Xiao Ye and Gu Nianzhi sat side by side in the backseat of the car. Xiao Ye crossed her arms and closed her eyes. “My job is to protect you. I don’t know anything else.”
Speechless, Gu Nianzhi looked at her.
Xiao Ye really wasn’t a good conversationalist. She was the type of person who could kill a conversation any second.
Although Gu Nianzhi loved to chat and with her there would never be any awkward silences, for some reason, she felt suffocated today. She had no interest in continuing to talk. She looked out of the car window sullenly and didn’t speak.
Yin Shixiong, who had always been a good conversationalist, was also silent in the front seat. He had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Gu Nianzhi’s heart was in emotional turmoil. She looked out of the car window at the beautiful scenery of the coastal highway, but she couldn’t relax.
The car sped out amidst the sunset. The group passed through many checkpoints and security checks before finally arriving at the only guest house in the military port base.
This was a place specially used to entertain higher-ups and important guests. Ordinary people couldn’t stay in the military port, so they could only stay in the resort hotel outside.
The guest house in the military port had a vintage design. It looked like a museum. It was only a four-story building, but the view was very good. It faced the vast and misty South China Sea.
It was already evening when they arrived.
The weather was good, and the evening breeze was cool.
The setting sun was like melting gold, and the evening clouds merged together. Where were people?
Gu Nianzhi placed her hand in front of her eyes and looked into the distance, but she could only see countless seagulls flying between the sea and the sky.
The sky was high, the clouds were light, and the sea was blue.
The surface of the sea was sparkling, and there was a glimmering clear blue-green layer near the sea.
Thick palm trees were planted at the entrance of the guest house, and the bright green leaves rustled in the evening wind.
Standing on the steps of the guest house and looking back, she saw that there was a small path that separated them from the beach.
The sand on the beach was the kind of white sand that was of good quality. It looked soft and delicate, so people couldn’t resist taking off their shoes and walking a few rounds on the beach.
Further away, about five hundred meters away from there, should be the dock of the military port.
At first glance, there were many tall and mighty warships docked there. As if they were at the tarmac of an international airport, they lined up along the coastline.
There were also fighter jets rising and falling on the ships.
It was that time in the evening when the tide ebbed, and the sound of the waves hitting the rocks on the shore actually drowned out the rumbling of the fighter jets.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help covering her ears.
The sea view was indeed beautiful, but it was so close that the noise from the shore was jarring.
She felt that people who lived here for long periods would probably be more susceptible to hearing damage.
Gu Nianzhi’s thoughts ran wild. She took another look and looked away. She went into the guest house with Xiao Ye and Yin Shixiong.
Xiao Ye and Yin Shixiong went to the reception desk to ask for a room.
Gu Nianzhi followed behind them and looked around curiously.
She noticed that the waiters here were all military personnel. Both men and women were dressed in navy uniforms, the kind with official military emblems. They weren’t the cosplay uniforms that weree sold on Taobao.
Xiao Ye took the room key cards for Gu Nianzhi and herself from the front desk. They walked to the third floor, found the room number, inserted the key card, and pushed the door open.
A suite that was especially elegantly decorated appeared before them.
Outside, there was a living room with mahogany tables, chairs, and classic sofas. The floor was made of mahogany of the same color.
The living room and the bedroom were separated by a treasure pavilion.
In the middle of the treasure pavilion, there was a gap in the door. There was a paper door. It was unknown what kind of paper it was, but it looked foggy.
In the lower right corner of the paper door, there was an oblique drawing of an orchid grass with ink. There was also a signature. It was obvious that it was the work of a master.
The windows of the suite should be able to be opened because the sound of the surging waves could be clearly heard outside the window.
The salty sea breeze blew in, and the paper door swayed gently. The orchids in the lower right corner seemed to sway with the wind.
Gu Nianzhi’s expression became more and more confused.
Was this treatment for her or for Xiao Ye?
