Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yin Shixiong’s heart dropped. He shook his head and thought he must be hallucinating from not sleeping enough. Was today Sunday or Monday? Why was he seeing Gu Nianzhi in the school cafeteria? Was it Monday already? Did he work a full day and night instead of just one night? Perhaps Gu Nianzhi could feel Yin Shixiong’s intense gaze because she turned around and looked Yin Shixiong in the eye.
“Brother Xiong? What are you doing here?” Gu Nianzhi walked over with a smile and looked at Yin Shixiong’s exhausted face. “You didn’t sleep all night, did you? Are you here for breakfast? Here’s an insider tip, the big beef buns are the best, and you can also get a nice bowl of cornmeal porridge, fried donuts, and hard-boiled eggs if you want a healthy breakfast.”
Yin Shixiong, as always, was impressed by Gu Nianzhi’s observational skills. He Zhichu stood beside Gu Nianzhi, and Yin Shixiong greeted his silent stony face with a smile. “Good morning, Professor He.”
He Zhichu nodded coolly then turned to Gu Nianzhi. “I’m leaving. I’ll wait for you at the door.” He walked out alone.
Yin Shixiong looked at Gu Nianzhi and asked, “Is today Sunday or Monday? Why are you at school?” He knew Gu Nianzhi always spent the weekends at Huo Shaoheng’s official residence and typically went home Sunday night.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flashed. She knew she wouldn’t be able to tell Yin Shixiong about her small dissatisfaction with Huo Shaoheng. She mumbled, “I remembered I had homework to do, so I came back early. Plus, you and Huo Shao are so busy. I’d just be lounging around anyway.”
“Oh, I see. Then I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll get some breakfast and report back.” Yin Shixiong nodded to Gu Nianzhi and headed to the cafeteria.
Gu Nianzhi quickly walked to He Zhichu who was waiting at the door. She didn’t know that, soon after she left, Yin Shixiong turned around and used a secret pinhole camera to take a photo of her. In the photo, Gu Nianzhi’s side profile faced the camera, and she looked up at He Zhichu with a smile. He Zhichu was tall and well built, and he stood under the cafeteria sign with both hands in his trouser pockets. He watched Gu Nianzhi intently. The image was surprisingly peaceful and romantic. When Yin Shixiong returned to the Special Operations Forces headquarters base, he got the photos from the pinhole camera. Only then did he realize what he had captured. He had merely taken a candid shot of Gu Nianzhi out of habit. He hadn’t expected to get a photo of her interacting with He Zhichu.
“Big Xiong, what are you staring at?” Zhao Liangze poked his head in front of Yin Shixiong’s computer monitor and gasped, “Ha! That’s Nianzhi and Professor He!”
“Yeah, I ran into them this morning at the B University cafeteria.” Yin Shixiong spun his chair around and looked at Huo Shaoheng in confusion. “Isn’t today Sunday? Why did Nianzhi go back to school? When did she go back?”
Zhao Liangze was in the know. “She went back last night, Saturday night. Mr. Huo only found out this morning.”
“Oh…” Yin Shixiong paused then asked mysteriously, “Did Mr. Huo react at all?”
“I don’t think so.” Zhao Liangze crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. “How would he even respond? You think Nianzhi has eyes for someone else?”
Yin Shixiong choked for a second and mumbled, “That’s hard to say. Nianzhi is still young and immature. She might move on easily.”
“Hmph! I dare you to say that to Mr. Huo. We’d really see his reaction then!” Zhao Liangze kicked Yin Shixiong and continued working.
Yin Shixiong had brought back important information that Zhao Liangze sorted through before presenting to Huo Shaoheng. At three pm on Sunday, the two men went to see Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng hadn’t returned to his official residence but had stayed at his office in the administrative building. He saw Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze excitement as they entered the room. He set down his pen, leaned back against his chair, and asked calmly, “There’s news?”
