Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Could it be that Senior and your Brother Xiong arrived at the same time?” Ma Qiqi asked curiously as she carried her miniature backpack and headed downstairs excitedly.
As Gu Nianzhi was waiting for Yin Shixiong, she headed down with Ma Qiqi as well. Upon exiting the elevator, the girls saw two guys standing in front of their dormitory’s main entrance. One of them was tall and buff, while the other was tall and slim. They were both extremely eye-catching. The guys really had arrived at the dormitory at the same time.
Gu Nianzhi walked briskly to Yin Shixiong. “Brother Xiong, you’re finally here! I would’ve starved to death if you hadn’t come!”
“Now, now. Really? Aren’t you exaggerating?” Yin Shixiong smiled as he looked at his watch. “It’s only seven o’clock.”
“I usually have my dinner at five. It’s already hours hours later.” Gu Nianzhi tapped her watch. “Let’s go, quick. Where are we going to have dinner?”
Smiling, Yin Shixiong shook his head. He saw Gu Nianzhi’s roommate walking over from the corner of his eyes and gave her a nod of acknowledgement. “Miss Ma.”
Ma Qiqi was taken aback by this formal greeting. Waving her hands, she laughed and said, “Just call me Qiqi. Don’t be too formal with me!”
Yin Shixiong smiled and changed his greeting smoothly. “We’ll be going then, Qiqi.” With that, he turned and followed Gu Nianzhi down the steps.
“Who’s this guy? What a snob,” commented Senior, who was standing beside Ma Qiqi. He felt neglected by Gu Nianzhi and Yin Shixiong, and he nudged Ma Qiqi’s arm in slight protest.
Ma Qiqi turned to look at him. “He’s my roommate’s relative. Let’s go. Aren’t we going to a movie?”
Senior was slightly unhappy with Gu Nianzhi’s attitude. “Your roommate has her nose up in the air, hasn’t she? She seldom says hi to me or even acknowledges my presence. What bad manners she has.”
Ma Qiqi’s smile became awkward all of a sudden. “What are you talking about? What has she done to piss you off?”
“She did not piss me off. It’s just that she always ignores me, and it makes me uncomfortable.” Senior was also someone who had his nose up in the air. With good grades and a wealthy family background, almost everyone was nice to him wherever he went. Therefore, Gu Nianzhi ignoring him was a stark contrast with how everyone else treated him. It made him feel unimportant, and he didn’t like it at all.
Ma Qiqi felt weird listening to that. She mumbled, “I felt that it was okay, though. Should she be licking your boots to make you feel comfortable?”
“I didn’t mean that…” Senior explained quickly. “I just felt that since she was your roommate, and I’m your boyfriend, shouldn’t she be slightly warmer towards me? We’re all friends, anyway. Why would she not even want to look at me?”
Ma Qiqi pouted and said awkwardly, “I don’t think that her attitude is problematic. I think it’s fine. But Senior, when did I agree to be your girlfriend?” Senior was still in the process of going after her. Ma Qiqi had not decided to embark on a new relationship. Her previous boyfriend had cheated on her, and she was still hurt from that.
Senior raised his eyebrows and pulled her by the arm. “Okay, okay. Let’s not be unhappy over people who don’t matter, okay?”
Ma Qiqi opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wanted to say that Gu Nianzhi wasn’t someone who didn’t matter, but she truly wasn’t someone who mattered in her relationship. She really had nothing to do with their relationship. Senior’s brain functions weirdly… However, since she was already down, she followed him nonetheless. The movie still had to go on.
…
Gu Nianzhi followed Yin Shixiong to his car, and they drove to a western restaurant near B University’s south gate. Yin Shixiong had selected this place due to its privacy and quietness. It was a good place to talk and catch up.
They did not ask for a room; they just requested a window seat. There was barely anyone in the restaurant. Potted plants or screens about a meter in height separated every table, and that alone ensured enough privacy.
Gu Nianzhi ordered cheese-baked cod with a salad and mashed potatoes as her sides. Yin Shixiong, on the other hand, ordered a medium rare steak with a bowl of crab bisque and some crab cakes as his sides. Due to the fact that Yin Shixiong drove, he did not order any alcohol. Instead, he got them some lemonade and coconut juice.
Gu Nianzhi held her cutlery and cut her cod into little pieces. After eating a few pieces, she asked, “Brother Xiong, have you been busy recently?”
“Of course. Without them around, all the work falls on me. How can I not be busy?” Yin Shixiong took a huge mouthful of steak. He was really hungry. After the meeting yesterday, he had stayed up almost the entire night completing the handover work for his absence during this upcoming trip. He had also been overloaded with work the entire morning and afternoon today, and only had time for a meal. His tummy was already rumbling.
Seeing that Yin Shixiong had such a nice appetite, Gu Nianzhi guessed that he had skipped meals. Then, she thought of Huo Shaoheng and Zhao Liangze. “I wonder if Huo Shao will be able to find decent food over there.”
“Don’t you worry, Nianzhi. When we went on missions in the past, being out there for six months to a year was the norm. We could eat in restaurants, roadside stalls, basically anywhere we wanted. Moreover, we could cook. With that alone, we would be able to survive better than you. I think you should worry about yourself more.” Yin Shixiong took a sip of his lemonade and looked closely at Gu Nianzhi. “You’ve lost weight. What’s wrong? You’re busy as well?”
