Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Chen Lie chuckled and cocked his head. “Who is he? He is who? Nianzhi, you keep saying ‘him,’ and I’m getting confused.”
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes at Chen Lie. “Brother Chen, you can stay confused, then. I’m not responsible for convincing you or relieving confusion.” She walked out of his office and went to the bathroom to wash up and change out of the hospital gown. She put on the laundered, hooded cowl neck, loose fitting sweatshirt, yoga pants, and white Ralph Lauren flats. Looking fresh and clean, she walked out of the bathroom and packed all her things into a large cloth bag to carry to the door.
In the hallway outside the door, Huo Shaoheng’s strapping back nearly blocked out all the sunlight shining in from the window. Gu Nianzhi looked down and wanted very badly to sneak quietly past him, but Huo Shaoheng turned around when he heard the door and saw the fresh looking Gu Nianzhi staring down at the ground. He called out to her, “Nianzhi, where are you going?”
Gu Nianzhi composed herself and looked up at Huo Shaoheng with a smile. “Mr. Huo, I was just about to come looking for you. Brother Chen said I can be discharged now, so I wanted to go to your official residence and pack my things.”
She obviously still wanted to break up and split up their “assets.” Huo Shaoehng nodded. “Let’s go. I’ll take you.” He walked over to her and naturally snaked his arm around her back to gently rest his hand on her right shoulder, forcefully bringing her into his embrace.
Gu Nianzhi stepped aside to leave Huo Shaoheng’s tilted hug. “Mr. Huo, I already said we’ve broken up. What’s the meaning of this?”
Huo Shaoheng glanced at her and replied calmly, “I already said I have to consider it. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I’m in a hurry?!” Gu Nianzhi lost her temper but as soon as she saw Huo Shaoheng’s unperturbed calmness, she knew she couldn’t get easily riled up like a child around him. She stifled her anger and turned to head towards the elevator as she said, “Then you should consider it quickly. Unilateral requests for divorces are legal, so please don’t make things difficult while I’m being gracious here.”
Pursing his lips, Huo Shaoheng followed her inside the elevator. They stood on opposite sides of the elevator and looked straight ahead. There were mirrors on all four walls, so although they didn’t look at each other, they were able to completely observe the other’s expressions. Gu Nianzhi only glanced quickly before looking down at the marble floors under her feet. In the mirror in front of her, Huo Shaoheng could only see her dark black hair but not her face.
He sighed internally and reached out to take the cloth bag she was holding. Gu Nianzhi refused initially, but Huo Shaoheng was too strong, and she didn’t want the embarrassment of struggling in the elevator with him, so she gave up after a few pulls.
Huo Shaoheng took the cloth bag and quickly glanced inside to see there was a small Hermes bag he hadn’t seen before. “You bought this bag yourself?” Huo Shaoheng couldn’t help asking. Then he thought of the birthday gift, but he couldn’t ask about it inside the elevator.
Gu Nianzhi nodded and replied calmly, “I threw away the Picotin bag you gave me when I was running for my life in the Alps.”
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
Gu Nianzhi shot him a sidelong glance before explaining simply, “They had sent fake police officers to catch me, so I escaped through the river. That bag became as heavy as a rock as soon as it got wet.”
“Yeah.” Huo Shaoheng nodded. “You were right to throw it away. Your life is more important. If you liked that bag, I can have someone look for another one in France.”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head. “No thanks. I don’t like that kind of bag anymore.”
Huo Shaoheng looked ahead and didn’t say anything else. They returned to Huo Shaoheng’s official residence in silence and went to Gu Nianzhi’s suite. Her suite was across from Huo Shaoheng’s on the second floor. He stood by the door and didn’t seem to want to go inside as he passed the cloth bag back to her. However, Gu Nianzhi invited him in. “Please come in, Mr. Huo. I’ll give the key back to you.”
