Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi instantly stopped at the doorway and almost couldn’t believe her own ears. Her body froze before she looked back at He Zhichu and asked with shock, “Professor He, did I hear that right? You’re really willing to go to the United States and become Ye Xuan’s lawyer?!”
He Zhichu’s expression remained aloof and cold, and his tall, straight nose appeared even more sculpted and well-formed. Cradling a glass of red wine in one hand, he put his other hand in his trouser pocket as he assumed a leisurely posture. However, there was now a look of absolute ruthlessness in his shimmery, sultry eyes. Just like the feeling he often gave other people, it was full of sharp and contradicting contrast.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t have a very good understanding of He Zhichu as a person, unlike Huo Shaoheng. If Huo Shao told her he would do something, she believed he would always see it through. But He Zhichu…? A faint trace of doubt and hesitation appeared in her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t want He Zhichu to be Ye Xuan’s lawyer. In fact, the truth was that there was no one better suited that He Zhichu. When it came to where the law was concerned, Gu Nianzhi knew that she was even less confident with herself going personally than sending He Zhichu. But what if He Zhichu dropped the ball at a crucial moment? There couldn’t be any mistakes with Ye Xuan’s case. Gu Nianzhi couldn’t bear the consequences. This was practically her last shred of hope.
He Zhichu was already somewhat depressed, but as soon as he saw her little conflicted look, a subtle smile appeared on his aloof face. Setting down his wine glass, he walked over to Gu Nianzhi and placed both hands on her straight and slender shoulders. He said coolly, “Nianzhi, tell me—do you want to stay here and live here for the rest of your life?”
Gu Nianzhi cocked her head and looked at him quizzically. “Of course I do. I grew up here, and this is my home. I’ve never wanted to go to any other countries. Yeah, I’ve been to other countries, but I didn’t like them at all. I only like it here.”
“Ok, we’ll stay here since you like it.” He Zhichu hugged her briefly and had already released her by the time she could react. “Don’t worry, I’ll go to the United States and bring Ye Xuan back.”
“Professor He, are you really willing to do that?” Gu Nianzhi asked once again. “This is very important to me. I don’t want to see anything go wrong.”
“What’s important to you is even more important to me.” He Zhichu stood before her with both hands in his trouser pockets. He looked down at her from above, his aloof expression finally revealing a hint of warmth to make him appear full of enigma and fascination.
Gu Nianzhi looked up at him and squeezed her hands harder. Sweat formed on her palms, and she heard herself say calmly, “Professor He, thank you. When do you plan on departing?”
He Zhichu smiled faintly. “My private jet can fly out tonight.”
“Oh? You’re leaving tonight already? But the Police Headquarters hasn’t sorted things out on their end yet…” Gu Nianzhi was very worried. “You should go with the special police from the Police Headquarters, right? That would make things safer.”
“So you actually know it’s not safe?” He Zhichu raised a brow. “Are you worried about my safety?”
“Of course I’m worried about your safety, and not just yours, but the special police officers who may be going to the United States to extradite Ye Xuan back to the Hua Xia Empire. I worry about them, too,” Gu Nianzhi replied honestly. “But they are professionally trained and also have the nation’s support, so most people would consider it carefully before going against them.”
He Zhichu was quiet for some time, his gaze suddenly as cold as hail on a frozen night, expressing a hint of sharp pain. “You’re doubting my abilities?”
“Professor He, I’m not doubting your abilities. In this world, you are the only lawyer that I can be fully convinced by. You being willing to be Ye Xuan’s lawyer is even better than me going myself.” Gu Nianzhi said it very earnestly, so it was obvious she was being totally sincere.
He Zhichu felt a little better inside and stroked her head. “Then what are you afraid of?”
