“Maybe she had a nightmare?” whispered one of the orderlies behind them; the entire situation seemed incredible to him.
These orderlies had been working at the Huo residence for many years now, but it was the first time they had encountered something like this.
The entire Huo residence was protected by strict security measures. No one had ever set foot inside the residence unless they had been invited; how was it possible for a strange, unknown woman to suddenly breach their perimeter?
Gu Nianzhi walked nervously to her bed. One corner of the blanket was turned back; she pulled the blanket away, and was greeted by the sight of a pristine, wrinkle-free bedsheet. It was as though the bed had been freshly made…
She knew there had been a cover-up. She turned to look at Huo Shaoheng, her expression solemn. “Uncle Huo, do you believe me?”
“I do.” Huo Shaoheng stood in the doorway, his hands clasped behind his back. He did not approach Gu Nianzhi’s bed; instead, he walked over to the south wall of the bedroom, towards the curtains covering the French windows.
Huo Shaoheng drew the curtains apart, and placed a hand on the handle of the French windows. The windows creaked open with a gentle nudge.
A cold wind immediately rushed into the bedroom. A few snowflakes drifted in the air.
“The window isn’t closed.” Huo Shaoheng turned to look at the orderlies. “Who prepared this room today?”
The orderlies shook their heads. “Sir, it wasn’t any of us. The household servants attend to this room.”
They were only responsible for the safety of the two military men in the Huo family: the retired former deputy commander of the military, Huo Xuenong, and his son, Huo Guanchen, the current director of the military’s Political Department. The food for these two men were specially prepared by dedicated orderlies; they did not eat out of the same wok as the rest of the Huo family.
Now that Huo Shaoheng had returned, the orderlies had to attend to him as well.
Gu Nianzhi was not part of the military. It was only logical for the Huo family servants to attend to her.
Huo Shaoheng turned to look out the window. He remembered that there was a row of wrought-iron streetlights along the flowerbeds and garden. They shone bright as the sun at night; all the curtains in the Huo residence had to be sturdy blackout drapes, to effectively block out the light from these streetlights at night.
But the streetlights were all dark now.
This was highly unusual.
“Why are the streetlights out?” Huo Shaoheng shut the windows and locked them before drawing the curtains together. He turned towards the orderlies.
The head orderly paled. He had not noticed the anomaly.
Gu Nianzhi’s small suite was located in a remote, neglected corner of the Huo residence. It had remained unoccupied for over a decade.
The Huo family had hurriedly prepared the room because Huo Shaoheng had suddenly instructed his subordinate to call his family and tell them he would be coming home to celebrate the New Year.
The streetlights outside this suite were not particularly important, in terms of security and location. It generally did not matter whether the lights were on or off.
But it had mattered today.
“…Sir, do you mean that someone entered from the French windows?” The head orderly hastily knocked his boots together in a military salute. “I’ll get someone to fix the streetlights, right away.”
Huo Shaoheng waved his hand, indicating that he did not want to press the issue. “Get the lights repaired tomorrow. Lock this room up—don’t let anyone near it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Huo Shaoheng walked over to Gu Nianzhi. “Pack your things. You’re staying with me.”
Gu Nianzhi could not have hoped for anything better. She dashed into the bathroom, grabbed her toiletries, and stuffed them into her suitcase. She followed Huo Shaoheng out of her bedroom, her suitcase trundling behind her.
Huo Shaoheng had taken only a few steps when he noticed the loud racket she was making: her slippers flopped against the floor, accompanied by the grating trundling of her suitcase. He whirled around, relieved her of the suitcase, and led her by the hand to his suite.
The door to the suite slammed shut. The orderlies did not follow them inside.
The orderlies discussed it among themselves, and decided a few of them would stand guard at the door to the bedroom Gu Nianzhi had just vacated. No one would be allowed to enter.
…
Gu Nianzhi followed Huo Shaoheng into his suite. She was finally calm enough to have a good look around.
She had been bundled directly into Huo Shaoheng’s master bedroom when she had first entered the suite, and had not had the time to have a proper look around.
“What are you looking at? Go to sleep.” Huo Shaoheng pointed to his bedroom. “Sleep in there. I’ll take the guest bedroom.”
His suite consisted of three bedrooms and two living rooms. The master bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, while the two smaller bedrooms shared a bathroom. Aside from a spacious lounge, which served as the main living room, there was also a fully furnished study.
Gu Nianzhi was not ready to go to bed just yet. She lingered behind Huo Shaoheng, her head lowered, and whispered, “Uncle Huo… you do believe me, don’t you?”
