Ever since she was a little girl, Bai Jinyi had always been extraordinary talented academically. She had skipped grades several times, entered college at the age of 16, and graduated in only three years. She had gotten her master’s degree in two years, and her Ph.D. in high energy physics from Princeton University in four.
Her classmates who started college with her had had to spend four years to get their bachelor’s, three years to get their master’s, and another five to seven years to get their doctorate abroad. That was a total of 12 to 14 years, but Bai Jinyi had achieved all that in nine years.
She had been exceedingly proud of her accomplishments—until another girl from the Huaxia Empire showed up while Bai Jinyi was studying for her Ph.D. at Princeton University, and upstaged her entirely.
Bai Jinyi had not been the only one who had been shocked by the other girl—all the professors in the Princeton University Physics Department had been flabbergasted, too.
The other girl was Song Jinning. She had entered the B University Physics Department at the age of 15, and graduated from college at 17. She had subsequently been admitted to the high energy physics Ph.D. program in Princeton University.
It had taken Song Jinning only three years to get both her master’s and doctorate in high energy physics.
Song Jinning had spent only a total of five years to achieve what Bai Jinyi had needed nine years to do.
Bai Jinyi fidgeted uneasily in her seat as she recalled what had happened next.
Bai Jinyi had been a sore loser. She had thrown a huge tantrum during her final year in the Ph.D. program, and forced her eldest brother help her “amend” her age on both her birth certificate and the census register, so that she would be “officially” four years younger…
Bai Jinyi was actually over 50 years old. It had happened so long ago, most of the people who had known about her deception had already passed away. Now, only her brothers knew her real age.
Bai Changhui looked at his watch. “It’s been more than an hour. He should be done reading the document by now. Is he trying to waste our time?”
The two of them looked out the window to see what Huo Shaoheng was doing.
Huo Shaoheng leisurely smoked his cigarette for another 15 minutes. He checked his watch, saw that Chen Lie would probably be able to wrap up the operation in another 15 minutes, and decided it was time to make his move. He tossed the end of his cigarette away, and walked over to the warning line.
Bai Changhui and Bai Jinyi got out of the minivan.
“You’re a shockingly slow reader, General Huo.” Bai Changhui clucked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head. “It’s only 20 pages. Did you need an hour to read them? I don’t even know what to say… Don’t you military men prize speed and efficacy above all else? I honestly wouldn’t know it, with the way you’ve been taking your own sweet time.”
Huo Shaoheng smiled faintly as he waved the document. “This document is too long, and too important to skim through. I’ll have to take this back to my office with me and study it carefully. Any objections, Secretary Bai?”
“Oh, that’s just a copy, the original document is locked in a safe. You can take all the time you need, I don’t mind.” Bai Changhui smiled beatifically as he put on his “I’m just an easygoing uncle” act. It was a complete 180 from the snooty “get out of my way or else” attitude he had first arrived at the base with.
Bai Jinyi, on the other hand, was close to losing her temper. She crossed her arms and said coldly, “General Huo, please hand Song Jinning over to us now.”
Huo Shaoheng casually handed the document to Yin Shixiong, who was standing beside him, before clasping his hands behind his back in a stately, dignified manner.
Under the winter sun, Huo Shaoheng appeared to shine with indomitable confidence.
Bai Jinyi turned her head slightly, unable to look Huo Shaoheng in the eyes.
“Why should I hand my mother over to you?” Huo Shaoheng’s gaze was level and cool. “She’s not a criminal, or a prisoner. Why can’t she spend some time with her own son?”
“Hey, I didn’t make the rules. That document was jointly written by the government and the military, and it clearly states that your father and I have been tasked with the responsibility of taking care of Song Jinning, as well as finding a cure for her condition.” Bai Jinyi had been waiting for Huo Shaoheng to ask so she could shove the contents of the document in his face and shut him up.
Huo Shaoheng chuckled. “Is that so? Does the document also say that you have to look after my mother 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?”
“Yes…” Bai Jinyi had barely gotten the word out when she realized that she had fallen into Huo Shaoheng’s trap. She blanched.
Huo Shaoheng immediately cut in. “I see. But did you actually do it? Director Bai, did you stay with my mother 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in the last 16 years?”
Of course she hadn’t. The very idea was absurd.
Bai Jinyi was speechless.
She had been busy with her own scientific research, and had not had the time to find a cure for Song Jinning.
In the years following the laboratory mishap, she had been confident that she would be able to replicate the experiment on her own. She had been too proud to even think about prying the experimental data from Song Jinning.
But 16 years had gone by, and she had made zero progress. She had had to swallow her pride and go back to the drawing board, and that was when she realized that Song Jinning was the key to the experiment.
Even Song Jinning’s own husband, Huo Guanchen, had been busy. He had climbed the ranks within the military, and had gone from captain to general in the last 16 years. It was obvious that he had not spent a lot of time with Song Jinning after she had fallen ill, either.
This had actually been a blessing in disguise for Song Jinning. It was entirely possible her condition would have deteriorated further had Bai Jinyi and Huo Guanchen spent more time meddling with her illness.