“What if… What if those people struggle in their death throes and struggle for life?” Gu Nianzhi murmured, the worry in her expression growing. She had studied all the news reports about Ye Xuan’s case, and thanks to the Sheriff of Little Rock Canyon’s love for holding press conferences, Gu Nianzhi was completely aware of all progress in the case. From the press conferences, she learned that the most elite FBI fire investigation experts had conducted an analysis of the scene of the fire. Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help hacking into the website for the Little Rock Canyon police station, and from their system she found the fire scene analysis report by the FBI experts. She had gleaned much insider information which hadn’t been publicized. The FBI fire investigation expert’s report concluded that the entire Vanderbilt family had been killed execution style before their corpses were burned. Among the deceased, aside from the Vanderbilt family, there were also a dozen elite bodyguards. These bodyguards had been equipped with very sophisticated weapons and even had a dozen semi-automatic sub machine guns and several boxes of ammunition. Unfortunately, these guns and bullets were used on the lawyer’s family by the murderer.
Also, Mr. Vanderbilt was a secretly rich person. Everyone knew that American lawyers were very wealthy, but it was shocking how a very ordinary lawyer specializing in family affairs such as divorces and wills in Little Rock Canyon, Utah, could amass such a huge fortune. He was very discreet but hired extremely expensive bodyguards for himself and equipped them with heavy weaponry to protect his family. Although he had such tight security measures in place, the entire family had perished. With such a sick-minded mastermind creating a trap to frame Ye Xuan, it was conceivable that anyone attempting to escort Ye Xuan back to the Hua Xia Empire would be met with brutal attacks. And from the way Gu Nianzhi saw it, He Zhichu didn’t seem like Huo Shaoheng, who could rely on himself to fight off the enemy. He Zhichu was smart enough, but if he really encountered a heinous criminal, Gu Nianzhi thought he would be unlikely to survive.
“So you’re actually worried about such useless things.” He Zhichu snorted quietly. “Looks like you don’t understand me at all.”
“Is there something about Professor He that I don’t know?” Gu Nianzhi’s heart trembled as she gave him a sly smile. She wasn’t in a rush to leave and still wore her backpack as she quietly closed the door.
He Zhichu spied her little movements but didn’t call her out. He turned towards the living room. “There’s much you don’t know about—as if I need to tell you everything. Don’t you have any concept of privacy?”
“I’m not inquiring about Professor He’s privacy.” Gu Nianzhi followed him and asked with curiosity, “I only want to know what Professor He is relying on to not worry about the mastermind behind Ye Xuan’s case.”
He Zhichu sat back down on the single-seater sofa and crossed his legs. Raising a hand, he said, “Prepare a cup of Colombian black coffee for me, and I’ll tell you.”
“Really?! You’re not lying to me, right?!” Gu Nianzhi was very happy and quickly put her backpack down on the sofa. Before He Zhichu could change his mind, she dashed into the kitchen to make He Zhichu some coffee. The fully automatic coffee machine was very efficient, and in less than two minutes, Gu Nianzhi finished making a fragrant and rich cup of black coffee. She carried it to him and said with great flattery, “Professor He, here is your Colombian black coffee.”
He Zhichu accepted the coffee cup but was in no rush to drink it. He only set it on the coffee table in front of him and asked Gu Nianzhi, “Do you know where Colombian black coffee is produced?”
“Colombia, of course?” Gu Nianzhi didn’t understand He Zhichu’s question. “Is it really that simple?”
“It is really that simple.” He Zhichu placed both hands on the armrest. His handsome face blocked the light and appeared solemn. His bold movements carried an overwhelming sense of authority.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t believe him and blinked her pitch-black eyes. “Should you at least provide some facts to prove your viewpoint? Otherwise, I really can’t feel at ease.”
“You’re really not at ease?” He Zhichu finally laughed. He leaned forward slightly to gesture to Gu Nianzhi to pick up the iPad on the coffee table. “Look it up, how Francis, the most infamous godfather in Colombia, was destroyed seven years ago.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. Why was he suddenly talking about a Colombian godfather? Gu Nianzhi was even more confused and gave He Zhichu a puzzled look. She didn’t use He Zhichu’s iPad but took out her own phone to look it up on the mobile network. Her eyes grew bigger and bigger as she read the news results that came back.
“…This person was so incredible, how could he be completely destroyed in one night?!” Gu Nianzhi was completely floored.
