Gu Nianzhi couldn’t take it anymore. Her eyes widened as she scrutinized Huo Shaoheng’s figure.
“What’s wrong?” Huo Shaoheng touched his chin and looked askance at Gu Nianzhi. “I know you love me deeply. You don’t have to look at me so lovingly, do you?”
Gu Nianzhi reached out and pinched Huo Shaoheng’s handsome cheeks on both sides. She grinned and said, “I just want to see how thick-skinned a person can be.”
“Are you kidding me?” Huo Shaoheng still had a serious expression plastered on his face. “The most unfathomable thing in this world is not the human heart, but the human face.”
Pfft!
Gu Nianzhi instantly fell into Huo Shaoheng’s arms in laughter. She hugged his neck and laughed until she got a stomach ache.
A faint smile flashed past Huo Shaoheng’s eyes. He clasped his hands and watched her roll around on his body.
Huo Shaoheng waited for her smile to fade away before he said, “Since it’s in the diamond crown, have you thought about how to open it?”
Gu Nianzhi leaned against Huo Shaoheng’s back and shook her head. “I don’t see how I can open it.”
“There should be a way.” Huo Shaoheng pressed down on the brocade box in front of him. “If you give me the authorization, I can help you think of a way to open it.”
Gu Nianzhi shrugged. “It’s up to you. I brought it here for you to dispose of.”
She did not hesitate to hand over her most precious thing to him. This immense trust was even harder to come by than her love.
Huo Shaoheng patted the back of her hand. “Okay, I’ll help you.”
Of course, the prerequisite to opening it was not to damage the diamond crown, which would require a lot of effort.
Since Gu Xiangwen had put the item in without damaging the structure of the diamond crown, there must be a way to take it out intact.
However, even after Huo Shaoheng opened the brocade box and took out the pink diamond crown to study it for a long time, he still had no idea.
He thought about it and said, “I have to take it to the office to think of something. I’ll let you know when I open it.”
“Okay.” Gu Nianzhi nodded uneasily. Her mind was not on the list of assets in the diamond crown.
She caressed the will that Gu Xiangwen had made eighteen years ago. Gu Nianzhi’s eyes sparkled and she asked Huo shaoheng, “Huo Shao, do you think the will that my father made eighteen years ago is different from the holographic will that my father made in the submarine?”
“Differences and similarities?” Huo Shaoheng thought about it casually.
“The similarity is that you inherit all the property. The difference is that the manner you inherit it, right?” Huo Shaoheng did not understand the laws pertaining to inheritance. Hence, he did not give Gu Nianzhi any further explanation.
Gu Nianzhi smiled, “The difference is indeed the way you inherit. Eighteen years ago, my father planned to put all his assets into the Cereus Charity Foundation after his death. That way, I would be the enforcer and beneficiary. In fact, the assets were not left to me, but to the foundation.”
“Seven years ago, my father directly announced that I would inherit all the assets, but if I wasn’t around, all the assets would be donated to the state.”
“But don’t you think that these differences are linked, and that they’re exactly the same?”
Gu Nianzhi narrowed her dark jade-like eyes, and a hint of disappointment appeared on her bright and beautiful face.
Huo Shaoheng thought for a moment and stroked her head, “I didn’t see it. Lawyers like you are really obsessed with words. In my opinion, your father’s intention to give all his assets to you has never changed. No matter which method it was, it was sufficient.”
Gu Nianzhi lowered her head and thought to herself, am I really overthinking this?
Huo Shaoheng’s words were not without reason.
No matter which way it was, it was the evidence that her father has thought of her before.
When she thought of this, Gu Nianzhi felt relieved again.
She snuggled into Huo Shaoheng’s arms and said softly, “You have to go to work tomorrow.”
“Yes, and you have to head to the Senate tomorrow to officially take up your post.”Huo Shaoheng kissed her face. “I’ll send you there tomorrow.”
“How can I accept that?” Gu Nianzhi was in a good mood and said cheekily, “It’s my honor to have Huo Shao personally take charge.”
Huo Shaoheng chuckled softly. “Please give me this opportunity, Mrs. Huo.”
The two of them chatted and laughed as Gu Nianzhi brought up Xiao Ye. “… Do you want to transfer her back? I don’t think there’s a need for her to follow me anymore. You all are the elites of the special operations forces. It’s such a waste of your talent to be my chauffeur now.”
Huo Shaoheng thought for a moment. “Let’s take a look first. We’ll talk about it after you’ve established yourself in the Senate and have security personnel assigned to you.”
“Okay.” Gu Nianzhi didn’t insist because she believed in Huo Shaoheng’s judgment.
..
The next day was Huo Shaoheng’s first day of work after his leave came to an end. His schedule was already packed with prearranged meetings.
It was already mid-July, and there would be a military parade in August. The special operations forces had also been asked to attend this time.
Huo Shaoheng had returned from a month’s leave. Today was his first day of work, and he wanted to check on everyone’s progress in their preparations.