Huo Shaoheng was not about to tell Bai Jinyi that, however. His expression grew solemn as he said icily, “You haven’t been able to fulfill your obligations, so what makes you think you have the right to stop me from seeing my own mother? I’m a busy man, it’s not every day I get to take time off to be with my mother. Why are you trying to take her away from me? How heartless can you be, Director Bai?”
Bai Jinyi narrowed her eyes. She realized that Huo Shaoheng was going to keep Song Jinning with him, no matter what, and grew anxious. She was deathly afraid that Song Jinning would suddenly be cured, negating everything Bai Jinyi had worked for in the last 16 years.
She wasn’t about to let all her efforts go to waste!
“I was wrong. But from now on, I will stay by Song Jinning’s side 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, until she recovers from her condition.” Bai Jinyi decided it was all-or-nothing now. She would get what she was after, no matter the cost.
“You were ‘wrong’? That’s it? You think that half-hearted apology is enough to make up for over 10 years of neglect?” Huo Shaoheng raised an eyebrow. He pointed to the document in Yin Shixiong’s hand. “This document is legally binding. You have not fulfilled your obligations as stated within the document, which means you have violated the law. Bai Jinyi, did you honestly think you can get away with a criminal offense just by apologizing? Why do you think we have courts?”
“What do you want?!” Bai Jinyi was shocked and angry. “I told you, I wasn’t deliberately neglecting her, I was just too busy with my work. I’m a physicist, I have my own career and professional obligations as a researcher. I work in close cooperation with the military!”
“Close cooperation? I think it’s time to audit your expenses for the last 16 years, Director Bai. The military was funding your experiments, and somehow your department managed to use up all the money without producing any useful results.” Huo Shaoheng usually worked with external intel, but he was no stranger to internal investigations, either.
Bai Changhui balked at the word “audit.” He frowned heavily as he wondered why his sister was being so stubborn. Huo Shaoheng had a point, after all; surely Bai Jinyi could wait a few more days before taking Song Jinning away? What was the rush?
Bai Jinyi glowered at Huo Shaoheng. She said with a defiant sneer, “Don’t change the subject, General Huo. The court will decide whether I’ve violated the law, but until then I am innocent. For now, I ask that you immediately comply with the document and return Song Jinning to your family home.” She shot Bai Changhui a pointed look.
Bai Changhui understood what the look meant. He turned and waved at the men behind him.
The 100-odd SWAT officers he had brought with him immediately pointed their guns at Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong, who were standing beside the warning line.
At that moment, it looked like Bai Changhui and Bai Jinyi had the upper hand because of the number of police they had with them. The defense guards Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong had brought with them were still hiding in the bushes, out of sight.
Huo Shaoheng saw Bai Changhui command the SWAT team to attack. He said to the microphone pinned to his collar: “Did you get all that?”
Zhao Liangze’s voice sounded over Huo Shaoheng’s earpiece. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ve recorded their every move.”
Zhao Liangze’s video showed the 100-odd fully-armed SWAT officers outside the warning line, pointing their guns at Huo Shaoheng and the masked soldier beside him.
Huo Shaoheng nodded. He pulled the pistol from his waist holster and fired a shot upwards, into the sky.
Bai Changhui and Bai Jinyi almost jumped out of their skins. They shouted in unison: “What are you doing?!”
All at once, the defense guards popped out of their hiding spots with their guns aimed at the SWAT team opposite them.
“This will be the first head-on clash between the police and the Special Operations Forces, since the founding of our country.” Huo Shaoheng put the pistol back into his waist holster, and adjusted his white gloves. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Bai Jinyi and Bai Changhui had brought the fully-armed SWAT team with them to give Huo Shaoheng a good scare, nothing more. They had not expected Huo Shaoheng to take their ruse seriously.
It was now obvious to them that Huo Shaoheng had been one step ahead of them. He had made all the necessary preparations, and was now seemingly entirely at ease with the idea of an actual skirmish with the SWAT team.
Yin Shixiong picked up a megaphone. “Listen up, all you SWAT officers. Lower your guns, immediately, and return to your HQ. The Special Operations Forces will issue a letter to police HQ demanding to know why you barged in here and pointed your guns at the major general. We have a recording, and will present the video to the Senate, the military, and the supreme administrative office as evidence. You’ve been out of line, and you will be punished for it.”
As soon as they heard about the video recording, the SWAT officers immediately lowered their guns.
The commander of the SWAT team walked over to Bai Changhui and whispered uneasily into his ear: “Secretary Bai, the deputy commissioner at police HQ dispatched the SWAT team as a favor to you, but he said nothing about fighting the soldiers stationed here. We can’t get tangled up in this. Sorry, but we have to go.”
With that, he turned to his men and said, “Pack up! Get into your vehicles! We’re returning to police HQ!”
The 100-odd SWAT officers deftly slid into their police cars and sped away from the Special Operations Forces HQ.
There were now only a handful of people left behind the warning line: Bai Changhui, Bai Jinyi, and their two drivers.
Of the two vehicles remaining, only the minivan was still functional. The limousine was already grounded, the tires blown out by bullets.
A cold wind blew, stirring up the dust on the ground. Naked tree branches rattled in the wind.
The sun was now obscured by clouds. The sky was gloomy, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees.
As the two parties continued to stare each other down, Huo Shaoheng received a phone call from Chen Lie. “Boss, the operation was a success! Mrs. Song should wake up a week from now!”