Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi gulped. When did I become his girl?
She considered this point. He Zhichu was her home teacher and someone who took care of people. Gu Nianzhi had already experienced this first hand when she was in America for her internship. It wasn’t a big deal that he’d called her his girl, right?
Just when she was hesitating, Huo Shaoheng came out of the kitchen holding a tray with three cups of hot coffee and a small cup of warm milk.
“Done with your reflection essay?” Huo Shaoheng asked casually as if he hadn’t heard anything He Zhichu had said.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Gu Nianzhi stood up quickly and helped Huo Shaoheng with the tray. She looked at the cups of coffee and quickly said. “One of the cups belongs to Brother Ze, right? I’ll give it to him.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “The milk is for you. Have you had anything for dinner?”
Gu Nianzhi replied quickly. “Yes. At home before I came back to school.”
“Then that’s all. Bring this to Little Ze.” Huo Shaoheng was extremely pleased Gu Nianzhi had referred to his mansion as ‘home’. For a moment, he forgot how upset he was with He Zhichu.
Gu Nianzhi placed two cups of coffee on the table, picked up the tray quickly, and went into the study. Zhao Liangze was surfing the web with his phone when Gu Nianzhi entered.
He smiled when he saw her closing the door and asked cheekily, “what’s wrong? Why are you looking so sneaky?”
Putting the tray onto the table in front of him, Gu Nianzhi smiled widely. “Huo Shao made the coffee. Drink up. This isn’t going to happen again any time soon.”
“Wow. How precious. I’ll have to make sure to savor it!” Zhao Liangze came over excitedly and took a tiny sip.
Gu Nianzhi began drinking her warm milk and turned to look at the night sky outside the window. It was a clear night. Stars were scattered all over the sky, and there weren’t any clouds. Such a beautiful night, but Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but yawn.
“Tired?” Zhao Liangze asked.
Gu Nianzhi looked at her watch in embarrassment. “I am after that incident today. It’s almost nine.”
She finished her milk reluctantly and asked Zhao Liangze, “Brother Ze, do you think I can return to the dormitory first? Do Huo Shao and Professor He have anything more to discuss?”
Zhao Liangze looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “I have no idea, to be honest. Mr. Huo is my general. He only tells me what he wants to tell me. I’m in no position to rush him.”
Gu Nianzhi sighed. “Then let’s continue waiting.”
In all honesty, she was worried. She wanted to know what Huo Shao and He Zhichu were talking about.
…
He Zhichu took a small sip of the coffee Huo Shaoheng had made and looked at him with surprise. “I didn’t expect you to make such amazing coffee! This is an authentic South Americain brew.”
“I felt I should make it since you are a South American.” Huo Shaoheng smiled. “Anyway, you had a lot of varieties of South American coffee in the kitchen. I was merely returning a favor.”
“You flatter me.” He Zhichu bowed slightly. “You are indeed knowledgeable and attentive to detail. No wonder Nianzhi was so safe under your care.”
“You flatter me, Professor He,” Huo Shaoheng began to return the praise. “I was merely doing what I had to do. She was a mission the superiors entrusted me with. I had to do it well.”
“Really?”
Completing a mission? Isn’t he satisfying his emotional needs by using her as a guide for a mission? He Zhichu almost mocked out loud but held back.
Huo Shaoheng remained well composed and did not lose his ground.
“To be honest, I did not do my job well. You He’s are well known in South America, but I only learned about you recently. Such carelessness.” Huo Shaoheng guided the topic to He Zhichu’s family, trying to probe on Gu Nianzhi’s family background. A strange smile flashed across He Zhichu’s face but disappeared quickly. It was so quick even Huo Shaoheng missed it. When he looked at him again, He Zhichu was back to his almost expressionless face again.
“You’re too humble, Mr. Huo. Your attitude and capabilities at work might possibly be the best in the world. No one else can compare.”
“You think too highly of me, Professor He.” Leaning back on the sofa, Huo Shaoheng took a sip of the coffee before putting it back onto the table. “But Professor He, your family owns a massive empire. You could have stayed and inherited the business, but you wanted to be a professor at Harvard instead? From what I know, their annual salary couldn’t even support your monthly expenses. Am I correct?”
The smile on He Zhichu’s face widened. He shook his finger and answered. “Mr. Huo, it’d be old fashioned to discuss money. Being a professor at Harvard is my passion. I like imparting knowledge and teaching students. The sense of satisfaction I get from teaching is much greater than what I’d get from doing business.”
Old fashioned? Ha! That was one way of putting it, Huo Shaoheng secretly laughed.
