Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t refuse even if she had wanted. Gu Yanran had already ended the call. She’d be blowing Gu Yanran off if she didn’t go or if she went out to eat with Ma Qiqi. Breaking a promise and making others wait was something Gu Nianzhi couldn’t do, and it was even worse because Gu Yanran was not just a normal acquaintance to her. Looking down at her phone and rubbing the screen for a bit, Gu Nianzhi finally said to Ma Qiqi, “Qiqi, something came up. I can’t go to dinner with you anymore.”
Ma Qiqi heard Gu Nianzhi take a call, so she assumed that obscenely handsome boyfriend of hers was on his way. She winked at her playfully. “Nianzhi, bros before hos!”
“Hmph! Same to you!” Gu Nianzhi knew Ma Qiqi had misunderstood, but this wasn’t the time for her to fully explain her relationship with Gu Yanran, so she could only mumble vaguely, “My family is here to see me…”
“Your family?” Ma Qiqi couldn’t conceal her excitement and shock. “Aren’t you… Aren’t you…” An orphan?
Gu Nianzhi could tell what Ma Qiqi had left unspoken and spread her palms. “Right, I originally thought I had no family, but lately someone appeared. I’m still going to wait and see. I don’t know if she’s actually my relative.”
“Oh! That’s wonderful!” Ma Qiqi instantly brightened up and latched onto Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder. “Hurry up and go. Don’t let her wait too long.” An orphan girl suddenly finding a relative was a great celebration. Ma Qiqi had both her parents, and they had cherished her since she was a child, so she sympathized with Gu Nianzhi. Now that she heard Gu Nianzhi had a relative, she was genuinely happy for her.
Gu Nianzhi squeezed her hand. “Yeah, I’ll go now.” After walking a few steps, she turned back to Ma Qiqi. “Qiqi, can you not tell anyone about this for now?”
Ma Qiqi nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”
…
As soon as Gu Nianzhi went downstairs and came out of the building, she spotted a silver six-person Audi Pikes Peak Quattro parked near the steps. Seeing the flower script, “Jasmine Ku” emblazoned on a silver plaque on the side of the car, Gu Nianzhi’s eyelids began twitching uncontrollably. This Gu Yanran sure knew how to enjoy life, and rightly so. The car was obviously custom made and priced in the tens of millions of US dollars. It was once ranked in the top five luxury cars in the world, but one would never suspect the car of being so valuable from its appearance. Gu Nianzhi knew about this car because she happened to help He Zhichu with a small case that involved introducing the top luxury cars in the world. Gu Nianzhi had a sharp and almost photographic memory. She couldn’t help inhaling sharply at the sight of the luxury car she had only seen on a website. She patted her palpitating heart as she made her way over.
Gu Yanran revealed her face from the back passenger window and smiled. “Get in.” The driver got out from the front seat and walked around to open the door for Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. This was too much. Did she really need a driver for an SUV?! An elongated Rolls Royce was one thing, because it would be shameful to ride in it without a driver, but SUVs were for people to drive themselves! Pursing her lips, Gu Nianzhi got in the car and sat next to Gu Yanran. She nodded to her. “Miss Gu is truly a woman of action. I had already made dinner plans with my roommate but didn’t expect to blow her off.”
Gu Yanran draped a hand on Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder and replied, “Sorry Nianzhi, I just wanted to see you so badly, so I didn’t think too much about it. I apologize.” She then continued, “Where were you planning to have dinner with your roommate? How about we invite them, too?”
Since Gu Yanran made such an offer, it wouldn’t do for Gu Nianzhi to continue pouting unhappily. She reached out to smooth her hair that reached her chest with a smile and took the opportunity to wiggle Gu Yanran’s hand from her shoulder. “That’s fine. My roommate is very nice and a reasonable person. She doesn’t mind.”
“That’s good, then.” Gu Yanran nodded, sighing emotionally. “Your friend is understanding and knows that friends are not as important as family. She can see why you chose your family over friends. If she can’t understand, then she’s not a friend worth having.”
