What mattered to Gu Nianzhi did not matter to him. What he really minded was that such a dirty trick was used to discredit Gu Nianzhi, who was only an innocent 12-year-old girl at the time.
He was indeed strict with Gu Nianzhi. He scolded and lectured her at times, and even made her go through hardships. However, who were Cai Songyin and Tan Dongbang to do that, as if they deserved to lecture Gu Nianzhi?!
Not wearing his heart on his sleeve was something that he was too accustomed to. Even if he was furious, an outsider might only be able to see a hint of coldness projected through his gaze underneath that faint smile he would put on.
Therefore, the nature of Gu Nianzhi mindfully stopping Cai Songyin from being able to start a suit was not as serious as what lay before him, namely, He Zhichu staying for the night at Gu Nianzhi’s apartment. As Gu Nianzhi chattered on, she realized that Huo Shaoheng was silent on the other end. She was puzzled. “Master Huo? Are you still listening?”
Huo Shaoheng responded with a “Mhm.” He had a cigarette wedged between his fingers on one hand as he turned on the computer with the other, then started typing with a clickety-clack.
Gu Nianzhi heard that and asked curiously, “What’s the matter? Are you still busy?”
Since he was still busy with work, she wanted to hang up so as not to bother Huo Shaoheng.
However, Huo Shaoheng said unexpectedly, “Little Ze has been unable to decode the signal processing on his side. I’m not sure what went wrong. I’m currently checking up on that.”
Gu Nianzhi felt somewhat nervous. “Was it the signal processing that I did before? I remember that there wasn’t any problem with it.”
“The problem differs each time. You debugged it previously, but whenever Little Ze and others from his side convert the frequency, it’s received on my end,” Huo Shaoheng said calmly as he deconstructed the processed signal and converted it into mojibake.
Gu Nianzhi fidgeted. “How can that be? How about I come over and have a look at it tomorrow?”
“It’s alright. I’ll just get busy tonight. The issue will more or less be resolved.” Huo Shaoheng further scrambled the signal codes and treated the matter like a sudden attack drill.
It was impossible for Gu Nianzhi to let Huo Shaoheng work into the night alone. Besides, it was the mess that she left, so she had the responsibility to clean up the aftermath. “Let’s do it like this, Master Huo. Let me do it, or alternatively, I can work with you to see if we can find a better way of decoding it and make sure that no matter what problem crops up on their side, we will be able to receive and decode it.” Gu Nianzhi walked into her bedroom as she spoke and switched on her laptop. “I’m online. Send me part of the code. After I’m done decoding, I’ll encrypt it and send it back to you.”
The network that Gu Nianzhi was using was being monitored by Huo Shaoheng’s department, so he was not worried that secret information would be leaked through ordinary network operators.
After thinking about it, Huo Shaoheng sent part of the code for civilian use to Gu Nianzhi. Then he paused and said in a low voice, “Nianzhi, will you turn on the video camera?”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
“I want to see you,” Huo Shaoheng continued.
Gu Nianzhi inexplicably obliged. She moved her hands unconsciously and turned on the video camera. Huo Shaoheng’s face appeared on Gu Nianzhi’s laptop screen. He smiled at her. “Nianzhi, you’re going to have to work hard today.”
“No problem. Come, let’s work together.” Gu Nianzhi switched on the coding program and started to decode the mojibake.
Huo Shaoheng was also decoding, but he was treating it as a practice drill and did it absentmindedly. His gaze constantly shifted to the room behind Gu Nianzhi. He could tell that it was her bedroom. The bed was made, all neat and tidy. It didn’t seem like someone had slept on it. Looked like He Zhichu was either in the living room or the guest room.
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips. He continued to interact with Gu Nianzhi by giving her decoding tips and sharing with her his decoding experience and the lessons that he learned.
Gu Nianzhi was not as experienced as Huo Shaoheng was in decoding. Moreover, Zhao Liangze had taught her in this area. It was only now that she realized Huo Shaoheng was better at it than Zhao Liangze was, and she couldn’t help but feel more interested in it.
She was completely immersed in the atmosphere of decoding and completely lost track of time as she experienced the logic and wonder behind the computing language. Three hours slipped by without her realizing it, and it was already midnight. Gu Nianzhi yawned quite a few times.
Huo Shaoheng’s heart softened, and he was mulling over whether he should let Gu Nianzhi sleep. Just then, a person appeared in the video, a man standing right behind Gu Nianzhi. It was He Zhichu.
He just woke up and was feeling a little thirsty, so he got up to get some water but ended up hearing the click-clack of the keyboard coming from Gu Nianzhi’s bedroom. He turned around and saw light coming out from her bedroom and knew at once that Gu Nianzhi was still up, so he walked to the door to have a look.
It was then that he saw Gu Nianzhi typing on her laptop, and it looked as though she was in the middle of a video call with someone. He Zhichu walked in with a calm and collected manner and saw with one look that it was Huo Shaoheng she was speaking to in the video call.
He Zhichu looked at his watch, the veins on his forehead pulsing. He walked over with an icy expression on his face and said to Huo Shaoheng, “It’s very late. Are you not going to let Nianzhi sleep?”
Gu Nianzhi gave a start. She looked up, saw He Zhichu, and said quickly, “Professor He, you’re awake? Do you want to sleep in the guest room?”
