Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng agreed. His face remained calm but he didn’t speak again. Sitting in the backseat, he turned to look at the scenery outside the car. Along the Imperial Capital’s highways at night, the tall street lamps sparkled and stretched out into shimmering lines. He recalled looking down from his fighter jet as he flew in the night–the lights on the ground shone so brilliantly and were so eye-catching that they surpassed the beauty of the stars and the sun. Every time he was in a bad mood, he would go test the newest fighter jets and zoom through the night sky, darting through cloud layers to see the serene and beautiful scenery on the ground below. Even the biggest worries would seem to disappear. But today, even the most beautiful scenery failed to garner his interest. After a while, Huo Shaoheng looked away and took out his phone to open his call log. Pressing Gu Nianzhi’s photo, he opened a new text and didn’t hesitate to send the message, “No more staying up all night.” After he sent it, he felt it had been too severe and rigid. Considering Gu Nianzhi’s current rebellious phase, his fingers rubbed the screen for a while before he slowly added, “It’s not good for your health.”
…
Gu Nianzhi sat in He Zhichu’s front passenger side and cocked her head as she discussed her graduation thesis with him. She still thought the evidence for the argument was lacking and failed to prove the points she wanted to illustrate. Just as she was pondering this, she felt the phone in her small bag vibrate. She must’ve gotten a text and assumed it was from Ma Qiqi. Unlocking her phone, she realized it was from Huo Shaoheng. Peering at his first text, Gu Naiznhi couldn’t help sneering coolly. What a macho man, wanting to manage everything. His first words were, “No more…”
Who are you anyway? Do you still think you’re my guardian?! I’m an adult now, you should speak with some respect! Just as she cursed him internally and planned to shut off her phone, she saw Huo Shaoheng’s second text which added, “It’s not good for your health.”
Gu Nianzhi’s fingers paused and the smirk nearly fell off her face. A resolute and stern person like Huo Shaoheng was actually sending a gentle text. For him, this must be his very limit. Gu Nianzhi felt her nose start to sniffle. After looking at her phone some more, she decided to shut it off and put it back into her bag. Looking at the bag, she realized she’d happened to grab the newest style of Hermes bag that Huo Shaoheng had bought for her. Staring at it quietly for a while, Gu Nianzhi crossed her arms and leaned back into the seat to mediate.
He Zhichu turned to glance at her. “You didn’t sleep last night? Don’t stay up all night again. If you can’t finish the work on time, you can always graduate six months later. That’s still graduating early.”
“No, I already planned it out.” Gu Nianzhi shook her head and stubbornly refused.
“Okay, take care of yourself.” He Zhichu no longer urged her to give up. “Make plans for everything so you’re not in the spur of the moment.”
“I know, thank you, Professor He.” Gu Nianzhi still held her original respect for He Zhichu as a teacher and this made him very frustrated. He also didn’t know what to do to make her eliminate the tall barrier of “respecting one’s teacher” that stood between the two of them. Luckily, he remembered how he’d learned to not take things too quickly when he first found Gu Nianzhi again. After trying hard to calm himself down, He Zhichu asked again, “What do you plan on giving Miss Tan for her birthday?”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t even open her eyes as she calmly replied, “…Red envelope.” She then added, “I put in 250 RMB.”
Giving Gu Nianzhi a sidelong glance, his sultry eyes revealed a hint of amusement. “You really dare to give her that?”
“…Why wouldn’t I? I also prepared a red envelope for Gu Yanran for all her troubles.” Gu Nianzhi’s curvy lips smirked. “250 RMB for each of them.” She was no longer sleepy after talking to He Zhichu, so she asked him, “What about you? What is Professor He gifting?” Before waiting for He Zhichu to reply, Gu Nianzhi asked with curiosity, “Does Gu Yanran know Professor He very well? Or are you close with the Tans and Cais?” Otherwise, why would He Zhichu be invited to Tan Guiren’s birthday party?”
He Zhichu shot a conflicted look in Gu Nainzhi’s direction. “You think I’m very close to them?”
“Yep.” Gu Nianzhi nodded honestly. “There’s no question about Gu Yanran and your teaching assistant Wen Shouyi. They are basically best friends, as close as sworn sisters. Since they’re so close, then there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be close to Gu Yanran, right?” Smiling slyly, Gu Nianzhi was using a little trickery to avoid directly answering He Zhichu’s question. Instead, she used indirect evidence to prove her point with a hint of slyness.
