“Uh huh.” Gu Nianzhi clutched the phone as she nodded vigorously, her voice sweet as honey. Huo Shaoheng could almost imagine how docile she looked through the line. His icy gaze gradually softened and his fingers gently rubbed on her phone number on the screen before he finally ended the call.
Gu Nianzhi slowly set the phone down when she heard the line disconnect. She rose and went to the bathroom. In the mirror’s reflection, her cheeks were blushing, eyes watery and even her skin was perfect. Her skin glowed to make her appear luminous from within. Who would believe she had locked herself in her room without food for a day and night? Gu Nianzhi patted her cheeks before washing her face and changing into a pea green T-shirt and white short shorts. She put on panda slippers and opened the door to walk out.
He Zhichu heard sounds from the room and turned his head to look. A young girl stepped out from the room–youthful, feminine and delicate like the first dew drops of the morning. She was practically glowing and demanded his attention. Gu Nianzhi’s smile was it sweet it stung He Zhichu’s eyes. He gazed fixedly at her, his sultry eyes suddenly became nervous for a second and he could scarcely speak.
Yin Shixiong stormed over and shouted, “Nianzhi! You finally came out!” Taking her hand, he examined her and asked with concern, “Are you ok? Are you hungry? I made some congee…”
Gu Nianzhi nodded, “I’m hungry, starving. Brother Xiong, I want to eat white fungus and lotus seed congee. The white fungus and lotus seed have to be stewed till they’re soft, don’t add sugar.”
“…I only made plain congee.” Yin Shixiong answered, “You chat with Professor He, I’ll go make the white fungus and lotus seed congee.” As soon as he saw Gu Nianzhi, it was already apparent that Huo Shaoheng called her–otherwise this little princess wouldn’t be so easy going… Yin Shixiong went to the kitchen to use the electric pressure cooker to make the congee.
Gu Nianzhi sat in the living room with He Zhichu. “Professor He, thank you for visiting me.” Gu Nianzhi stood in front of him and bowed respectfully in 90 degree angle.
Though perplexed, He Zhichu appeared indifferent as he smiled and crossed his leg, “Oh? Nianzhi, why are you so polite? Aren’t you cursing at me in your mind?”
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and put on a docile smile, “How could that be? Am I such a badly behaved student in Professor He’s eyes? You’re my professor, so I must respect you–how can I curse you? I’m very sorry for giving you trouble.”
He Zhichu watched Gu Nianzhi’s sparkling eyes and chortled, “Your smile is so fake, who do you think you’re trying to coax?” Although she was polite, her demeanor had become more distant than two days ago.
“I’m thanking you sincerely, how can you say I’m coaxing you?” Gu Nianzhi was miffed, “I’ve never coaxed anyone all my life.”
“Oh? Then I’m honored to be the first person ever coaxed by Nianzhi. I didn’t make a trip for nothing, after all.” He Zhichu sood up lazily, his gaze resting on Gu Nianzhi’s face for a second, “I’m going now, make sure to eat. Go to campus tomorrow and we’ll discuss your case.”
With Huo Shaoheng’s words of reassurance, Gu Nianzhi was no longer worried. She smiled and nodded, “With Professor He helping me, they don’t stand a chance!”
“You’re that confident in me?” He Zhichu had walked a few steps towards the door before abruptly turning back to face her, “If we lose the lawsuit, you’re going to jail.”
Gu Nianzhi raised a fist to wave in the air, “If Professor He can’t even win a case like this, then the largest law firm has made a huge mistake in choosing Professor He as partner.”
“I’ve always said that you’re very keen for your age.” He Zhichu reached out to touch Gu Nianzhi’s head, “Think about how you would defend yourself and tell me when you come by my office tomorrow.”
Gu Nianzhi happily agreed and saw He Zhichu off at the apartment door. After he entered the elevator, Gu Nianzhi closed the door and went to the kitchen. She crossed her arms and tapped her feet as she snorted at Yin Shixiong, who was busy with cooking.
