Although these were the words spoken, Fan Shufang’s face clearly showed pride.
Elder Fu said, "Naturally, she is trustworthy. If nothing else, the fact that you protect her so fiercely shows she's no ordinary child."
"Moreover, she is Elder Chi's last disciple. Elder Chi himself vouched for her back then. If she weren't exceptionally capable and of upright character, Elder Chi certainly wouldn't have done so!"
Su Xiaotian had only been at the Translation Department for a short time, and their previous interactions were indeed limited, so Fu Guoyang truly didn't know much about Su Xiaotian.
Based on his observations over these brief few days, Fu Guoyang felt that Su Xiaotian was a young person worthy of trust.
After a simple lunch, everyone returned to their intense work.
Before the afternoon talks began, a group meeting was to be held to finalize the review of the morning's translated drafts.
As soon as the meeting started, Song Hongbing lavished praise on Su Xiaotian, saying she was exceptionally capable and fast, and that she was helpful and willing to take on work for others.
Su Xiaotian thanked him humbly, as if she had no idea Song Hongbing intended to scheme against her.
Meanwhile, Fan Shufang and Fu Guoyang, among others, were already growing weary of Song Hongbing's performance.
Although they had anticipated Song Hongbing would make a move at this moment, they still held a sliver of hope that Song Hongbing wasn't truly planning to scheme against someone.
But now, it was clear that this was a classic case of building someone up before tearing them down.
"Let's get to the point!" Fu Guoyang said impatiently. "Little Song, I'm not one to criticize, but your workload and Xiao Su's are about the same. How is it that you're letting Xiao Su finish your work for you?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Song Hongbing's face, and then he smiled.
Seeing that Elder Fu showed clear displeasure when he praised Su Xiaotian, it was evident that Elder Fu also had significant reservations about Su Xiaotian.
"Elder Fu, I wasn't feeling well this morning, and Xiao Tian saw that, which is why she proactively offered to help me," he quickly explained.
Fu Guoyang didn't say anything further.
Then, as everyone was reviewing the drafts, Song Hongbing suddenly spoke.
"Wait, there's a problem with the translation of this section. The original text translated here should convey this meaning..." Song Hongbing stated his case logically.
While speaking, he didn't forget to glance at Su Xiaotian.
This glance was naturally noticed by the others.
Su Xiaotian appeared completely unfazed.
"Xiao Su, I'm not one to criticize, but you young people can't be like this. You need to be more meticulous. Tell me, with your work attitude, how can you adapt to the precision requirements of the Translation Department?"
Su Xiaotian looked as if she had no idea what was going on, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on Song Hongbing, her expression conveying: What are you talking about? I don't understand!
"Comrade Xiao Su, making mistakes isn't the issue; the important thing is to correct them once you realize them. But looking at you, you don't seem to realize your mistakes at all. This won't do!"
Su Xiaotian smiled, "Teacher Song, your words are truly baffling. Wasn't this section translated by you? I recall I started translating from the section after this."
As Su Xiaotian spoke, she pointed to a small mark on the manuscript. "I have a habit. If I'm continuing someone else's translation, I always make a small mark at the point where we hand over. Also, your handwriting and mine are slightly different. If you look closely, you should be able to see it."
Song Hongbing had initially thought that written in English, the differences wouldn't be very noticeable.
However, after Su Xiaotian pointed it out, upon closer inspection, the differences were indeed quite apparent.
On the spot, Song Hongbing's aged face turned red.
He desperately wanted to deny that these contents were from his hand, but under everyone's watchful eyes, he couldn't object.
"This, this must have been a momentary lapse on my part..."
"Comrade Song Hongbing, starting today, you are temporarily suspended. When your work will be reinstated will be announced later!" Fan Shufang had lost patience with his excuses.
Hearing Fan Shufang order his suspension, Song Hongbing was stunned at first, then became indignant.
"Director Fan, although you are the Deputy Director, Director Du hasn't spoken yet, so you can't suspend me!"
Song Hongbing hadn't expected that before his act was even finished, Fan Shufang would directly suspend him.
This wouldn't do. His goal was to get Su Xiaotian to leave the Translation Department, not for himself to leave.
"Director Du has agreed to this matter. The issues in your translated draft would put our side in a very passive position during the talks."
"It was just a momentary lapse..." At this point, Song Hongbing suddenly realized something.
After these errors were pointed out, neither Fan Shufang nor Fu Guoyang showed any surprise, nor did they even give a clear reaction.
They knew that problems had occurred in this translated draft.
So, he had been tricked by Su Xiaotian?
This wretched woman, looking so clueless, had actually reported everything to the higher-ups in advance.
"Director Fan, I know you are related to Su Xiaotian, but you are also a veteran of the Translation Department. You can't possibly be using your position for personal gain, can you?"
"To support Su Xiaotian, you're going to suppress an old comrade like me. Deputy Director Fan, I am also human, and I will feel disheartened!"
Song Hongbing was about to continue his tirade, but Fu Guoyang stopped him.
"Little Song, if you don't want people to know, don't do it. Since you've done it, you must be prepared to be discovered. You probably don't know that when you handed this document to Comrade Su, I was standing outside your office door and witnessed it firsthand."
The others present, who were still astonished by the sudden drama, heard Elder Fu's statement.
Everyone, including Song Hongbing, was too shocked to utter a sound.
"Little Song, you've disappointed me greatly. You should go home and reflect on your actions. When you've figured things out and the organization has completed its investigation, then you can return to work!"
The matter was settled. That afternoon, a young man in his early twenties replaced Song Hongbing and joined the translation team.
There were also minor adjustments to the work, and Su Xiaotian's translation tasks increased.
Although others didn't say much about this, they didn't entirely believe in Su Xiaotian's capabilities.
No matter how capable she was, she was still too young. Could she truly handle such a significant responsibility?
However, at this time, no one raised any objections.
After all, they were all aware of their own abilities, and even if they voiced their doubts, they wouldn't be able to replace Su Xiaotian.
What they didn't know was that Song Hongbing, who had been suspended and sent home, was under investigation starting that afternoon.
After all, the Translation Department was a confidential unit. If someone within it had problems, it could lead to very serious consequences.
Therefore, Song Hongbing's minor scheme had ultimately backfired spectacularly on himself.
Su Shouwen only learned of this the next day. He wanted to find Su Xiaotian to ask about the situation.
However, Su Xiaotian was swamped with work. She had gone to the Great Wall Hotel before dawn and didn't return to the Translation Department all day.