Huo Shaoheng looked at her and saw she wasn’t joking. He had no choice but to follow her into the suite. Gu Nianzhi went directly to the bedroom inside. On the east wall of the bedroom hung an oil painting, and when she flipped it over, it revealed a recessed safe in the wall. Gu Nianzhi went to the lower drawer of her vanity and took out a key, then entered the safe’s password and fingerprint authentication before using the key to open it. This type of safe used the double protection of fingerprint and retina technology, as well as basic password protection and mechanical locks. Once the safe opened, Gu Nianzhi took out the deeds, all sorts of deposit slips, investment account stubs, and a box of jewelry and set it all on the bed in a row.
Huo Shaoheng still had his hands in his pockets and stood ramrod straight without walking over. He remained standing by Gu Nianzhi’s door and frowned. “Nianzhi, are you really going to this extent with me?”
“Mr. Huo, I know you definitely don’t believe that I truly want to break up with you.” Gu Nianzhi laid out everything like it was a flea market stall and turned around to look at Huo Shaoheng. “Since it doesn’t matter what I say to you, I’ll use these things to prove my sincerity.”
Huo Shaoheng gazed at her intently before slowly leaning against the side of the door. One leg was straight, and the other was bent as he stood casually and responded calmly, “Nianzhi, I think you remember I said I would consider it.”
“Yeah, you can consider it.” Gu Nianzhi raised her brow nonchalantly. “But these are things that I must do.” She pointed to the deeds. “Actually, legally speaking Mr. Huo, these deeds are not valid. I wasn’t present when you transferred titles, nor did I sign any powers of attorney. Also, I wasn’t 18 yet when you transferred the apartment in C City to me, so it’s invalid.”
Huo Shaoheng’s head started to hurt. How could he get this smart and legally versed girl to change her mind? Rubbing his forehead, he inhaled deeply. “Fine, we’ll forget about the deeds. But these deposit statements and investment accounts…”
“Yeah, it’s all the same. You didn’t transfer them legally. But according to law, these things can be ignored as long as they are not brought up legally. So as long as I don’t file a case, they’re not considered illegal. But I will be going to court to file a case if you refuse to take them back.” Gu Nianzhi walked to the closet with a smile and packed up some clothes, shoes, and skincare products she often used. She planned on moving the clothes, shoes, and bags in the 350-square-foot closet once she settled into her own home. When she thought of her own home, Gu Nianzhi began to urge him, “I’m hoping that Mr. Huo can transfer the titles of these deeds back as soon as possible and get it done today. I know Mr. Huo has that ability, isn’t that right?” She turned around to look at Huo Shaoheng and even winked playfully.
Huo Shaoheng’s hands nearly began to itch in his trouser pockets. Such a naughty girl should be pulled over his lap and spanked. Gu Nianzhi was really throwing all caution to the wind. She no longer blushed, and her heart no longer raced when she saw Huo Shaoheng’s incredibly handsome face. She also no longer tried her best to show her best side to him. The truth was that it was never sustainable to constantly present one’s best self to their lover. When two people were together, showing each other their most honest side and being comfortable with it while not pretending or trying to please the other was the key to a long lasting relationship.
Huo Shaoheng walked to Gu Nianzhi’s bedside and looked down at the bed covered with all sorts of red identification booklets and papers, as well as an exquisitely made redwood box that was obviously vintage. He replied, “Ok, I’ll change it later.”
“Can you hurry up? Like get it done today?” Gu Nianzhi put her clothes into a large piece of Louis Vuitton luggage. “I know Mr. Huo has that ability. Can you not make things difficult for a commoner like me?”
Huo Shaoheng turned to glance at her, asking quietly, “Why does it have to be today?”
“Actually, it doesn’t have to be today, but I’m hoping for as soon as possible.” She cocked her head. “I picked an older home near campus and need to mortgage it. I won’t get approved if I have other properties under my name.”
“You want to buy a house?” Huo Shaoheng frowned seriously now. “Why are you buying an older home? If you really need to buy a house, I can sell this one to you.” He pointed to an apartment in the Xiangshan Villa District in the Imperial Capital. “This is not far from your school. It’s just a 15 minute drive.”
Speaking of cars, Gu Nianzhi slapped her forehead. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that car.” She went to a desk drawer and found the key for the bright red, customized Ferrari and set it beside all the deeds.
