Chapter 554: Headline News
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi went to the library to do research for her paper. After sitting all afternoon, her neck grew sore. Rubbing her eyes, she got up to collect her things and go home for dinner. It was then she heard two girls whispering to each other not too far away. “Oh my God! Is this real?! Minister Tan’s daughter went missing in the United States?!”
“She probably got kidnapped, right? It’s already been two weeks, and they still haven’t found her. What are American police good for, anyway?!”
“That’s right, where are the legendary American police who can do anything? The FBI? Captain America? Hehehehe…” The girls were snickering and grew louder. They finally muffled their laughter and shushed themselves after a librarian came over to knock on their desk.
Gu Nianzhi put on her backpack and remembered the headline news she had seen on social media. She instantly understood what the two girls were talking about. It was the case of the missing daughter of the popular candidate for the prime minister elections, Tan Dongbang. All sorts of rumors were raging across social media, and the Manhattan police were seemingly playing out a soap opera with their daily press conferences, all too eager to earn more screen time. Gu Nianzhi kept rolling her eyes mentally.
Walking out of the library, she saw the sun gradually begin to set, and her mind drifted to the last time she saw Huo Shaoheng. It was the last time he accompanied her to study at the library… The most gentle smile appeared on Gu Nianzhi’s lips, and in her daze, she had already taken out her phone to fiddle with. After considering it for a while, she finally decided to call Yin Shixiong. “Brother Xiong.” Gu Nianzhi’s voice was soft and carried the tenderness of a young girl.
Yin Shixiong picked up the call and spun around leisurely in his office chair. “Nianzhi, what do you need Brother Xiong for? Do you want to come to the base? You haven’t been here in a long time now.” It seemed like Gu Nianzhi hadn’t been to the Special Forces Operations headquarters ever since Huo Shaoheng left. Although before Huo Shaoheng left, he told her she should stay at his official residence on the base when she had time, Gu Nianzhi still hadn’t gone. What was the point of going if he wasn’t going to be there? That also wasn’t a regular place, so Gu Nianzhi was conscientious about not abusing her privileges.
Now that Yin Shixiong was mentioning it, Gu Nianzhi smiled. “I miss you guys, too. I’ll come back when Huo Shao and Brother Ze are back.” She then hesitated before finally asking, “Brother Xiong, when will Huo Shao… When will he come back?”
“That’s hard to say. It could be tomorrow, or it could take longer and be several months or even half a year.” Yin Shixiong answered vaguely because he didn’t want to give Gu Nianzhi a concrete idea.
Gu Nianzhi actually knew that they had military discipline, so it wasn’t possible to disclose anything to outsiders. Even though she was Huo Shaoheng’s family, these were not things she could know about. While she understood the reasoning, it did nothing to assuage the longing in her heart. “Brother Xiong, then are Huo Shao and Brother Ze… safe?” Gu Nianzhi asked Yin Shixiong as she walked, “Did he call back? Did he ask about me?” She badly wanted to know about Huo Shaoheng’s current situation.
Yin Shixiong was getting uncomfortable and mumbled, “Well, they should be safe. How could they not be with Mr. Huo there? Phone calls? No, he didn’t call.” Huo Shaoheng really hadn’t called and hadn’t contacted the base since he had left with Zhao Liangze. They had heard the Special Ops personnel in North America were undergoing restructuring, so Yin Shixiong wasn’t worried for now. But he could detect the longing in Gu Nianzhi’s voice. She was just an 18-year-old girl, after all. It was completely normal for her to worry about a lover who had suddenly cut off all communication. But Yin Shixiong truly couldn’t reveal any information, and after thinking about it for a long time, he finally answered vaguely, “They are working right now and helping with a favor. Since there are so many Hua Xia citizens abroad, the Special Ops must step in when something serious happens.”
