Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi fell silent for a while before shaking her head and smiling. “Professor He, you are a professor… You have to mind your image, you know? Please don’t allow me to just think whatever I want. If you did that, I would be so spoiled! Moreover, we are both in the legal industry. Whatever we do will have to be within the law. Even if we don’t want them to live, we can only make them succumb to punishments given by the court, right?”
He Zhichu turned around and leaned against the island. He looked at the ceiling, full of thought, and said. “Huo Shaoheng influenced you a hell of a lot…”
Gu Nianzhi’s tone and temperament were exactly like Huo Shaoheng’s…
“Oh, really? I don’t think so though. I feel that I am myself, and he is himself. We are two different individuals.” Gu Nianzhi’s smile faded.
However, her hands did not stop moving. She continued putting together the sandwich for Ye Xuan. She added a couple of slices of bacon and added some mayonnaise. Then, she threw in some lettuce and tomato slices. It looked good. Gu Nianzhi placed the sandwich onto a plate just as the milk finished heating up.
Gu Nianzhi brought the sandwich and milk into the living room and placed them on the coffee table. She turned to He Zhichu and said, “I will go back first. When Ye Xuan is done with his shower, please let him have something to eat before sending him off to bed.”
Ye Xuan must have been deprived of food and sleep for the past few days. Gu Nianzhi thought he had become haggard.
He Zhichu put on his coat and said, “I will walk you back.”
“…It’s okay.” Gu Nianzhi wanted to reject He Zhichu, but He Zhichu wasn’t leaving any room for negotiations. He merely took her by the arm and dragged her out.
“Don’t be so formal with me. Also, don’t forget about what happened this morning.” He Zhichu opened his door. “Those people will not let you off simply because you are still in a school.”
“But you won’t be able to follow me around for the rest of my life.” Gu Nianzhi adjusted her school bag and said, “I can handle this on my own.”
“Do you know what kind of opponent you are, or what you will be facing?” He Zhichu walked to the elevator with Gu Nianzhi. “If you don’t know, please stop feigning confidence in front of me.”
Gu Nianzhi thought about it and felt that it was unexpected for the shooter that morning to have been so ruthless.
If not for He Zhichu, she would already be in heaven.
Therefore, her mind wandered to the question that He Zhichu had not answered. “…If their motive was to get the inheritance from the Gus, then won’t I be in even more danger after the lawsuit? Also, if it was really because of the inheritance, why wasn’t Gu Yanran their target? Why was I the target?”
He Zhichu stood by her side. He looked straight at the doors of the elevator and said calmly, “How would you know if Gu Yanran wasn’t their target? Unless she was worried about her safety, why would Gu Yanran have looked for backups everywhere? Also, why would Gu Xiangwen have hidden his condition from everyone? Nianzhi, what are you trying to hint at?”
When he put it like that, it did make sense.
Gu Nianzhi thought about what she knew about the Gu family, Gu Xiangwen, and Gu Yanran. She felt a horrible mess of confusion. She was helpless and extremely frustrated.
She was helpless because she did not know what the other party wanted. She was extremely frustrated because she hated herself for not being able to do anything about the situation she was in.
“…But they have such powerful weapons. That gun was really destructive…” Gu Nianzhi mumbled. “Do I have to go back to the Special Forces to stay?”
Just like when she was younger? When she had to live with Huo Shaoheng?
However, what difference was there between that life and being confined?
Even though Huo Shaoheng would not confine her per se, she felt like she was being confined by those opposing forces.
Knowing that Gu Nianzhi was worried about the powerful weapons that their opponents had, He Zhichu laughed and said in a relaxed tone, “They only have one of those weapons. They lost it the moment it got blown up. You can rest assured about that.”
“How did you know?” Gu Nianzhi looked suspiciously at He Zhichu again. “Professor He, I have always felt that you know many things that you won’t tell me. Why is that?”
“I’ve told you, but you didn’t believe me. So why would I tell you things that you won’t believe again?” The elevator arrived at their level and Gu Nianzhi and He Zhichu stepped in together. He Zhichu pressed the “G” button.
“What did you tell me before? Please tell me again. I will believe you!” Gu Nianzhi stood in front of He Zhichu, palms together, looking at He Zhichu with puppy eyes. She looked so innocent that it would be extremely difficult to reject her.
He Zhichu smiled as he looked down. “I told you before that you became my fiancé the moment you were born. Did you believe that?”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
Why had he brought it up again?
Gu Nianzhi’s face fell. “Fine. I will not ask again. You always make a joke out of it. How could I believe you?”
He Zhichu breathed a long sigh. He looked at the descending numbers in the elevator and smiled. “Why do you think that I’m joking?”
“It’s simple. Why would anyone arrange a marriage before one of the people is even born these days? Even if it was done, it would not be legal. Therefore, Professor He, please don’t say that again. I don’t want others to hear it and cause unnecessary trouble.” Gu Nianzhi sounded more relieved.
She felt a mixture of emotions towards He Zhichu.
All this time, He Zhichu had been really nice to her. He had helped her to the best of his abilities. He had also protected her and saved her. What he’d done for her had gone way past what a professor would do for his student.
And through all those things, the more she’d spent time with He Zhichu, the more Gu Nianzhi realized that she felt like she knew He Zhichu very well. It seemed like they had known each other in the past, and that they had been very close.
What was going on exactly?
Gu Nianzhi instinctively felt that it was related to the memories that she had lost.
