Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Huo Shaoheng volunteered to attend the military performing team’s performance on Yin Shixiong’s behalf, Yin Shixiong felt guilty. “Mr. Huo, don’t you have anything going on during Christmas?” he asked carefully. As a person who had seemed to have forgotten what embarrassment was, he began blushing!
Zhao Liangze laughed at how Yin Shixiong looked and punched him lightly. “It’s alright, Mr. Huo never celebrates these foreign festivals. You knew that, didn’t you? What is the point of being wishy-washy about it now? Who was the one who was whining about being delayed from seeing his girlfriend?!”
Yin Shixiong smiled sheepishly and stood to the side. Supporting his hands on the table, he said, “Isn’t it all Qiqi’s fault? She had been hinting about spending Christmas together since eons ago, saying that their school has celebrations during Christmas every year and that it is going to be amazing like it always is every year. The student union will also be organizing different activities. The school choir will be caroling around. They like it like that.”
Huo Shaoheng looked at him and leaned back on his seat. “Big Xiong, although it is important to make your girlfriend happy, you are not allowed to participate in any religious activities. Do not make mistakes.”
“Yes, sir.” Yin Shixiong stood at attention and was stern all of a sudden. “I know. I will not go against the rules.”
For them, it was okay to sing karaoke and have meals at Christmas. However, it would be a mistake to go to a church and participate in a mass.
“Alright. Go ahead.” Huo Shaoheng waved his hand. “Handover your work first. Check through the emergency plans again. Our enemies will not be resting while we are.”
Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong stood at attention and saluted, answering loudly, “Yes, sir!” Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze left Huo Shaoheng’s office back to get back to their pile of work.
None of them would be in the headquarters during the weekend. Therefore, the people who would be on duty would be even more important.
Of course, there were even more important things for Huo Shaoheng to handle.
He worked through the night on all the work that was ongoing, catching up on what he had missed and delegating the work that had issues. He instructed his subordinates to follow up with their cases, rotating the soldiers on missions, settling their families, and placing Special Forces officers internationally. Huo Shaoheng had to deal with every single case.
There were many tasks that did not require him to be there personally, but being the leader of the Special Forces, he was still responsible for the thousands of soldiers in this department.
They were soldiers. Even though they do not go to physical war, they put their lives on the line for their missions every day in order to protect their country and its citizens.
One little mistake of his might cause an avalanche. He did not want to bear such consequences, and even more, he did not wish to use the lives of others to pay for his carelessness.
He finally managed to complete everything on hand at about 10 A.M. on Friday.
Of course, he did not complete every single thing, but his work could tide the special forces over for 10 to 14 days without him around.
Huo Shaoheng returned to his home and headed directly to the gym to do an hour of intense training. After sweating it out, he felt a whole lot more refreshed than he had when he’d left work. Then, he proceeded to the bathroom for a nice shower before changing into home clothes for lunch.
He had not eaten for a day and a half, so he ate a lot.
First, he had about 600 grams of steak seared medium-rare in butter and blended herbs. He finished the whole thing and still wanted more. Then, he had a bowl of rice porridge that had been cooked until it was silky smooth. It was good for his stomach.
There were also some simple dishes on the table. Cucumber stir fry with bacon, a chili flake omelet, stir fry with mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and a plate of vegetarian stir fry bamboo shoots.
He finished almost everything on the table.
When a soldier came to collect the dishes and realized that Mr. Huo had finished so much food, he was flabbergasted. Carrying the plates into the kitchen, he whispered to the soldiers, “…How long did Mr. Huo go without eating?”
“Probably since yesterday morning after breakfast.”
The soldier in the kitchen looked at all the dishes and shook his head with a sigh. He had been working for Huo Shaoheng for a couple of years, so he knew Huo Shaoheng’s habits better than most. Therefore, he knew that the food he prepared, no matter its quality or quantity, would always suit Huo Shaoheng’s preference.
“Go and ask Mr. Huo if he will be having dinner tonight. If he is, I will start boiling some soup broth now.”
When he reached level two, the soldier knocked lightly on the door and asked through the telecom system, “Sir, will you be having dinner here tonight? The kitchen wishes to prepare.”
Huo Shaoheng did not open the door. He merely spoke to the telecom system. “…I will not be coming back for dinner tonight. I will also be busy all weekend. You guys have an early night and go for a break this weekend.”
“…Yes, sir!” The soldier sounded so happy.
Upon returning to the kitchen, the soldier relayed the message to the three chefs who were waiting there. “Mr. Huo said that he will not be home for dinner. He also told us to have an early rest and to take a two-day break because he will be busy for the entire weekend.”
The three chefs smiled. “Mr. Huo is such an understanding person! I can use this weekend to go out and relax.”
“…Hahaha, gonna see your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? I’ve been married for many years!”
The few soldiers cleaned up the kitchen while joking around. The mansion was filled with a festive mood all of a sudden.
Huo Shaoheng looked through more documents in his study. By the time he was done, it was already almost one in the afternoon.
Upon checking Gu Nianzhi’s time table, he realized that she did not have any lessons that day. Her final lesson should have ended at noon.
Huo Shaoheng grabbed his suitcase, put on his Bluetooth earpiece and called Gu Nianzhi as he made his way out of the house.
…
Gu Nianzhi had just finished her lunch and was making her way out of the canteen. She hopped on to her bicycle.
