Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Gu Nianzhi took Yin Shixiong’s call, Huo Shaoheng had already gotten inside He Zhichu’s car. She really regretted not sitting in the front passenger seat with He Zhichu when she first got in. That way, she wouldn’t have had to sit with Huo Shaoheng. She didn’t feel anything, but it was a bit awkward. Turning to look out the window, she giggled at Yin Shixiong and said faintly, “Brother Xiong, how did you have the gall to ‘forget’ your Chief? You take me for an idiot?”
Yin Shixiong chuckled over the phone. “Nianzhi, don’t expose someone having a hard time. Also, Chief understands that it’s hard for me to be an old, unwanted, single man. Shouldn’t you understand me, too?”
“You’re an… old, unwanted, single man?!” Gu Nianzhi snickered. “Brother Xiong sure is great at making things up!” Her mood gradually improved. Ending the call, she turned to Huo Shaoheng sitting at the other end other seat. “Huo Shao, Brother Xiong asked us to drive you back. Where are you going?”
Huo Shaoheng rested his head on his hand and leaned against the window as he replied calmly, “I’m going to your school.”
“Going to my school?” Gu Nianzhi was shocked. “Why are you going to my school so late?”
Huo Shaoheng glanced at her with a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Big Xiong is driving Qiqi back to school, so I’ll wait for him there.”
Gu Nianzhi agreed and called Yin Shixiong. “Brother Xiong, Huo Shao said to wait for him at our school.”
Yin Shixiong understood and secretly sent Huo Shaoheng a text to confirm. Huo Shaoheng quickly replied, “Yes” and put his phone away.
He Zhichu was driving the car, an unspeakable grievance in his heart. He wanted very badly to park on the side of the road to let Gu Nianzhi sit up front. Or maybe I should ask her to come up right now? However, it seemed to violate traffic laws and was somewhat unsafe. Coughing lightly, he turned on the car radio and Debussy’s “Moonlight” began to gush out like running water. The graceful melody seemed to soothe the mind.
Gu Nianzhi leaned her head against the window and looked at the outside scenery in a daze. Her eyes were wide, and from where Huo Shaoheng was sitting, he could even see the rows of street lights reflected her her eyes like the entire starry sky was inside of them. He could tell that Gu Nianzhi was still entranced by Ma Qiqi’s happy family. Huo Shaoheng thought about it and said expressionlessly, “Qiqi’s family is quite nice. I could tell that her parents are good people who love their child.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
“But some parents don’t have a good relationship with their kids at all. To them, children are tools or missions to be tossed aside after completing them.”
What is he talking about? Gu Nianzhi couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly looked at Huo Shaoheng. He wasn’t looking at her but was starting out the window on his side. Gu Nianzhi could only see his handsome profile and the perfect curvature of his jawline.
“…There are also parents who don’t care care about their kids at all, but make all sorts of demands on them when they grow up. They just want the kids to be slaves to repay their generosity of raising of them.” Huo Shaoheng’s voice was very deep, like the sound of a piano playing along with the flowing of a mountain spring. It was very interesting to listen to.
Gu Nianzhi frowned and was just about to rebuke him when He Zhichu started to speak from the front of the car. “Huo Shao is right. Nianzhi, Qiqi’s parents are already considered very good parents because most of them aren’t that nice. In my many years as a lawyer, I’ve seen many irresponsible and unreasonable parents. There was a very wealthy man in the United States who prepared a will before he died and left all his inheritance to his children with his second wife. Even the second wife’s ex-husband got a share, but he didn’t leave a penny to his kids with his original wife. Also, there are mothers who pimp out their daughters and make them sell their bodies to repay their mothers’ gambling debts.”
Gu Nianzhi was stunned. So these two men saw her admiring Qiqi’s parents today and decided to teach her about all the unreliable parents in the world?! Gu Nianzhi wanted to bow down to these two people. Who wanted to hear such negative things? It wasn’t like she didn’t know that. Sighing, she said with exhaustion, “I understand it all, I was just moved by the moment. I already grew up without parents…” She glanced at Huo Shaoheng. If she didn’t judge him as a lover, his care for her was absolutely without a single fault.
….
He Zhichu had to agree with Huo Shaoheng, so he was feeling uncomfortable. But he had to agree because he also didn’t want Gu Nianzhi to become stubborn with her thoughts.
Gu Nianzhi suddenly recalled the situations with Huo Shaoheng and He Zhichu. There wasn’t much to say about Huo Shaoheng. Although he had real parents, his father was unreliable. His mother focused all her energy on scientific research, so he was raised by his grandmother. He must’ve not enjoyed much parental love. However, his parents were both with him, and it was undeniable that Auntie Song loved Huo Shaoheng very much. Of course, Auntie Song and Auntie Ma were completely different people, so they couldn’t be compared. Gu Nianzi liked them both. She wanted to be an independent woman like Auntie Song but also wanted to have a mother like Auntie Ma. Was she too greedy?