“Yes. Just go to sleep for now, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” Huo Shaoheng saw that she refused to budge. He picked up her suitcase, took hold of her arm with his other hand, and walked her to the master bedroom.
He set the suitcase down and led Gu Nianzhi over to his massive bed. “Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep.”
“But I saw her, I did. It wasn’t a dream.” Gu Nianzhi raised her head and grabbed Huo Shaoheng’s wrist. “…And after I ran out, someone went into my bedroom.”
“How do you know?”
“Because my bedsheets were too tidy.” Gu Nianzhi was still trembling all over; her words came out in intermittent stammers. “…I jumped right out of bed. I didn’t straighten my sheets. But when we went in just now, well, you saw it too—my blanket was neatly stretched over my bed. A corner was folded back, but that was it. I remember I was in such a hurry, I dragged half my blanket to the ground with me when I ran out of my room.”
Huo Shaoheng looked at her as he listened to her in silence. His dark, inky eyes glimmered like jade pieces: they seemed to suggest both sincere understanding and careless indifference.
When she had finished, Huo Shaoheng leaned across her and stooped to lift the blanket off his bed. He noted the mess of wrinkles on his bedsheet—yes, that was what the bed was supposed to look like when someone had gotten out of it in a hurry.
Someone had made Gu Nianzhi’s bed.
Huo Shaoheng calmly put her into bed and pulled the blanket over her. “Be a good girl now and go to sleep.”
Gu Nianzhi was forced to close her eyes and try to sleep. She sensed Huo Shaoheng turn off the lights at the door before leaving the master bedroom.
Once he had left, Gu Nianzhi opened her eyes in the darkness.
She always left a night light on whenever she slept alone.
She could not sleep in total darkness, not unless she had someone beside her.
She rolled about restlessly on the bed. The minutes ticked by, but she could not sleep.
Besides, she was still a little scared.
Gu Nianzhi did not understand why she had encountered something like this during her first night at the Huo residence. What were the odds?
She could not stop thinking about the woman in the white dress: she had seemed vaguely familiar.
Gu Nianzhi had an excellent memory. She never forgot anything she had seen.
She had only caught a startled glimpse of the woman, shrouded in the gloom of her bedroom; nevertheless, she had committed every distinguishing feature of the woman to memory.
She could recall, for example, that the woman’s eyes were long and slanted: the sort of eyes usually referred to as “phoenix eyes.” Her eyelashes were extraordinarily thick—thick enough to be mistaken for eyeliner when the woman lowered her eyes to look at her.
Her nose was exquisite, its profile flawless in every way.
Her lips were perfectly shaped. Her skin was probably extremely fair: in the dark gloom, Gu Nianzhi had thought that the woman seemed white as snow. Her beauty had been breath-taking.
The expression on her face had been timid, but curious.
Gu Nianzhi did not think the woman had meant to hurt her when she extended a hand towards her.
Gu Nianzhi turned over in her bed for the umpteenth time. She really could not sleep.
Finally, she sat up and punched the mattress in helpless frustration. She held her head in her hands and stared listlessly into space.
Over in the spare bedroom, Huo Shaoheng lay awake in his bed.
He had not closed his door, and could therefore hear every little sound from the master bedroom next door.
By the time he heard Gu Nianzhi punching her mattress, he had given up on sleep. He pushed his blanket away and got out of bed. He walked to the master bedroom, turned on the lights, and saw Gu Nianzhi sitting on the bed with her head between her knees.
Gu Nianzhi sensed that someone had entered the bedroom. By the time she lifted her head to check, the lights had already come on, and Huo Shaoheng had already walked over to the bed.
“Can’t sleep? Not used to this bed?” Huo Shaoheng sat on the bed. The mattress immediately sank beneath his weight, and Gu Nianzhi almost tumbled over.
She moved closer to Huo Shaoheng and muttered, “The room’s too dark…”
Both the ceiling lights and the bedside lamp in Huo Shaoheng’s master bedroom were extremely bright. The room had not been furnished with yellow night lights.
Gu Nianzhi had only fallen asleep in her previous suite because she had been exhausted and sleepy. Even then, she had been visited by restless dreams shortly after dozing off.
And now, she was practically awake after all the commotion.
“I’ll get someone to buy you a night light tomorrow.” Huo Shaoheng lifted the blanket. “Now go to sleep.”
Gu Nianzhi had no choice but to get under the blanket. She stared at Huo Shaoheng with wide, anxious eyes. “…Can you stay here with me?”