Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Bai Yueran understood where Huo Shaoheng was going with it and said, “Judge Liao, you are not a normal judge. You are a judge of a secret court of our military court. You should know that your work is different from that of an ordinary judge.”
Judge Liao was speechless.
“Even though Huo Shao said we should be fast and efficient, this case has already dragged on for too long. To tell you the truth, we did make the mistake of dragging it out for too long. We lost a lot of important information because of it.” She only took out the court’s death penalty verdict form when she saw Judge Liao being affected by their hard and soft tactics. Bai Yueran then walked closer said, “Would you like to sign it?”
Judge Liao also was being pressured by the higher ups. They wanted him to be prudent with the case. That was why he didn’t dare to yield. But what Huo Shaoheng just said did scare him. He realized at that time just what kind of soldiers he was facing. They were no ordinary soldiers.
“Let me think about it again…” Judge Liao stood up. “We have to keep a record of every verdict we make, and we have to send it to the Military’s Supreme Court of Justice. I don’t want to make a mistake on this case after being a judge for so many years.”
“Fine.” Huo Shaoheng also stood up. “I hope you can make a decision before six. I’ll wait for you here.”
Judge Liao felt like his straight back was then bent again. He stooped as he went back to his office. He left the door unlocked. Huo Shaoheng clasped his hands behind his back and stared at Judge Liao’s office. He was pressuring Judge Liao, even with the door between them.
Bai Yueran stood behind him and whispered, “Huo Shao, are you really going to wait here the whole time?”
“If I said six, then I will get that death verdict paper at six,” Huo Shaoheng said with composure. Furthermore, he also wanted to know who was “pressuring” Judge Liao.
Bai Yueran covered her mouth with her hand and yawned. “Then I’ll go to the room next door to sleep for a bit. If you need anything, call me.”
“Ok.” Huo Shaoheng didn’t turn his head. He put his hands in his pants pockets and strolled toward the window.
After Bai Yueran left, Yin Shixiong sat on the sofa and played on his phone. Huo Shaoheng turned on his bluetooth earphone and gave Zhao Liangze an order. “Is the military tribunal’s line being monitored?”
“It can be, right away.” Zhao Liangze hadn’t come with them, but he was waiting in Special Operation Forces’ Headquarters’ central control system room. According to regulations, the Special Operation Forces could not meddle in internal affairs. However, that time those people themselves broke the rules and forced the Special Operation Forces’ hands and made them take part in internal affairs.
Huo Shaoheng, the man that never lost, wouldn’t let this opportunity slide. He started to interfere with internal affairs. His biggest shortcoming was that he would definitely hurt the people who hurt his people a thousand fold. It didn’t matter who they were, where they were, or what position they had.
Maybe it was because of Huo Shaoheng’s strong presence or because those people were too cautious, but they found out Judge Liao was being monitored after one call. The other end hung up immediately after the phone rang once. Zhao Liangze didn’t have time to trace the call.
Judge Liao waited for two hours. There were no new instructions from the higher ups. Huo Shaoheng’s words made him tremble with fear. Finally, he picked up the pen and signed his name on the court verdict’s death penalty form.
It was exactly 3 a.m. when Huo Shaoheng got Ye Zitan’s death verdict.
…
After about two hours, Gu Nianzhi finally finished making a detailed list of all her property. She looked at the full page of notes without any expression on her face. She breathed out. No wonder somebody’s always trying to break us up. We really are incompatible. That many things. That astronomical amount of property. It wasn’t hers to begin with.
Before, she thought she would marry Huo Shaoheng for sure and that they would become one as husband and wife. Huo Shaoheng’s things would be hers, and her things would be Huo Shaoheng’s, so she accepted it without any mental pressure. But now, when Gu Nianzhi thought about it, whether it was in other people’s eyes or in Huo Shaoheng’s mind, she was living off of him. So, did she have a special place in his heart?
She admitted that important missions ranked higher than she did, and comrades ranked higher as well. She didn’t want to fight these rankings with Huo Shaoheng. She had already prepared herself and knew that being with Huo Shaoheng meant accepting the soldier side of him. That was his choice of profession. If not, then he wouldn’t be the one she had fallen in love with.
But what was up with the prime minister’s daughter? Bringing the prime minister’s daughter home was also a secret mission? You must be kidding me! Right now, who knows which insignificant person is ranked ahead of me. Not only could Gu Nianzhi not take it, she also flipped the desk. She quit…
She brushed the biased thought aside. She felt like she really did not get along with the prime minister’s daughter. It didn’t matter if it was the former prime minister’s daughter, Duo Qingyan, or the newly appointed prime minister’s daughter, Tan Guiren. All her love rivals were lovely and of high birth from distinguished families. She was the only one like duckweed who didn’t have any roots.
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips. She pushed the thoughts of those two people from her mind without much effort. If she had been the way she was before, she would have complained about those two’s good fortunes. Why were they fighting over Huo Shao with her? Her face became red just from thinking about it.
Everyone wants to have good things. Why should you be the only one to have them, and others can’t fight for it? She couldn’t win against them. Let a loss be a loss. She was never going to do that again, even if she was harassed. Gu Nianzhi sadly rubbed her forehead a bit. She thought about the old version of herself. She would rather that it was a dream.
