Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He Zhichu merely grunted when he heard this to show he understood. Gu Nianzhi was still not reassured on her end and wanted to remind He Zhichu, but she was worried about hurting his self-esteem. After mulling it over again and again, she finally said, “Professor He, please be careful. I think that Gu Yanran has a strange intention behind this action.”
“What intention? Tell me directly.” He Zhichu noticed Gu Nianzhi was speaking very carefully around him, but his face remained expressionless as he looked down to inhale deeply from the cigarette smoke that enveloped him. Ye Xuan studied He Zhichu and noticed that there was an indescribable gentleness on the planes of his face while speaking with Gu Nianzhi. Although he appeared expressionless, his aura was different.
Gu Nianzhi saw that He Zhichu didn’t mind so she quickly said, “The topic she started sounds very strange. It’s like she was writing a set of instructions—what time, what location, what occurred. All she’s missing is a question mark to ask a certain person to go to a certain place.”
He Zhichu squinted as he chuckled quietly. “Your intuition is pretty good. She is probably looking for help.”
Gu Nianzhi’s face instantly fell because she thought the worst case scenarios she imagined had become true. “Oh? Then wouldn’t Professor He be in a lot of danger?”
“I’ll be fine.” He Zhichu’s heart began to grow warm, so even his cool and aloof face seemed to have some temperature to it. “You didn’t tell anyone I came to the United States, right?”
Gu Nianzhi quickly replied, “Not yet. The court here is still communicating with Police Headquarters, and Police Headquarters is awaiting news from the United States. So if the United States refuses to cooperate, then Police Headquarters can’t do anything for the time being, nor would they send the Special Police to the United States to extradite Ye Xuan.”
“Very well, then. Keep this secret for as long as you can, and it’ll make things safer for me here. Ye Xuan has already been released on bail and will be going on trial very soon.” He Zhichu made it sound very simple, yet Gu Niaznhi was able to understand the complexities behind it.
“Ok then, Professor He. You and Ye Xuan have to be careful!” Gu Nianzhi’s mood instantly improved when she heard Ye Xuan had already been released on bail.
“You be careful, too.” He Zhichu reminded her, “Always take the phone I gave you.”
“I know, I take it with me everyday.” Gu Nianzhi quickly took out the phone He Zhichu gave her and waved it around.
He Zhichu couldn’t see it but could imagine Gu Nianzhi’s movements, so the corners of his cruel lips lifted almost imperceptibly. After ending the call, He Zhichu was in a much better mood. He raised his hand to throw the unfinished cigarette into the garbage can and said to Ye Xuan, “Ok, go rest and prepare for the trial.”
Ye Xuan glanced at him before also throwing his cigarette away and leaving. He Zhichu stood alone on the balcony and stared blankly at the brownish-red mountain ranges nearby. He held his phone and called the judge from the Utah State Supreme Court. The Utah State Supreme Court was also called the Circuit Court. After the trial dates were set, they would come to Little Rock Canyon to begin hearings.
“I want to request protection of privacy on Ye Xuan’s case and forbid the Little Rock Canyon Police Station, as well as any public institutions, from announcing any information related to the hearings in the media.” This was absolutely a reasonable request, and the court itself actually didn’t like media exposure, either.
Since the Vanderbilt case had occurred, the Little Rock Canyon Police Station and especially the sheriff had pretended to be someone from the entertainment world. They wanted nothing more but to hold press conferences every day. The truth was, He Zhichu’s request was made just in time. When the court order was delivered to the Little Rock Canyon Police Station, the local sheriff was just planning to hold another press conference to lambaste the bad lawyers who were just like vampires, especially scumbags like He Zhichu! The one sheet of paper from the court made the sheriff break out in a cold sweat. What was the meaning of this?! Obstructing his freedom of speech?! But the sheriff only dared to grumble to himself and would never publicly go against orders. Also, He Zhichu had invoked the Human Rights Protection Act in the US Constitution on the grounds of “protection of privacy.” If the sheriff dared to violate this request and the media got wind of it, then he could really lose his pension.
The planned press conference was cancelled just like that, and as soon as the grievously angry sheriff was about to give himself a day off, he received a call from the municipal government. “Mr. Sheriff, there will be an important guest visiting Ovi Air Force Base tomorrow. Please plan personnel accordingly for security duty.”
“I understand, Mr. Mayor.” The sheriff quickly stood up while holding the phone and was very respectful. “May I ask who this important guest is?”
“Allegedly, it is due to confidentiality that no one is privy to that information yet. Mr. Sheriff, you only need to do your own job properly. There has already been a complaint about you using too much of the taxpayer’s money to hold press conferences. Mr. Sheriff, you are a sheriff, not someone from the entertainment industry.”
