“Priest, shrine, war, arrow – whose past were they? Liking how you belong to me even in the crowd…” It was Huo Shaoheng’s customized ringtone. This was one of the lesser-known songs by Jay Chou, but its melody was really special. Gu Nianzhi also especially liked the poetic imagery the song portrayed, so it naturally became his customized ringtone after they got together.
Hearing that ringtone, Gu Nianzhi’s heart skipped a beat, and she picked up the call instinctively. The other end was silent. Gu Nianzhi had no choice but to tell He Zhichu apologetically, “Excuse me, Professor He, I have to take a call outside.”
“Can’t you do it here?” He Zhichu raised his eyebrows, objecting slightly.
Gu Nianzhi shook her head. “I’m worried that I might disturb Professor He and Qiqi. Right, Qiqi?” Gu Nianzhi shot Ma Qiqi a look.
Ma Qiqi caught her hint and waved her hand. “Yes, yes. Go take your call outside and don’t disturb us!”
Gu Nianzhi nodded slightly and smiled at He Zhichu. Having no choice, He Zhichu stood up and made way for Gu Nianzhi to walk past him. Arriving at the restaurant’s entrance, Gu Nianzhi stood beneath a tree and took the call. There was nothing but silence on the other end. Gu Nianzhi looked at her phone and realized that Huo Shaoheng had hung up. Couldn’t he have waited for that little while? Gu Nianzhi was upset. She stared at her phone and had the impulse to smash it into the ground.
…
Huo Shaoheng hung up the moment he heard Gu Nianzhi say, “Excuse me, Professor He, I have to take a call outside.” He was surprised that Gu Nianzhi would be with He Zhichu at this time. Looking at his watch, it was almost six in the evening. Was it dinner? Or had they just finished dinner? What were they doing together?
Huo Shaoheng toyed with his phone a little before throwing it aside and turning on a tracking app on his desktop. Upon locating her, he found out that she was outside B University’s south gate. She wasn’t even back in school at this time.
Huo Shaoheng frowned and connected himself to the CCTVs around Gu Nianzhi’s location. Every public space in Di Capital had CCTVs. They formed a closely knitted network. However, the CCTVs were only installed in public spaces. Anything other than that, it was up to the people. Government organizations could not interfere.
For example, if you wanted to have a CCTV in your home, you could. However, the government would not have the right to access your footage. They wouldn’t even know who had decided to put a CCTV in their homes. It was the same with the B University campus. As long as it was within the campus, outsiders would not know where their CCTVs were if they did not reveal the locations. And it was all thanks to He Zhichu that Gu Nianzhi knew B University’s inside information. That was why she was able to help Huo Shaoheng find the truth about Miao Yunxiao and Dou Aiyan.
However, the area outside the south gate was a public area. Therefore, Huo Shaoheng had the authority to connect his desktop to the CCTV network around that area. He saw that Gu Nianzhi was standing under a tree on the sidewalk. A Hubei restaurant was behind her. There were lanterns hanging at the restaurant’s entrance. It looked like it was newly opened. He also saw that He Zhichu was sitting at a window seat in the Hubei restaurant. He Zhichu was looking at Gu Nianzhi through the windows at that point in time.
Gu Nianzhi was upset that Huo Shaoheng had hung up on her. However, she controlled her emotions and waved at He Zhichu when she saw him looking at her, eyes full of concern. She went back into the restaurant.
In Huo Shaoheng’s eyes, he saw that Gu Nianzhi was enjoying He Zhichu’s company, and he had even gotten an entire plate of food for her. Huo Shaoheng shut the desktop down and walked to the window. He remembered Yin Shixiong telling him that Gu Nianzhi was having breakfast with He Zhichu. Now they were having dinner together. Did they have all three meals together in a day?
Huo Shaoheng had the impulse to smoke again. He had already quit smoking when he decided to be together with Gu Nianzhi. He wanted to be healthy so that they could have a healthy, beautiful, clever, and adorable baby together. But now…
Huo Shaoheng rummaged around and found a pack of cigarettes. He walked to the balcony and lit one up.
…
Gu Nianzhi sat down and continued her meal. Even though she was slightly bothered, she controlled her impulse to call Huo Shaoheng and reminded herself to not think about it.
It took her so much to bear with it. If not for the fact that He Zhichu was looking at her from time to time, she would’ve taken her phone out and called Huo Shaoheng. However, she did not want to embarrass herself in front of He Zhichu.
Ma Qiqi was the happiest. She was easy going and having dinner with her most respected professor. She was on cloud nine. Her conversations were interesting, and she made the slightest thing extremely lively.
“…Oh and guess what? I overhead a discussion about a case by a few boys the other day. I felt that even though the case had its own issues, it wasn’t as bad as they made it seem. So I went over and debated with them. In the end, one of the boys told me angrily, ‘If you are in the person’s shoes one day, won’t you hope that someone would get justice for you?’” Ma Qiqi mimicked the boy as she conveyed the question he asked her. She furrowed her brows at times and raised them at others. She looked so candid. Gu Nianzhi laughed herself silly. He Zhichu patted her on the back and poured her another glass of coconut juice.
