Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng smiled as he watched Gu Nianzhi get out of the car. Gu Nianzhi pouted as she said that. Her lips looked extremely attractive.
Huo Shaoheng could not help but lean over and pinch her cheeks. “Yes, you are the only one with such a small face.”
“Of course. My face is the size of my palm. It would look great if I appeared on television.” Gu Nianzhi smacked Huo Shaoheng’s hand away. “Do not touch me as you wish. How would it look if anyone saw this? Do not pinch my face either. I am not a little child anymore.”
“Oh yes, you are an adult now…” Huo Shaoheng finished her sentence for her and looked at her chest seductively, whistling as he said that.
Gu Nianzhi blushed and left in a huff.
Every weekend after that, Gu Nianzhi headed down to the Special Forces Headquarters to see Chen Lie for her weekly check-ups and tests.
Of course, they found no problems.
Chen Lie held on to his opinion, insisting that Gu Nianzhi had not inherited the illness from her family.
Gu Nianzhi looked at all the different data from her tests and asked, confused, “How? Aunt had the illness, why don’t I have it?”
Hadn’t Gu Xiangwen prepared Gu Yanran to cure her illness for her? If she was not sick in the first place, then why had he adopted Gu Yanran?
For the past month, Chen Lie had been thoroughly investigating Gu Tian’s medical records.
He had also researched many genome maps of families with inheritable illnesses.
He found an issue after comparing the maps.
“Nianzhi, I suspect that your Aunt, Gu Tian’s illness, was not caused by anything inherited.” Chen Lie pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at Gu Nianzhi seriously.
Gu Nianzhi did not believe what she was hearing.
“What did you say?! It is not an inherited illness?! But… But you said that it was caused by a genetic defect…”
“This was our blind spot.” Chen Lie took out two sets of genome maps and pointed something out to Gu Nianzhi. “Look at this one here. This is the genome map of someone who had a real inherited illness, and this is a genetic illness that was caused by a sudden change in genetics but was not inherited.”
Chen Lie presented his point of view. “Look here. The difference between these two genome maps is right here.”
Gu Nianzhi looked for a long time. She still did not fully understand where the difference was as she had not studied medicine. However, she understood Chen Lie’s explanation.
“Do you mean that Aunt had a sudden genetic mutation which became the inheritable illness of the Gu’s?”
This meant that, if the Gu’s had an inheritable illness, Gu Tian was the first generation where the genes had mutated.
Chen Lie nodded gravely. “Yes, that is what I meant. Gu Tian’s illness was not inherited, but a mutation.”
“Then this is interesting. Did she have the mutation from birth or was it caused by her surroundings later in life?” Gu Nianzhi supported her chin with her hand, full of curiosity.
“That is the big question. If we can find a person from the Gu family from the generation before your aunt, someone from the generation of your grandfather or grandmother, that would be perfect. Then, I would be able to prove my theory.”
Chen Lie shook his head as he looked at the genome map that he had come up with, extremely mesmerized by the data on it.
Others might not understand what those figures meant. However, to Chen Lie, they were more attractive than the most beautiful woman in the world.
Gu Nianzhi shrugged. “I will not be able to help you with that. From what I know, the generation before my father on the Gu’s side all passed away at a young age. That was the reason my father, Gu Xiangwen, had to take charge of the family at a tender age and raise his sister, Gu Tian, on his own.”
That was what Xie Dezhao had told her. Of course, he had most likely heard about it from Gu Tian herself.
Therefore, the investigation into the ‘inheritable illness’ that was passed to the daughters of the Gu family had arrived at a bottleneck.
No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like Gu Tian was the only one who had gotten the illness. Gu Nianzhi had not gotten it. Perhaps she had been cured… but how had Gu Xiangwen cured her?
Gu Yanran had definitely not been used for any bone marrow or gene transplants. Her mother, Gu Jing, had not been used either.
If that was the case, what was the reason Gu Xiangwen had adopted Gu Jing and Gu Yanran?
This series of questions could not be answered. Gu Nianzhi could not understand them.
However, she firmly believed that her father was a good person. He must have had his reasons for doing what he did.
It must have been for her Aunt Tian’s illness.
As for herself, she believed that she had an illness of some sort as well. However, she might have been cured, or she might only be a carrier.
However, she had been undergoing tests for a month, and everything had indicated that she was normal. Therefore, her worries were not bothering her as much anymore.
Chen Lie took out some tea-time snacks to share with her. As they were having the snacks, Chen Lie asked her, “It will be Christmas next Saturday. Do you have any plans?”
Gu Nianzhi was taken aback. “It’s going to be Christmas next Saturday?”
