My whole family is involved in diplomacy, so you dare to flex your muscles?

Instead of heading towards the bustling city center, the Hongqi car turned into a quiet alley.

With its blue bricks and gray tiles, upturned eaves and corners, this old courtyard house cluster seems like a corner forgotten by time amidst a cluster of modern skyscrapers.

This is Gu Yun's home.

The car stopped in front of an inconspicuous vermilion gate deep in the alley.

There were no reporters, no flashbulbs.

Gu Yun got out of the car, thanked the driver and Xiao Wang, and then went inside alone.

Passing through the screen wall and around the corridor, a faint aroma of tea mixed with the scent of ink from books wafts towards you.

Under the old locust tree in the courtyard, an old man wearing a white jacket was sitting at a stone table, leisurely arranging a set of purple clay teaware.

The old man had white hair and beard, but was in good spirits. His eyes, though slightly cloudy, were so deep that they seemed to see right through people's hearts.

He is Gu Yun's grandfather, Gu Jianguo, a veteran who dedicated his life to the diplomatic front and has long since retired.

"I'm back."

Grandpa Gu didn't look up; he simply poured the first brew of hot water for rinsing the tea onto a tea pet toad.

"Yes, Grandpa's back."

Gu Yun sat down opposite him, picked up a celadon teacup with practiced ease, and poured herself a glass of water.

The hustle and bustle and fatigue from the journey were completely washed away the moment I stepped into this courtyard, thanks to its tranquility.

Neither the grandfather nor the grandson spoke. The only sounds in the courtyard were the gurgling of boiling water being poured into the teapot and the occasional chirping of insects.

Until a rich aroma of tea filled the air.

Grandpa Gu pushed a cup of amber-colored tea in front of Gu Yun before raising his eyes to carefully examine his grandson.

"You've lost weight."

"It's alright, the food there is pretty good." Gu Yun picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and the familiar taste of rock tea melted on his tongue.

"Hmph, foreign stuff, eating too much of it will make your heart harden." Old Master Gu curled his lip, clearly not fond of Western food.

He put down the teapot, leaned back, and finally got to the point.

"Tell me, what's your opinion on your performance this time?"

This is a family tradition of "reviewing" after every major exam.

Gu Yun pondered for a moment and said, "There are gains and losses. The advantage is that we created momentum and conveyed our message in a way they could understand. The disadvantage is that we were too aggressive and made too many enemies."

"Oh? Tell me, which enemies have you made?" the old man asked with great interest.

"Scott and Jack are just pawns on the front stage, not worth mentioning," Gu Yun analyzed. "The people I've truly offended fall into two categories."

"First, there are those who represent Professor Richard, the creators and maintainers of the old rules. I smashed their card table and negated the system of authority upon which they depended for survival; this is cutting them down to the root."

"Secondly, there are Western capital, represented by the energy giants of Gaul, which have been exploited by the United States' 'long-arm jurisdiction.' Although I helped them, I also tore off the fig leaf of the United States' judicial hegemony, causing those hungry wolves on Wall Street to suffer heavy losses. They will not let this go."

After listening to Gu Yun's analysis, a barely perceptible hint of approval flashed in Old Master Gu's cloudy eyes.

Instead of immediately offering his opinion, he countered with, "So, what do you think of your statement, 'Our journey is to the stars and the sea'?"

"The scene was beautiful and very moving, fitting the atmosphere at the time," Gu Yun said frankly.

"But in essence, it is still abstract."

No matter how loudly slogans are shouted, it's not as effective as doing some concrete things.

"Well said!"

Grandpa Gu slammed his hand on the stone table, making the teacup jump.

"You brat, at least you haven't let all that praise and applause go to your head! You still remember who you are!"

He pointed at Gu Yun, his tone becoming stern.

"Remember this: a debate, in the end, is just a show, a rehearsal with rules!"

You won, but at most you've gained a little advantage in public opinion for us.

But from the moment you step off that stage, what awaits you is a real battle!

"It was a war without rules, without referees, and even without any bottom line!"

The old man's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight, striking Gu Yun's heart.