Gu Nianzhi could tell Yin Shixiong was saying that a Hua Xia citizen living abroad had run into trouble, so Huo Shaoheng had personally gone over to help. How important could this person be for Huo Shaoheng to personally get involved?! Gu Nianzhi was grumbling in her heart but instantly thought of the hottest topic on social media right now. The daughter of the popular candidate for the prime minister elections, Tan Dongbang– she went missing and got kidnapped! Could Huo Shaoheng have gone to the United States to deal with the case?! Gu Nianzhi’s mind spun and she blurted out, “Brother Xiong, is Huo Shao in New York? It’s almost summer break. I want to vacation in New York.”
Yin Shixiong didn’t expect Gu Nianzhi to immediately guess where and what Huo Shaoheng was doing, so he could only gloss it over. “New York? I don’t think that’s a good idea… Let’s go later. Why go right now? It’ll just make it a bigger mess.” He was indirectly confirming Gu Nianzhi’s suspicions. Huo Shaoheng was in New York right now, and he was probably there for the case of Minister Tan’s daughter.
Gu Nianzhi sighed in relief knowing Huo Shaoheng was in New York, because she had been quite afraid that he was on a mission in a warring country. In a place like that, everyone had to be on edge, and their lives depended on the holster of their gun at all times. The United States was a much better option since it was a legal society with a government and social stability. Knowing that Huo Shaoheng was not in a dangerous place, Gu Nianzhi’s mood brightened instantly. She ended the call and nearly hummed as she quickly walked back to the dorm.
After having dinner with Ma Qiqi, Gu Nianzhi went back to her room and began final edits on her papers. Her phone suddenly rang. He Zhichu was calling. Gu Nianzhi unlocked the phone to take the call with a smile. “Professor He, how can I help you?”
He Zhichu sat on the couch with one hand moving the cursor on his laptop as he dealt with work emails from his American law firm and called Gu Nianzhi. “I wanted to ask if you finished your paper, as the due date is tomorrow.” He Zhichu sent the emails off and said to Gu Nianzhi when he saw there was nothing important, “Do you want to be my personal assistant and deal with my work emails from my American law firm?”
Gu Nianzhi had been his teaching assistant for some time now, and because she was smart, she quickly got the hang of work after familiarizing herself with it and only needed to spend seven or eight hours a week to finish all her work. She used all her other time to earn academic credits in order to graduate early. He Zhichu saw that she was so keen to learn and was quick to adapt, so he wanted to train her well to prepare her for her future career as a lawyer.
“So I wouldn’t be Professor He’s personal assistant, but Lawyer He’s personal assistant?” Gu Nianzhi cocked her head with a smile. “Does that count for academic credits?”
“It does, and it also comes with an official salary as well as insurance and housing funds. What do you think, do you want to do it?” When He Zhichu spoke like that, he was like a fallen angel tempting the human heart. His shimmering, sultry eyes were faintly tinged red, his tall and straight nose perfectly sculpted, and his thin, cruel lips pressed into a tight line.
“Oh? Insurance and housing funds, too?!” Gu Nianzhi was very tempted, and of course, the major attraction was that she could familiarize herself with the workflow of an American law firm early on. This would be a good foundation for her future role in a law firm.
“Right, and if you’re willing, I can send our law firm’s employment contract to you. This is official and legally binding.” He Zhichu set down his cursor and picked up his glass of red wine to swirl, the thick wine inside gleaming deep garnet. He raised the glass and downed it completely.
Gu Nianzhi thought about it some more before replying cautiously, “Can Professor He please send it over for me to have a look? I don’t know if I have the time to work…” She had started school half a year later than the other graduate students, so she was a semester behind in academic credits. For the past six months, she had been taking many courses and completing them in hopes of making up for the time she had missed.
“You can give it a try first if you’re not sure yet. All jobs have a probation period, so this one is not an exception.” He Zhichu resumed his business-like manner, making Gu Nianzhi much more comfortable.
“Ok, I’ll give it a try.” Gu Nianzhi quickly finished the paper and sent it to He Zhichu. “I just sent my paper to your email.”
He Zhichu switched over to his B University email and saw the paper Gu Nianzhi sent over. He opened it to check as he replied, “I’ll send my work email and password to you later so you can help me deal with my work emails from the American law firm from now on.” Wen Shouyi had taken care of that previously, and now that she had gone home, He Zhichu felt it was better for him to hire another assistant.