Upon hearing her phone ring, she realized that it was Huo Shaoheng’s personalized ringtone. Putting on her earpiece, she answered the call while cycling. “…Huo Shao?”
“Nianzhi? Have you had lunch yet?” Huo Shaoheng opened the door to his Mercedes SUV and got in. Then, he started the engine.
He was not bringing his guards along as he wanted to go out on personal business. Therefore, he did not take the vehicle with the red flag.
“Just did.” Gu Nianzhi was in a rather good mood. She pushed the bicycle with one leg and zoomed off with a swoosh. Holding onto the bicycle with one hand, she rode beautifully around the cycling track. Her face was full of youth and joy. Anyone who saw her would be influenced by her good mood.
“Classmate Gu Nianzhi!” A boy who was also riding on a bicycle rode towards her. “Please hold on!”
Although Gu Nianzhi was talking on the phone with Huo Shaoheng on the Bluetooth earpiece, she could hear the sounds from her surroundings.
Turning around, she took a look and removed one side of her Bluetooth earpiece. She stopped her bicycle and smiled at the boy who had caught up with her. “…You are from Class One from the law faculty, right?”
He looked familiar but she did not remember his name since they had never spoken before.
Gu Nianzhi was considered to be a special case in this batch of grad students. She did not have lessons together with the other masters’ students. Instead, she had lessons with the doctorate students and her home teacher, He Zhichu. As for her electives, she had lessons with students from the entire school. Therefore, she was not familiar with the students from her year.
Seeing Gu Nianzhi stop and greet him with such a great smile and pleasant voice, the boy thought about how untrue the rumors about Gu Nianzhi being proud and aloof were. He felt slightly more confident about approaching her.
He asked carefully, “Gu Nianzhi, tomorrow is the weekend, and it’s also Christmas. The class is holding a dance party to help everyone to get to know each other better. Would you be so kind as to attend the party? I know you don’t have lessons with us, but we are all in the same class. You’d still like to get to know the students you’ll be graduating with, right?”
Initially, they had intended to get Gu Nianzhi’s roommate, Ma Qiqi to invite her. However, Ma Qiqi said that she would be doing other things over the weekend and therefore would not be able to join the class activities. She did not wish to put Gu Nianzhi into a dilemma by asking her since they were friends, so she’d rejected their request to ask her on their behalf.
The class thought about it repeatedly and eventually decided to try asking Gu Nianzhi themselves. They had nothing to lose by asking. What if Gu Nianzhi really agreed to come?
The dance organized by the law faculty would be the biggest event of the year!
Gu Nianzhi smiled as she looked at him and tilted her head.
“…I bet that you don’t know my name.” The boy laughed. He was good at making jokes.
Gu Nianzhi laughed shyly and nodded. “Okay, I will go.”
“Oh my goodness! That is amazing!” The boy literally jumped with joy when Gu Nianzhi said that and his bicycle fell to the ground with a clang.
Gu Nianzhi laughed until her sides hurt. She quickly placed her bicycle to the side and helped the boy pick his bicycle up.
“Let me know the time and venue. I should be free over the weekend,” she agreed readily.
She had been studying really hard recently. She’d only been getting four to five hours of sleep a day because she was trying to graduate early. As such, she felt that she should reward herself a little. She had never tried going to a party with people her own age!
The boy nodded and built up all his courage again. “Can you give me your number so I can text you the time and location?”
Gu Nianzhi did not hesitate as she gave him her number.
The boy dialed the number.
Gu Nianzhi’s phone rang.
“Okay. I will text you the moment we confirm the location.” The boy shook his phone and smiled happily.
Gu Nianzhi was confused. “…The party is tomorrow but there is no confirmed venue yet?”
The boy craned his neck awkwardly and smiled, rather embarrassed. “It’s like this… We intend to book this bar near the school, but we have not been able to agree on the terms and conditions, so…”
“Oh, I get it.” Gu Nianzhi understood. “Then let me know once you have confirmed it.”
The boy agreed readily and rode away, feeling ecstatic. Of course, he would have to go back and announce the good news to everyone.
The few wealthy boys had already announced that if anyone was able to get Gu Nianzhi to attend the party, they would put up the money required to book the venue.
Gu Nianzhi had been focusing so much on her studies and lawsuit, that she did not realize that she had already been confirmed as the genius queen of her batch…
She was smart, beautiful, and extremely professional. Girls like her would never run out of suitors. There were indeed many boys who were interested in getting to know Gu Nianzhi. However, they did not have any opportunities to even get to know her.
Although Gu Nianzhi was an orphan, she had an amazing home teacher, He Zhichu. He was well known for being protective of his students. When Gu Nianzhi was in school, she spent most of her time with him. The moment anyone tried to get close, even before Gu Nianzhi could notice it, the cold glare of He Zhichu would scare them away.
They also heard from Ma Qiqi that she had relatives who held extremely high positions in the army. Therefore, those who had thought that Gu Nianzhi was an orphan and had looked down on her in the past did not dare to harbor any more ill intentions towards her.
To put it simply, those with average backgrounds did not even dare to think about knowing her.
After such a long wait, they had finally managed to get an opportunity to organize a class party. Those who felt that they had a shot with her were all eager to spend Christmas with the girl.
While speaking to the boy, Gu Nianzhi had not hung up on the call with Huo Shaoheng even though she had removed one side of the earpiece. Therefore, he’d overheard the entire conversation between Gu Nianzhi and the boy.