The news from seven years ago was popular in the Americas, so with merely one simple search, it showed that even the United States was scrambling to report the case that had occurred in Colombia. This was an unsolved case even to this day. Francis was the infamous godfather of South America, and his old nest was based in Colombia. In that country, even the president had to do what he said, and all the other South American countries had to give him a certain level of respect. From the news description, this man’s status was quite similar to the He family’s current status in South America.
Gu Nianzhi’s expression shifted subtly. Seven years ago, Francis, the godfather of Colombia, was suddenly killed off. Although his entire family wasn’t murdered, all his assets were suddenly missing. Without money, the Francis family was akin to a toothless wolf and was soon dismantled by his own men. The Francis family then ceased to exist in South America. Francis, who had been imperious in South America and could not be wiped out by even American mercenaries, died quietly just like that. His body hung from a streetlight in the Colombian streets, and his chest was hollowed out like a honeycomb by bullets that nearly pierced through his entire body.
This case was still unsolved even to this day. However, no one wanted to solve it since everyone assumed it was done by US Special Forces. With Francis’ security levels that could rival the forces of normal armies, a typical national army would have no way of hurting a single hair on his head. There was no way a private armed force could kill him, except for one sent by the United States. So why did He Zhichu want to bring up this case? Gu Nianzhi finished reading the news and looked at He Zhichu quizzically.
He Zhichu looked at her silently, his gaze as heavy as deep water, completely still. He nodded. “The He family replaced Francis after he died.”
Gu Nianzhi raised an elegant brow. “Professor He, don’t tell me that the He family is now the godfather of South America?!” This was something she would never accept. If He Zhichu’s family was really in that kind of business, then Gu Nianzhi would consider dropping out of school…
He Zhichu shook his head. “No, my family is not in the drug trade.”
“Then what business is the He family in that could replace Francis’ position?” Gu Nianzhi was still very doubtful. Politics in South American countries abided by the principle of survival of the fittest and was never based on persuading the masses with virtue.
“Arms.” He Zhichu looked up slightly. “The He family is in the arms trade and is widespread across South America, Europe, and Africa.”
Gu Nianzhi squinted as she peered at He Zhichu thoughtfully. She remembered now. When they were in the United States, He Zhichu had a surprisingly good relationship with the US military. The truth was, He Zhichu had a very lofty status in both the American political and military circles. If the Hes were in the arms trade, then that would explain a thing or two. But Gu Nianzhi had grown up with Huo Shaoheng and so happened to have a good understand of arms. She also leaned forward slightly and stared into He Zhichu’s eyes to muse, “Being in the arms trade could allow you to have that kind of a position in both the American political and military circles? Don’t kid me. The largest arms trafficker in the world is the United States. They’re already selling their arms everywhere, so why would they… treat you like an esteemed guest?” As powerful as the Hes were, they were only a clan that could not be compared with a country like the United States. A family selling arms having this kind of high status in the eyes of a huge arms trafficker like the United States? You must be kidding me again…
“Of course, I have something they need.” He Zhichu was unperturbed. Leaning over, he picked up the coffee cup to take a sip. “While it’s correct to have skepticism towards everything, continuously refusing to believe something in the face of the facts is considered paranoia, not wisdom.”
Gu Nianzhi studied He Zhichu’s stern expression and knew that if she asked anything else, it would concern his family’s “trade secrets.” He Zhichu certainly wouldn’t say anything more. She sighed unwillingly. “Fine, then. With what you’re saying, does that mean you have the ability to guarantee Ye Xuan’s safety?”
“It was the Whitewater Security Company that eliminated Francis, the godfather of Colombia, and his 2,000-guard army in one night all those years ago,” He Zhichu replied calmly. “I paid the money and provided the action plan. This time, I’ll be using the Whitewater Security Company once again.”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes widened instantly. “Does that mean that the person behind Ye Xuan’s case could compare with the godfather of South America all those years ago?”
“This person is even more powerful than he was.” He Zhichu’s voice was still aloof, but his tone was unquestionable. “But they have unfortunately met with me, so they are destined for defeat.”