“We found lots of clues!” Yin Shixiong walked over with excitement and presented the information with Zhao Liangze. “Prime Minister Dou’s official residence has been calling the B University dean more frequently these past few days and several calls were between the Prime Minister’s and the dean’s direct lines. These two calls can be determined to be between the Prime Minister and the dean.”
Zhao Liangze logged into the cloud drive as Yin Shixiong spoke and displayed the information on Huo Shaoheng’s computer monitor. “Look here. This relationship chart proves that Prime Minister definitely has something to do with this incident.”
Huo Shaoheng took the mouse and enlarged each image so he could view it in detail. As he looked, he began questioning Yin Shixiong about the specifics.
“This information, along with the deleted B University pond footage recovered by Little Ze, not only proves Dou Aiyan was lying, but also that her father, Prime Minister Dou, is directly involved.” Huo Shaoheng frowned slightly. “If that’s the case, can we have them investigate whether or not Prime Minister Dou has anything to do with this Yamaguchi Aiko?”
“Yes, Mr. Huo. Prime Minister Dou is currently in power, but he will also be seeking re-election. Maybe the Yamaguchi-gumi interfered with the candidates, and Prime Minister Dou is one of them?” Zhao Liangze asked excitedly as he leaned on Huo Shaoheng’s desk.
Huo Shaoheng glanced at him in surprise and gave a faint smile of praise. “Even Little Ze couldn’t have linked everything together that well. You’ve improved.”
“Of course I have! Look who I’ve been hanging around lately!” Zhao Liangze put his hands on his hips and laughed wildly. “Director Bai Yueran reminded me about all this. She’s amazing!”
Both Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong knew that Zhao Liangze liked Bai Yueran but, currently, it was only a one-sided crush. It didn’t seem like Bai Yueran was romantically interested in Zhao Liangze, but they knew Bai Yueran’s younger cousin, Bai Shuang was smitten with him. Huo Shaoheng made a mental note to himself. He would have to talk to Zhao Liangze about not stringing Bai Shuang along.
“Big Xiong, you can go now and report this information. Remove the evidence about the illegal deals then send all the main points to General Ji and Speaker Long. We’ll see how they’ll deal with it.” Huo Shaoheng knew he could only investigate so much. The Special Ops unit in Japan was involved in the leakage case, and he wasn’t permitted to actually investigate the Prime Minister election.
Yin Shixiong answered loudly and left the office with the flash drive.
Zhao Liangze looked at Huo Shaoheng. “What about me, Mr. Huo?”
Huo Shaoheng looked up at him and pursed his lips before pointing to the seat across from his desk. “Sit down, Little Ze.”
Looks like he has something to say, Zhao Liangze thought. An anxious feeling spread over him as he quickly sat down on the leather chair. He looked at Huo Shaoheng nervously.
Huo Shaoheng draped one hand on the armrest of the leather swivel chair and tapped the desk twice with his pen. “You have to be more cautious about your personal life, Zhao Liangze. You know Bai Shuang’s father. Don’t waste your time on something that’ll never happen.”
Zhao Liangze had never had feelings for Bai Shuang so he wasn’t upset by Huo Shaoheng’s words. He nodded quickly. “I understand. I’ll be more careful, Mr. Huo.”
Huo Shaoheng is quick to judge, but what about his own life? Zhao Liangze thought.
Zhao Liangze got up to leave Huo Shaoheng’s office and suddenly blurted out, “Mr. Huo, you’re the chief, and your personal life is… of course, you know better than us…” They both knew what Zhao Liangze was really saying: Huo Shaoheng was allowing himself to get into a relationship with Gu Nianzhi, even though he knew they had no future together.
Huo Shaoheng looked up at him and answered nonchalantly, “You can go now.” He didn’t look at Zhao Liangze again but focussed on the computer monitor. At that moment, the screen displayed the photo that Yin Shixiong had taken of He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi standing in front of the B University cafeteria. In the morning sun, Gu Nianzhi’s side profile was evening more stunning than the sunshine itself. He Zhichu’s eyes were full of adoration as he looked at her face.