“I was merely stating an example. A business empire like yours feels like it popped out of nowhere. To be honest, I couldn’t believe my ears when I first learned about the news.”
He Zhichu was slightly taken aback. This Huo Shaoheng did have a keen instinct… His business had indeed popped out of nowhere. But all this was not relevant to Huo Shaoheng or Gu Nianzhi, so he needn’t say much.
He Zhichu held onto the handle of his cup lightly and said calmly, “even if you are extremely skilled, Mr. Huo, there will be places where your ears and eyes cannot reach. Moreover, my family isn’t all that powerful. The people in the business were merely supportive, that’s all. You would’ve been fooled if you fully believe them.”
“Oh, really? Huo Shaoheng nodded, “I haven’t verified the information yet, so perhaps it was just hearsay? Oh, by the way, where’s assistant Wen? Did she return to South America already?”
“Yes.” He Zhichu stopped talking after the acknowledgment.
They fell silent for a while, neither having topics they wished to bring up. They wanted the opposite party to begin the conversation so they could think of a reply.
…
Gu Nianzhi paced around the study a few times. She very much wanted to ask He Zhichu if she could return to her dormitory, but she didn’t dare do so. She tried to listen in on what they were talking about by putting her ear to the door.
All she heard was a discussion about South America. Gu Nianzhi felt puzzled. Turning around, she asked Zhao Liangze, “Brother Ze, does Professor He come from South America?”
“Yes. You didn’t know?” Zhao Liangze whipped out his phone and showed Gu Nianzhi the information of He Zhichu’s family in South America. This had something to do with Gu Nianzhi, therefore, Zhao Liangze could let her in on it. Huo Shaoheng had even been the one to suggest it.
Gu Nianzhi took Zhao Liangze’s phone and began reading. She gasped the moment she was done reading. “Oh my goodness! Professor He’s family is so powerful! No wonder…”
No wonder he had the financial and human resources to do anything he wished in America’s politics.
“Precisely! Impressive, huh?” Zhao Liangze almost laughed. He looked at her cheekily and asked, “do you want to go to South America for a holiday, Nianzhi? You can tell Professor He you’d like to visit his farm there…”
Gu Nianzhi remembered Wen Shouyi was in South America as well. All of a sudden, she didn’t feel like going there at all. Shaking her hand, she said, “Brother Ze, we can go to South America on our own if we really want to. Why should we take advantage of Professor He?”
“How is this taking advantage of him? How can you talk like that? You’re such a child.” Zhao Liangze rolled his eyes at Gu Nianzhi, pretending to be upset. He took his phone from her and was about to turn it off when he received a text.
Standing up quickly, he opened the door of the study and went to Huo Shaoheng. “Mr. Huo, everyone is present. The meeting is about to begin.”
He was referring to the emergency meeting held by the Army’s Supreme Council. General Ji’s secretary had not given him a specific time, which was why he had not gone over immediately. Now that the information had been sent, it meant everyone was present. Everyone except Huo Shaoheng.
Nodding, Huo Shaoheng bid his farewell. “Professor He, my work day is not done. I’ll be leaving now.”
Gu Nianzhi came out from the study and said quickly, “I’ll head back too.”
Huo Shaoheng did not say anything, but He Zhichu stopped her immediately. “Nianzhi, you stay. I have some more things to say to you.”
Gu Nianzhi looked at Huo Shaoheng. It was obvious she wanted to return to the dormitory. Huo Shaoheng however, felt this was a great opportunity. He could tell He Zhichu was already on the verge of divulging his secret. If Gu Nianzhi missed the opportunity today, she might not get it again.
Time was passing quickly. She had to grab the chance.
Huo Shaoheng patted Gu Nianzhi on the shoulder and comforted her. “Nianzhi, Professor He has some things to say to you. Give me a call when you get back. I’ll be waiting.”
His last farewell was for He Zhichu. He warned him not to keep his girl too long. He Zhichu’s expression darkened and returned to its cold, expressionless state.
“Goodbye, Mr. Huo. I won’t walk you to the door.”
Huo Shaoheng smiled at Gu Nianzhi, turned, and left. His tall, masculine back quickly disappeared through the door, and they heard the click of the door. Zhao Liangze had closed the door after them.
Gu Nianzhi looked at the door, then He Zhichu. She crossed her arms in front of her and asked timidly, “Professor He, what is it that you wish to tell me?”
He Zhichu looked at her for a while and pointed at the sofa. “Sit down first, Nianzhi. Let me show you something.”