Yin Shixiong had just put the white fungus and lotus seed porridge into the pressure cooker and set the timer for 20 minutes and planned to make a few appetizers in the meanwhile. He heard Gu Nianzhi snort and turned his head at her in confusion, “What now? Weren’t you happy that Mr. Huo coaxed you?”
“Uncle Huo doesn’t know how to coax?” Gu Nianzhi sneered, “Don’t change the subject, Brother Xiong. Tell me, how much did you tell Uncle Huo?”
“Everything.” Yin Shixiong shrugged, “You knew that I have report everything, even the smallest detail.”
“You–!” Gu Nianzhi suddenly remembered chatting about how she had made a six month agreement with Mei Xiawen and closed her eyes in annoyance. She cradled her head and shook it, “What about me and Mei Xiawen, you told him about that too?”
“Of course.” Yin Shixiong pouted at her and turned around to continue cutting vegetables, “I’m telling you, you already made a six month promise with someone, so you have to be careful and not attract too much attention.”
“How am I attracting attention?” Gu Nianzhi laughed coldly, “I don’t have sultry eyes like Professor He.”
“Hehe, are you jealous of them? How about I sponsor you to go abroad for cosmetic surgery, so you can get a pair of sultry eyes too?”
“No thanks. My eyes are great and I don’t want surgery.” Gu Nianzhi spun around the kitchen with her arms crossed, slightly annoyed, “Uncle Huo just called me, but he didn’t say anything about this.”
“About what?”
“My six month promise with Mei Xiawen.”
“What’s there to say?” Yin Shixiong thought Gu Nianzhi was making a big deal out of nothing, “This is your personal problem, and Mr. Huo is just your guardian, why would he be concerned? As long as Mei Xiawen doesn’t hurt you, Mr. Huo and I are happy for you.”
“…Is that so?” Gu Nianzhi was stunned, neither happy nor unhappy. She nodded, no longer wanting to think about it, “Tell me when the congee is ready, I’m so hungry I don’t even want to go online.”
“Oh! This is really serious, the Internet addict doesn’t even want to go online. I believe that you’re really starving.” Yin Shixiong teased as he waved the spatula to kick her out of the kitchen.
Soon after returning to her room, Yin Shixiong called to let her know that the congee was ready. He also prepared two light appetizers, potatoes with vinegar and vegetable salad. Devouring it happily, she had three bowls of porridge and wiped out all the appetizers. Early next morning, Gu Nianzhi put on her backpack and went downstairs to head over to He Zhichu’s office at the Law School. Yin Shixiong would be driving her there. When the pair went down to the parking lot, Yin Shixiong suddenly took Gu Nianzhi’s hand and whispered in her ear, “…Someone’s following us.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled inconspicuously and go into the car as usual. They didn’t speak much after getting into the car, and Yin Shixiong took out an anti-eavesdropping device to scan the interior to discover it had been bugged. A normal person would have never detected it, but Yin Shixiong did this as a living. Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and remained silent as they drove to the Law School.
Yin Shixiong blinked at her, “You have class today, remember to come home earlier. I need to get an oil change, so I’ll go after I pick you up.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded intently and sighed, “I still have classes, but how can I even concentrate?”
They did not speak again and headed towards the road to Harvard campus. Yin Shixiong saw a silver Honda Accord follow them at an even pace from the rearview mirror and laughed, “We’re almost here, get ready to go.” He motioned to her to “hang on.” Gu Nianzhi hurriedly clutched at the handle above her and they began going uphill. Yin Shixiong suddenly pressed on the accelerator to speed forward. The silver car behind noticed this and also sped up. Just when the car was visible to Yin Shixiong from the rearview mirror again, he abruptly slammed on the brakes.
Squeak! Thump! Boom!
