This branch of the Bai family had originally had a second son, Bai Yusheng, who’d died in a “diving accident,” somewhere in the South American seas. Bai Yueran was considered the highest achieving and of the highest rank in her generation of the the Bai family. Although she wasn’t a son, she was much more impressive than many of the sons from other esteemed families.
Bai Jianchen had no prejudice against the gender of his children. As long as they were his children, he would help them to his best ability and effort. “Yueran is right. Our family has already been very passive because of what happened to Second Brother.” Bai Jiancheng shook his head helplessly. “Third Brother and Jinyi, you have to watch yourselves. Jinyi, hurry and find a way to marry Huo Guanchen. This can’t be delayed any longer.”
Bai Jinyi’s mood suddenly took a turn for the worse. However, she couldn’t lose her temper in front of the younger members of the household, so she just sat on the sofa and sipped at her coffee.
Bai Yueran sat next to her and said disapprovingly, “Aunt, stop listening to Huo Jialan. She’s not that smart and only thinks about relationships between men and women. Mr. Huo is not that kind of person, and Gu Nianzhi is his assignment. He’s her guardian after all, so how could Huo Jialan think of using her to threaten Mr. Huo?”
“You really think that they don’t have that kind of relationship? I’ve heard Jialan say that they live together in the same suite in the Huo manor, and act intimately with each other. Some expressions can’t be faked.” Bai Jinyi said blankly as she held her coffee. She’d thought she was using Huo Shaoheng’s weakness, and had never imagined it wasn’t even a real one. Huo Shaoheng was a tough character: it would be difficult to deal with him without finding a weak point.
“Mr. Huo has raised Gu Nianzhi for six years, of course there must be feelings between them. But these feelings are nothing in comparison to his mission and national interests. I understand Mr. Huo very well— he’s not someone who doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation.” Bai Yueran knew in her bones that she was the same type of person as Huo Shaoheng. It was because they were too alike that they had never clicked romantically, otherwise her father, Bai Jiancheng, could have set them up together a long time ago.
“Then what about Song Jinning?” Bai Jinyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. “Mr. Huo hasn’t been back for so many years already, but then he took her away as soon as he’d returned. I’m worried that he’s plotting something.”
“Aunt, why are you so worried about Mr. Huo reuniting with his mother?” Bai Yueran looked pointedly at Bai Jinyi. “Do you have something you’re hiding from me, Father, and Third Uncle?”
Bai Jinyi looked away in discomfort and took another sip from her coffee before mumbling, “It’s nothing, I’d just heard Jialan say that Song Jinning’s condition had improved a lot. She might recover her consciousness.”
“Oh.” Bai Yueran intoned. “And that’s it?”
“Of course. Think about it. I was good friends with her, but now she’s divorced and I’m with her ex-husband…” Bai Jinyi trailed off with irritation. She looked up at Bai Jiancheng. “Elder Brother, I want to breakup with Huo Guanchen.”
“No.” Bai Jiancheng immediately opposed. “You’ve been together with him for nearly ten years already, and the Huo family is rising up in the ranks now. You can’t be so capricious.”
Bai Jinyi slumped against the sofa and looked at the ceiling of the study blankly. If it had beenHuo Guanyuan, she would probably have even been willing to be his mistress. As long as he’d wanted her…
But Huo Guanchen… she couldn’t say he wasn’t good. So many years had passed and he had undoubtedly treated her better than Huo Guanyuan had, but it was still hard to settle for him. But now, Huo Guanyuan didn’t exist in the world anymore, so it wasn’t all that unacceptable to be with Huo Guanchen. Bai Jinyi contemplated for a long time before closing her eyes and saying, “I can get engaged to Huo Guanchen. We’re not in a rush to get married. Besides, he already has a son already anyway.” At her age, she couldn’t have a child anymore. It didn’t really matter whether or not she got married.
Bai Jiancheng looked at her seriously before considering the idea and nodding. “Then let’s get you engaged first. Remember to go to the Huo’s in the next few days to mention it to Huo Guanchen.”
“I understand.” Bai Jinyi downed her coffee and got up to follow Bai Changhui out from Bai Jiancheng’s study. After they’d left, Bai Yueran, while looking at Bai Jinyi’s retreating back, whispered to Bai Jiancheng, “Father, I think Aunt is still hiding something from us.”
Bai Jiancheng knew the gist of what happened all those years ago and grunted quietly, “Leave it be; you still have to work on General Ji a bit more. Also, your cousin Bai Shuang is coming back in a few days, so remember to prepare a room for her to live here. Your aunt died a long time ago and now your Uncle is gone too. I’m worried about a young girl like her living outside alone.”
“Shuang is coming back?” Bai Yueran’s face lit up with joy, “That’s wonderful! I’ll go pick her up. Please let me know her flight and the date when the time comes.”
…
Since Gu Nianzhi had fallen asleep, she had been in a deep slumber like Song Jinning’s. Thankfully, Chen Lie and Ye Zitan were present with various medical instruments and readily available medication, so Gu Nianzhi could remain under strict surveillance and wouldn’t have any health complications. She slept all the way until the afternoon of December 30th, and had no idea about what had happened in between. Gu Nianzhi sat up from the bed and felt sluggish. The pain had long since disappeared, but she was still lethargic—perhaps because the bone marrow hadn’t regenerated that quickly and had made her weak, she supposed.
