Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
At lunch time, Ma Qiqi finally came to the suite in the professor’s building where He Zhichu lived.
Gu Nianzhi opened the door for her with a smile. “Qiqi, you came just in time! The food was just delivered and is piping hot!”
Ma Qiqi took a whiff, and her eyes glittered as she said with intoxication, “This aroma is amazing! Did Professor He make it? I didn’t expect Professor He to also be able to make great food!”
Gu Nianzhi snickered. “Professor’s He cooking skills are comparable to mine. Qiqi, would you compliment me?”
Ma Qiqi didn’t know what to say for a moment. “…So who made the food? Didn’t you say that Professor He has an organic farm that delivered pork and chicken?” Ma Qiqi was curious as she studied Gu Nianzhi suspiciously. “Don’t tell me that you actually cooked this?”
“Of course not. It was the chef from Professor He’s farm.” Gu Nianzhi let her in with a smile.
The two girls went into the dining room together. The rectangular dining table was laden with a simple four-course meal with soup.
The dishes included a plate of pork sauteed with chilies, a bowl of sugar syrup-braised pork, a plate of brown and green garlic twice-cooked pork, as well as a plate of acorn tofu. In the middle was a big soup pot of goji berry, ginseng, and chicken stew.
Everything appeared to be extremely normal home-cooked food, but the aroma was surprisingly enticing.
Ma Qiqi could immediately feel her taste buds start to swell. She quickly sat down with Gu Nianzhi and asked curiously, “These are all vegetables and meat from the organic farm that Professor He’s family owns?”
He Zhichu nodded subtly. “These are all home-cooked dishes. Nianzhi ordered them.” He glanced at Gu Nianzhi and didn’t comment on her taste.
Gu Nianzhi giggled and picked up her chopsticks as she told Ma Qiqi, “Qiqi, give it a try. I always believe that true culinary skills need to be actually displayed in home-cooked dishes. Everyone knows that abalone, ginseng, shark’s fin, and fish maw are all good things, so it’s no surprise that the dishes cooked with them will taste good. But it can’t be easy to make simple home-cooked meals taste like luxury food.”
“Go on and brag. Even if these home-cooked dishes are delicious, they are only home-cooked dishes.” Ma Qiqi wanted to argue with Gu Nianzhi while she casually used serving chopsticks to pick up a bit of pork sauteed with chilies and put it in her bowl.
When she put the several shreds of green chilies and sauteed pork into her mouth, the meat’s aroma made her taste buds feel extremely comfortable and also caused her to hum and squint in pleasure. She nearly mewled like a cat who had eaten scrumptious fish.
“Delicious, right?” Gu Nianzhi laughed and also picked up a bit of pork sauteed with chilies. “The emperor would never lie to his beloved official.”
“Hmph!” Ma Qiqi glared at Gu Nianzhi. “I’m the emperor who has eaten throughout the entire nation. Your food here merely ranks number one! What are you so proud about?!”
“Haha, I’m glad that you like it.” Gu Nianzhi made a face at her, and the two girls ate happily.
He Zhichu originally didn’t have much of an appetite looking at the food, but when he saw them enjoying it so much, he also used his chopsticks to try a bite. He chewed slowly to allow his taste buds to fully adapt to the food’s delicious flavor. He Zhichu couldn’t help eating an extra bowl of rice.
After finishing lunch, the three of them were a bit lazy and sluggish. Gu Nianzhi finally overcame her laziness and got up to make three cappuccinos in the kitchen, then brought them over.
Ma Qiqi cradled the cappuccino and sipped it as she chatted with Gu Nianzhi. “Nianzhi, when I came here I happened to get a call from Brother Xiong. He asked me what I was doing, and I said I was coming to Professor He’s for lunch. He instantly hung up and sounded like he was very busy.”
Gu Nianzhi blew at the hot steam from the cappuccino and looked down as she agreed. She didn’t ask Ma Qiqi about what Yin Shixiong was busy with but deliberately reminded her, “Brother Xiong and his colleagues’ work is like that. It can get busy at any time. He didn’t mean to hang up on you.”
“I see.” Ma Qiqi nodded like she understood half of it as her face flushed. “Brother Xiong isn’t typically like that, but he hasn’t been contacting me much recently, so I thought…”
“You are overthinking it. Brother Xiong isn’t that kind of person.” Gu Nianzhi solemnly gave Ma Qiqi some peace of mind.
He Zhichu snickered across from them. He shook his head and got up quietly. “You girls chat. I’ll go check my email.”
Gu Nianzhi also wanted to go back, so she gave Ma Qiqi a look and said to He Zhichu, “Professor He, you can work. We’ll go back now.”
Ma Qiqi was there, so He Zhichu couldn’t exactly ask only Gu Nianzhi to stay. Consequently, he had no choice but to nod and say, “Go back and prepare well. You can come find me if you have any difficulties.”
