When the steaks were fried and set on the plate, Zhao Liangze finally muttered over the phone, “…I have to think about it.”
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips and said emotionlessly, “You still want to think about it? I don’t believe that you should think about it anymore. If you think about it too much, you will get dizzy as soon as you see Bai Shuang. If this were during ancient times, you would be considered a dim-witted ruler.”
Zhao Liangze was already feeling depressed. He immediately exploded when Huo Shaoheng said this and replied angrily, “How can I be a dim-witted ruler?! At most, I am just an evil minister!”
Huo Shaoheng, “…”
Huo Shaoheng’s eyes narrowed menacingly as he asked, “…You mean that I am the dim-witted ruler?”
Zhao Liangze chuckled. “The person who said it is who thinks that. I didn’t say anything. Huo Shao, how could you be a dim-witted ruler if this was the ancient times? You are an unparalleled ruler who is brave and ingenious – like the Prince Regent! And I am the strongest soldier amongst all your men!”
If he could crack a joke, he should be fine.
Huo Shaoheng didn’t want his subordinates to work when they were emotional.
He smiled slightly and said, “Okay, I’ll just wait for my strongest soldier to open up new territory for me. It’s already getting late. You should go home now.”
Zhao Liangze was about to agree, when he suddenly remembered something and said, “Huo Shao, I think Bai Shuang is also staying in a hotel in the affluent part of the city. I am worried that you will run into each other…”
Huo Shaoheng, “…”
There were only two areas with high-end hotels in Cape Town. Some were in the city center, and the rest are in the affluent suburbs.
Earlier today, Zhao Liangze had tried to find out where Bai Shuang was staying. However, Bai Shuang made it clear that she wasn’t staying in the city center, which meant the only place she could be staying in was the same area as Huo Shaoheng.
Although this area was very large, who knew if they would meet again?
Huo Shaoheng thought about it for a while. “You can go back to the island first and make arrangements for the work coming up for the next few days. Come see me tomorrow morning and bring your luggage. We will discuss the next step.”
“Yes, Chief.” Zhao Liangze hurriedly agreed before driving to the harbor and boarding his yacht to sail back to the island.
After spending a few months in the area, Zhao Liangze had not only increased his driving skills dramatically but was also now a sailing expert.
…
Huo Shaoheng turned off the Bluetooth headset and went to the dining room with his dinner plate.
Gu Nianzhi’s seafood fried rice was still sitting untouched on the dining table. She had propped her head up with her hands and was focused on the ocean view outside the French windows.
Huo Shaoheng sat down across from her. He smiled and knocked on the table as he said, “Let’s eat first and look at the view after dinner.”
Gu Nianzhi rubbed her forehead along her temples, then looked back at Huo Shaoheng. She smiled and asked, “You’re done with the phone call? Was it Brother Ze? Did he run into Bai Shuang?”
Huo Shaoheng had no intention of keeping this from her, so he nodded. While cutting himself a piece of steak, he shook his head and said, “Little Ze is not as decisive as Big Xiong. He drags his heels when it comes to relationships.”
Gu Nianzhi was very taken back by this.
Is this what he considered dragging one’s heels when it came to relationships?
Pouting, she filled a small bowl of fried rice for herself with a spoon and said, “Brother Ze is falling in love for the first time. It is normal for him not to realize who he likes yet. How is this dragging his heels?”
Huo Shaoheng glanced at her and thought of her first love and Class Representative, Mei Xiawen. His eyes flashed as he decided to continue arguing about this with her and calmly changed the subject. “…Actually, I don’t really care who he chooses to fall in love with. But as a boss, I have an obligation to remind them of the conditions of marriage,” he said.
“Conditions?” Gu Nianzhi frowned. “What conditions?”
“The background check. When soldiers like us want to get married, we have to submit a marriage report, and our superior must approve it before we can go through with the formalities.” Huo Shaoheng looked at her and smiled as he said, “Big Xiong’s marriage application is still sitting in my office.”
“Huh?” Gu Nianzhi was surprised. “Was there something wrong with Qiqi’s background check? That can’t be right.”
“Well, she is okay. We checked her family’s last four generations, as well as distant relatives up to five times removed. If her immediate family members had a criminal record, her background check would be rejected immediately. If the non-immediate family members had a criminal record, that would need to be reported but would not affect the approval,” Huo Shaoheng explained.
