Chapter 83: I Want Your Signature

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Huh?” Qiao Nian looked at Gu Zhou in confusion. Was Gu Zhou actually showing an interest in her?

This was truly a rare occurrence.

Qiao Nian thought silently to herself.

“For how long?” Gu Zhou asked again.

“About… ten years!” Qiao Nian said after some thought.

Although Gu Zhou knew that Qiao Nian wasn’t as simple as she seemed, he was still a little surprised by her reply.

“In that case, when do you plan to award me my doctoral certificate?”

Qiao Nian was speechless.

Gu Zhou was a head taller than Qiao Nian. Now, standing in front of her, he had to lower his gaze to meet her eyes. His phoenix-like eyes narrowed as he asked, “Don’t you remember, Principal?”

Gu Zhou’s voice was as cold as ever, but there was a hint of danger in it.

Qiao Nian seemed to remember Wang An mentioning this matter before. He said that someone had completed their postdoc PhD overseas, and the university needed to issue a certificate.

At that time, she was overjoyed. This was the first postdoc student who had graduated after she had taken over An University. Back then, she had practiced her signature countless times, just so she could help the student sign their certificate herself.

However, she had never expected that the student would be Gu Zhou.

Back then, she had been locked up in the mental hospital, and she had lost contact with the outside world.

“Principal, are you planning to make me repeat my studies at the university?” Gu Zhou raised his eyebrow and looked at Qiao Nian coldly, his gaze carrying a hint of a threat.

“No, no.” Qiao Nian quickly waved her hand and said seriously, “I’ll get Vice-Principal Wang to sign the certificate and send it over.”

After Qiao Nian spoke, she saw that Gu Zhou’s expression had cleared. She heaved a sigh of relief.

“No.”

That simple word from Gu Zhou made Qiao Nian’s heart jump to her throat in fear. Puzzled, she looked toward Gu Zhou.

“want your signature!” Gu Zhou said calmly, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

Qiao Nian heaved a sigh of relief. She had thought that Gu Zhou was going to make some outrageous request. So this was it. “Sure.”

Gu Zhou followed Qiao Nian out of the room. Holding the medicine bottle tightly in his hand, he said casually, “This tastes good.”

Qiao Nian was slightly stunned. She had always thought that Gu Zhou was cold and didn’t like to joke around. She hadn’t expected him to say anything like that.

‘Was Gu Zhou joking with her?

Qiao Nian looked at Gu Zhou’s retreating back. For some reason, she felt that he wasn’t too bad a person.

The family ate dinner together happily. After the meal, Qiao Nian made another trip to the medicinal room.

Qiao Nian was preparing some medicine when she heard someone knock on the door. She said casually, “Come in!”

Zhao Qian pushed the door open and smiled at Qiao Nian. “Second Sister-in-law, I’m here for some candied plums.”

Qiao Nian smiled back. After greeting Zhao Qian, she said, “The candied plums are in the white porcelain bottle in the upper right corner.”

Zhao Qian retrieved a jar of candied plums, then walked over to Qiao Nian. Seeing that Qiao Nian was preparing medicine, she smiled and asked, “Second Sister-in-law, who are you preparing medicine for?”

“This is for Grandma.” Qiao Nian had already discovered that Matriarch Gu’s heart wasn’t very well, so she thought of making some medicine for Matriarch Gu to help with her heart disease. “These can help to suppress Grandma’s heart problems.”

The smile on Zhao Qian’s face faded as she looked at Qiao Nian in confusion. Puzzled, she asked, “Se-Second Sister-in-law, these herbs are for treating colds. Is there anything notable about these ingredients?”

When Qiao Nian heard Zhao Qian’s question, she turned to look at her. Smiling, she asked, “Are you familiar with these medicinal herbs?”

“I studied clinical medicine for both Western and Chinese schools. I’m only familiar with a few medicinal herbs,” Zhao Qian said, her expression sincere. Grandma had given Qiao Nian all of her inheritance, so it was better for Zhao Qian to know her place in the future.

Qiao Nian looked toward Zhao Qian. She had thought that Zhao Qian was here to pick a fight, but seeing how sincere and eager to learn Zhao Qian looked, she realized that she had been over-thinking.

“These ingredients are indeed used to treat cold injuries, but the proportion of ingredients I’ve used is different. The resulting medicine will be different as well. These pills may be able to treat more illnesses beyond colds,” Qiao Nian explained patiently with a smile.

Zhao Qian nodded thoughtfully.