Chapter 842: Lurking Forces (I)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng stood in the middle of the living room of He Zhichu’s suite. His face shifted slightly to scan the entire room. Yin Shixiong stood behind him and had just shut the door when he saw He Zhichu emerge from the hallway leading to the bedroom.
He had changed into casual khaki pants and a smoke-grey pinstripe top with a short, stand-up collar. The collar was slightly open to reveal a hint of his exquisite collarbones. He appeared handsome and solemn, and moved with boldness. He had just washed his face, so his hairline was a bit wet. His expression was his typically aloof and expressionless one, but when he saw Gu Nianzhi come from the kitchen, carrying coffee, his eyes instantly sparkled and his color seemed to change.
Gu Nianzhi looked up to discover He Zhichu and Huo Shaoheng standing face-to-face in the middle of the living room.
Huo Shaoheng wore a general’s uniform consisting of navy-blue, straight-legged military pants and a brown military jacket, both made of wool. The jacket had flat, small lapels that were sharp as knives. The white shirt beneath was tightly fastened to the very top button, which happened to be just under his Adam’s apple.
He stood straight in the middle of the living room like that—tall and impressive, handsome and strapping. His deep-set and handsome face was not as ice-cold as He Zhichu’s, but it wasn’t passionate or lively either. He had his typical calm and confident aura of a great general.
“I’m not sure what brings Mr. Major General Huo here today, though it’s my greatest honor to have Major General Huo visit my humble abode.” He Zhichu inclined his chin slightly out of respect, then turned to Gu Nianzhi. “What are you standing there for? Serve the coffee and snacks for the guests.”
Gu Nianzhi agreed and bent down as she carried the serving tray. She set the black coffee and a muffin on the coffee table for Yin Shixiong. She gave a cappuccino and a honey cake to Ma Qiqi, a cup of green tea paired with a few mochi cakes with matcha filling to Ye Xuan, and finally made herself a cup of milk tea. Huo Shaoheng had arrived later, so she wasn’t able to prepare any drink for him. Gu Nianzhi looked up at him.
Huo Shaoheng put both hands in his trouser pockets as he nodded to He Zhichu and said, “Big Xiong never returned after leaving, so I wasn’t sure what had happened to him and was worried about his safety. I came here to take a look.”
1Yin Shixiong was so mortified he wanted to bury himelf. Huo Shao cared for his humble subordinate so much, yet the humble subordinate couldn’t handle it. However, even if Yin Shixiong was given a hundred times more courage than he had, he would still never dare risk disrespecting Huo Shaoheng again. He had no choice but to appear cooperative and hung his head as he walked up to Huo Shaoheng to apologize.
“Huo Shao, it was my fault. I lost track of time while I playing cards with Qiqi and Nianzhi.”
Huo Shaoheng grunted. “Don’t do it again.” Then he turned to Gu Nianzhi. “Don’t drink milk tea at night, it’ll make it difficult to sleep.” He then asked her, “Did you have dinner yet?”
Gu Nianzhi had been waiting for He Zhichu and Ye Xuan all afternoon, but hadn’t felt hungry because she was so excited. However, now that the excitement had passed, she was a bit hungry. She glanced at He Zhichu briefly. “Professor He, do you want to go out for dinner?”
Before He Zhichu could even reply, Huo Shaoheng immediately said, “So you haven’t had dinner yet. How about this, I’ll treat Professor He and Ye Xuan to dinner. What do you think?” He then said, “Big Xiong and Qiqi, are you guys free?”
“I’m free, I’m free.” Ma Qiqi enjoyed watching the drama from the sidelines, so why would she reject this great opportunity? She instantly nodded her head in agreement.
Yin Shixiong didn’t even have the opportunity to object, so he sadly glared at Ma Qiqi. His girl only knew how to get him in trouble.
1Ma Qiqi pretended not to see him and pulled Gu Nianzhi’s sleeve. “Nianzhi, what about you?”
Gu Nianzhi’s head was hurting a bit and she had things to ask Ye Xuan about, so she didn’t want to go out for dinner.
He Zhichu looked at her expression and understood right away. “I can call and order delivery. If Huo Shao doesn’t mind, you can have dinner here with us.”
Huo Shaoheng smoothly sat down and reached out to pull Gu Nianzhi to sit at his side. “Since Professor He is treating, I’ll oblige.” He quickly turned the tables and played the host as he invited Yin Shixiong, Ma Qiqi and Ye Xuan. “Please sit, what are you standing there for? Professor He is going to order food right away.” As he spoke, he even gestured at He Zhichu to go order food.
The corners of He Zhichu’s lips turned down—he was so angry that his body was rigid as he walked into the bedroom. Picking up the phone, he called a five-star restaurant and ordered a set menu of seventeen courses to be delivered.
Coming out of the bedroom, he sat down on the couch right next to Gu Nianzhi. He took the milk tea she had made for herself, then sipped. Gu Nianzhi said nothing as he helped himself to her drink.
Huo Shaoheng sat on the other side of Gu Niaznhi. His strapping figure had caused the couch cushion to sink deeply towards him when he sat. Gu Nianzhi was still attempting to stabilize her body so she didn’t want to fall over like the last time. However, as soon as He Zhichu sat down, she instantly found balance.
