Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng was speechless at that moment. She saw Gu Nianzhi’s expression of being wronged, and asked her, concerned, “Where’d you want to go by getting off the bed?”
“To the bathroom…” Gu Nianzhi said, upset. “Put me down. I’ll go on my own.”
Huo Shaoheng still carried her to the bathroom and turned on the light before putting her down.
Gu Nianzhi pushed the door to the bathroom open, entered the bathroom without as much as turning around to look at Huo Shaoheng, and slammed the door shut. Then she locked herself in the bathroom.
She walked to the basin and stood still and looked at her reflection. She remained silent for a long while.
She thought, from what she’d read from books in the past—something about understanding everything when a person was faced with death, and many things that one couldn’t understand in the past—would suddenly be understood. They’d come to a point of enlightenment and acceptance.
And after going through what she had gone through, did she come to that enlightenment and acceptance? But she did not want to be enlightened, nor did she want to accept…
Gu Nianzhi reached out and began scribbling on the mirror. She had thought that she wasn’t thinking but realized that she had written “Huo Shaoheng” after she was done.
With Gu Nianzhi being like this—and having such feelings—even she was afraid of herself, much less Huo Shaoheng. He must have felt that he was being forced into a corner, didn’t he? Gu Nianzhi didn’t want things to be like that. She didn’t want to see herself being more and more reliant on Huo Shaoheng, and she didn’t want her expectations of him to increase. If this went on, she was afraid that their love for each other might just run out one day…
She remained in the bathroom for almost an hour and still couldn’t decide what to do.
Let go? She couldn’t bear to. But if she were to continue being like that, she really couldn’t imagine how things would turn out to be. Passionate love could change a person until the extent that the person becomes unrecognizable.
Even someone as patient as Huo Shaoheng couldn’t take how long she remained in the bathroom. He knocked on the door. “Nianzhi? Nianzhi? Are you okay? Did you fall asleep?”
He was worried that Gu Nianzhi might fall asleep in the bathtub. It might be hazardous, so he didn’t want to take a chance.
Gu Nianzhi remained standing in front of the mirror of the bathroom. Hearing Huo Shaoheng knocking on the door, she snapped back to reality. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she remembered a classic quote from Scarlett in Gone with the Wind: “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
Yes, tomorrow. She’d figure how to interact with Huo Shaoheng tomorrow.
Opening the door, she came out of the bathroom. “Huo Shao, I forgot to tell you something,” she said formally. “That Yamaguchi Youko—remember her? She was the one who wanted you dead this time around. However, because she held Gu Yanran hostage, she killed her and threw her body into the ocean.”
Huo Shaoheng was taken aback. “Yamaguchi Youko? Shouldn’t it be Yamaguchi Aiko?”
“Perhaps Youko and Aiko are the same person after all…” Gu Nianzhi replied.
She remembered that Huo Shaoheng had been out to get Yamaguchi Aiko this time around. They found out that she’d managed to sneak out of Hua Xia Empire during the chaos with Prime Minister Dou. Coincidentally, they’d met someone who called herself Yamaguchi Youko this time around, at the waters around the blue hole near Barbados.
Putting two and two together, one could have guessed they were related—even if the person wasn’t too bright. Yamaguchi Youko most likely had not died. Therefore, the person who called herself “Yamaguchi Youko’s little sister,” the one who wanted to avenge her older sister, Yamaguchi Aiko, couldn’t wait any longer.
“She didn’t even realize that she had let the cat out of the bag.” Gu Nianzhi yawned sleepily. “All right, Huo Shao. I’ve said everything I could. Aren’t you tired? Go and sleep. I’m so tired.”
Huo Shaoheng looked at her wordlessly until she crawled into her bed and covered herself with her quilt, then slept with her back facing the door.
With the lights off in the room, everything was engulfed in darkness. Huo Shaoheng stood in the darkness for a while before leaving the room quietly. He was wide awake as he left Gu Nianzhi’s room. He’d sensed that Gu Nianzhi wasn’t in a good mood, and he knew the reason why. However, what else can he do?
He might be able to appease Gu Nianzhi if he said all sorts of sweet nothings to her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Giving in to Gu Nianzhi today and talking gently to her was his limit.
Huo Shaoheng walked along the corridor and took a turn. There was Yin Shixiong, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
“Sir.” Yin Shixiong stood at attention and saluted Huo Shaoheng the moment he saw him walk over.
“Hm.” Huo Shaoheng continued walking. Then he asked, “You can’t sleep? What are you doing here?”
“Just went to visit Little Ze. He’s much better now.” Yin Shixiong followed Huo Shaoheng down the stairs. “Mr. Huo, are we going back to the hotel, or should we just stay here?”
Huo Shaoheng stopped and gave it a thought. Then, turning to Yin Shixiong, he asked, “Do you want a drink?”
“Drinks? Sure!” Yin Shixiong cheered up instantly. “I know that the restaurant here serves a premium rum that’s so good. Should we? And… I have some top-quality Cuban cigars, too…”
Then he pretended to cough a couple of times and asked Huo Shaoheng carefully, “Mr. Huo, I heard that you’ve quit smoking?”
