“I don’t think the young lady and I would have anything in common to talk about.” Song Jinning smiled. “That’s okay, I’ll just lie here by myself…”
“You’d be surprised.” Huo Shaoheng made no attempt to hide the smile on his face. “You want to find out who forged the letters and sue them for defamation, right? Nianzhi’s a law student, she’s very intelligent. She may be able to help you.” He paused, then said in a voice that sounded a little too casual to be natural, “She’s only 18, but she’s already graduated from college. She’ll be attending B University’s Law School as a graduate student soon.”
“Oh? That’s impressive. What an extraordinary young lady.” Song Jinning nodded. There was a knowing flicker in her eyes: she could tell that Huo Shaoheng was very fond and protective of Gu Nianzhi. “Well, tell her to come in, then.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded in reply. He left the operating room, made his way to Chen Lie’s study, and beckoned to Gu Nianzhi from the doorway. “Come with me.”
He did not take Gu Nianzhi directly to his mother; instead, he led her to the small garden behind his residence to explain what was going on.
The two of them stood next to a row of shrubs in the small garden. Huo Shaoheng put his hands in his trouser pockets as he stared into the distance. He made several attempts to say something, but changed his mind every time.
He did not know to how to broach the subject. He was having second thoughts now: was it even a good idea to let Gu Nianzhi get involved?
Huo Shaoheng’s tall, strapping figure cut a handsome figure as he stood in the garden, lost in thought. Above him, the sky was blue and clear; the sun was out, but its rays were muted by the winter cold.
A fragrant scent wafted through the garden.
Gu Nianzhi stood quietly beside Huo Shaoheng. She wasn’t in a hurry to ask him what was going on.
She enjoyed being alone with Huo Shaoheng. Standing here, next to him, made her feel at peace, as though all was right with the world.
Huo Shaoheng, on the other hand, was going over old memories in a state of frustrated annoyance. His gaze drifted to Gu Nianzhi’s face, and he saw her watch him with her dark, evocative eyes. Her eyes spoke eloquently of her love and faith in him.
Huo Shaoheng immediately calmed down. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his trouser pocket, tapped out a cigarette, and lit it. He took a long drag on it, before breathing out the smoke in the direction of the wind. He was careful to keep Gu Nianzhi away from his cigarette smoke.
Gu Nianzhi did not actually mind the cigarette smoke. She loved the scents on Huo Shaoheng: the faint scent of tobacco on his fingers, mixed with the hint of gunpowder and leather on his palm, made her feel safe and secure.
“Bai Jinyi and my father will be getting engaged during the Huo family’s New Year party tomorrow.” Huo Shaoheng’s sudden revelation dropped on Gu Nianzhi like a bombshell, shattering her reverie.
“What?! They’re getting engaged?! What about Mrs. Song?!” The news of the engagement caught Gu Nianzhi by surprise. Huo Guanchen had remained single for so many years after his divorce—why the sudden rush to get engaged?
As for Song Jinning, she had recognized her ex-husband even when she was mentally impaired. Gu Nianzhi was 100% sure Song Jinning was still in love with Huo Guanchen. She was willing to stake her life on it!
“…What about her?” Huo Shaoheng took another drag on his cigarette, his expression impassive. “I don’t think my mother will want to reconcile with my father.”
Gu Nianzhi: “…” Fine, I’ll go with whatever you say, you handsome stud, you.
“I just told my mother some of the things that have happened in the last 16 years. She’s a little emotionally unstable right now. I want you to go talk to her.” Huo Shaoheng glanced sideways at Gu Nianzhi’s delicate, exquisite face. “There’s one thing you should keep in mind: the things we’ve heard represent only one side of the story. Now that my mother has recovered and can speak for herself, you’ll find that the situation isn’t as straightforward as it seems.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “I’ll do my best to comfort her.”
Huo Shaoheng flicked the ash from his cigarette. He said casually, “My mother says that she doesn’t remember writing that letter, so she must have written it when she was mentally compromised and didn’t know what she was doing.” He looked directly at Gu Nianzhi with his dark, fathomless eyes. “It’s possible my mother will want to find out who tried to tarnish her name, and bring them to justice.”
Realization dawned upon Gu Nianzhi. “You mean, you want to sue them?” Her face broke into a radiant smile. “No problem! You can count on me!” As soon as she said that, however, she suddenly became a little shy and awkward. “But Huo Shao, are you sure you want me to help your mother? You can get someone else, you know.”
“You don’t want to do it?”
