Chapter 257 - You Must Believe Me (5) (1/2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

He Zhichu looked at Gu Nianzhi with undisguised admiration in his s.h.i.+mmering, sultry eyes. “Very astute. You never fail to live up to my expectations.”

Gu Nianzhi: “…Professor He, you haven’t answered my question.”

He raised a c.o.c.ktail gla.s.s and took a sip. He was in a good mood, and it showed on his face. “Dou Qingyan got into trouble in the US, and one of my subordinates defended her in court. This is why I know so much about her—we have to conduct thorough background checks on our clients, after all.”

Gu Nianzhi frowned slightly. She shot He Zhichu a skeptical look. “Is that so? That must have been quite the coincidence.”

He Zhichu “just so happened” to bail Dou Qingyan out when she was in trouble? And Dou Qingyan “just so happened” to be Huo Shaoheng’s former comrade-in-arms?

Gu Nianzhi was openly interrogating him, questioning his honesty, and He Zhichu did not like it. His att.i.tude cooled as quickly as smoldering coal in ice water. He fixed his icy gaze upon the crowd before him, and gave a snort. “Of course it wasn’t a coincidence. I only bailed her out because I knew she was Mr. Huo’s former comrade-in-arms. There, are you satisfied with my answer now?”

Gu Nianzhi was confused. Her instincts told her that the matter was not so simple, but the more she thought about it, the less credible her intuition seemed, even to her.

Why would Professor He do that? What did he stand to gain from messing with Huo Shao?

Gu Nianzhi could not come up with a plausible answer.

She could tell, deep down, that He Zhichu was especially nice to her, but she wasn’t so shameless as to think he was attracted to her. He Zhichu’s actions confused her.

He Zhichu saw the hesitant, dubious look on Gu Nianzhi’s face, and felt better.

He waved a waiter over and handed him his empty c.o.c.ktail gla.s.s. He turned to Gu Nianzhi to ask: “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll get you some food.”

Gu Nianzhi was the type to start feeling hungry when she was nervous. She nodded, and said, “I’ll get the food, Professor He. What do you like to eat?”

“No, I’ll do it. How can I let a young lady serve me? That would be much too ungentlemanly of me. I grew up abroad, so you’ll have to forgive me if I seem unfamiliar with the way you do things here in the Huaxia Empire.” He Zhichu added the last line sarcastically; it was a direct jab at Gu Nianzhi, who had accused him of not understanding the Huaxia language earlier.

Gu Nianzhi’s face colored. She followed him to the buffet table, thoroughly embarra.s.sed. She mumbled, “I’m sorry, Professor He. That wasn’t what I meant…”

“That’s okay, you don’t have to apologize. I can never be truly angry with you, you know,” He Zhichu said simply as he tousled her hair.

Gu Nianzhi, however, was too busy sneaking restless glances in Huo Shaoheng’s direction to catch He Zhichu’s doting tone.

…

“Shaoheng, how have you been?” Dou Qingyan smiled pleasantly at Huo Shaoheng as she handed him a plateful of food.

The plate was stacked: Dou Qingyan had filled it with grilled beef tenderloin, crispy chicken fillet, fried c.u.min lamb, prawn-and-bacon rolls, crab meat salad, cabbages leaves, a few cherry tomatoes, and a generous portion of crab cheese dip on one corner of the plate.

“How’s that? I have a good memory, right? I got you all your favorite food.” Dou Qingyan smiled, her eyes curving into happy crescents. There was an unexpected hint of tenderness in her stately, dignified features. “…I used to prepare these for you every night.”

Huo Shaoheng accepted the food, but removed the fried c.u.min lamb from his plate with his fork. He smiled and said, “Thank you, but I don’t like mutton.”

Dou Qingyan was surprised. “What? You don’t like mutton? Why didn’t you say so, back then?”

“…I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you.” Huo Shaoheng calmly ate the food on his plate.

Dou Qingyan was about to continue reminiscing about “the good old days” when Huo Shaoheng spoke up and interrupted her: “That’s enough. You left the army, but I’m sure you still remember our rules and protocol, don’t you?”

“…Oh.” Dou Qingyan pressed her lips together, and changed the subject with a carefree laugh. “Right, how careless of me. Let’s talk about you then: what have you been up to, in the last six years? I heard that you’re already a major general? Is the Special Operations Forces now under your command?”

“Yes.” Huo Shaoheng cut up a beef fillet with a knife as he added: “I founded the Special Operations Forces, you remember.”

“I remember, I was one of your first subordinates.” Dou Qingyan winked at him. “I remember my first day at the Special Ops—you were so hard on me I spent half the night weeping into my pillow. And then, you woke me up before the crack of dawn to start my physical training. Oh, it was truly h.e.l.l…”

Huo Shaoheng laughed, and relaxed. “If you hadn’t left the army, you’d be a high-ranking officer yourself by now, too.”

“Oh, I wasn’t tough enough to handle it, so I became a deserter.” Dou Qingyan laughed openly.

She was easily amused: a single, casual remark from Huo Shaoheng had been enough to send her into peals of laughter.

…

Gu Nianzhi stood in a corner, watching Huo Shaoheng and Dou Qingyan smile and laugh as they chatted amiably. She did not know how to feel.