“Seduce…? No way, I don’t know how to! I don’t want to be too forward.” Gu Nianzhi said gingerly as she nervously grabbed one of the big leaves on the banana tree. She was no stranger to the word, “seduce.” During her two years of living in the university dorm, she had learned many things. Little Temptress had earned her moniker from being an expert seductress in the C University Faculty of Law. Any man she had been interested in had no hope of escaping from her allure.
“Nianzhi, that’s where you’re wrong. Seduction isn’t about being forward, or desperate.” Little Temptress was suddenly very passionate; this was usually the case once she started talking about her expertise. “The point of seduction is to pique the person’s interest, tempt him, and have him pursue you. So, you have to look good, be subtle, and be patient. That way you can leave yourself an escape route or move ahead, but not lose a friend if he refuses you.”
“Oh? I can do that too?” Gu Nianzhi felt as though a new world had opened for her; her heart thudded loudly in her chest as she tore off half of the banana leaves she was holding.
“Of course! How do you think I got so popular and achieved the supreme title of ‘Little Temptress?!'” She laughed wickedly: if any of her “devotees” had seen her then, they would’ve been shocked by the extreme duality of her personality.
“So…how do you seduce them?” Gu Nianzhi was interested now and swore to herself that she would master the art of seduction.
Little Temptress leaned on her bed and beamed. “Well, half is understanding and the other half is talent. The master can show the way, but learning depends on the pupil. Nianzhi, you have always learned things quickly, so I believe in you!”
“Tell me!” Gu Nianzhi became anxious. “Stop talking nonsense.”
…
On the walkway outside the greenhouse, Huo Shaoheng lit a cigarette and began to smoke. Even though Gu Nianzhi’s phone conversation wasn’t very loud, the location happened to be very quiet. No one else was there, so Huo Shaoheng could hear most of it when he leaned against the smooth wall of the greenhouse. His face was expressionless as he blew white smoke sporadically. It clouded over his face and only revealed the dim light in his dark, jade-like eyes.
…
Little Temptress continued to say over the phone, “Seduction is neither simple nor difficult. The key is to control the level and also how well you know the person you like.”
This was hard to say. Gu Nianzhi frowned in deep thought and asked, “In which aspect?” She knew Huo Shaoheng’s favorite color, favorite food, what he liked to do, when he was angry, and when he was happy. Everything else wasn’t clear.
Sure enough, Little Temptress went for the sore spot. “You don’t even know that? For example, what kind of woman he likes?”
“Huh?” Gu Nianzhi felt quite helpless. What kind of woman Huo Shaoheng likes? This is hard to say… She had only seen it once, during the reception at the International Extraordinary Women’s Commendation Conference—Huo Shaoheng had smiled at a beautiful woman once before, so did that count? Gu Nianzhi pondered for a long time only to shake her head. “I’m not sure.”
Little Temptress was monetarily dumbfounded. She thought about it some more and changed the angle of questioning. “What kind of female celebrity does he like? Plump or thin? Tall or short? Curvy or slim?”
Gu Nianzhi was at a loss. She was truly helpless now. The stoic Major General Huo Shaoheng being interested in female celebrities?! That was too impossible; she had a better chance thinking about how she could earn 100 million, that’s how far fetched it was.
“Nianzhi! You don’t know anything about this guy and yet you like him?!” Little Temptress was starting to worry. “You might as well change your sights to someone else!”
“No!” Gu Nianzhi reflexively refused. “I love only him. I will never be able to love anyone else more than I love him.” Even if she didn’t marry all her life, she had to stay by his side.
“Fine.” Little Temptress closed her eyes; she hated nothing more but lovesick little girls who refused to be reasonable! But this was Gu Nianzhi, her dearest roommate and good friend, so she couldn’t watch her squander her youth in a hopeless love. Although youth would pass even if it’s not wasted, it was better to make something out of it rather than sitting idly.
Little Temptress perked up again. “Fine, we’ll forget about what kind woman he likes, since it doesn’t matter if he likes you or not; you’ll like him anyway. We have to make him like you, right?”
“Yep!” Little Temptress’ sentence went straight to Gu Nianzhi’s heart. She nodded like a little chicken pecking at rice, a strand of loose hair swaying with her fiercely bobbing head. Why did it matter what kind of woman Huo Shaoheng liked? She liked him, so she had to make sure his type was only her! If it wasn’t, then she had to seduce him until it was! Gu Nianzhi clenched her hands into fists and could almost feel her tiny universe erupt into flames. With a clear direction confirmed, then the course of action could be followed through.
Little Temptress began saying to her over the phone, “Seduction is actually very simple. It’s a matter of adjusting to the conditions and seducing at all times. For example, don’t look directly at him when you talk to him, but stand in front of him and peer at a 45 degree angle. When he walks besides you, glance at him from the corner of your eye. When he notices, quickly look away and go through with the mistake. Also, casually help him adjust his collar, pinch his arms, or ask if he wants to buy new clothes. It’s winter right now, so you can ask him to warm your hands up after a shower at night, or something intimate like that.”
Gu Nianzhi thought about it and meekly realized that with this kind of seduction technique, she would die of embarrassment before it had any effect on him. She also knew that if she tried this on Huo Shaoheng, he would for sure think she had gone crazy and maybe take her to Chen Lie for a CT brain scan.
“Is there any other way?” Gu Nianzhi asked weakly, almost wanting to raise her hand up for permission to ask. “I don’t think these will work on him…”
“Hey! How do you know it won’t work if you haven’t even tried it?!” Little Temptress lost her temper; she dared to question her professional seduction expertise?! That was unacceptable!