“No, I want to, and I know I can do it.” Gu Nianzhi was confident in her skills. “But this is a private matter between your parents. If I become Mrs. Song’s legal representative, well…”
Song Jinning would have to share her most intimate secrets with Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi thought of herself as Song Jinning’s future daughter-in-law.
It didn’t seem appropriate for her to know all about her mother-in-law’s love life.
She wanted to remain on good terms with her future mother-in-law…
Huo Shaoheng pressed his lips together. He considered her for a brief moment before saying impassively, “Don’t worry about it. We’re family.”
The words “we’re family” launched Gu Nianzhi straight into the stratosphere.
Before she knew it, she was alone with Song Jinning in Operating Room B, a dreamy smile on her face. She did not remember following Huo Shaoheng back to the operating room; she must have sleepwalked the entire way, while her mind and spirit cavorted in the clouds.
Song Jinning watched her for a long moment, before breaking into a smile. “…What are you thinking about, Nianzhi?”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart almost leapt into her throat. She snapped out of her reverie, and blushed when she saw Song Jinning peering at her curiously. She tried to hide her embarrassment by saying: “I was thinking of ways to help you deal with those vile bastards.”
Song Jinning cocked her head as she appraised Gu Nianzhi: she liked the young lady. Her looks and personality grew on her with every passing second. Song Jinning pointed to the armchair beside the operating chair. “Sit down and talk to me.”
Gu Nianzhi sat down. She took the lychees from the fruit basket on the small table beside her, and began shelling them for Song Jinning.
“…You know everything?” After waking up, Song Jinning had been bombarded with one earth-shattering news after another. She was tough, resilient, and had never been the type to cry over spilt milk, but this was a little too much for her. She needed to vent. She needed to tell someone about the weight on her chest, the thoughts that threatened to squeeze the air out of her lungs.
Gu Nianzhi lifted her eyes. The rosy blush on her fair cheeks rivaled the bright, lovely red of the lychees she was shelling. Her voice, too, was as soft and sweet as the fruit she was handling. “Are you referring to the love letters?”
Gu Nianzhi had a pretty good grasp on Song Jinning’s situation. She had learned most of the details from Huo Jialan during their heated argument.
She was furious with Huo Guanchen: how could the man divorce his gravely ill wife, just because of a few fabricated letters?
Song Jinning sighed softly. She lowered her eyes and tugged at her blue-striped blanket. “I’m sorry you had to hear all that. I’m just as puzzled as you are, you know. I honestly don’t know why things turned out like this.”
Gu Nianzhi saw that Song Jinning was finding it difficult to broach the subject. She decided it was better for her to take the direct, no-nonsense approach. “Huo Shao mentioned that you may have written that letter, the one with your name on it, without knowing what you were doing.” She was careful to keep her tone professional, the way a lawyer would talk to her client.
Song Jinning nodded. “That’s what I think. I don’t remember writing a letter like that before the explosion.” She paused, before asking: “You’ve met Bai Jinyi?”
Gu Nianzhi said, without missing a beat, “Yeah, I’ve seen her. She’s an ugly old hag. They say that your appearance reflects who you are inside. She’s aged badly, probably because of all the stress and guilt from stealing her best friend’s husband.”
Song Jinning smiled as she chided Gu Nianzhi gently: “My dear child, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”
“Okay, fine, I won’t ever say anything as mean as that again. But just for today, I want to insult her to my heart’s content.” Gu Nianzhi winked at Song Jinning, before handing her a small bowl of the lychees she had peeled and a fork. “Have some, they’re delicious.”
For the common folk, fresh lychees were impossible to get in winter. Only those as distinguished as the Huo family were able to enjoy such privileges from the government.
Song Jinning ate two before pushing the bowl away. “You can have the rest, these lychees are too sweet for me.”
Gu Nianzhi blinked. This was the first time she had heard of anyone complain about lychees being too sweet.
Then again, she should have expected as much—Huo Shaoheng had high, exacting standards, and he had obviously inherited them from his mother. Gu Nianzhi’s admiration for Song Jinning grew with every passing minute.
“Shaoheng said you’re a law student. Well, I have a question for you: do you think it would be possible for me to find the mastermind behind all this, and take them to court?” Song Jinning was thoroughly disgusted by the knowledge that someone had used underhanded means to set her up and paint her as an unfaithful wife.
She wasn’t about to let things go just to keep the “scandal” under wraps, especially when it wasn’t even true. Anyone who thought they could walk all over her and get away with it had another think coming. She had been framed, and she wasn’t fool enough to smile and thank her enemies for it..
She was a scientist, through and through. In the field of science, everything had to be investigated thoroughly. The facts had to be made clear. There was no room for lies, or even half-truths.