Huo Shaoheng shot a cold look and ignored He Zhichu’s provocative gaze. He leaned forward slightly to Ye Xuan, who sat across from him. “Did I hear that something happened to Mr. Ye on this trip to the United States?”
Ye Xuan was very uncomfortable with the way Huo Shaoheng addressed him. “Just call me Ye Xuan.”
This also happened to be the question that Gu Nianzhi had been waiting all afternoon to ask, so she quickly added, “Ye Xuan, tell us what happened in the United States. Did you guys have something to do with the attack on Admiral Laris?”
Mention of that incident sparked hatred in Ye Xuan. He was angrier than when he was treated as a suspect in the murder of the Vanderbilt family.
“…That Laris is such a bastard! Did you know he actually orchestrated the entire thing himself? First, he had someone throw a bomb at his fleet to create a panic, then used ‘terrorism’ as a pretext to begin searching for us. He even bombed the car that Mr. He and I were in! What absolute nonsense! He was clearly pulling a scam!” Ye Xuan was so angry, he slammed the table and nearly spilled his tea.
Gu Nianzhi clutched one hand against her chest and exhaled sharply. “He really did that? But he’s a US General?! What good does that do for the United States?”
“He’s a US General, but of Japanese descent,” Huo Shaoheng replied calmly. He reached out to gently pat the back of Gu Nianzhi’s hand to stop her emotions from getting out of control. “He’s made several moves in the South China Sea, all of which were damaging to long-term American interests, but beneficial towards Japanese ones.”
Gu Nianzhi chuckled as she discreetly pulled her hand from under Huo Shaoheng’s and said sarcastically, “This is actually ‘being loyal to one’s own army while staying within the enemy’s army.’ Japan should present him with a ‘Best Japanese Citizen Award.’”
“Right, I’m just not sure… how could those people mobilize someone of such a high status to deal with a nobody like me?” Ye Xuan shook his head and rubbed his face with residual fear. He picked up the teacup to sip from and ease his anxious emotions.
Setting down the tea, Ye Xuan saw He Zhichu’s cool expression and then put on a face of admiration. “But luckily, Mr. He went there. There’s no need for me to talk too much about Mr. He’s impressiveness in court. I originally thought there was no need for Mr. He to get involved with a minor case like mine, but afterwards I understood why I really needed him. Mr. He was the only one capable of getting me safely out of the States.”
Gu Nianzhi felt even more interested and quickly asked, “Tell me, how was Professor He impressive? I bet his court arguments were so fierce that the opposition wished for death!”
“As if I need to tell you!” Ye Xuan brushed away the bangs that had fallen down, his eyes growing animated. “But I was even more impressed by Mr. He’s physical ability. Niaznhi, did you know that Mr. He has incredible physical skill? I think he’s even more powerful than those special forces soldiers or professional mercenaries! In the mountain valley, he jumped up from the ground and opened fire as if it were nothing!”
Gu Niaznhi’s already large eyes grew even bigger as she turned to He Zhichu. She stared at him from top to bottom, as if seeing him for the first time. “Is that true? Professor He, when did you learn all that?”
Unlike Huo Shaoheng, Gu Nianzhi had never seen He Zhichu train before. Nor did she ever see him do wilderness obstacle runs or witness his fighting skills. So when she looked at the fresh, clean, and handsome He Zhichu, Gu Nianzhi had a very hard time linking him to the fierce figure as described by Ye Xuan earlier.
He Zhichu looked down at her for a while before suddenly leaning in her ear to whisper quietly, “..You want to see me shoot?”
“Yeah!” Gu Nianzhi’s eyes nearly burst with admiration.
Huo Shaoheng frowned slightly, reaching out to hold the back of Gu Nianzhi’s neck and turning her neck to face Ye Xuan. “He hasn’t finished speaking. You shouldn’t be so rude.”
He Zhichu’s expression darkened as he reached out to remove Huo Shaoheng’s hand. He replied icily, “Major General Huo, I hope that you stop being so physical with Nianzhi. Such actions in public will trouble her.”
Huo Shaoheng removed his hand and inclined his chin slightly to glance at him and replied dryly, “I could say the same for you.”
Ma Qiqi sat on the couch directly across from Gu Nianzhi, her eyes gleaming brightly. She wanted nothing more than to record this exchange on her phone.
Now it was Gu Nianzhi’s turn to become completely rigid. She fiercely glared at Ma Qiqi, then turned her gaze back on Ye Xuan. “And then what happened? How did you guys escape?”
Ye Xuan looked at He Zhichu and smiled. “Mr. He had a way.” He made a gesture. “Mr. He has an exceptionally powerful gun. With one shot, it could disable the internet, power and communications. It helped us gain a valuable night’s time.”
He Zhichu closed his eyes and rubbed his temples from the mounting headache. He forgot to remind this kid not to speak nonsense…
As expected, Gu Nianzhi grew even more interested. However, she was more vigilant this time and covered her neck to prevent Huo Shaoheng from continuing to twist it. “Professor He, is that true? What kind of gun is that powerful?”