As the third year passed with a flash, Xunyi was able to get into Oxford Law School. Preparing for the internship interview, she thought about what she had said to Deming a few months back.
"He hasn't contacted me for a while now. Did I really hurt him?" She thought as she was about to call him but then she turned off her phone and headed to Gabriela's dormitory. They were going to skip class today since today was the last day anyways. They planned to go to the city center to see which other law firms accept student interns. Not every law firms accept students.
Xunyi applied for J&J Law Groups in London but she wasn't sure whether she would get in or not. As they went to other law firms close to the area, most of them accepted student interns. After a few hours, they took a break at a nearby cafe then Gabriela took out her Ipad.
"Check, check, and check. We already checked off these places, we still have a few to go through. Oh, my head... it's going to burst. Why is this so stressful?" She leaned back and closed her eyes.
"I still can't believe we are graduating. Mia, did you receive your offer yet?" She asked while Xunyi shook her head.
"I don't want to think about it." It's true, it's a headache applying to all these places but none replied. Xunyi and Gabriela sighed as they were on the verge of giving up. Suddenly, Xunyi received an email.
"Ah! J&J Law Groups will interview me tomorrow at 10 am!" She was so excited that her chair almost fell backward.
"Ah! Congratulations, Mia! You're almost there!" Gabriela celebrated with her.
"I still have to wait for mine. You're so lucky, Mia!"
"You will make it! Believe in yourself!"
"Are you going to tell Lawyer Jiang?" Gabriela asked.
"I am! After...if I pass the interview phase." Xunyi replied as she smiled.
Since Xunyi already had her interview time set up, she only accompanied Gabriela as she is still searching for a law firm to intern at. As the day went on, Gabriela received no notifications. Xunyi encouraged her to wait until tomorrow or until the end of the week and see.
_____
Xunyi took a deep breath as she entered the building of one of the top law firms in London. As expected, she got nervous again even though she rehearsed her interview with Gabriela. She looked around the building and in the middle of the lobby, there was a statue of a lady holding a scale.
"That's the lady of justice." A female voice behind her sounded unfamiliar so Xunyi turned around and she was shocked at how beautiful she was. She was a bit taller than Xunyi, long straight black hair with bangs, she was wearing a khaki skirt and a khaki blazer. Her high heels were black and polished.
"Hi, my name is Mia Ling. I'm here for the interview. How about you?"
"Hi! My name is Veronica. I'm here for the interview as well. We still have around twenty minutes to kill. I'm a little nervous." She smiled and Xunyi nodded, "Me, too. I'm already sweating."
"Which law school are you in right now, Veronica?"
"I just got into Oxford. I will start within a few months." She replied, "How about you?"
"I just graduated and I'll be in Oxford law school in a few months as well. We'll be seeing each other quite often." Xunyi was glad to see another person her age.
"That's amazing! We'll be classmates!" Veronica had a huge smile on her. Then she checked her watch, "Oh, we should get going. Come on." As they went on the elevator, there were other people going to the interview as well. They entered floor 25 and they were told to wait in a room. Each of them got their assigned number.
Veronica and Xunyi took a seat as they waited to be called. A few minutes passed and several people came out of the interview room.
"I nearly pooped my pants. That interviewer was scary." One young man came out of there along with two other people.
"Same, that man... he is something else."
"I heard from a friend he is the brother of another CEO back in Shanghai."
"No wonder, they look mean but apparently, they all got good genes."
Xunyi and Veronica overheard the conversation and both of them tensed up a bit.
"Are you ready?" Xunyi asked her.
"Nope. Never ready." Veronica sighed.
Another twenty minutes passed and they were called into the room. Xunyi took another deep breath and told herself to calm down. You can do it, Xunyi...You worked hard for this. There were three interviewees in total and the man in the middle looked a bit familiar.
Jiang Mengshan. Xunyi immediately thought, could he be Deming's father's brother? She shook off the thought and then concentrated on what they are about to say.