Of course, He Zhichu heard it in her words right away but he didn’t refute them directly. “Yeah, they are pretty close. But isn’t there something wrong with directly inferring that I’m close with Gu Yanran, just because she’s close with Wen Shouyi? What are you hinting at? That I have an abnormal relationship with Wen Shouyi or secret dealings with Gu Yanran?”
Gu Nianzhi instantly flushed red. Her little trick was exposed and also directly dismantled. As expected, Professor He was Professor He, and her skills were still crude in comparison… Gu Nianzhi was sheepish for a bit but then recovered. She giggled. “Actually I have suspicions about both.”
About him having an abnormal relationship with Wen Shouyi or secret dealings with Gu Yanran? He Zhichu couldn’t help sneering and his voice quickly turned icy. “Ha, so in your eyes, am I just a crude person? Do I only deserve to be with those kinds of people?” Looking at someone’s circle of friends could be a judgment of their character.
Gu Nianzhi was humiliated from his comebacks and immediately apologized. “Sorry Professor He, it was my mistake. I shouldn’t have thought about it that way.”
“You thought about it even though you shouldn’t have.” He Zhichu’s fury rose and he could feel how boundless and unbridled it was. However, there was no way for him to unleash it. He had nearly given up everything to come look for Gu Nianzhi, only to end up in this kind of predicament. He couldn’t move forward or backward and he couldn’t even explain himself. In his crazed fury, He Zhichu suddenly pressed hard on his horn to release his frustrations.
Gu Nianzhi quickly covered her ears. “Professor He, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Can you stop being angry?”
The loud car horn was scaring people and causing all the cars around them to move out of the way since they didn’t know what was going on. Yin Shixiong was driving close behind He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi and he also heard the car ahead sounding its horn incessantly.
“What is it? Was there an accident?” Ma Qiqi poked her head out curiously. “Is that Professor He and Nianzhi’s car?”
“Yeah, chase them and force them to stop.” Huo Shaoheng put down his phone and calmly commanded Yin Shixiong.
“Roger, Chief,” Yin Shixiong instinctively replied. He then said to Ma Qiqi, “Sit tight.” Slamming on the accelerator, their Bentley suddenly shot forward like an arrow.
Up ahead, He Zhichu felt somewhat better after hitting the horn for a while. As soon as he moved his hand away, he noticed that Huo Shaoheng’s car pressing up from behind. He Zhichu was still furious. Although he’d vented by abusing the car horn, he was far from being calmed down completely. Seeing Huo Shaoheng accelerating close behind them was exactly what he’d wished for. He said to Gu Nianzhu, “Sit tight.” Then he slammed hard on the accelerator and there was a “boom” from their car. Gu Nianzhi swore that at the moment, the car was going so fast it was rising up from the ground…
Yin Shixiong was just about to catch up to the car in front of them when he realized it had jumped ahead again. It accelerated shockingly fast and even emitted a series of loud booms like thunder. Huo Shaoheng’s expression stiffened and he quickly straightened his back as he muttered, “Sonic boom!”
Was Professor He trying to fly to heaven?! He’d made a car exhibit sonic boom effects that should only be on supersonic fighter jets! No wonder he’d disappeared in a blink of an eye. Maybe they had arrived at the Prime Minister’s official residence at No. 32 Willow Hutong by now… Ma Qiqi tightly squeezed the safety handle on the roof of the car and was jostled around so much she nearly puked. Yin Shixiong looked at her with some concern and couldn’t help but relax his foot from the gas pedal. He said to the rearview mirror, “Chief, should we still chase them?”
Huo Shaoheng slowly moved forward. His eyes were dark as he gazed in the direction where He Zhichu’s car had disappeared. After a long moment, he finally said, “…No.” Yin Shixiong didn’t need to chase after them. Huo Shaoheng had already sent an encrypted message to the Special Operations Force’s internal line established to maintain order at the Prime Minister’s official residence. “Keep an eye on a gray Bentley, license plate XXXXXXXXX. Find a way to draft its engine blueprints.” The message was written in code. Even if it was intercepted, no one would know what it meant.
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