Huo Shaoheng was reading documents on the single seater massage chair across from the bed. He heard movement from the bed and looked up to Gu Nianzhi sitting up in his black T-shirt. Her milky skin appeared luminous against the black fabric, and because the shirt was his, the collar was slightly too big for her small frame. She stretched lazily and the black T-shirt dropped when her arms fell to reveal her delicate collar bone and the expanse of creamy skin underneath. Huo Shaoheng trier tl watch her indifferently, his emotions and thoughts locked behind his dark eyes. “You’re up?” He set down the documents and sat on the bedside to check her forehead. The temperature was normal, and her fever was gone.
Gu Nianzhi reached out to take his hand, giving it a friendly pinch. “Huo Shao, I’m ok now.”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore?” Huo Shaoheng asked again. “Chen Lie said that you can take painkillers after 48 hours.”
“Nope, it doesn’t hurt at all.” Gu Nianzhi released his hand and waved her arms. “See? I can move now. I’m just weak and my joints are a little sore.”
“Chen Lie said that’s normal.” Huo Shaoheng finally relaxed. “Get up and go wash yourself. It’s time for dinner.”
Gu Nianzhi’s widened her huge eyes as she looked out the window. “What time is it now?”
“You’ve been sleeping since afternoon, three days ago. You almost missed New Year.” Huo Shaoheng rubbed her head. “Get up; let’s make you eat a lot and replenish yourself.”
Gu Nianzhi exhaled sharply. “I slept for three days and three nights?!” It was then that she finally saw all the tubes connected to the veins on her arms, and looked up to see a temporary infusion setup beside the bed.
“I’ll call Ye Zitan over to help you get those off.” Huo Shaoheng pressed on the receiver by the bed and said, “Dr. Ye, Nianzhi is up.”
“She’s finally awake? That’s great, I’ll be right there.” Ye Zitan’s voice sounded from the speaker. Soon after, Ye Zitan entered and removed the needles and bottles for infusion from her. After she left, Gu Nianzhi moved aside the blankets to get out of bed.
Huo Shaoheng got up quietly, his eyes following Gu Nianzhi’s slim and creamy thighs. “Don’t walk around wearing these kinds of clothes again. There are guards and cameras everywhere.”
“Huh?” Gu Nianzhi instantly shrunk back into her blankets faster than a scared bunny. “There are cameras here?!”
“Not in here.” Huo Shaoheng bent over to pick up the documents he was reading, “There are none in the bedroom and bathroom.”
“Phew! That scared me.” Gu Nianzhi patted her chest. “Huo Shao, why do you have so many cameras in your official residence? It feels weird.”
“This is the official residence of the highest authority of Special Operations Forces, on the main base. There can be never too many cameras.” Huo Shaoheng took the documents and walked outside. “Hurry and get up now, Chen Lie is coming to give you another physical.”
Gu Nianzhi immediately agreed and went to the bathroom to shower. Seeing an oily sheen on her face in the mirror, she also put on a cleansing mask. She was happy to find her favourite brand of cleansing masks in the small cabinet in the bathroom. Although she was now an adult, Huo Shao hadn’t forgotten his duties as a guardian.
…
Chen Lie came in happily with his equipment and almost jumped back when he saw Gu Nianzhi emerge with a black mask on her face.
“Yes, yes, it’s about time. I’ll go wash it off.” Gu Nianzhi hastily went to the bathroom to rinse off the mask and found that her skin was much better after using it.
Chen Lie attached various equipment to her, connecting them to her brain, heart, and pulse points to measure any changes in her vital signs. As expected, Gu Nianzhi was recovering very well. Aside from being slightly anemic and weak, there were no other complications. Her own cell repairing abilities were especially strong, so her blood count would automatically rise in time and her body would regain its strength even if she didn’t get special food nourishment.
“This is too incredible.” Chen Lie looked at the lines of data printing on the graph paper, staring at them for a long time to completely memorize the important data before he would be forced to burn it all.
“I’m ok right?” Gu Nianzhi asked anxiously. “I don’t feel unwell.”
“You’re fine, you’re fine. Everything is good.” Chen Lie chuckled before adding, “Thanks to your help, Mrs. Song’s condition is also very stable. There are no sign of rejection and all is well. Now we just have to wait for her to wake up.”
Gu Nianzhi was overjoyed. After all the equipment was removed from her, she rushed over to Operating Room B to visit Song Jinning.
Sure enough, her complexion was looking much better than it had before. Her breathing was also calm and her sleeping face was indescribably beautiful.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help gently stroking her forehead, “She’s really like Sleeping Beauty. Is she waiting for her prince’s kiss to wake her up?”
“What nonsense is that? The more fairy tales a person reads, the sillier they become.” Chen Lie gave her a disdainful look. “Little genius, come help me with this set of data here.” Chen Lie waved her over.
Gu Nianzhi turned towards Chen Lie and didn’t notice that on the operating chair, Song Jinning’s hand trembled several times. Her eyelids fluttered before she slowly opened her eyes.