That was fast… She could not help but think about Christmas last year.
Had it only been a year?
Why did she feel like she had already been through a lifetime?
After snapping back to reality after a while, Gu Nianzhi changed the topic. Looking at Chen Lie, she asked, “Brother Chen, how will you be spending it?”
Chen Lie laughed and mumbled, “I spent my Christmas last year with…Doctor Ye. It was already late that day, and we were still in the hospital doing surgery. I was famished after it was over, so she cooked me a bowl of noodles…”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
It was Christmas. Why had they made it sound like Valentine’s Day instead?!
They could only think of the happy times they had spent with their loved ones.
Gu Nianzhi remained silent for a while before saying, “There are so many flowers out there. Why focus on just one?”
Chen Lie burst out laughing and almost let the slice of cake in his hands fall to the floor.
Gu Nianzhi took the cake from him and refilled his tea. “Brother Chen, I am serious. Doctor Ye does not deserve someone as amazing as you. You will definitely find someone who you love and who loves you back.”
Chen Lie glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Easier said than done. What about you? Do not think that I didn’t know you have been throwing a tantrum with Mr. Huo until now…”
“If you think that I am merely throwing a tantrum, then there is nothing to talk about between us.” Gu Nianzhi stopped smiling and did not pity Chen Lie as much anymore.
Chen Lie looked serious. “Nianzhi, are you serious about it?”
Gu Nianzhi did not agree or disagree. She merely lowered her head and took a sip from her cup of milk tea.
Seeing this, Chen Lie quickly changed the topic. “Christmas doesn’t mean much anyway. It is not our festival. We just like having the festive mood and so we celebrate it.”
“Most importantly, it’s about the atmosphere.” Gu Nianzhi smiled. “I remember that it was snowing heavily last Christmas…”
Fine. She went back on her own.
Chen Lie chuckled. “I understand, I understand. It is extremely romantic when it snows!”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
She should stop talking already. If not, she would make even more mistakes.
After finishing her milk tea and washing the cups for Chen Lie, she placed the cups back where they should be. She was about to say goodbye when she heard footsteps along the corridor.
“The vehicle for the performing team is here!”
“Let’s go and take a look! It’s the princess of the performing team!”
“She is so beautiful in real life! Even more beautiful than how she looks on television!”
“Her violin skills were amazing. She is a capable person! Her father is the Prime Minister, and her mother comes from the Cai family. She really is royalty!”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flickered. She knew who was here.
All the nurses in the corridor were rushing to take a look at her.
Gu Nianzhi turned to Chen Lie lazily and said, “Brother Chen, is the security at the Special Forces so lax nowadays that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can enter?”
Chen Lie had just come out from his room, unaware of what she was talking about. “What is going on? Who is here?” he asked, confused.
Gu Nianzhi stood up and walked to the door with her arms folded. She pouted disapprovingly towards the outside and said, “Look, everyone is rushing to take a look at her.”
Chen Lie stuck his head out the door and called out to a nurse, “Hey you! Why are all of you running?”
The nurse was extremely excited as he exclaimed, “Doctor Chen, the military performing team has just arrived at the headquarters. We heard that the newly accepted daughter of the Prime Minister is here as well and that she will be performing for us tonight!”
Chen Lie was speechless.
What in the world?
Why did everyone want to torture him?
Chen Lie snapped back to reality and turned around to look at Gu Nianzhi. Other than the “Tom, Dick, and Harry” comment that she had made just now, she acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.
Chen Lie sighed and caressed her head. “This little girl is getting better at hiding her feelings. If you are unhappy, just say so. Why must you pretend that you do not care?”
“Why should I pretend?” Gu Nianzhi put her arms down and stared at Chen Lie with her big round eyes. “I just felt that it was strange. I have been with you guys for so many years but had never seen the military performing team come here to entertain anyone.” Then, she smiled.
Seeing that she was smiling, Chen Lie smiled as well. No matter how he listened to it, it did sound funny.
Gu Nianzhi and Chen Lie began contemplating how the Special Forces, namely Huo Shaoheng and the guys, would handle this.
Nothing like this had happened before!
At that moment, at the headquarters of the Special Forces, Huo Shaoheng raised his head from his work desk and asked Yin Shixiong calmly, “…What did you say? Repeat yourself.”
His tone was gentle and meant to sound nice.
However, to Yin Shixiong, it sounded cold as ice. He began stammering.
“Mr… Mr… Mr… Huo. It is going to be the end of the year soon. The army… army… decided to have a spot check, and brought the military performing team here to perform for us…”