“Ok! Thank you, Professor He!” Gu Nianzhi answered him crisply before she and Ma Qiqi left.
They chatted and giggled on the way, and when they returned to their own dorm building, Ma Qiqi suddenly pulled Gu Nianzhi’s sleeve and whispered, “There’s a man… He’s been following us for a long time now…”
Gu Nianzhi also noticed it and had already seen him when they left He Zhichu’s building. But unlike Ma Qiqi, she recognized this man.
He was Ye Xuan, Gu Yanran’s little wolf puppy.
Ye Xuan didn’t give any indication of his intentions but merely followed them and walked at an even pace. Gu Nianzhi didn’t say anything, either.
It was noon right now anyway, and they were walking on a main road on campus, so everyone walking around was either a student or teaching staff.
Ye Xuan wouldn’t be that dumb, even if he wanted to harm them. He would have to have a death wish if he was going to do something bad in front of all those people.
Also, Gu Nianzhi wasn’t completely defenseless. In her bag was a small can of pepper spray and a small extendable electric baton, as well as a small sharp knife.
If possible, she really wanted to carry a gun. But of course, that was only a thought since it was illegal to carry arms in the Hua Xia Empire.
She didn’t expect Ye Xuan to follow them all the way to the female graduate student dorm building. Gu Nianzhi said to Ma Qiqi, “You go upstairs first.”
“Are you ok?” Ma Qiqi looked at Gu Nianzhi with some concern, then glanced at the tall mall standing under the large tree in front of the building.
The man had dark eyebrows, deep set eyes, a tall and straight nose, and thin lips. These were all standard features of a mixed-race person, and an especially handsome mixed-race person at that. He didn’t look like a bad person, but there was something amiss with his eyes that kept staring at Gu Nianzhi. It was like he wanted nothing more than to see right through her into her soul.
Gu Nianzhi shook her head. “I know him. You go upstairs first.” She paused, then said, “Call my phone if I’m not back in half an hour.”
“Ok.” Ma Qiqi readily agreed, then went back to the dorm alone.
Gu Nianzhi walked to the large tree in front of the dorm and looked at Ye Xuan before saying calmly, “Mr. Ye Xuan, Gu Yanran isn’t here. You’re looking in the wrong place.”
Ye Xuan stared at her fixedly, his expression extremely conflicted. With both hands in his trouser pockets, one foot brushed the ground absentmindedly as he called out her name very awkwardly, “…Gu …Nianzhi?”
“Yeah, you’re here for me?” Gu Nianzhi’s hands were leisurely tucked into her coat pockets. Her eyes glittered briefly as she said with disdain, “What’s the meaning of following us like a creep?”
Ye Xuan looked down somewhat frantically. When he raised his head again, his jet black hair had fallen over his forehead to make his deep set eyes appear even more alluring. There was an indescribable appeal in his amber eyes.
However, Gu Nianzhi didn’t really appreciate this hesitant speaking style.
Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together. Ye Xuan was a man, yet he had contracted a woman’s illnesses from spending all that time with Gu Yanran.
In Gu Nianzhi eyes, Ye Xuan was the same type of person as Gu Yanran. “Ok, speak if you have something to say. Otherwise, please leave our campus. Don’t follow me again, or I’ll call the police.” Gu Nianzhi took out her phone and waved it. “I’m very busy. I don’t have time to guess riddles with you.”
Ye Xuan’s emotions were indescribably complicated. He didn’t even know how he had spent the last few days. His entire being was in a daze, like he was a zombie.
As soon as he thought about how he could’ve mistaken identities… Not only did he fail to keep his promise to Uncle Gu of staying by her side for his entire life to take care of her and protect her, but he had also colluded with a lying imposter and harmed her multiple times. Ye Xuan could feel his insides burning up. He wanted nothing more but to stab himself a few times…
Gu Nianzhi saw that Ye Xuan was still hanging his head and not speaking, so she grew impatient and replied dryly, “Ok, then I’ll go upstairs now.” She turned to leave.
Ye Xuan finally reached out and grabbed her arm to plead, “Don’t go. I have something to say to you.”
Gu Nianzhi looked back icily at his hand that was holding her arm. “Let go.”
Ye Xuan had no choice but to let go, then he said, “Gu Nianzhi, I really have something to tell you. Do you… do you really not remember me?”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head with amusement. “Ye Xuan, is there something wrong with your head? Or did Gu Yanran send you here to persuade me? I’m telling you, that’s all useless. Go back and tell her that I’m certain to continue this lawsuit. I’ll also dispute the estate without question. I’ll repeat myself—have her wash her neck and wait for me to expose her!”
Ye Xuan began to frown. “You’re fighting an estate dispute lawsuit with her, but do you know how many assets Uncle Gu left behind?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m fighting this lawsuit.” Gu Nianzhi spread her palms. “It’ll be impossible for her to spit it out herself, so that’s why I have to go to court.”
