He Zhichu’s warm, slender fingers were wrapped firmly around Gu Nianzhi’s delicate hand.
His expression was cold and ruthless, but his bright almond eyes looked at Gu Nianzhi with concern.
Gu Nianzhi looked towards Yin Shixiong. She tried to free herself from He Zhichu’s grasp, but he reflexively tightened his hold on her.
Just then, a policeman came over and asked Yin Shixiong to follow him. “Are you the owner of the car? The sergeant has a few questions for you.”
Yin Shixiong put an arm around Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder, and looked at He Zhichu. “Professor He, I’m leaving Nianzhi in your care for now. I’ll pick her up from your office once I’ve taken care of this.”
He Zhichu nodded. “Okay, no problem. I was going to discuss her case with my assistants anyway. You should join the discussion when you come over.” He tightened his grip on Gu Nianzhi’s hand.
Yin Shixiong let go of Gu Nianzhi. “Go, I’ll look for you later.”
Gu Nianzhi looked at him a second time, before He Zhichu turned her around and led her to his car.
He Zhichu opened the car door and helped her in.
Gu Nianzhi was deathly pale. Her eyes were wide and unseeing; it took some time for her to react to her surroundings.
He Zhichu did not say anything. He started the car and drove to his office.
When they arrived at He Zhichu’s office, he made her a cappuccino with extra milk and sugar.
“Here, drink this.” He Zhichu held the blue and white coffee mug out to Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi did not take the mug. She looked up at him, her expression timid, like a child in unfamiliar company. There was a storm brewing in the depths of her eyes, but it was covered by a veil of fog. Her mind alternated between lucidity and confusion. She could feel memories stirring within her, struggling to break out; but when she made an effort to remember, she came up empty handed. There was simply nothing there.
Is it possible I don’t actually have a past?
The thought flashed through Gu Nianzhi’s mind, unbidden.
He Zhichu saw that Gu Nanzhi wasn’t responding to him. He took a closer look at her eyes, and realized she was barely there. He put an arm around her and sat her down on the two-seater sofa, in his lap. He called out to her in a soft voice: “Nianzhi? Nianzhi?”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flickered at his voice. She looked at him doubtfully.
“Want some cappuccino? You told me it’s your favorite.” He raised the coffee mug to Gu Nianzhi’s lips.
Gu Nianzhi could smell the pleasant, lingering aroma of milk wafting from the cappuccino. It was comforting.
She slowly opened her mouth.
He Zhichu pursed his lips. He let her lean against his chest, and supported her head as he raised the coffee mug to her lips. “Drink.”
Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes. She latched onto He Zhichu’s hand and began drinking the coffee in small sips.
He Zhichu watched her long, fan-like eyelashes flutter close over her beautiful inky eyes.
Under her exquisite nose, her pouty lips latched onto the coffee mug as she drank the warm cappuccino with enthusiasm.
Coffee, sugar, and milk all had a soothing effect on the nerves; the effect was amplified when taken together.
Gu Nianzhi’s racing heart gradually returned to normal.
As he watched Gu Nianzhi, a parade of emotions flickered across He Zhichu’s face: anger, anxiety, and outrage at her predicament were followed by distress, pity, and the desire to pamper her like a child. There was even a hint of something else, something he did not want to think about right now.
When she had finished the entire mug of cappuccino, Gu Nianzhi raised her head. Her lips released the rim of the mug, and she pushed the mug away with her hand. She was telling him that she was done.
He Zhichu set the mug down on the small coffee table beside the sofa, but did not move away. He kept her in his arms, with a hand on the small of her back. He lowered his head and looked into her face; his lips were practically beside her ear when he said, in his cool voice, “…What happened? Were you scared out of your wits?”
Gu Nianzhi blinked, and finally snapped out of it.
She saw He Zhichu’s handsome, enigmatic face, so close to her, and reflexively reached out and pushed it away. She immediately stood up. “Professor He, you can have the chair to yourself, I don’t mind standing.”
He Zhichu had toppled backwards into the sofa when Gu Nianzhi pushed him away. When he looked at her again, she had already jumped away from him, quick as lightning.
The tall, slender girl stood before him, frowning. She was obviously unhappy.
“I see you’re no longer afraid.” Now that Gu Nianzhi had shot out of her seat, He Zhichu decided to make himself comfortable on the sofa. He crossed his legs and draped one hand over the back of the sofa. “What are you standing around for? Sit down.” He pointed to the sofa opposite him.
Gu Nianzhi had been shell-shocked ever since witnessing the car accident and the resulting fire.
She had gone through the motions, like a zombie, when He Zhichu brought her to his office and gave her a cup of coffee to drink; her body had known what was happening, but none of it had registered in her mind.
She was now fully awake, and just as unhappy. “Professor He, don’t treat me like a child. I’m an adult.” She thought about it and added, “I will be 18 in two months.”
He Zhichu had fed her as though she were a helpless baby. All that was missing was He Zhichu burping her after she was done.
He was her professor: as the saying went, a teacher for a day was a father figure for life. Surely it had been entirely inappropriate for him to sit so close to her?
Gu Nianzhi wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She took a few steps backwards and sat down on the opposite sofa.
He Zhichu did not seem to mind. He picked up the phone receiver and made a few calls over the internal line. “Nianzhi’s here. Come to my office now for the meeting.”
He had originally planned on having the meeting in the meeting room.
However, Gu Nianzhi was obviously still rattled; He Zhichu decided to let her remain in his office, which was familiar to her, to calm her nerves.
In a few moments, several men in suits appeared in the doorway to He Zhichu’s office, armed with laptops and briefcases.
“We’ll have the meeting over there.” He Zhichu stood and walked to the small meeting area in his office.
His office was enormous; besides the office area where he worked, there was also a small suite comprising a small meeting room and a reception room.
Gu Nianzhi followed him into the meeting area, and seated herself.
He Zhichu sat beside her. His fingers, slender and fair, tapped on the table. “What do you all think about the case?”
He Zhichu’s subordinates were all elite lawyers, working with the biggest, most prestigious law firm in the United States.
The scale and severity of Gu Nianzhi’s “crime” was currently up in the air—it depended entirely on how the US military intended to spin it.
The lawyers currently had their hands tied; they did not know how far the US military wanted to take the case.
It was obvious from the strategies the lawyers had come up with that they were all playing it safe. They had not decided on a concrete direction to steer the case in.
Gu Nianzhi rested her chin in her hand as she listened in silence. Her eyes were drawn to the sunlight leaking through the blinds.
She watched the dust dancing in the shafts of light, her thoughts elsewhere.
“Nianzhi? Nianzhi?” He Zhichu had to call her name twice before she returned to her senses. “Professor He? What is it?”
“What do you think about the case?”
“…I’m the defendant. Are you asking me to represent myself, Professor He?” Gu Nianzhi glanced sideways at him, calm and fearless.
“Of course not. Just think of this as someone else’s case. How would you prepare for it?” He Zhichu leaned over to her. “This will be good practice for you.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled. She scrutinized the lawyers, one by one, as they squirmed under her gaze. She sat up straight, and placed her hands neatly on the table, one on top of the other. “I’ll be honest then—everything you have here is absolute trash.”