Had she really known He Zhichu before she was twelve years old?
Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes and tried very hard to recall her missing memories. She wanted to find just a few of her memories from before she had turned twelve. However, like always, the moment she tried to trace back her memories, her head started to hurt like crazy. It felt like that part of her brain that held those memories had been cut off completely.
The moment she tried to think about it, Gu Nianzhi felt like she had fallen into a bottomless pit. She could not find any direction.
Just then, the elevator arrived at the first level of the professors’ building.
The elevator door opened and He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi stepped out together.
It was already extremely dark outside. The streetlights in front of the building illuminated the roads.
This was the area for teaching staff. Therefore, there were not many people around at night.
A cyprus tree stood magnificently in front of the professors’ building. The streetlight shone onto it and created a tall shadow. It looked like a soldier standing steadfast.
Gu Nianzhi and He Zhichu walked towards her dormitory.
Seeing that Gu Nianzhi was massaging her temples, He Zhichu knew that she was getting a headache again. He said calmly, “Don’t try to think about what happened in the past anymore. I was only joking with you. Those things are no big deal. The thing that you should be concentrating on right now is your inheritance lawsuit.”
Gu Nianzhi did not reply immediately. She only replied after they arrived at the lobby of her dormitory. In a serious tone, she said, “Professor He, I will take up the lawsuit. However, I would also like to get my childhood memories back.”
A strand of hair fell onto the side of her face as she talked. It made her eyes look even brighter.
He Zhichu tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. “After you finish fighting the lawsuit, you will get your memories back. Therefore, you do not have to force yourself to remember. Everything will be fine in the end.”
…
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Special Forces, Yin Shixiong was giving Huo Shaoheng a full report about what had happened at court and in the police station.
“…The officers at the police station were all really nice. Even though Gu Yanran requested for them to arrest Ye Xuan, they did not make things difficult for him on purpose. After that, Nianzhi and Professor He managed to get an alibi for Ye Xuan, so they went directly to court and requested that the court dismiss all the charges. After the mediator communicated with Jin Wanyi and Gu Yanran, the court approved Nianzhi’s request and let all of us go.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. He sat behind his desk, one hand on the mouse and the other supporting his unusually handsome face. He looked at his computer screen as he replied, “Okay. It is good that no one is hurt.”
Ye Xuan could only be Gu Nianzhi’s witness without worries if all his charges were dismissed.
“…Did Ye Xuan have anything to say?” Huo Shaoheng asked as he continued to look at his computer screen.
Yin Shixiong scratched his head. “I don’t know about that, sir. Qiqi was exhausted. I sent her back to her dormitory and came here immediately to report to you. Professor He, Nianzhi and Ye Xuan all went to Professor He’s apartment at B University. They should be talking for a while.”
“I do not want ‘shoulds’ or ‘maybes’. I want a definite answer.” Huo Shaoheng narrowed his eyes and slowed down the speed of the footage on his computer by half before continuing to watch. As he did that, he waved his hand at Yin Shixiong. “Go and have a rest. After that, follow up on Nianzhi’s lawsuit.”
“Yes, sir!” Yin Shixiong stood up and saluted Huo Shaoheng before turning around to leave.
After Yin Shixiong left, Huo Shaoheng raised his head from the computer and thought about what Yin Shixiong had just told him. Then, he went back to looking at He Zhichu’s fast reflexes on the footage on the computer. He studied how he had rolled on the ground, protecting Gu Nianzhi from the bullets, but not hiding behind the wall or pillar.
This raised an alarm in Huo Shaoheng’s mind.
Usually, when even a well-trained military man was being chased by a shooter, they assumed that the best place to hide was behind a wall or pillar.
This was because there were not many guns that could shoot through walls. The ones that could were rare.
It would be impossible to get them in Hua Xia Empire.
However, when He Zhichu had protected Gu Nianzhi, he seemed to know how powerful the gun was. He’d cleverly kept away from the walls and pillars.
If they had hidden behind the wall, they almost certainly would have been killed.
This meant that He Zhichu was familiar with such weapons…
He linked this realization to the footage that the Special Forces in America had sent back of He Zhichu saving Ye Xuan. He Zhichu had a gun with him then. It had a special shape. Huo Shaoheng realized what it was in an instant.
He thought for a while before picking up his phone and dialing He Zhichu’s number.
“Mr. He, do you have some time to talk?”
He Zhichu had just sent Gu Nianzhi back to her dormitory. He was walking back to his apartment alone.
He put on his Bluetooth earpiece and put his hands into his pockets. “What do you want to talk about? I am very busy, so I don’t have a lot of time.”
“I want to talk to you about the ‘American laboratory’ gun that you used in America.” Huo Shaoheng knew that He Zhichu did not want to meet up, so he said, “Unless I’m wrong, the gun that the shooter used this morning was the same type as the one you had in America, wasn’t it? It was just a different model.”
He Zhichu was slightly taken aback. “Was it? What gun did the shooter use this morning?”
Seeing that He Zhichu was still trying to feign ignorance, Huo Shaoheng chuckled. “Professor He, let’s not beat about the bush anymore. What is so powerful about those guns was the material that they were made with. Hua Xia Empire had access to that type of material 17 years ago.”
“Are you sure? You guys already had that material 17 years ago?!” He Zhichu was extremely surprised when he heard that the laboratory in Hua Xia Empire had that material as well.