The Accord didn’t expect the car in the front to brake so suddenly. Before the driver even reacted, he heard a boom and the car had rear ended the SUV. Since there was a collision, they would have to exit the vehicles and exchange insurance information to have insurance evaluate the incident. But before the driver got out of the car, he noticed his car moving again. It was moving backwards! The driver was shocked, what was happening? Why did the SUV he just rear ended slide backwards?!
Rather than sliding backwards, it was Yin Shixiong covertly stepping on the accelerator as he reversed the SUV… Although it was secondhand, it had a much sturdier frame than the humble Honda Accord. The SUV was fine after being rear ended, and even capable of reversing.
“Ah!” Gu Nianzhi screamed, “Help! Help!”
The students on the tree lined road saw this and all quickly moved out of the way–bikers, drivers, pedestrians and people on skateboards. They saw the silver Honda Accord rear end the SUV, then the SUV lost control and slid backwards, picking up speed and pushing the Accord downhill. The driver finally realized what was happening and desperately pushed the door open to escape. Yin Shixiong watched him from the mirror and smiled ruthlessly before pressing down on the accelerator harder to push the Accord off the road and viciously slam into a large tree. The solid frame of the SUV coupled with the accelerated speed crushed the Accord, sandwiching it against the tree!
“Hurry!” Yin Shixiong yanked the seatbelt off Gu Nianzhi and carried her out of the SUV. They jumped out of the car and tumbled down the hill before getting up again and screaming “Help!” as they sped towards the road. A great explosion sounded behind them, flames emerging from the two vehicles and burning them to metal skeletons in a matter of seconds. The driver hadn’t escaped. Gu Nianzhi’s mind was transported back to the accident six years ago and she tightly clung on the Yin Shixiong’s collar. She was shaking uncontrollably, her face ashen and eyes glazed. Yin Shixiong’s expression was icy as he glared at the car. His gaze softened when he looked down and embraced Gu Nianzhi, patting her back in comfort. They stood on the side of the road and heard the sound of police sirens speed towards them. There were many eyewitnesses and everyone rushed over to comfort Yin Shixiong and Gu Nianzhi. Seeing that Gu Nianzhi was in shock and breaking down, the bylookers panicked and urged Yin Shixiong to take her to a doctor right away.
Yin Shixiong laughed coldly, “We have to wait for the police to come, or we won’t know what’s going to happen after.” He took out his phone to dial He Zhichu and told him succinctly, “Professor He, we are in trouble again…”
He Zhichu was both furious and shocked when he finished listening to Yin Shixiong. He was angry that Lieutenant Colonel Peter and his men had the audacity to tail Gu Nianzhi when she was already being sued by them… He was shocked that Gu Nianzhi either had very powerful, or very lucky people at her side. They were only being followed, but were able to turn the tables and kill the enemy. There was also no evidence left for the US Military to trace.
He Zhichu raced to the scene and saw the two vehicles were already towed. A police officer was making records–Yin Shixiong’s statement, as well as a few brave students who stayed behind to be eyewitnesses, as well as Harvard employees. All the statements matched, the second car rear ended the SUV, and because it was uphill, the SUV lost control and slid down. THe Honda Accord was pushed off the road and hit a big tree. Luckily the two SUV passengers escaped quickly, otherwise they’d end up like the driver, burnt to ashes… The police officer recording statements had ample experience and had seen all sorts of bizarre accidents before, so it wasn’t the first time he saw such a collision. He was not surprised.
He Zhichu stood beside Gu Nianzhi, whose face was ashen and eyes glazed over.
“Nianzhi?” He quietly called her name.
Gu Nianzhi was dumbfounded for a long time before she looked up at He Zhichu.
“Professor… He?” Her speech was slow, like she had just regained speech abilities.
“Are you frightened?” He Zhichu caressed her head and took her hand when she didn’t shy away. He took her away, “It’s ok, come back with me to the office first. Have a hot drink to help calm down.”