Only after she looked down at the list of property on her iPad did she remember the keys and the papers to the various properties were all in Huo Shaoheng’s official residence. The possessions, collections, and investments were all in his official residence. Most of her clothes, shoes, and bags were all in Huo Shaoheng’s official residence.
Why had she made that detailed list? Just to make a clean break and not go to Huo Shaohen’s official residence anymore.
Nothing there was hers. Gu Nianzhi laughed bitterly. She really was a poor person, definitely a proletariat. Not much belonged to her. But she still had to get her clothes, shoes, bags, and skincare products. Some of them had never been opened. Forget that they were made to fit her measurements; she didn’t want to see someone else wearing her clothes and shoes, carrying her bags, and touching her creams… She was that petty. She would fight about the littlest things.
But the market price for those clothes and shoes were worth a two-bedroom penthouse in the imperial capital far from downtown. Then Gu Nianzhi went to check her bank account. She had an account specifically for her salary and school subsidies. Inside was all the money that she earned. It was not given to her by Huo Shaoheng.
She didn’t know how much money she had in that account because she didn’t use much cash. She usually just swiped her card, and he was the one who usually paid. Looking at it now, yes, although it was not enough to buy a two-bedroom penthouse, it was enough for a down payment and then some. She decided to look for a house when she went back to school, preferably a furnished home so that she could move in immediately.
After everything was taken care of, Gu Nianzhi sent the detailed list to her school email. Then she signed out of her email from Chen Lie’s iPad. She deleted her login record. She then washed her face, and afterward, she went to wake Chen Lie up.
Chen Lie had been sleeping on top of the desk for a while. He didn’t immediately react to Gu Nianzhi when she tried to wake him up. Only after he stared blankly into space and rubbed his eyes did he really wake up.
“What time is it?”
“It just turned 3:30. It’s still dark out.” Gu Nianzhi looked out the window and asked Chen Lie, “Brother Lie, how did I end up here? I remember… I was on Professor He’s plane.”
Chen Lie didn’t know what to say. Gu Nianzhi picked her eyebrows while looking at him inquiringly. His brows wrinkled. He walked to the little walk-in closet. He finally answered, “Huo Shao brought you here. You were lucky because you fainted on the plane. I was released from the detention center only because you were hurt and Huo Shao wanted me to treat you.”
It was Gu Nianzhi’s turn to be speechless for a moment before she asked, “Brother Chen, what do you mean? Why were you in a detention center?” Gu Nianzhi leaned on the side of the door as she talked to Chen Lie. She was still wearing the clothes that she had changed into on He Zhichu’s plane. It was a baggy and light gray turtleneck. She was wearing skin-colored yoga pants with side stripes. From the back, she looked like she had slim, graceful, and slender legs that were straight and long.
Due to the clothes that she had on looking like hospital clothes, she was brought to Chen Lie’s place. Chen Lie didn’t change her clothes. She just slept for one whole day dressed like that. She was awake at that moment. The clothes didn’t have shape and were not wrinkled. Her hands were behind her back, and she had put her hair that had been hanging loosely in a ponytail.
Chen Lie changed into a white suit. He walked out while carrying many ties in one hand. He asked Gu Nianzhi, “Which tie looks better?”
The corner of Gu Nianzhi’s mouth lifted. She pushed Chen Lie inside. “Why are you wearing a white suit? Are you afraid of people not knowing that this will be the last time you will see them?”
“Don’t you think that I look more handsome in white?” Chen Lie looked in the mirror.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know what to say. “Brother Chen, I think you look the most handsome in dark gray.” Gu Nianzhi helped Chen Lie while she was lightly pushing the clothes aside in the closet. She found a dark gray shirt with light vertical stripes and smoky gray formal pants. She also found a pair of leather shoes, and she told him to change the sneakers he was currently wearing.
“You don’t need a tie. Undo the button by the neck. Yes, roll up the sleeves.” Gu Nianzhi helped him get dressed.
Chen Lie looked in the mirror again and realized he really did look different. It was as if he really did have that thing called “aura.” He breathed out. He wondered what good it did to dress so handsomely. Even if he gave Ye Zitan one last good impression, she was still going to die.
“Brother Chen, you still didn’t say why you were in the detention center,” Gu Nianzhi continued to inquire.
Chen Lie straightened his cuffs. He said, “When Huo Shaoheng was on a mission in New York, he found out there was a mole. He found out the mole was leaking information from my place, so he locked us all up.”
Gu Nianzhi was flabbergasted. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did it have anything to do with Ye Zitan?”
“Yes, or else how could he lock me up, too?” Chen Lie finally felt better. He didn’t have that heartrending aching feeling when he thought about Ye Zitan.
“Brother Chen, you are probably fine now.” Gu Nianzhi went back to the door. She leaned on the doorframe. “Don’t feel so bad.”
Chen Lie wasn’t sure how to respond for a moment. “The way you speak sounds exactly like Huo Shaoheng, and you said he’s not your boyfriend.” Chen Lie teased Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi’s facial expression changed, and she said in an indifferent manner, “He’s really not. Brother Chen, from now on, I won’t ask you about Ye Zitan, and you don’t ask me… about Huo Shaoheng, ok?”
Huo Shaoheng had just stepped into Chen Lie’s office, and when he heard that, he stepped back and quietly turned around and left.