"Child, you have not offended a few representatives, but the entire interest group of the old world!"

They are deeply entrenched and control global public opinion, finance, and power.

You've made them lose face, and more importantly, you've made them lose face in return! How do you think they'll treat you?

"They won't send idiots like Scott to argue with you anymore. They'll use every means to smear you, attack you, and even... destroy you."

"They will go through your entire resume from childhood to adulthood, looking for any insignificant blemish, and then magnify it a thousand times, ten thousand times."

They will bribe the people around you to create all sorts of sex scandals and economic scandals.

They will use the most vicious language to portray you as a demon, a mouthpiece of a dictator.

"What they want to do is not to refute you logically, but to completely ruin your character and cause your social death."

This is the game they excel at.

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.

The wind blew, and the leaves of the old locust tree rustled, as if echoing the old man's cold words.

Gu Yun remained silent, not uttering a single word.

He knew that every word his grandfather spoke was a stark reality.

Countless predecessors fell on that unseen battlefield.

After a long while, he finally raised his head and calmly met his grandfather's gaze.

"Grandpa, I understand."

"You don't understand!" Old Master Gu interrupted him. "You only understand intellectually. You've never truly experienced being isolated by the whole world, misunderstood by your own people, or even having to bear the brunt of their insults!"

The old man stood up and paced around the yard, as if lost in distant memories.

"Back then, in Geneva, we fought tooth and nail with those Western powers to fight for a legitimate seat."

They mocked us for being poor in front of the whole world, saying we couldn't even afford leather shoes.

Our entire delegation only had one decent suit; whoever was giving the speech wore it.

"Back then, what did we have? Absolutely nothing! All we could rely on was our backbone, our unwavering spirit! Even when people pointed fingers at us and insulted us, we had to stand tall and reason with them, word by word, and keep at it!"

"Your conditions are much better now than they were back then."

With a stronger nation, we have more leverage.

But the more this is the case, the more we must not let our guard down!

When a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength.

Besides, you're facing a pack of wolves that have been starving for a long time!

The old man stopped, turned around, and stared intently at Gu Yun.

"You were too smooth in a few places on stage this time. For example, that 'grave watcher' character, although it was meant to be malicious, offended the entire Niu Kingdom."

And that 'mad dog,' although it was satisfying, from now on, any little thing happening in Japan will be blamed on you."

"The pleasure is only temporary."

Diplomacy is a long-term process.

What you need to learn is not only how to knock down an enemy with one punch, but also how to unite more friends and divide the centrists while defeating one enemy.

"You should be like a skilled butcher carving up an ox, cutting along the bone joints instead of swinging a sledgehammer and smashing it haphazardly."

To truly kill someone, you must also destroy their spirit.

After destroying his spirit, you also need to make the onlookers think you did the right thing, that you did a good job, and that they might even be willing to hand you the knife.

This is true art.

Gu Yun listened quietly, engraving every word her grandfather said into her heart.

These are things you can't learn from any textbook; they are the wisdom honed by a veteran diplomat through a lifetime of blood and fire.

"I've got it, Grandpa."

"Just memorizing it won't do any good." Old Master Gu sat down again, poured himself a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp.

"You have to walk your own path."

If you fall, you have to fall on your own.

That's all I can teach you.

He looked at Gu Yun, his eyes becoming complex, filled with expectation, worry, but mostly a sense of entrustment.

"Your return has caused quite a stir above."

I expect you'll soon be given new responsibilities.

Remember what I'm saying today: the higher you're lifted up, the harder you'll fall.

From this day forward, every step you take can no longer represent only yourself.

"Go on, go get some sleep. Even if the sky falls, you'll have to wake up before you can talk about anything else."

Gu Yun stood up and bowed deeply to his grandfather once again.

"Grandpa, you should get some rest too."

He turned and walked towards his room, his back looking exceptionally tall in the moonlight.

Watching his grandson disappear behind the door, Grandpa Gu sighed deeply and muttered to himself.

"This child has finally grown up..."

"But this road is too difficult..."

He picked up the purple clay toad, which had become even more lustrous from being irrigated with hot water, and stroked it in his hands.