Gu Nianzhi gently tapped her fingers against the window to the rhythm of the piano, then looked at He Zhichu sitting in the driver’s seat at an angle in front of her. She seemed to remember He Zhichu mentioning once that his mother passed away when he was a teenager. His father didn’t remarry for more than ten years for He Zhichu’s sake, and it was only when He Zhichu turned 30 that his father finally married a longtime close friend. With this thought, Gu Nianzhi finally calmed down. Fine, not everyone comes from a family like Ma Qiqi’s, so it is enough to understand each other, right?
But Gu Nianzhi still thought that the two men were different from her. Regardless of whether their parents truly loved them, they both knew who their parents were and where they belonged. She was different because she didn’t remember her parents, her childhood home, or memories, and it made her insecure. She craved a mother’s love much more than they did. So, she must graduate quickly and be able to be independent shortly after, then begin to search for her mother. She couldn’t rely on others at all… Gu Nianzhi’s thoughts began to blur and sleep slowly overtook her. She fell asleep leaning against the window. The day had been too tiring, and even as an extremely energetic person, she was a bit overextended.
…
Huo Shaoheng didn’t hear her talk for some time and noticed her breathing gradually soften like she had fallen asleep. Turning around, he saw she really was asleep. Only her head was leaning against the window, and her arms were hugging her chest tightly as she curled up in the corner. Huo Shaoheng’s eyes glittered quickly as he shuffled over and pulled Gu Nianzhi to him so she could lean on his shoulder.
Gu Nianzhi was deep asleep, and in her dreams she noticed a familiar scent move close to her, so she instinctively leaned over and found a comfortable position. Listening to a familiar heartbeat, it was the perfect lullaby to ease her into a deeper sleep. Huo Shaoheng looked down to see that Gu Nianzhi had already nestled against his chest and was grabbing his collar as she slept. He smiled faintly and hugged her like that and allowed her to sleep on his chest until they arrived at her dorm.
He Zhichu saw it all from the rearview mirror, and the veins popped on the back of his hand as he squeezed the steering wheel. However, he gritted his teeth and kept quiet.
…
Yin Shixiong had already arrived and was waiting alone after Ma Qiqi went upstairs. It was already past midnight, so there weren’t many people on campus. He didn’t have to wait long before he saw He Zhichu’s car drive over and park in front of the dorm building. The doors opened, and Huo Shaoheng got out of the car. He then turned back to carry someone out.
He Zhichu also got out of the car and called out to Huo Shaoheng, “Huo Shao, that’s not appropriate, is it now?”
Huo Shaoheng stopped walking and glanced at him. “How’s it not appropriate? Nianzhi is asleep.”
“It’s only a few steps. I can wake her up.” He Zhichu came over with an icy expression and called out, “Nianzhi, wake up.” His voice seemed to explode by her ears.
Gu Nianzhi opened her eyes in a daze and soon noticed something was wrong. She quickly struggled to stand up and vaguely remembered she had leaned against Huo Shaoheng as she slept. She instantly felt mortified and didn’t look up as she said, “Professor He, thanks for driving me back home. Goodnight.” She turned and ran back to the dorm.
He Zhichu didn’t reply but sent her a text asking her to rest well before getting in the car and driving away.
Yin Shixiong finally came over and smiled. “Chief, can we go back now?”
Huo Shaoheng didn’t look at him as he reached out. “Keys.”
Yin Shixiong gave him the keys and followed him in the car. They left B University and returned to the Special Operations Forces headquarters base.
…
The following day was Monday, so Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi both had morning classes. They got up around 7am and quickly wolfed down breakfast before taking their backpacks and running to their classrooms. That Monday at the B University campus, the young students welcomed their race against the sun and were full of high spirits.
However, the world outside the campus was not as stable and peaceful. The new First Lady being taken away by the Procuratorate on Prime Minister Tan’s first day in office was like a storm migrating from Weibo to reality. Everyone online and offline followed the big news. Tan Dongbang and his aides discussed it all night and finally decided to have lawyers escort Cai Songyin back from the Procuratorate early the next morning. The jurisprudence they based the action on was that the Procuratorate hadn’t issued a court summons, so they couldn’t detain her without establishing proper cause. If they needed her to assist with investigations, then there must be a lawyer present. She also couldn’t be forced to do anything or be detained for more than 12 hours.
Tan Guiren cried all night and finally fell asleep in the morning. Tang Dongbang couldn’t care at a time like this because he was in hot water himself. He could only hope that Tan Guiren would stay obedient. Just as he sat down in his office, he heard the internal phone line ring. The operator said Miss Gu Yanran was asking to see Prime Minister Tan and also had the latest news about Mrs. Tan.
Gu Yanran didn’t come alone but also brought Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan had observed Cai Songyin’s incident from last night until now. Afterwards, he told Gu Yanran that within the people setting Cai Songyin up, there was a very powerful computer expert.