Xiao Ye was also wondering inside.
Such a nice room was second only to the Presidential Suite in the guest house, right?
It wasn’t surprising for presidential suites to be prepared for General Ji, Speaker Long, Prime Minister Bai, and Old Master Xie.
However, a room second only to the presidential suite was given to Gu Nianzhi…
Was it because of Major General Huo?
Xiao Ye felt relieved again when she thought of Huo Shaoheng’s imminent return.
With Major General Huo’s status and achievements, he was already qualified to stay in the presidential suite, let alone a suite that was one grade lower than the presidential suite.
Anyway, when Major General Huo came back, she would give up her room to let Major General Huo and Gu Nianzhi stay in it.
Xiao Ye no longer felt conflicted. She carried her suitcase and went in.
This suite had two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
One was a king-sized room with only one king-sized bed.
The other was a double room with two queen-sized double beds.
Xiao Ye walked straight into the double room.
The big bed room was left for Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi walked into the big bed room and saw that the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sea were half open. The sound of the ocean waves and the salty sea breeze came from there.
She walked directly to the balcony from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The boundless sea immediately appeared before her eyes.
Gu Nianzhi took a deep breath and tried to let out all the uneasy emotions inside of her, but it was useless.
She stood on the balcony for a while. Just as she was about to go back and pack her things, she saw from the corner of her eye that a large crane and construction truck were approaching from the dock not that far away. There were also many people in overalls and helmets. They gestured up and down as if they were going to build some sort of facility.
Illuminating the coastline as if it was daytime, the place was brightly lit. In this stark contrast, other places seemed even darker.
Gu Nianzhi watched curiously for a while before looking away. She went back to her room to wash up. She even took a shower and washed her hair. She found Yin Shixiong, then went with Xiao Ye and the others to eat at the sumptuous buffet downstairs.
After dinner, the two of them said goodbye to Yin Shixiong and went back to their rooms. It wasn’t even dark yet.
General Ji had told her that the body of the war hero would arrive early the next morning.
Their welcoming ceremony was tomorrow.
The two of them went back to their room and changed their clothes.
Xiao Ye had already packed up and changed into a black suit. She was wearing a neat 3/4 sleeve top, cropped ankle-length pants, and black cleats. Her long legs were like those of a supermodel, but much more powerful.
A supermodel’s long legs could only be used for runway shows.
Xiao Ye’s long legs could kill people.
Gu Nianzhi smiled and winked at Xiao Ye. “Xiao Ye, your legs are a real ‘killing machine’, literally.”
Xiao Ye didn’t mind at all. She calmly said, “If you want to learn, I can teach you.”
Gu Nianzhi quickly said, “Okay, when do you want to start? I’ve been worried that you’d be too busy…”
Xiao Ye remained calm. “Then start running every day. To train the explosive power of your legs, run at least ten kilometers every morning.”
Gu Nianzhi immediately dismissed the idea of learning kung fu from Xiao Ye and smiled sheepishly.”… I see. Let me consider it.”
Her bureaucratese mannerism was just like Huo Shaoheng’s.
Xiao Ye looked at her and smiled. “Miss Gu is indeed Major General Huo’s fiancée. You two of you are becoming more and more like husband and wife.”
Gu Nianzhi liked hearing this. She relaxed and said, “Before dinner, I saw something being built at the boatyard. I don’t know what it’s for.”
“Is that so?” Xiao Ye looked at her watch. “Has Major General Huo’s ship arrived?”
It looked like it was about time.
Gu Nianzhi said, “No, I didn’t even see him at all.”
She didn’t see him before dinner.
Xiao Ye walked to the balcony of her bedroom and glanced at the dock. She picked up her binoculars and looked in the direction of the sea.
“They’re already here.” Xiao Ye put down the binoculars and handed them to Gu Nianzhi. There was a hint of pride in her voice. “Take a look. It’s our aircraft carrier.”