The sheriff’s face was completely red, and he appeared very sheepish with his dark and ruddy expression. Putting down the phone, he put aside Ye Xuan’s case for now. It had already been passed along to the court anyway, so it would depend on the municipal government’s prosecutor whether Ye Xuan was convicted or not.
…
In the evening, He Zhichu had just finished showering and was holding a glass of red wine to slowly enjoy while he sat in the hotel suite’s living room. Suddenly, someone rang the doorbell. He Zhichu stood up and walked to the door viewer that could see outside. He noticed Little A had arrived. No one else was in the hallway, so Little A had come alone. He Zhichu opened the door to let him inside.
Little A carried a small briefcase and flung himself on He Zhichu’s couch as soon as he came in. He wailed, “Mr. He, your request is too much this time! I can’t satisfy it!”
“Then scram.” He Zhichu didn’t even look back as he left the living room.
Little A had originally planned to kick up a fuss in order to make He Zhichu pay more money but didn’t expect He Zhichu to instantly order him to get out. He sheepishly crawled up from the sofa and followed He Zhichu to the bar area to make himself a tequila cocktail. He then smiled respectfully and offered it to He Zhichu. “Mr. He, try my tequila cocktail. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a drink for Mr. He.”
He Zhichu didn’t move, but his shimmery, sultry eyes turned as he studied Little A from the corner of his eye. “What are you blabbering about? The things I need must be ready tomorrow. If that’s not possible, then you can go out the same way you came in.”
“Mr. He, you didn’t know? This is not the typical difficulty.” Little A assumed a chatty stance and implored kindheartedly, “If this were a typical situation, then it would only be a bit difficult, indeed. Air Force Base, so what?! Our men aren’t any shabbier than theirs when we get riled up.”
“Get to the main point.” He Zhichu took a small sip of the drink Little A had made for him. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze was as sharp as knives, completely wiping away his typical elegance and gentleness. All that remained was murderous intent and legality.
“Ah, there’s really nothing that can get past you. The main point is, we just received news that Mr. Laris, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, will be visiting Ovi Air Force Base tomorrow. Security in the city of Little Rock Canyon is being raised by three levels, so it’s now the highest grade already.” Little A spread his palms. “You see, hasn’t our difficulty increased?”
“Laris, Commander of the Pacific Fleet?” He Zhichu frowned. “That Japanese-American?”
“Right, that’s him.” Little A chuckled. “That guy does have some guns up his sleeves. The Pacific Fleet is based in Pearl Harbor, and we all know what Japan once did to Pearl Harbor.” The United States wasn’t typical having the kind of open-mindedness to allow a Japanese-American person to be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet that was based in Pearl Harbor…
“The Commander of the Pacific Fleet is a naval commander, so why is he coming to Ovi Air Force base?” He Zhichu took out his phone and looked up the news to discover there were no reports yet.
“Laris is visiting rather unexpectedly.” Little A explained to He Zhichu, “We received this news through special means. Because of your request, we needed to do a lot of preparation work, including this type of intelligence gathering.”
He Zhichu nodded. “The difficulty is a bit high, but I believe that with Little A at the helm of the Whitewater Security Company and your abilities that you will provide proper security measures for your client. So you should be able to accomplish it.”
Little A was smug from He Zhichu’s compliment. He puffed his chest out proudly. “Mr. He has the best taste! I’m certainly doing that. Before you came here, I had requested a wartime weaponry permit from the Little Rock Canyon municipal government in order to protect my client’s safety. Mr. He, your status is no lower than the Commander of the Pacific Fleet’s. We will give you a security level that’s also the highest grade!” Little A was flattering He Zhichu from all angles.
He Zhichu took out a cigarette, lit it, then inhaled deeply. He slowly blew out a ring of smoke and said, “Did you bring what I asked you to?”
“I brought it. Otherwise, why would I make a personal trip here? Could I only want to make a drink for you?!” Little A mocked himself before pointing to the living room. “It’s in that little briefcase.”
“You retrieved it from the bank safety deposit box?”
“Yeah, here is your number and token.” Little A gave them to He Zhichu. “What are you going to do with this?”
He Zhichu suddenly felt charitable and nodded at Little A. “Want to see it?”
“Of course!” Little A was very interested in weapons. He Zhichu asked him to bring a pile of large and small parts that had been kept in a bank safety deposit box that cost an exorbitant annual rental fee. Little A didn’t believe that these were only normal parts. He Zhichu walked to the living room and opened the small briefcase Little A had brought. He poured out the parts, which were separated into differently categorized, transparent plastic bags.
