Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Prime Minister Tan and Cai Shengnan were both people born to cultured and well-educated families, so they were aware of the etiquette of watching concerts.
However, in their hearts, they’d never treated the Military Literature and Arts Performance as a concert…
To them, this was just another social occasion.
Since they were going to socialize, it was inevitable that they would chat.
Besides, the concert had not yet started, so Huo Shaoheng was not being respectful at all by saying that to them.
Since Prime Minister Tan’s impeachment case, he had placed a heavier emphasis on his pride. He could not tolerate even a bit of contempt or neglect from other people.
Yet today he’d first had the inconsequential Song Jinning, Director of the High Energy Physics, scold him. Afterward, he’d been distracted by Huo Shaoheng, the Major General. This indignation was difficult to swallow.
He had originally wanted to put on a nasty expression and lose his temper, but Cai Shengnan had quickly shot him a look and whispered, “Uncle, don’t make things difficult for Guiren…”
As soon as Prime Minister Tan thought of his beloved daughter, Tan Guiren, he immediately sighed deeply and swallowed the anger.
Soon afterward, General Ji and his men quickly entered the hall and walked to the front row.
Huo Shaoheng and Huo Guanchen both stood up to greet them.
General Ji and his men then greeted Prime Misner Tan and said to him in a very kind and polite manner, “It’s a great honor that you were able to attend this performance. It’s also our great honor that your daughter has joined our Military Art Ensemble. I hope that she can continue to shine brilliantly and win accolades for our nation.”
“Thank you for your kind blessings, General Ji. Little Darling is a hardworking child and has talent too, so it has been her wish for a long time to the Military Art Ensemble.” As Prime Minister Tan said this, his gaze inadvertently drifted in Huo Shaoheng’s direction.
The corners of Song Jinning’s eyes began to twitch as she witnessed this. Just as she was about to extinguish Prime Minister Tan’s intentions, she heard Huo Guanchen chuckling from the side. “Prime Minister Tan speaks too kindly. It’s also been our long term wish for Miss Tan to be able to join the Military Art Ensemble. Isn’t that right, Shaoheng?”
Song Jinning finally understood where Prime Minister Tan got his confidence from!
Someone had given him something to ease his mind.
It was true that a thief in your own household is hard to guard against!
In the presence of so many people, all she saw were these two old men acting shamelessly…
Song Jinning snorted from the bottom of her heart. With a stony expression, she was about to rebuke them when she saw the lights in the hall dim. The performance was about to begin.
She had no choice but to shut her mouth and keep quiet so that she could enjoy the Art Ensemble’s performance tonight with everyone else.
Truth be told, the performance was nearly a solo act by Tan Guiren.
Aside from the violin solo and concerto, Tan Guiren was in the spotlight for even the choral performance and the group dance.
The TV stations’ cameras all pointed at her and all the spotlights on the stage aimed at her.
When she stood on the stage, everyone else became part of the background.
It was true that she played the violin very well.
When she picked up her violin, her mind and eyes were solely focussed on her violin. Beautiful music flowed from her fingertips and echoed throughout the entire performance hall.
Her exquisite skills, ample emotions, and her deeply hidden thoughts were all performed to their fullest. She performed even better than when she had won a major international award in the United States.
After the one song ended, the audience was silent for a few minutes before erupting into thunderous applause!
Even Song Jinnign had no choice but to admit that, although this girl looked a bit foolish, she played the violin with great splendor.
…
Bar Jinling did not ban smoking.
He Zhichu sat indifferently at the bar, the shirt sleeves of his high-end, bespoke olive green shirt rolled up to reveal the discreet and luxurious limited edition watch on his wrist. One hand shielded the lighter as he lit a cigarette and inhaled slowly.
During the time He Zhichu was waiting for the bartender to make his drink, he’d turned around to look at the large flat-screen TV hanging on the other wall.
Because students had booked the entire bar today, the interior was much cleaner than usual. Subtle Christmas classics became the background music. The bar, which was typically frequented by people from all walks of life, became quite elegant.
The TV had originally been playing a sports program, but as soon as He Zhichu saw that it was the Huaxia Empire’s national men’s soccer team playing, he thought that it would be even more of a sore sight than the bartender’s blond and red hair dye. He instantly changed the channel.
He switched the TV to a news channel and turned up the volume.
Soon afterward, the students on the other side of the bar noticed He Zhichu.
Several students immediately came over to greet him.
“Professor He!”
“I didn’t think Professor He would come!”
“What would Professor He like to drink? It’s my treat!”
In the beginning, several guys who wanted to flatter He Zhichu ran all around the bar to get food and red wine him.
Afterward, several bolder girls also came over.
