us, you can rest assured that we will not disappoint you. Right, Qiao Nan?” Deng Wenchang was hoping that He Yi could give the assignment to him alone. But he could not do anything about it as He Yi had a better relationship with Qiao Nan.

Now that Deng Wenchang knew who Qiao Nan’s husband was, he no longer suspected that Qiao Nan and He Yi had an illicit relationship.

Qiao Nan was the daughter-in-law of the Zhai family. Unless he was like the cat that had nine lives, no matter how daring He Yi was, he would not dare to mess with her and ruin his future and career. It was illegal to come between a military marriage. Moreover, the Zhai family had a political background. If He Yi did that, he would be committing a crime upon crime.

Although Deng Wenchang no longer suspected that Qiao Nan and He Yi had indecent dealings, he felt that He Yi was cozying up to the powerful Zhai family by being nice to Qiao Nan. All that said, Qiao Nan was lucky to get married to Chief Zhai’s son.

Otherwise, given Qiao Nan’s family background, she could never dream of being at the same starting line as him in this life. Since the day Qiao Nan was born into her humble family, it had been destined that she would lag behind. It was a blessing to be a woman. If one had the looks, one could get married to a good husband and stand to benefit from the power and influence of one’s in-laws.

Fortunately, Qiao Nan did not know what was on Deng Wenchang’s mind. Otherwise, she would have cursed him.

Deng Wenchang felt that she depended on her in-laws to be able to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If that was the case, what about Deng Wenchang? If not for the Deng family and Peng Yu who wanted to pull the Deng family to his side, with his own abilities, he would not be able to join the ministry fair and square.

This was the pot calling the kettle black.

Deng Wenchang was being strict with others and lenient towards himself.

“This…” Qiao Nan, who could not tell what was on other people’s minds, did not pay attention to Deng Wenchang, who was a spoiled brat. She could not help but be surprised when she saw the photos in the information. “I…”

“What are you exclaiming about?” Deng Wenchang smirked at Qiao Nan. “What is that expression of yours? You look as if you know the person at one glance. Didn’t you do your research or read the information? The foreign guests are a couple. The husband is newly appointed. Are you trying to tell me that you know them?”

Deng Wenchang was not trying to make wild guesses. But Qiao Nan’s expression was too obvious.