Gu Nianzhi took the binoculars and looked over.
She saw that on the vast sea, several warships were gradually emerging.
It was as if someone was holding a brush and painting on rice paper.
A few faint strokes of the brush drew out thousands of mountains and rivers.
The evening sun had completely set below sea level. The sky was filled with the glow of the sunset, glimmering against the surface of the clear blue sea and giving the sea a red hue.
There were many people waving their arms on the distant warship. Major General Huo probably wasn’t among them..
He wouldn’t do such a childish thing.
Wishing she could give him a call, Gu Nianzhi rubbed her phone.
But she was only thinking about it.
Huo Shaoheng wasn’t allowed to bring his personal phone with him when he went out on missions.
She didn’t know his business phone number.
That was because every time Huo Shaoheng was on a mission, he would use a different business phone number.
Gu Nianzhi reluctantly put down her binoculars. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the dock she had just seen. She couldn’t help but be shocked.
In such a short period of time, Gu Nianzhi was willing to bet that in less than an hour, a huge temporary auditorium had been built at the dock!
Their efficiency was simply unbelievable!
Gu Nianzhi was full of awe.
Xiao Ye looked away from the distance and looked Gu Nianzhi up and down.
It was obvious that Gu Nianzhi had dressed up. She was wearing a custom-made black suit that fitted her perfectly by accentuating her beautiful and tall figure.
She wore light makeup on her face. Her eyebrows were dark and her skin was as white as snow. Her large eyes had on light eyeliner, and her long eyelashes didn’t need mascara. They were naturally curly and thick.
Her voluptuous lips had a natural smile on them.
The color of her lips was a natural red. There was only a thin layer of lip gloss on them, and there were no lines at all. This was the beauty of youth…
Xiao Ye sighed. She patted Gu Nianzhi on the shoulder and said, “It took an hour to set it up. It’s not fast enough.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know what to say.
The two of them stood on the balcony and didn’t speak for a while.
It wasn’t until they saw the warship approaching that they heard the doorbell ring.
Gu Nianzhi went to open the door and saw Yin Shixiong standing at the door with a serious expression on his face. In his hands, he was holding two bundles of white flowers wrapped in cellophane.
The flowers were white, large, and their petals were as smooth as jade. They were beautiful, elegant, and had a few green leaves on them.
Gu Nianzhi’s heart skipped a beat, and it almost jumped out of her throat. Then it quickly sank again, causing her to feel dizzying weightlessness.
This flower… wasn’t the sort of flower usually prepared for war heros.
This flower was the night epiphyllum, also known as Cereus, the same name as hers.
Gu Nianzhi’s gaze fell on the flower. After a moment of silence, she said, “This is night epiphyllum? It blooms at night and usually only blooms for three to five hours. Are you going to present this flower?”
Yin Shixiong lowered his head and said lightly, “Yes, this is the night epiphyllum that our horticulturist specially cultivated. It has been specially treated so it can be kept for twenty-four hours without any problems.”
Gu Nianzhi slowly took the night epiphyllum from Yin Shixiong’s hand and accidentally touched Yin Shixiong’s hand with her fingertips.
Yin Shixiong noticed that Gu Nianzhi’s fingertips were cold and trembling. He thought to himself that she probably wasn’t completely clueless, which made him even sadder. He quickly steadied himself and swept his gaze over her. Gu Nianzhi’s face was so pale that there was almost no color on it.
She was bewildered and looked at Yin Shixiong inquisitively with her big eyes, as if she wanted to see something on his face.
Of course, Yin Shixiong wouldn’t let Gu Nianzhi figure anything out. He gently stroked Gu Nianzhi’s head. “Okay, let’s go. They’re already here. Major General Huo asked me to take you somewhere first.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded and turned around to put the night epiphyllum wrapped in two bundles of cellophane back into the vase in the room. One step at a time, she followed behind Yin Shixiong towards the dock.