Ma Qiqi continued, “Taken aback, I asked them, ‘Do you guys all put yourselves in the other person’s shoes?’ And those boys said, ‘Of course!’ So I said, ‘That person got into trouble because of ****. So you guys hope that someone will bring justice to you when you get into trouble because of ****. Do you guys mean that?” Ma Qiqi returned to herself when she talked, her brows one higher than the other. Her mocking expression showed way more than her words.
Pffft —! Gu Nianzhi spat a mouthful of coconut juice out. Thankfully, Ma Qiqi sat opposite He Zhichu. Otherwise, she would’ve been covered in coconut juice.
“Nianzhi! Great aim! Try harder!” Ma Qiqi laughed as she cleaned the table beside her.
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes. “Shoo~ stop saying nonsense. Oh yeah, what did the boys say after you said that?”
Ma Qiqi threw the napkins into the trash and contorted her face into an expression of uncertainty and pain. It reminded Gu Nianzhi of someone having constipation for almost half a month. Then she said, “They just looked at me like that and couldn’t think of anything to say for so long!”
“HAHAHAHAHHA way to go, Qiqi!” Gu Nianzhi laughed ’til she cried.
“Then I said, ‘I’m sorry all you kind-hearted souls, if you guys really get into trouble with **** in the future, I wouldn’t care if you were made a scapegoat, but I will never bring justice to you. Just pray that I don’t bring you down further!’” Ma Qiqi waved her fists and showed how serious she was.
Gu Nianzhi nodded and said, “So this is the difference in perception between guys and girls. Qiqi, from the eyes of a professional, your response could be improved on. However, sigh! We’re all human, and humans will have their own emotions and thoughts. Even if we were to be professionals, we would have our very own stand as well. Which things we’re able to accept and which we aren’t. We don’t have to measure everything the same way.”
He Zhichu listened to them quietly and shook his head only then. “Nianzhi, Qiqi, both your explanations were flawed. As a professional, you have to be responsible for your profession. As long as you’re out there as a professional, you have to forget about yourself as a person with your personal stand. This is how you represent law and justice without bias.”
Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi straightened their backs instinctively, just like when they were at a lecture.
However, He Zhichu had no intention of continuing. He finished his beer in one gulp and said, “Remember Justitia, the lady of justice? She was blindfolded, with a sword in one hand and a balance in the other. This shows that in the eyes of the law, everyone is equal. Justitia will not be blinded by her subjective points of view.”
Ma Qiqi blushed and couldn’t say a word.
Gu Nianzhi, however, retorted out of habit. Looking at He Zhichu, she said cheekily, “That’s why we’re all not Justitia but merely students from the law faculty! Professor He, your expectations for us are too high. It’s not a good thing, you know?”
He Zhichu thought about it for a while and realized that he couldn’t disagree with Gu Nianzhi. “Fine, you make sense.” He Zhichu stood up. “Excuse me.”
Ma Qiqi whispered to Gu Nianzhi the moment He Zhichu left his seat. “How would you even dare to argue with Professor He? You don’t want your life anymore?!”
Gu Nianzhi frowned cheekily and whispered back, “I’m like a phoenix. I am reborn after putting myself through death!”
“You’re a bad girl, Nianzhi! You’re implying that Professor He is death. I’m going to tell on you!” Ma Qiqi laughed and stood up. “Unless you bribe me with extremely good glutinous rice rolls with azuki bean paste and sweet pea pudding!”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head. “Those boys really asked the wrong questions, didn’t they? They should’ve asked you if you would help them if the rewards were glutinous rice rolls with azuki beans and sweet pea pudding, right?!”
“Hahahahah! Nianzhi knows me best!” Ma Qiqi’s phone rang with a text message the moment she finished her sentence. Upon reading the text, she took her bag hurriedly and placed 100 Chinese Yuan on the table. “Something cropped up. I have to go. This is for my part of the bill. We’ll calculate it again next time I see you.”
Gu Nianzhi was sipping on coconut juice by herself when He Zhichu returned. He raised his hand again for the server. “Another five bottles of fresh coconut juice, to go. Thank you.”
Gu Nianzhi stood up, embarrassed. “It’s okay, Professor He, I’ll just finish this bottle.”
“No problem.” He Zhichu signaled for her to go. “I’ve taken care of the bill. Where’s Qiqi?”
“She has something going on.” Gu Nianzhi took the 100-Yuan note on the table. “Professor He, this is Qiqi’s share. Please accept it.” Then she took out another 100 Yuan. “Will this be enough?”
He Zhichu looked at her coldly. “Gu Nianzhi, must you be so calculative with me?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled sheepishly. “This is different! We should not take advantage of Professor He like that.”
An arm found its way around Gu Nianzhi’s shoulders, and he whispered into Gu Nianzhi’s ear with a playful smile, “Your Professor He has a strong family background. Taking small advantages like this doesn’t hurt.”
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t used to being so close with strangers, so she moved away from He Zhichu instinctively and looked at him from the side. Surprisingly, Gu Yanran was there, and behind her was Xue Jingjiang, Huo Shaoheng’s childhood playmate, whom she had met a couple of times.