Huo Shaoheng patted him on the shoulder. “Hand over the cigars, and you shall be spared.”
Yin Shixiong immediately took out his prized collection and smiled cheekily. “Mr. Huo, here are the cigars. Please spare me!”
Grabbing him by the shoulder, Huo Shaoheng dragged him to the bar at level one. “Go get the rum.” He found a seat and began skillfully cutting off the head of the cigar. Then he placed the cigar into a silver cigar mouthpiece and inhaled deeply.
Yin Shixiong returned with rum and saw Huo Shaoheng sitting on a high stool opposite the bar. He supported his face with one hand and held the cigar in the other. He was mostly looking at the cigar burn between his fingers and didn’t smoke a lot.
“Mr. Huo, you’re in a bad mood?” Yin Shixiong asked carefully and poured Huo Shaoheng a glass of rum.
The alcohol content of this rum wasn’t high; it was similar to fruit wine. Huo Shaoheng took a sip and denied calmly, “No. I’m contemplating the mission the day after.”
“Are you referring to the hospital visit of Gu Xiangwen?” Yin Shixiong became alert. “But can Little Ze recover by then?”
Zhao Liangze was the mediator for this mission; he was extremely important. The effectiveness of their mission would be cut by at least 50 percent if he couldn’t make it.
Huo Shaoheng put out the cigar in the ashtray and said calmly, “He needn’t be there physically. He can do his job in bed; it’s fine.”
People in their line of work usually weren’t even afraid of life and death. So, blacking out due to a lack of oxygen? It was a small matter.
“True that.” Yin Shixiong nodded as he took a sip of rum and a deep puff of the cigar. “Mr. Huo, Nianzhi really impressed me today,” Yin Shixiong said thoughtfully. “She was so strong and determined. What a pity she isn’t in the army with us.”
“What?” Huo Shaoheng stopped in his tracks, but due to his usual calm demeanor, he sat extremely still. Moreover, Yin Shixiong was rather intoxicated with alcohol, so he didn’t notice Huo Shaoheng’s small movements.
He continued excitedly. “Lucky for her today! If it had been me, Mr. Huo, you and Little Ze would’ve died in that unlucky blue hole!”
“Oh yeah? Elaborate.” Huo Shaoheng held the glass in one hand and looked calm as usual. He relaxed, straightened his legs, and reclined beside the bar. He looked exceptionally relaxed and casual.
However, this did not trick Yin Shixiong. Having followed Huo Shaoheng for so long, he knew it when Huo Shaoheng was in a bad mood.
Upon contemplating, he decided to help Gu Nianzhi this time around. He poured Huo Shaoheng a second glass of rum and began talking. “When we saw the white ship begin attacking you today, Nianzhi and I were so worried. I had locked her in the navigating room initially and took the sniper rifle to duke it out with them, but the moment I returned, Nianzhi locked me up instead. She jumped into the water, ignoring my protests, and was determined to save you and Little Ze.”
“…It was really like that?” Huo Shaoheng asked expressionlessly, holding his tall glass so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “And then?”
“I was panicking by then and wanted to jump down with her. But what about our ship? We’d all be dead—even if we were to beat them if we didn’t have the ship. Moreover, I absolutely trusted you and Little Ze that you would be able to handle any situation that was thrown at you guys. I totally did not expect the waters around the blue hole to have such a crazy mechanic!”
Yin Shixiong continued, “We were really so lucky. We’d have all died if not for Nianzhi.”
Huo Shaoheng drank a gulp of rum from his glass. “Ok. Then?”
“It was so dangerous at that time. If Nianzhi hadn’t been so decisive—and didn’t care about her own life and just wanted to save you guys from those purple electrical arcs—I only could have returned to the Hua Xia Empire to wait for the army to chop my head off.” Yin Shixiong said this half-jokingly.
In truth, had they been in the most dangerous situation, Yin Shixiong would have reported everything to the Hua Xia Empire first, then died with Huo Shaoheng and Zhao Liangze. This was how strong their bond was in the army was after going through countless missions together.
Huo Shaoheng nodded and patted Yin Shixiong on the shoulders. “Nianzhi did really well this time around. You’re not bad, either. Based on what happened, both of you couldn’t jump into the water at the same time. Nianzhi was better in the water than you, so it was wise, as it’d be more efficient for her to come than you.”
“Mr. Huo! You don’t hit people right in the face like that!” Yin Shixiong said cheekily, trying to distract Huo Shaoheng. “Did you ask how my face felt when you decided to humiliate me like that?!”
The corners of Huo Shaoheng’s mouth twitched. “I was being honest. I can’t even be honest anymore?”
“Of course not. We can only say things that are politically correct! Who’s ‘Honesty’? I don’t know him.” Yin Shixiong laughed while giving the table a playful smack. Then he asked, “Why were Professor He and Gu Yanran there as well? It was really coincidental today.”
“Yeah, really coincidental.” Huo Shaoheng drank some more rum and looked far ahead. “Nianzhi said that the woman on the white ship was Yamaguchi Youko. Then, because she’d held Gu Yanran hostage, she was killed. Her body was thrown into the ocean.”