In the large meeting room of the headquarter of Special Operation forces’ encampment ground, a huge rectangular table was placed in the middle of the room.
Huo Shaoheng sat at the head of the table.
Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze sat on the left and right respectively.
Zhou Qiyuan sat behind Huo Shaoheng and took notes for him. The rest of the people at the meeting table were the leaders of the various departments of the special operations forces.
Yin Shixiong was the first to complain. He slammed his hand on the table and said, “In the past, the special operations forces did not participate in such public appearances. It is so obvious, is our department something that can be exposed frequently? Everyone is trending every three to five minutes. How are we supposed to carry out our work if we’re on television? Are we giving our enemies our heads?”
He glanced at Bai Yueran from the corner of his eyes.
Bai Yueran frowned. She did not look at Yin Shixiong. She stared at Huo Shaoheng, who was in charge, she said, “It’s true that we didn’t participate in the past, and everyone understands that we didn’t make any special requests. But this year is different. It’s the celebration of the 10th anniversary, and it’s also the first time our special operations forces have officially appeared in front of the entire nation since we were founded.”
“Do you think that all you have to do is hide? Why isn’t the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States hiding? Why isn’t the Federal Intelligence Service of Germany hiding? Why isn’t Britain’s MI5 hiding? Why isn’t Israel’s Mossad hiding? Do you only know how to hide? Are you an ostrich? Burying your head in the sand and pretending that others can’t see your perky bottom?”
Bai Yueran finished her last sentence and turned to look at Yin Shixiong. “Colonel Commandant Yin, if there’s anything I’ve said wrong, please advise me.”
Yin Shixiong chuckled at Bai Yueran’s rebuke but didn’t take it to heart.
Everyone was doing their jobs for the good of the department.
Huo Shaoheng glanced at everyone and said calmly, “Ever since our special operations forces became an official disciplinary force, we’ve made an appearance all over the world. Although our work is behind the scenes, our department isn’t.”
He paused, glanced at Bai Yueran, and smiled. He said, “Director Bai, as for the parade, our department will definitely participate. However, due to the special nature of our work, the field personnel who are on duty do not need to join in the fun. The main members of the parade team will be drawn from your Legal Affairs Department, the Logistics Department, and the Outreach Department for Commando Training.”
Although these departments were under the special operations forces, they were no different from other ordinary government agencies. Their security level was also several grades lower than that of the field operation departments.
Bai Yueran did not decline. She nodded and said, “No problem. It was originally planned by our Legal Affairs Department, the Logistics Department, and several chiefs of the Outreach Department. However, after the parade, it will be a closed exercise. Aren’t we going to send field operations personnel to participate?”
The Legal Affairs Department, Logistics Department, and the Outreach Department were not members of the regular combat forces.
Huo Shaoheng had never thought of participating in the military exercises at home.
He only had one enemy in his army, and that was the foreign intelligence agencies.
The way they fought was also different from that of the regular combat forces.
Huo Shaoheng shook his head. “There’s no need. We’re not participating in the exercise. You can just lead the comrades from the Legal Affairs Department, the Logistics Department, and the Outreach Department to march properly. The meeting is adjourned.”
Yin Shixiong couldn’t help but snicker.
Bai Yueran glanced at him and inadvertently shifted her gaze to Zhao Liangze. However, he was sitting across Yin Shixiong while expressionlessly fidgeting with a pen in his hand. He didn’t look in her direction at all.
Bai Yueran sighed inwardly. She packed her things and left the meeting room.
Huo Shaoheng originally thought that things would end as such. However, after the meeting ended, he received a call from General Ji, asking him to represent General Ji and participate in the military parade and drill. As a leading member of the headquarters, he would supervise the military parade and drill.
“Shaoheng, this is a good opportunity to train. You have to seize this opportunity instead of focusing solely on the special operations forces. Your position in the future will not be limited to any department. You have to have a holistic view and have a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the military.”
“And this military parade and exercise is a very good opportunity.”
Huo Shaoheng immediately replied, “Yes, sir. I will set off immediately to Rihe City and participate in the military parade while exercising leadership.”
The military parade mission had been given to all the troops three months ago. Everyone had transferred their elite soldiers and had already begun closed-door training.
Huo Shaoheng was now going to Rihe City, where the military parade and exercise were to be held. He had to do a final assessment and check on everyone’s progress in their preparations.
There was only half a month left.
He had originally planned to send Gu Nianzhi to work at the Senate tomorrow, but he was unable to do that anymore.
He had to pack his luggage and set off for Rihe City immediately.
He hurriedly gave Gu Nianzhi a call and boarded the military plane to Rihe City.
Because he was going to Rihe City on behalf of General Ji, Huo Shaoheng didn’t bring Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze along with him. He simply brought a few disciplined soldiers with him.
Rihe City was located in the desert northwest of the Huaxia Empire. It was a city specially built for military exercises.
It only took two hours to fly from the imperial capital to Rihe City.
However, half an hour after the plane took off, a sudden thunderstorm caused them to disappear from the radar.