Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi’s suspicions were certainly warranted.
She analysed the matter with He Zhichu after the event and came to the conclusion that since the accident was not incidental, someone must have leaked the information or even colluded with someone else.
Gu Nianzhi had a history with Gui Suyao, and not a minor one. If for some reason Ishihara Taro had enlisted the help of Gui Suyao, it didn’t mean anything difficult. She just had to make a call to him and report Gu Nianzhi’s whereabouts to him.
Could her breakthrough lie with Gui Suyao?
Gu Nianzhi returned to the library and forced herself to focus on her books instead. She revised and went through the examination materials once more.
Even if she wanted to do something about Gui Suyao, she would have to wait until after graduation. There were only two weeks left. The first week of the remaining two weeks would be spent revising, and the second week would be the week of examinations. The school’s winter vacation would start after that, and she would have to defend her graduation dissertation on the last day of the examination week.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t want to think about Gui Suyao for the time being, but it was difficult for her to stop thinking about it.
…
Gui Suyao and Ishihara Taro kissed and embraced each other as they walked into the bedroom.
The apartment was one that she rented off-campus. It was a small one-bedroom apartment with a clean and fresh look to it. The linen curtain was of a white and lilac decorative design, while the homeware was of a natural wood color. In the middle of the living room stood a wooden teapoy with a Tu Ding vase placed on top of it. The vase was filled with the stalks of winter jasmine that Ishihara Taro had sent her.
It wasn’t winter jasmine’s blooming season, so they must have been planted in a special garden enclosure. The stalks may have looked unremarkable, but for the winter jasmine to have flourished and been arranged in the way they had was something that ordinary people couldn’t do unless they paid for it.
Ishihara Taro had just turned eighteen and was eight to nine years younger than Gui Suyao. His face revealed his young age, as he looked like a youth.
She never expected that the heir to a Japanese Corporation, a handsome Japanese with an aura of nobility, would fancy her. At long last, the heaven had finally bestowed good fortune upon her. This handsome youth was finally her close confidante.
The two of them rolled onto bed and started making love in no time. After they were done, Ishihara Taro leaned against the headboard and started to smoke. He wore an indifferent expression on his face.
Gui Suyao wrapped the blanket around herself and propped her head on a pillow. She looked at him adoringly and said, “Taro, will you really be able to convince your grandfather?”
Ishihara Taro blew the smoke in her direction, smiled, and said, “Of course. I’m his only grandson. He’ll listen to whatever I say.”
Gui Suyao felt assured and leaned onto his shoulders. At eighteen, Ishihara Taro had a lean frame, a fair and pale complexion, and a prominent clavicle. However, he was still powerful in bed, and Gui Suyao was left satisfied. He was not only good-looking and from a reputable family. He was someone who loved her, so it would be strange for her to give him up.
In that moment, even He Zhichu was thrown to the back of her mind. She could only focus on Ishihara Taro.
She was a doctoral student of He Zhichu, and she also had to take the final examinations. However, she had been hanging around with Ishihara Taro recently and had not been revising her studies at all. She could potentially fail her examinations, but she didn’t care about that anymore. As long as she could marry Ishihara Taro, it no longer mattered to her whether or not she obtained her doctorate.
Ishihara Taro finished smoking his cigarette. He turned around and saw how smitten Gui Suyao was with him and laughed as he leaned down again…
After they made out once more, Gui Suyao hugged Ishihara Taro and stopped him from turning over. She whispered in his ear, “… Gu Nianzhi has already returned, and she is fine.”
His body stiffened, and he pushed her away slowly. Then he sat up and said coldly, “Whether she is fine or not, what does that have to do with me?”
Gui Suyao froze. She sat up in haste and said anxiously, “Don’t you want her dead?”
“Shut up!” Ishihara Taro raised his voice and thundered, “When did I ever want her dead? Don’t spout such nonsense!”
Gui Suyao was beginning to get the picture and quickly made her fidelity known. “Taro, don’t worry. I will not betray you. Besides, if you can kill her, I’ll be the happier one.”
Ishihara Taro gave her a glance and slowly leaned back against the headboard. He felt like smoking again.
He felt around the nightstand for cigarettes. After quite some time, he finally found a pack of Yunyan cigarettes. He looked at the pack, took out a cigarette, and held it in the side of his mouth. After some time, he said calmly, “It’s not that I want her dead. It’s just that the heavens want her dead, and nobody can stop that. Don’t you agree?”
Gui Suyao beamed with happiness. “But of course! It has nothing to do with us at all!”
This was the best answer. It saved her from having to create an alibi.
The two of them then spoke for a while longer. Before he left her apartment, Gui Suyao promised him to keep an eye on Gu Nianzhi’s whereabouts.
…
On the weekend, Gu Nianzhi decided to return to the house she had bought in Hepingli.
Ma Qiqi was thoroughly surprised. “There is only one week left before final examinations. Isn’t it a waste of time for you to be travelling to and fro?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled at her mischievously and proceeded to make an annoying remark. “I’ve already finished revising what I need to, so next week I plan to let myself relax before taking final exams.”
“Gu Nianzhi! Get out!” As expected, Ma Qiqi was roused by what she had said. “I am also a high-achieving student! I just pale in comparison to high-achieving students of your caliber! I don’t want to see you again!”
“It’s alright, dear Qiqi. I will just be staying off-campus. I will bring you breakfast every morning, and I will have dinner with you every night before I leave. Rest assured that I won’t leave you alone,” Gu Nianzhi said as she winked at Ma Qiqi.
Captivated by her sudden flirtatious expression, Ma Qiqi laughed, and she flicked Nianzhi’s forehead. “Okay, I will forgive you this time. Don’t you dare be so arrogant next time. If you do, I’ll make you highlight the main points of our examination for me as punishment!”
“No problem, no problem!” Gu Nianzhi managed to pacify Ma Qiqi at last. She then went to pack her belongings into a simple suitcase and left B University, dragging it along.
The moment she stepped out of the school grounds, she felt someone tailing her. She could tell that they were not anyone from the Special Operations Forces. Members of the Special Operations Forces were very skillful. She wouldn’t have been able to detect them if they didn’t want to be discovered. The people that were tailing her were clearly novices.
Gu Nianzhi felt confident and reassured the moment she remembered that Huo Shaoheng’s men were still protecting her behind the scenes. She was still brave enough to battle it out with Ishihara Taro.
When the stealthy individuals were out of sight, Gu Nianzhi dragged her suitcase and headed in the direction of Hepingli Precinct. The precinct was actually not far away from B University. If she were to walk by the shortcuts, it would only take her about twenty minutes, which wasn’t that much slower than traveling to the precinct by car. Gu Nianzhi still had her car parked in the underground garage at Hepingli Precinct and planned on commuting to school with it in the future.
Twenty minutes later, she entered the main entrance of Hepinli Precinct. The people who were tailing her loitered around the entrance before they all dispersed and left. The precinct was one that was managed more strictly. Non-owners would have to produce their identification documents and have themselves registered before they would be allowed to enter.
Gu Nianzhi opened her house with an access card and saw that it was bathed in warm sunlight. It was only then she felt herself gradually calm down. She then took in a deep breath.
The game had officially begun between Ishihara Taro and Gu Nianzhi.
Who would be the one to turn the tide?