She’s already giving lectures? Gu Nianzhi thought about it but actually couldn’t find a rebuttal. She could only stay quiet the whole way as they drove to a high-end club not far from campus. Gu Yanran was obviously an important guest, and the handsome young man at the door had his eyes light up when she flashed her black VIP card. He politely led them to a very elegant private room. It was decorated Japanese-style with several pretty paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The paper was pure white and masked the light inside, acting like a soft filter. The light it cast made everyone’s skin appear luminous like jade.
The room was covered in tatami mats, and a low table was in the center for them to kneel at for the meal. Gu Nianzhi disliked the Japanese style of kneeling for a meal because her legs turned numb after a while. “Miss Gu, you like Japanese food?” Gu Nianzhi glanced at Gu Yanran and recalled her struggling with Yamaguchi Youko on the waters by the blue hole. She was feeling peculiar.
Gu Yanran obviously thought of Yamaguchi Youko as well. Her eyes dimmed as she looked at the low table and the tatami. She replied quietly. “It’s alright. I used to have it often with my Japanese friend.”
“Miss Gu has many Japanese friends?” Gu Nianzhi sat with her legs crossed on the tatami and noticed Gu Yanran was kneeling with perfect posture. Gu Yanran was born feminine and alluring, so she appeared demure and gentle like a Japanese woman when she kneeled. Gu Nianzhi remembered how Gu Yanran personally killed Yamaguchi Youko and kicked her corpse into the ocean. Compared to the woman quietly pouring sake for her, it was like two different people.
“What do you want to have?” Gu Yanran took the meticulously crafted menu and passed it to Gu Nianzhi. “Order anything you like.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t look at the menu but smiled. “I don’t know much about Japanese food. Miss Gu can decide.”
“Ok then, I’ll order a few of the popular dishes and a bottle of plum wine. We can chat while we eat.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. Soon after, a waitress in a kimono came inside to take Gu Yanran’s order, then bowed deeply and closed the door as she walked backwards out of the room.
“Nianzhi, how have you been all these years? Why didn’t you come find us?” Gu Yanran was very interested in how Gu Nianzhi had lived during the last few years. “I was so worried and didn’t stop looking for you on the Caribbean Sea. I had no idea you came here of all places!”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t recall at all how she went from being on a yacht on the Caribbean Sea to a car about to explode on Huaxia Empire’s C City streets… Thus, she wasn’t able to answer Gu Yanran’s question and only replied simply, “I also don’t remember. When I woke up, Huo Shao had already saved me. Afterwards, he became my guardian.”
Gu Yanran had long been aware of these things, so she was merely confirming the earlier information from Gu Nianzhi’s personal explanation. “The Huaxia Imperial Military is not reliable at all. How could they let you be raised by a man?” Gu Yanran kept sighing. “Nianzhi, it’s all my fault. If only I had found you earlier.”
Gu Yanran was speaking sincerely and honestly, so Gu Nianzhi found herself unable to feel disgusted. “Huo Shao is very good to me. I’ve never felt wronged.” Gu Nianzhi quickly redeemed Huo Shaoheng’s reputation. “Miss Gu shouldn’t think too much of it.”
“Really?” Gu Yanran looked at her pointedly. “Nianzhi, we are sisters, and aside from Father, we are the closest people to each other in the world. No matter if you treat me as your older sister, you’re still my only sister. If I don’t care about you, who will?”
“Yeah, thank you.. Sister Gu.” Gu Nianzhi finally agreed to call Gu Yanran, “Sister,” although she added “Gu” before it. Just as they were chatting, Gu Nianzhi’s phone rang again, this time with Huo Shaoheng’s special ringtone. They hadn’t been in touch for several days, and Gu Nianzhi had stopped herself from calling him. Now that Huo Shaoheng was finally calling, Gu Nianzhi couldn’t hold herself back anymore and quickly picked up.
“Nianzhi, where are you?” Huo Shaoheng’s voice was an especially rich baritone over the phone and also had a hint of barely detectable exhaustion.
Gu Nianzhi noticed it and quickly replied, “I’m out for dinner with Miss Gu. Was there something Huo Shao needed?”
Huo Shaoheng stiffened. “Gu Yanran is having dinner with you? Where are you guys? How many people are there?”
“It’s just me and Miss Gu.” Gu Nianzhi glanced at Gu Yanran as she tapped the phone to send her location to Huo Shaoheng. He was currently sitting in a car parked in front of Gu Nianzhi’s dorm building.