"We are here to ask you some questions. Please don't be nervous. We'll start with an introduction. I'm the hiring manager, Jiang Mengshan. This is my assistant, Jenny. We'll start with Veronica. Tell me about yourself and why did you choose this path?"
Jiang Mengshan nodded and he was impressed by Veronica.
"Thank you, Veronica. Next, Mia Ling. Go ahead."
Xunyi took a deep breath again and she confidently stated why she is interested in this path and she also gave a short introduction. Mengshan nodded again then went to the last person, who was clearly nervous about what to talk about. He stuttered a lot and made a lot of mistakes.
"Alright. Thank you, you three. We'll ask several other questions and please answer them honestly." When they were finished with the interview, Jiang Mengshan asked them to leave the room since they will receive an email about whether they made it in or not. Xunyi breathe a sigh of relief as she went out of the interview room.
"I almost died in there. It felt suffocating." Xunyi took out her water bottle and drank so much water.
"Me too. I was nervous." Veronica replied.
A few minutes later, a lady came out of the interview room and asked for Mia.
"Mia Ling, the hiring manager wants to see you. Please follow me."
Xunyi placed everything back into her tote bag and then followed the lady. She went into the room with Mengshan sitting there with her file.
"Mia Ling, do you know my nephew?"
"Nephew??" Xunyi asked.
"Jiang Deming, son of my older brother. Jiang Yuhan." Mengshan replied in an aloof voice.
"Yes, I know them."
"Interesting. Is my nephew doing well?" He asked Xunyi who was clearly out of it.
"We haven't been in contact for a few months already. I'm not sure what he's up to right now." She replied and thought about running away.
"Okay. You may leave. Thank you." Mengshan signaled and asked Jenny to take Xunyi outside. Xunyi nearly had a heart attack, he looked just like Deming's father. Veronica met her down at the lobby and came up to her.
"What's the matter? You look pale, Mia."
"I'm okay, that man...he really does look kind of scary..." Xunyi said while she looked into space.
"Jiang Mengshan?"
"Yes, him." She replied, "Don't you think so?"
"He's quite good-looking. I guess good genes run in the family. What did you guys talk about afterward?" Veronica asked.
"He asked me whether I know his nephew or not. And I said yes but we haven't been in contact with each other for a while. And he said, interesting. That's all."
"That's all? Nothing more?" She asked.
"Isn't it weird?" Xunyi replied and she was still in confusion
"It is weird, how did you know his nephew?" Veronica was interested in hearing more of the story.
"Long story short, his nephew saved me from my ex-boyfriend." Xunyi replied and Veronica's mouth dropped, "Wow! I never knew you two had such a story. That's awesome. It's what they call...saving a damsel in distress."
"Pretty much. I used to be that." Xunyi chuckled.
"But still, have you ever talked to him afterward?"
"We used to, but for these past few months, I haven't heard anything from him," Xunyi replied and Veronica didn't ask anything else.
Veronica suddenly got up and got a text from her father, "Sorry, Mia. I have to go now! My father is here." As they said goodbye, Xunyi looked at her phone for the bus schedule. Just as she was about to go, she received a phone call from Jiang Yuhan, Deming's father.
"Hello, Miss. Xunyi. This is Yuhan, Deming's father."
"Oh, hi uncle. Is everything well?" She asked.
"I heard from my brother that you had an interview with him. How did it go?" Yuhan asked.
"I tried my best but I don't know if I made it in or not." She replied.
"As long as you are being honest and tried your best, you are good to go. I'm calling because I'm curious whether you got any information on Deming. He hasn't contacted us for quite some time." Yuhan sounds a little concerned but not to the point of calling the police.
"I will try to call him again. I'll let you know when I get some information. Okay?" Xunyi asked and Yuhan replied swiftly, "Thank you, Miss. Xunyi. Please let me know soon. Have a great day!"