“Professor He, why did you get here so late?”
“Right! Professor He, if you had gotten here earlier, you would’ve seen an idol TV show!” The girl who had been jealous of Gu Nianzhi earlier was still upset. As soon as she’d seen the guys revolving around Gu Nianzhi like bees swarming honey, she’d thought it was an eyesore. He Zhichu didn’t say anything. He smiled as he took a sip of his cocktail.
The girl saw that He Zhichu didn’t appear as aloof and intimidating as usual, so she asked boldly once again, “Don’t you want to know who was the star of the idol drama?”
He Zhichu was in a fine mood today, so he smiled as he blew out a ring of smoke and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
He Zhichu actually replied…
The girl’s heart suddenly trembled and she instantly said, “It was Gu Nianzhi! She was hugging and kissing a man inside a fancy car, right outside the bar! Everyone saw it, isn’t that right?”
She pushed the girl next to her.
The girl was a bit scared of He Zhichu, so she murmured, “I didn’t see it myself, I only heard a few of the guys over there talking about it. They were welcoming people at the door and they allegedly saw it for themselves.”
“That’s right, I’m not making up gossip. When they made a big deal out of it, Gu Nianzhi didn’t even deny it!”
If she didn’t deny it, then it must be true.
Although He Zhichu had been mentally prepared, he was still panicking like crazy.
But so what?
No matter what he thought of it, he had no choice but to force himself to hold it in. He would hold it in until Gu Nianzhi graduated, then discuss it.
He Zhichu’s expression didn’t change at all. He coughed and said icily, “What’s the point of you guys telling me this? Do you still need to tell your teacher when your classmates are dating? May I ask how old you all are?” He Zhichu said sarcastically. He then turned around to take another sip of his tequila cocktail.
The girl who’d spoken froze and looked at He Zhichu suspiciously.
Wasn’t the entire university gossiping about how He Zhichu and Gu Nianzhi were having a teacher-student romance?
Could it not be true?
He didn’t seem angry at all…
The truth was, He Zhichu was holding it in so hard that the veins on his forehead were about to pop.
Luckily the other girls were quick-witted enough to immediately reply when they heard this, “That’s right, so what if Gu Nianzhi was being a bit intimate with her boyfriend? It’s none of your business! You’re such a b*tch!”
As they said this, several of the girls pushed the jealous girl aside. They began chatting up Professor He and trying to flatter him.
They didn’t actually need to seduce He Zhichu. However, with his position and status, they should familiarize themselves with him so that after they graduated he could help them look for jobs by writing reference letters.
Everyone was in a rush to curry favor from him. Who would be dumb enough to anger him?
He Zhichu didn’t speak another word to the jealous girl again.
However, with all the other students, regardless if they were male or female, he would chat happily with them about whatever they wanted. There was nothing he didn’t talk about, so his status within the student’s hearts rose several levels higher.
In the past, He Zhichu always had a haughty aura and was renowned for being a noble and lonely flower on a high cliff.
Now, he was being warm and kind, so he appeared like a humble gentleman. As a result, even more students crowded around him.
Gu Nianzhi noticed He Zhichu from across the bar and wanted to go over, but seeing how he was being quickly surrounded by her classmates, she decided not to go over yet.
…
“Your Tequila Sunrise.” The bartender mixed the drink and passed it to He Zhichu.
When He Zhichu turned around to accept his cocktail, he saw that the news channel was now airing another piece of news.
“…The All Military Arts and Literary Performance is about to begin. The Military Art Ensemble has submitted a satisfactory result tonight. Ms. Tan Guiren, world-renowned violinist and only daughter of Prime Minister Tan, has joined the Military Art Ensemble. She has given a stunning performance to the military leaders, heads of the Cabinet, and the Senate.”
Soon after, a melodious violin concerto played though the high-quality surround-sound speakers.
Because the soccer game on the sports channel was image only, the volume had been muted.
He Zhichu had wanted to watch the news so he’d turned on the volume, but he hadn’t expected that it would immediately be set to the loudest volume.
He instinctively looked in Gu Nianzhi’s direction.
As expected, everyone was attracted by the sound of the TV and started to look over.
On the large TV screen, Tan Guiren wore a long, sequinned violet gown that reached the floor. It was very low cut to reveal her snow-white bosom.
Her long hair was ironed into large curls that cascaded down and swayed passionately with the movements of her violin playing. She had a particular air of temptation about her.
Soon afterward, the TV camera shifted to the audience in the lower auditorium.
By convention, the first two rows were filled by the most important people in attendance.
Huo Shaoheng’s figure only appeared on the TV for a second, but Gu Nianzhi was able to recognize him right away.