“I’m telling you, the point of seduction is to be second nature and not too obvious! Your goal is to leave a good impression on the man you like, not confuse him.” Little Temptress was growing disappointed. Gu Nianzhi was such a clever little girl in class, why was she dull when it came to love? Perhaps she was still too young?
Gu Nianzhi kept silent as Little Temptress ranted on and even moved the phone away from her ear when the scolding became too loud. However, when she did this, it enabled Huo Shaoheng to hear everything. He remained impassive and calmly smoked.
“Little Temptress, what other methods do you have? That person… that person is very difficult.” Gu Nianzhi had waited until Little Temptress finished venting before she asked in a quiet voice. She put the phone close to ear to listen carefully.
It was then that Huo Shaoheng threw the cigarette butt into a nearby trashcan and turned to walk inside. He silently walked up to Gu Nianzhi, and said her name.
“Nianzhi.”
Gu Nianzhi was so frightened that her hand slipped and the phone clattered to the ground. Huo Shaoheng quickly bent over and grabbed it with his hands. He ended the call and passed it back to her. “What are you doing here?”
Gu Nianzhi was so embarrassed her face was red. She could only pray that Huo Shaoheng hadn’t overheard the explicit things she had been talking about with Little Temptress and muttered, “I-I was calling a classmate.”
“Mhmm…go back now. You’ve been out for a long time.” Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything more and spread out his slender fingers toward her. Gu Nianzhi carefully put her delicate hand into his palm and let him hold it as they returned to the private room.
…
The doors to the private room opened, Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi walked inside together.
“Hmm? You came back together?” Xue Jingjiang was totally drunk and stumbled over to pull Huo Shaoheng. “Huo Shao, Tianqun drank so much he started crying earlier! You… you.. Hic… hurry and persuade him…”
“What’s there to cry about?” Huo Shaoheng sat down, but did not release Gu Nianzhi’s hand. She had no choice but to sit in her earlier seat beside Huo Shaoheng. She didn’t want to entertain the three woman she had just met anyway; she would rather sit with him.
“He has lots to cry about.” Cui Baifei burped, his face flushed. “His uncle committed such a serious crime and even lost his life. Their family seems ok, but actually… actually…”
“Actually, nothing. Bai Yusheng is Bai Yusheng, while the Bai family is the Bai family. He paid for his own actions alone; it’s not customary to have collective punishment anymore.” Huo Shaoheng spoke casually as he poured himself another glass of wine. With his composure, no one would have ever suspected that he had been the one who had ended the life of the man that made Bai Tianqun cry and shout, and whom the Bai’s hated yet missed—Bai Yusheng.
“Stop with these depressing words. Here, have some more to drink!” Hong Ziqi loudly offered to pour them more wine.
Gu Nianzhi stared at the bottle of Maotai in front her, inhaling it deeply, a deep longing in her eyes. Certain things she dared not do when she was sober. Certain things, she dared not say when she was sober. If she got drunk, would she still be so hesitant to do and say those things? Gu Nianzhi mustered her courage and opened her mouth to ask to drink.
Unexpectedly, Huo Shaoheng beat her to it and said, “Want to drink?” Gu Nianzhi’s neck stiffened and she nodded robotically. Huo Shaoheng considered it and dipped an unopened pair of chopsticks into his own glass, then put them to Gu Nianzhi’s lips, “Open your mouth.”
Gu Nianzhi could feel her blush travel down to her neck as she opened her cherry lips mechanically and stuck out her tongue to lick the chopsticks Huo Shaoheng held.
Huo Shaoheng swallowed forcefully and his Adam’s apple bobbed, but he kept a composed face. “Can you drink it?” He asked Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi nodded, but was cringing inside. Only four or five year old kids licked wine from chopsticks. Did that mean that Huo Shaoheng only saw her as a child? A surly bravado began rising from within Gu Nianzhi’s heart. No, she couldn’t allow Huo Shao to think she was still a kid; she was already 18 and therefore, an adult. She was old enough and certainly big enough!
Gu Nianzhi made up her mind and reached over Huo Shaoheng to pick up the bottle and poured herself a small glass. She smiled at him, “Huo Shao, I toast to you. You’ve worked hard all these years, but you can rest easy now.”
Huo Shaoheng’s right hand was draped on the back of her chair. He looked at her sideways, his eyes as calm as deep pools. He slowly raised his glass with his left hand and clinked his glass with Gu Nianzhi’s. Huo Shaoheng downed the glass with one breath and Gu Nianzhi followed suit after watching him.
The four drunk men besides them saw this and clapped. “Impressive! She’s certainly from the Huo family! She can drink, so she must have good character too! Little Gu, you’ve made a friend in this man here!” Xue Jingjiang shouted the loudest and even brought his own glass over to drink with Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi had just drank a glass of Maotai. At first, she hadn’t felt anything and had only tasted the sweet heartiness of the wine, wanting more. Her insides were warm and she felt pleasant. But soon after, her mind began spinning, her legs turned to jelly, and she felt so weightless she believed she could float off into the air with little effort. When she saw Xue Jingjiang come over to have a toast with her, even in her drunkenness, Gu Nianzhi still remembered to looking at Huo Shaoheng for permission.
Huo Shaoheng quietly filled her glass again. “Have a bit more, it’s rare that you’re Brother Xue is so happy today.”