“General Ji, did Miss Gu Yanran donate this incredible sum? She finally wired the money over?”
Colonel Zhu was in charge of finance in the office of the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military. He grinned when he saw the figure in the bank account. “Oh my god! 90 million US dollars! That’s almost double the 50 million that had been previously agreed on. It looks like our Major General Shao has made another great contribution!” Not only was the giant donation used to set up a charity fund, Colonel Zhu thought, but it was also named after Major General Huo! How impressive! Colonel Zhu was humming a tune when he carried a pile of files to General Ji’s desk.
General Ji looked up at him, his reading glasses reflecting the strong glare of his desk lamp, and said, “Colonel Zhu, I’m not confident in how you’re handling our financial affairs. It looks like I’ll have to replace my financial supervisor.”
“Huh?” Colonel Zhu placed the files on General Ji’s desk and hastily said, “General Ji! Please tell me if I’ve made any mistakes! I’ve followed you for over 10 years and have worked hard all this time.”
“Quiet!” General Ji barked, “Financial affairs is hard work you say? If I had you lead soldiers to battle, then would you dare to say to me that the work you do now is hard?!”
“General Ji, I was just being modest! Please don’t take it seriously. Where have I miscalculated the financial accounts?” Colonel Zhu frowned as he stood before General Ji and looked through the books.
Bai Yueran, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, giggled. “Colonel Zhu, you were indeed mistaken. This money was not from Gu Yanran. I’m telling you now, Uncle Ji will forgive you and won’t punish you if you say the wrong thing, but you better say a prayer if you utter such inaccuracies in front of Major General Huo. Neither Uncle Ji nor Uncle Long will be able to save you.”
Now visibly tense, Colonel Zhu quickly took out all the bank deposit information and carefully looked at it. “Oh my god! It’s not Gu Yanran? Then who? The name…it’s been scratched out.” Colonel Zhu peered at it for a long time and finally found a remittance note explaining that the sender had selected to give an “anonymous” donation. Colonel Zhu’s rank wasn’t high enough so he couldn’t view the sender’s real name.
“Well, you just need to know the donor wasn’t Gu Yanran.” General Ji removed his reading glasses and threw it on the desk before rubbing his eyes. “Go now, and see whether Major General Huo is here.”
“Uncle Ji, I’ll go greet him.” Bai Yueran smiled as she left the room.
…
Huo Shaoheng stood alone in General Ji’s lobby. He was in formal military uniform, the buttons on his chest neatly done and a wide calfskin military belt on his waist. Under the belt, his long legs were clad in knee-length military boots over slim fitted black trousers. He had his hands tucked into his pockets and was gazing at an exquisite painting of a fierce tiger descending a mountain, the landscape shrouded in mist and shadowed by dark trees. Hearing footsteps behind him, Huo Shaoheng turned back to look.
“Mr. Huo, Uncle Ji will see you now.” Bai Yueran nodded at him. “This way please.”
Huo Shaoheng turned to her and asked, “Why are you here?”
Bai Yueran had previously worked in the office but had later transferred to the 6th Military Region. She was meant to report to Huo Shaoheng if she came, as it was required.
Bai Yueran promptly explained, “What happened was that General Ji had a matter that’s related to my previous role and also involved Mr. Huo. So General Ji issued a secret order for me to come here alone first.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded and didn’t say anything more until they arrived at General Ji’s office.
“Shaoheng is here? Please sit.” General Ji broke into a smile when he saw Huo Shaoheng and gestured him to sit beside him. Huo Shaoheng was his favorite disciple and also the sharpest blade the Empire kept in the shadows: the military’s secret weapon. The most important thing for a powerful nation and army was a successor. Huo Shaoheng sat next to General Ji in standard military position, hands on his knees and back straight.
“Mr. Huo, you can relax. Today we’re discussing a good thing.” Bai Yueran playfully winked at him and set a cup of Da Hong Pao oolong tea before him. “Please enjoy.”
General Ji chuckled and patted the back of the chair. “Yes! Yueran is right, Shaoheng; don’t be like this, I feel as though I don’t know how to sit properly anymore when you act all formal.’
Huo Shaoheng gave a small smile. “General Ji, you must be joking. We’re at your office right now, not at your home. How can I not be serious?”
“That’s true.” General Ji laughed loudly and placed a large pile of files on the coffee table in front of Huo Shaoheng and Bai Yueran, “Shaoheng, you’ve raised her well. I give you full points as a guardian these past six years!”
Huo Shaoheng froze, looking at General Ji while his mind spun. Is this about Gu Nianzhi? What did that girl do now? Huo Shaoheng was worried. She had just moved abroad two months ago and had soon gotten into serious trouble. Could he really let her be?
Bai Yueran looked at Huo Shaoheng’s startled expression and laughed so hard she cried. “Look at much you’ve stressed out Mr. Huo. Uncle Ji, hurry up and tell him before Nianzhi gets a scolding from him again!”
“What, this really has to do with Nianzhi? What did she do now?” Huo Shaoheng chuckled, but his eyes were full of doubt.
General Ji knocked on the coffee table. “Look for yourself. She established a charity fund for our fallen soldiers and even named it after you. See, all your efforts these years were not a waste. This child is bright and kind. We made the right choice back then.” General Ji finished speaking and gave a great sigh. The room suddenly grew silent.
Huo Shaoheng flipped through the bank transfer information and saw her name behind the “Anonymous” donor tag, stroking his finger over it. Just brushing his fingers over the characters threw his emotions in turmoil. Nianzhi was truly an amazing girl. She had been a great help with the Nandou system incident, and this time she put in even more effort and had even donated money. She had given away 90 million US dollars without skipping a beat. Huo Shaoheng knew from Zhao Liangze that Gu Nianzhi’s counterclaim on the Xin Xinggao had resulted in the grossly generous compensation of 100 million USD through the concerted efforts of the US military and CIA. 10 million had been used to pay legal fees to He Zhichu’s law firm and Huo Shaoheng had asked Zhao Liangze to deposit the remaining 90 million to Gu Nianzhi’s personal bank account. He had intended for it to be the foundation for her savings, so that when she started a family in the future, she would be financially independent. He had never thought that the sly girl would donate all the money to the military.
Bai Yueran held the fine china teacup delicately and spoke softly. “It’s been six years and we still haven’t found out anything about her past. General Ji, Major General Huo, she will turn 18 in two months. What do you plan to do then?”
Gu Nianzhi would become an adult once she turned 18 and from a legal standpoint, she no longer needed a guardian. She would have more freedom as an independent person.
General Ji rested his chin on his hand and asked Huo Shaoheng thoughtfully, “Shaoheng, what do you say?”
Huo Shaoheng closed the file, pushing it back to General Ji and casting his eyes down. “There’s nothing to do. She’s just an ordinary girl. It’s been enough to monitor her for six years already. Once she’s 18, we’ll let her live like a normal person.”