He Zhichu pointed to the screen at Huo Shaoheng and looked at Gu Nianzhi, his peach blossom eyes filled with anger. “Nianzhi, didn’t you say that you broke up with him?! But then you went to his house to celebrate Chinese New Year, and now this…!”
Gu Nianzhi bit her lips. She felt a little guilty. In front of others, she could tell them without the slightest hesitation that she had nothing to do with Huo Shaoheng, but in front of He Zhichu, a person who regarded her with utmost importance and who cared for her dearly, she could not utter that.
It was true that she had broken up with Huo Shaoheng, but he had also forced her into signing a marriage certificate. More importantly, her feelings were clear, and she knew what her heart felt. It was once again, bit by bit, warmed up by Huo Shaoheng. She was climbing towards her goal diligently, but Professor He… She could no longer keep him in the dark.
Huo Shaoheng saw He Zhichu’s dark, gloomy face through the video and calmly said, “Professor He, since you’re already awake, please leave. Nianzhi is home alone. It’s not appropriate for an outsider like yourself to be staying in her apartment.”
He Zhichu laughed grimly as he ignored Huo Shaoheng. He was only looking at Gu Nianzhi. “Nianzhi, are you going to chase me out, too?”
Gu Nianzhi blinked, then turned around and said to Huo Shaoheng, “Master Huo, I still have some matters to attend to. Let’s leave it at that for today.” She then ended the call as she spoke and switched off the video camera.
He Zhichu was feeling relieved until he heard Gu Nianzhi say, “Professor He, I have something to tell you.”
He Zhichu suddenly didn’t feel like listening to it, so he turned around to leave. “I’m tired. If there’s anything you want to tell me, you can tell me tomorrow.”
“Professor He,” Gu Nianzhi followed suit and stood up. “Please listen to me. I don’t want to hide this from you anymore.”
He Zhichu’s heart was beating like a drum. His mind drew a blank in that instant. He didn’t know what he was feeling and didn’t know how he should react. He Zhichu was able to live so many more years because of Gu Nianzhi, and now she was going to take it all away. He would not only be left with nothing, his meaning in life would also be lost.
He Zhichu stood on the spot, upright, with even his back looking endlessly lonely. Gu Nianzhi didn’t have the heart to say it, but she knew that it was better for her to set things straight for a matter like this, and the sooner the better. She really didn’t want to lose a great mentor and friend like He Zhichu. He was like family to her. Perhaps she just wasn’t destined to have any semblance of family members in her life…
Gu Nianzhi walked over slowly and stood still about a meter behind He Zhichu. He turned around and looked at her indifferently. The expression on his face made Gu Nianzhi feel extremely guilty.
She mustered up her courage and said, “Professor He, what I want to tell is that, it’s true that I broke up with Master Huo previously, but afterwards, he… he… he signed a marriage certificate with me.”
He Zhichu was mentally prepared for what was to come. He was aware that he missed out on the most crucial six-year period and that it would not be easy for him to catch up with Huo Shaoheng. However, he did not expect Gu Nianzhi to say that she had already gotten married to Huo Shaoheng!
“Nianzhi, you can’t joke about something like that!” He Zhichu looked worried and angry. He took a step back. “Married? Do you think it’s child’s play?!”
When Gu Nianzhi recalled how she was forced to sign the marriage certificate, she felt aggrieved, too. “I know that a matter like that is not child’s play, but…”
“What about the wedding ceremony? So Huo Shaoheng just married you like that, without a sound and without even a wedding? Are you sure he’s not just toying with you?” He Zhichu emitted a deadly cold aura. It felt as though he was ready to kill someone. “Nianzhi, did he force you into it!?”
In the face of He Zhichu’s interrogation, Gu Nianzhi pleaded as she looked up at him. “Professor He, please don’t be angry. I’ll tell you everything, just please don’t be angry! I haven’t told anyone this yet, because I haven’t acknowledged it myself. But whether or not I acknowledge it, I did sign a marriage certificate with him, and…”
“And what?” He Zhichu grabbed Gu Nianzhi’s arm with an anguished expression on his face. “Tell me, the person that you like, who on earth is he?! Just tell me that you truly like him. I… I… I…” As he uttered that “I” thrice, He Zhichu could feel his heart break, even as he said those words. It felt as though someone had taken a knife and stabbed it into his ribs. There was now a badly mangled wound and a big hole in his heart, one that would remain there for all eternity, one which he would never recover from.
“Professor He, I never stopped loving him.” Gu Nianzhi confronted He Zhichu and revealed her feelings. “But it’s just that I used to think that the distance between our social standings was too far. I thought that it was impossible for us to be together, so I broke up with him and wanted to leave him. But he never gave up on me. I’m aware of everything he did for me, and he is also making changes for me. I don’t wish for more, I just want to work hard and become someone who is of equal standing with him.”
It was the only way for them to reduce the number of people who were setting them up, and it was the only way for them to lead a happy life without the constant fear of people attempting to break them apart.
He Zhichu took two steps back and used all of his strength before he managed to steady himself. He understood what Gu Nianzhi meant. Even so, he couldn’t bear to say anything about leaving her. That was because to him, leaving her would be worse than giving up on her, and it would be a life worse than death.
