Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yin Shixiong finally looked up in that moment. With one glance, he nearly kneeled…
“Little… Ze, Huo Shao didn’t hear what I just said, right?” Yin Shixiong’s legs were trembling, his face instantly losing all color and turning stark white.
“What do you think?” Zhao Liangze rolled his eyes at him. “Oh you. It’s fine if you just think these thoughts in your head, why did you have to say it out loud? Haven’t you learned your lesson from feeding pigs last time?”
These words practically made Yin Shixiong hear the screeching cries of the several pigs from kitchen duty… He was so worried he wanted to scratch the wall. He didn’t want to deal with those pigs again!
Soon afterwards, Huo Shaoheng returned after escorting General Ji. He didn’t say anything or look at them. He stared straight ahead as he walked past them and returned to his office.
If Huo Shaoheng was to immediately treat Yin Shixiong coldly, punish him, or even make him feed the pigs—all these alternatives would be better than just ignoring him… Although Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything at all, this was so much more pressure than even when he put Yin Shixiong on pig duty.
Zhao Liangze grew silent and hurried back to his office to get back to work.
Yin Shixiong stood dazed in front of the conference room for a while, then finally decided to ‘come clean for lighter punishment, resist for heavier punishment.’
Walking to Huo Shaoheng’s office, he shouted loudly, “Reporting! Lieutenant Colonel Yin Shixiong, Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Forces, requests to see Major General Huo!”
He made a point to use formal military titles. It would be hard for Huo Shaoheng to ignore him from the office.
“Come in.” Huo Shaoheng’s drifted from the office, his tone and volume perfectly even.
Yin Shixiong rubbed his head and mustered the courage to enter. He closed the door behind him and rushed over to Huo Shaoheng’s desk, almost dropping to his knees.
“Huo Shao, I made a mistake. Please punish me!” Yin Shixiong watched Huo Shaoheng anxiously, nearly bursting into tears.
Huo Shaoheng slowly raised his head from behind the computer, taking one look at him. His pitch-black eyes carried an indescribable authority. It made Yin Shixiong’s knees turn weak and he curled down towards the desk.
“What mistake did you make?” Huo Shaoheng shifted his gaze back to computer as he continued to hammer at the keyboard.
“I shouldn’t have been gloating behind your back like that… Actually I was only joking… I didn’t really want it to be any longer!” Yin Shixiong quickly displayed his loyalty. “I was also anxious because Nianzhi has been giving you a hard time! I treat her like my own little sister! I—”
“So you’re treating yourself like my brother-in-law? No wonder you have no respect for me.” Huo Shaoheng didn’t even look up as he replied calmly. There seemed nothing amiss with his tone. However, to Yin Shixiong’s ears, the sarcasm was clear and made him want to dig a grave for himself.
“How would I ever dare to? If I could really become Huo Shao’s brother-in-law, I would wake up laughing from my dreams! But unfortunately, my parents only had me, maybe I should ask them to go to the orphanage to adopt another child, I don’t know if it’s too late or not…” Yin Shixiong was blabbering frantically in front of Huo Shaoheng. He was deathly afraid that if Huo Shaoheng got angry, the punishment would be so severe that he’d pray for a quick reincarnation.
Huo Shaoheng glanced at him again. “Impressive. With so little courage, you’re probably not fit for our Special Operations Forces, let alone being the Deputy Chief. I think a demotion is in your future.”
“Huo Shao, please don’t demote me! I’ll be sure to turn over a new leaf! I’ll never speak such nonsense again!” As Yin Shixiong spoke, he clasped a hand to his mouth.
Huo Shaoheng raised his hand. “Enough. Have some self-respect.”
Yin Shixiong had worked under Huo Shaoheng for many years, so he was very familiar with his tone and way of speaking. And what Huo Shaoheng had just said meant he wouldn’t punish Yin Shixiong for his mistake. Yin Shixiong secretly sighed in relief and felt he wouldn’t dare offend Huo Shaoheng again. So Ma Qiqi’s text was submitted like it was a treasure to the emperor, and Yin Shixiong wouldn’t dare try to use it to ‘ingratiate himself’ again.
Huo Shaoheng only took one glance at the text, and then his gaze froze. “He Zhichu brought Ye Xuan back and they came back together?”
“Yes, I heard from Ma Qiqi that they’d just landed at the Imperial Capital International Airport.” Yin Shixiong glanced at Huo Shaoheng before replying carefully. “Our personnel are probably still waiting at customs, so it will take some time for them to submit the report.”
In other words, it wasn’t as quick as He Zhichu directly notifying Gu Nianzhi, and then Ma Qiqi directly informing Yin Shixiong.
Huo Shaoheng grunted as he continued hammering at the keyboard for a while and asked nonchalantly. “…Nianzhi went over to He Zhichu’s place?”