Gu Nianzhi suddenly remarked, “I understand now. Bai Shuang definitely can’t pass the background check because her father… committed treason. Haha, Brother Ze really likes to take on the most difficult tasks. Bai Yueran wouldn’t be so much trouble. She is now the Prime Minister’s daughter…”
Bai Shuang’s father was only Bai Yueran’s uncle, so he was a non-immediate relative. Bai Yusheng’s crimes would not affect Bai Yueran.
During the eradication of Bai Yusheng, Bai Yueran personally reported the crime. That was a major act of merit, and it also awarded bonus points to her.
Bai Shuang was a completely different case. She was aware that her father had committed treason, but she did not report him. Instead, she joined her father and lived abroad with him for a period of time. This would almost make her an accomplice.
In short, although immediate family members were the only real decisive factors in a political review, all the circumstances of non-immediate family members also needed to be thoroughly investigated and recorded.
Huo Shaoheng patiently educated Gu Nianzhi about the content and standards of the background check.
They normally abided by the principle of keeping quiet during meals and bedtime, so they usually didn’t chat.
However, since they were staying in this apartment-style hotel, the scenery outside was so beautiful, and the atmosphere was so harmonious that Huo Shaoheng decided not to be as strict about it.
After Gu Nianzhi asked her question, she stopped talking completely.
Her large eyes flickered as she silently ate her favorite seafood fried rice.
The apartment-style hotel they were staying in featured a working kitchen. There was also a supermarket nearby where they could buy fresh ingredients and cooking spices.
After Zhao Liangze left, the two of them went to the supermarket to buy daily necessities for a few days, as well as drinking water, semi-prepared food, and rice.
Huo Shaoheng’s cooking skills were impeccable. Gu Nianzhi ate three bowls in one breath before reluctantly putting down the cutlery.
“I’m full now. Shao Huo, would you like coffee or tea?” Gu Nianzhi stood up and went to the kitchen to make some drinks.
Huo Shaoheng glanced at his watch. It was not six o’clock yet, so it was still too early to go to bed.
“Give me a mocha without added sugar.” Huo Shaoheng loaded the plates into the dishwasher in the kitchen, then turned on the automatic mode to let the machine do all the work.
He went to sit down on the balcony outside the door and picked up a local English newspaper that had been provided by the apartment to read.
Gu Nianzhi found the coffee machine and studied it for a while before making a mocha and a cappuccino.
She set the two coffee cups on the tray and put the mocha in front of Huo Shaoheng. “Huo Shao, give this a try. I made it myself,” she said.
Mocha was a drink made by mixing coffee and cocoa powder. It was not pure black coffee, so he would still be able to sleep after drinking it.
Huo Shaoheng took it and had a sip, nodding in satisfaction as he said, “Yeah, it’s okay.”
Gu Nianzhi drank the cappuccino as she kept her eyes on Huo Shaoheng’s face in front of her.
Huo Shaoheng looked at the newspaper indifferently, then calmly said, “…Do you have something to say?”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
She wanted to deny it at first, but when she realized that she really had something to say, she had no choice but to touch her nose and whisper, “Huo Shao, you were even able to handle my background check. Can’t you help Brother Ze out?”
She had signed a marriage certificate with Huo Shaoheng, which meant that all the rules and stipulations should have been satisfied already.
The most important component of those rules and stipulations was the background check.
Gu Nianzhi was well aware of her own situation. Merely writing that her father was missing could already cause the background check to fail immediately.
If her background check had failed, she and Huo Shaoheng could never even dream of getting married.
But Gu Nianzhi vehemently disapproved of her wedding in the first place, so she had never really thought about this issue before.
Back then, Huo Shaoheng used Gu Nianzhi’s background check as a condition to bargain with the military leaders before agreeing to leave for New York to rescue Tan Guiren.
Faced with Gu Nianzhi’s request for help, Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips and said calmly, “No one in your family had a criminal record, so your situation was not difficult to investigate. But Bai Shuang’s situation is different. Her and her father’s situation is more complicated. This is not something I can guarantee.”
The only person with a criminal record was Gu Yanran, but she didn’t even have actual adoption papers. Huo Shaoheng did not recognize Gu Yanran as Gu Nianzhi’s immediate family member.
“Really?” Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flickered with some regret. “But Bai Shuang is actually a pretty good person.”
Huo Shaoheng smiled and said, “I am sitting right here with you, but you only care about others. Nianzhi, you really know how to waste time…”
