Zhang Te’s assistant expressed his confusion aloud, "Two students? I only knew of one, a Chinese, who grew up with him since childhood."
"And that Chinese student seems to be a man. There’s not much information about him, but judging by his age, he’s probably around thirty now, isn’t he? However, all these years, I’ve never heard of another student."
Facing the mutterings of Zhang Te’s assistant, Han Jingnian gave him a glance filled with the insinuation, "There’s so much you’ve never heard of", before continuing to speak, "In his later years, Jo took on another student, but not many people knew of it. Many years ago, in Arica, I was fortunate to et Jo at a jewelry exhibition. At that ti, I was viewing a piece of work that caught my eye, it was nad ’Years’."
"Years?" Zhang Te’s assistant instantly understood: "So, Mr. Han, it’s the aning of the last two characters of your na, Jingnian."
Han Jingnian slightly nodded, "Perhaps I observed that piece for a longer. Jo and I chatted for a bit. We had a good conversation. Jo was a heavy drinker; I invited him for a drink that night. When he was drunk, he smugly disclosed to a secret, telling that the piece I had looked at in the afternoon was created by his favorite little apprentice. He also said that the work seen in the market was all her third-rate ones and that her top-class work she keeps for her own viewing or lets it enjoy a brief mont of lilight at a jewelry exhibition."
"However, the next day, when he was sober, I asked him about the little apprentice, he didn’t ntion a word about her. Therefore, the public believes that he only had one student, oblivious to existence of another."
"However, there’s too little information known about that student — na, gender, nationality, age, everything is unknown. But as you know, I have a good mory. I’ve seen the work of Jo’s little apprentice. Even after so many years, I can still rember her style. And now, the design we see resembles the style of Jo’s little apprentice, but not completely."
After hearing this long monologue, Zhang Te’s assistant finally understood why Mr. Han had to bring up Jo’s na, "Mr. Han, are you suggesting... the Mada has connections with Jo’s little apprentice?"
"But it doesn’t make sense. The Xia family business is not that big, Mr. Xia doesn’t even plan to let his son inherit their family business, that’s why the Mada’s older brother beca a lawyer. As for the Mada, you went over her past thoroughly before she married. She grew up dostically, her academic performance was good, but not outstanding. Her job after graduation was also so-so. Considering all this, by Xia family’s standards, it’s impossible for them to have any connections with Jo."
Upon saying this, Zhang Te’s assistant paused for a mont, then, he voiced out another possibility, "Mr. Han, do you think it’s possible that the Mada knows Jo’s little apprentice and has been under her guidance?"
Han Jingnian did not respond.
After a while, he waved his hand, signaling Zhang Te’s assistant to leave.
Once Zhang Te’s assistant left the office, it fell quiet.
Han Jingnian sat in his office chair, staring at the design on his computer screen, unmoving.
Truth be told, when she said she would give it a try, he rely wanted to give her an opportunity, but he didn’t expect that she would give him a surprise in return.
After an unknown amount of ti, he finally spoke, quietly muttering under his breath, "How many secrets are you hiding?"
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