Yin Shixiong didn’t dare to tease him anymore, so he quickly said, “That’s what Qiqi told me. And with Nianzhi’s personality, that is something she could do.”
“Then let her go, it’s no big deal.” Huo Shaoheng didn’t seem to mind at all. “He Zhichu just returned, so it only makes sense for her to go see her instructor.”
Yin Shixiong stood in stunned silence.
“However, Ye Xuan is a rather important person and is connected to several cases. How about this, you go over there as well and see what he needs help with.”
Huo Shaoheng had finished giving Yin Shixiong his assignment. Yet he still stood dumbfounded. Huo Shaoheng raised his head. “Aren’t you going?”
Yin Shixiong composed himself and immediately saluted. “Roger, Chief!”
As he walked out of Huo Shaoheng’s office, Yin Shixiong took out his car keys.
When he passed by Zhao Liangze’s desk, Zhao Liangze chased after him in confusion. “Big Xiong, what is it? Are you okay?”
Yin Shixiong waved his car keys at him and didn’t even look back to reply. “It’s fine, I have a mission.”
“Oh, be safe.” Zhao Liangze felt reassured, glad that Yin Shixiong was fine.
…
Gu Yanran had been in a foul mood for the past few days. She couldn’t sleep and when that happened, she ate. Light cheesecakes, rich cheesecakes, tiramisu, apple pies, pumpkin pies, blueberry muffins—she didn’t refuse anything. In a few short days, she had gained five pounds and clothes that used to fit her perfectly before had become too small. Because of her severe anxiety, she was too scared to even look in the mirror.
Therefore, when that special ringtone sounded from her phone, she was shocked and nearly lunged over to grab the phone to unlock it. She was terrified that person would disappear without a trace again.
“What is it? Has Ye Xuan been disposed of?” Gu Yanran asked anxiously.
The person on the other end snickered. “You still want to dispose of Ye Xuan? Aren’t you too optimistic?”
Gu Yanran had no choice but to be firm. If she wasn’t, she stood to lose everything…
“Help me this one time and I’ll never look for you again. You have my word.” Gu Yanran forced herself to calm down. “But if you don’t help me, I can’t guarantee that I won’t ‘accidentally’ reveal who you are. I tend to say too much in my sleep.”
There was a brief silence, then the voice returned louder than ever. “You still dare to threaten me, you useless piece of trash? Why don’t you go to hell! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you’ve caused this time? He Zhichu personally went to the United States to bring Ye Xuan back to the Huaxia Empire! Who can win against him? I’m warning you, if you dare to drag me into this mess, I promise you’ll wish for death! I keep my promises. If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you a few photos so you can see what happens to those who cross me!”
Gu Yanran stumbled backwards in fear. She frantically grabbed onto the sofa’s armrest to sit down and almost couldn’t hold the phone in her other hand.
“What did you say? Lawyer He personally went to the United States? When was this? Why didn’t I know about it?” Gu Yanran cradled her head in her arms and felt like she was losing her mind. “Why? Why is everyone against me? They all want me dead!”
“You don’t know? You colossal moron! So you washed your hands of this and depended on me to help you? Gu Yanran, you’re lower than scum! Don’t even think about claiming the Gu fortune! Go back while you still have time!”
The mention of the fortune calmed Gu Yanran down, and she snickered. “So you want to see it go to Gu Nianzhi? She’s just an orphan girl, does she even deserve it!”
Silence followed. It seemed the caller was contemplating Gu Yanran’s words. It was so quiet, Gu Yanran started to wonder if the call was just a figment of her imagination.
As panic started to set in, Gu Yanran slapped the phone. “Hello? Are you still there? Can you hear me?”
“I hear you, stop slapping the phone.” The voice carried a tone of annoyance, which was completely different from when they first met.
Gu Yanran suddenly felt very unwell.
“Now that we’ve reached this point, I can’t help you anymore.” The caller sighed deeply. ” I’ve treated you well these past few years. You should know by now what’s good for you. This is the last time I’ll warn you not to reveal our relationship to anyone. If anyone found out, fame and fortune would be the least of your worries—merely being alive would be a luxury. You know what I’m capable of, so you can certainly tell if I’m threatening you or not. Think about what I’ve said.”
The phone call ended and the dial tone sounded from the other line. Gu Yanran continued to hold the phone as she sat blankly on the couch. She saw the sunlight filter through the windows and gather at her feet. She stared at the swirling patterns on the Indian hand-quilted wool rug, like numerous whirlpools that made her dizzy.
…
Gu Nianzhi carried her laptop bag as she arrived at He Zhichu’s building to wait for them. She had arrived early and waited a full two hours. Luckily, Yin Shixiong came as well, so he waited with her. They chatted and joked, then called Ma Qiqi over afterwards so they were playing poker in the little pavilion in front of the building.
When it was nearly dusk, they finally saw He Zhichu’s flashy Maserati drive over.