“Of course!” Gu Nianzhi replied, and she began enthusiastically telling Yin Shixiong about what had happened to her. “Brother Xiong, other than being Professor He’s teaching assistant, I am now an assistant in the largest law firm in America! I’m officially employed by them!”
“Oh wow, really?” Yin Shixiong was really surprised. Out of habit, he asked, “Have you told Mr. Huo yet?” Gu Nianzhi used to tell Huo Shaoheng everything.
Tilting her head, Gu Nianzhi said, “How can I let him know when I don’t even know where he is?” Rolling her big, round eyes, she looked at Yin Shixiong playfully. “Brother Xiong, how do you think I can let Huo Shao know of this piece of great news?”
Yin Shixiong pursed his lips. Eyes sparkling, he laughed. “You! I almost fell for your trick! When I say I can’t tell you, I really can’t, no matter how you try to get it out of me.”
“Damn, then why ask me like that?” Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes at Yin Shixiong again and frowned playfully. “I got hopeful for nothing.”
Yin Shixiong stopped talking. He finished his steak and downed his lemonade before speaking again. “Nianzhi, don’t blame me for not reminding you. The moment you decided to be with Mr. Huo, you should have been mentally prepared. Not being able to physically be with Mr. Huo can be a norm. He will have to disappear for a period of time, and during that time, you’re not supposed to ask about or look for him, and you can’t tell anything about him to anyone. If you’re unable to do that, then I think it’d be better if you stopped being together with Mr. Huo.”
Gu Nianzhi eyes began to water at Yin Shixiong’s words. However, she held it in and said in a cheerful voice, “Of course I know! But I thought he wouldn’t have to do this often anymore due to his rank. So why would this be a norm for us in the future? It’d be at most just for emergencies.”
Yin Shixiong fell silent. He realized that Gu Nianzhi was right, so he couldn’t retort. Touching his nose, he chuckled. “Nianzhi is still so good with words. I really cannot outtalk you.” He continued, “Now that you’re an employee of the largest law firm in America, what do you want to do during your semester break? Will you be going to America to work?”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head and finished her cod. “I don’t think so. I’ll have to see how Professor He arranges my schedule. He said that he’ll be taking some cases to let me have a go at them during the break. I still have no idea where they’ll be from.”
Yin Shixiong nodded and told Gu Nianzhi tactfully, “Actually, why don’t you try to take more modules during the break so that you’re able to graduate faster? Moreover, if Mr. Huo comes back, but you’re not around, how much of a waste will it be?”
“Yeah,” Gu Nianzhi replied. “I will consider it, but Brother Xiong…” Gu Nianzhi looked at him. “I can’t just be waiting for Huo Shao, can I? He has his career, and I have my own job, too.”
“Of course. Our Nianzhi has a job now!” Yin Shixiong suddenly felt emotional. He looked at her like he would a daughter. “But don’t overwork yourself. You’re too skinny. Come, eat more.” Yin Shixiong ordered a dessert for Gu Nianzhi. “Their tiramisu is really well received by many people. Try it?”
Gu Nianzhi shared the dessert with Yin Shixiong. After they were done with their meal, they chatted for a bit to catch up before Yin Shixiong took Gu Nianzhi back to the dormitory. Yin Shixiong only left after seeing Gu Nianzhi get in the elevator. Upon exiting the south gate, he drove slowly. He was bothered and didn’t know what to do after getting back to headquarters. Therefore, he drove slowly, taking it as a little road trip to unwind.
After a while, his phone rang. Putting his Bluetooth earpiece on, he held the steering wheel with both hands and answered the call. “Yes?”
“Sir, the Tan’s are unhappy that we took the news of their daughter down. They got the External Relations department to ask why we interfered in the nation’s internal affairs…”
The job scope of the Special Forces was limited in the sense that they could only dabble in affairs happening outside of the country. Even though it was managed by the Army and had a lot of privileges, they were not supposed to use them within the country. They were also not allowed to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.
The corners of Yin Shixiong’s lips twitched. These Tan’s are really becoming bold, aren’t they? he thought. He isn’t even the Prime Minister yet, but he’s already behaving like he is?
Interfering with internal affairs… They think the Special Forces really wanted to interfere? If it weren’t for the Tan’s, who insisted that Mr. Huo to handle this case personally, would things have turned out this way?!
But due to circumstances, Yin Shixiong was unable to say anything to them. He’d be leaking military secrets if he did. They couldn’t even go looking for trouble with the Tan’s. General Ji would make sure of that. They could only get General Ji to pressure Tan Dongbang during cabinet meetings and get him to explain why his daughter did not return to the country immediately after being rescued.
However, the Tan’s also made this little inquiry into news. They hinted that the Army and internal cabinet had worked together to pressure their people and attempted to get sympathy from the public.
After pondering, Yin Shixiong said, “Get the legal department to step in. Reply to them using the law. If the Tan’s still want to push it further, let them know that we’ll put them on military trial.” If something really happened to Mr. Huo, it would only be a matter of time before Tan Dongbang and his wife got sued in military court, anyway.
