Pushing away Huo Guanchen’s hand, Song Jinning decisively turned away to the car and slammed the door close.
“Drive.” Huo Shaoheng immediately commanded. His bulletproof car hummed to a start and quickly departed from the Huo manor. By the time General Ji and Speaker Long rushed out, they only saw the taillights speeding off, drawing a long line in the dark night. Outside the great iron gates, the street lights glowed a fluorescent white and it was almost as bright as day.
Huo Guanchen was listless as he stood under the light, the muscles on face twitching as tears shimmered in his eyes but never fell.
General Ji looked at him to ask about Song Jinning, “Guanchen, wasn’t Song Jinning sick all this time? Why does she look all better now? Do you know when she recovered or woke up?”
Huo Guanchen froze for a second, then gathered his wits and shook his head, “I’m not sure. She was still ill when Shaoheng took her away a few days ago.”
“That means Shaoheng found someone to treat her? I’d better follow him and see what’s going on.” General Ji patted his shoulder sympathetically, “It is what it is, don’t think too much. Take care.” General Ji and Speaker Long went to their respective vehicles and drove off in pursuit of Huo Shaoheng’s car without delay. When they arrived at the Special Ops headquarters, General Ji and Speaker Long were quickly allowed through as they both had permits.
Huo Shaoheng had just gotten out of the car with Gu Nianzhi and Song Jinning when his Bluetooth headset rang, “Mr. Huo, General Ji and Senator Long are here.”
“Let them in.” Huo Shaoheng said as he took Gu Nianzhi and song Jining into the building.
Chen Lie came out to greet them with a smile and pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose as he winked at Huo Shaoheng, “Boss,. How was it? Did they get scared?”
Gu Nianzhi’s ears perked and she looked thoughtful between Huo Shaoheng and Chen Lie. Huo Shaoheng remained impassive as he said calmly,”Hurry and clean up, General Ji and Speaker Long are about to arrive.”
“Oh?!” Chen Lie’s face fell, “Then I’d better ‘go to bed!'” He hastily turned back to his own quarters to sort out all the records related to Song Jinning. Chen Lie and Huo haoheng has long prepared for this.
Song Jinning had suffered from serious mental illness the past 16 years and suddenly regained consciousness after being treated by Chen Lie for a few days. He certainly had a lot of explaining to do.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted, so don’t come to me for anything else.” Song Jinning had no more energy to deal with anybody, the events of the night had nearly depleted all her strength and energy she had regained since waking up.
“Don’t worry, Mother.” Huo Shaoheng personally took him to the guest bedroom on the third floor, then came downstairs to se Gu Nianzhi sitting alone in the living room. She had already taken off her down coat, but still wore the pea green and white silk princess dress. Knee length boots covered her calves, while the puffy hem revealed the expanse of her creamy thighs.
Huo Shaoheng shifted his gaze, “…Go change.”
Gu Nianzhi looked up to see Huo Shaoheng had returned and smiled at him, “Huo Shao…” She stood up and walked towards him to whisper, “…Did Brother Chen help you?”
“Help me with what?” Huo Shaoheng shot her a look, “…Won’t you go upstairs already?”
“Was Brother Chen the one to help swap your Aunt’s body ten years ago?” Gu Nianzhi lowered her voice even more and giggled with her mouth muffled. Chen Lie was a medical student and Huo Shaoheng’s good friend. Gu Nianzhi had been wondering who helped Huo Shaoheng do such a thing all those years ago and immediately suspected Chen Lie. She was certain it was him when he smiled so wickedly when they returned!
Huo Shaoheng curved his right forefinger to flick at Gu Nianzhi’s forehead, “Yes you’re smart… Go now… General Ji and Speaker Long are about to get here, I have no time for you.”
“You’re making it sound as if you have time for me when you’re not busy…” Gu Nianzhi’s cheeks flushed as she took the opportunity to grab Huo Shaoheng’s hand and shook it, “Is that right? Did Brother Chen help you? You didn’t answer me yet.”
“I said you’re smart…” A quiet smile appeared on Huo Shaoheng’s face and he patted her head, “Be good, go to bed.”
Gu Nianzhi shyly turned away to climb the stairs to the second floor. When she was halfway up, she realized she didn’t know which room to sleep in? Should it be the master’s or the guest? She was in the master’s before because she had been ill, but now that she’s all better, can she still stay there? That was Huo Shaoheng’s room… She bit her lip as she ran back downstairs, just enough so she could see Huo Shaoheng and leaned against the railing to ask, “Huo Shao! Huo Shao! Which room am I staying in?”
Huo Shaoheng, “…”
“Where? Tell me!” Gu Nianzhi’s eyes sparkled as she she looked at him hopefully.
“Stay where you want.” Huo Shaoheng seemed to understand what she was implying and didn’t fall into the trap. He casually passed the ball back to her.
“Hmph!” Gu Nianzhi’s little ploy didn’t work and she glared at him unhappily as she looked down and dragged her feet back up the stairs,
Huo Shaoheng had no time for her little tantrum, because General Ji and Speaker Long were already at the entrance of the official residence. He arrived there in three strides to greet them. These two men were his superiors and he must be respectful.
“Shaoheng, you were so quick. Us two old men almost couldn’t keep up with you.” Speaker Long spoke humorously as he entered the official residence with General Ji.
“This is the Special Ops headquarters? This is our first time here, it’s so heavily guarded…” Speaker Long looked around before sitting down on the living room sofa with General Ji.
“If it’s not heavily guarded here, how are we supposed to work?” Huo Shaoheng signalled for the orderly to serve tea and place on the coffee table in front of them.
“That’s true. The team led by Shaoheng is our secret weapon and the ace of all aces. How can it not be heavily guarded!” General Ji explained to Speaker Long in half truths. The military had its secrets and not everything could be revealed.
Speaker Long nodded, “Understood, understood.”
The three men laughed for a bit, then General Ji and Speaker Long began asking about Song Jinning’s situation, “Shaoheng, what was going on with your mother? Didn’t we hear that she was seriously ill and couldn’t recover?”
“Who told you that Mother couldn’t recover?” Huo Shaoheng picked up his teacup to blow it cool before taking a sip, “As her son, I never believed that she couldn’t get better, and who would care more about her than me?”
“Haha… haha… that’s true.” General Ji and Speaker Long laughed awkwardly and shared a glance when they detected a trace of uncharacteristic dissatisfaction and anger in his voice. However they weren’t upset, but thought this was a normal reaction for him. If Huo Shaoheng was really like a robot and had no feelings for even his family, then they would have to assess if Huo Shaoheng was truly capable of being a leader.
“Everyone said it. After all, there have been no improvements for the last 16 years, so it was natural to think that way.” Speaker Long took his cup and drank deeply from it, sighing, “Tonight was a big shock. Shaoheng, can you tell us what is going on?”
Huo Shaoheng shook his head, “I don’t know either, so that’s why I had the police take Bai Jiniyi in for investigation. Honestly speaking, it was probably due to Bai Jinyi’s influence that you both thought my mother couldn’t recover? She had either been incompetent as a doctor and couldn’t treat her, or she had deliberately delayed the treatment so my mother suffered unnecessarily for 16 years.”
“If that’s the case, then how much of our time has Bai Jinyi wasted?! –How wicked!” Speaker Long sighed heavily as he placed the teacup back on the table, “But since she’s better now, we won’t waste out time asking how you treated her. I just wanted to tell you, you have to mentally prepare your mother. She’s the sole survivor of that military experiment, so the Senate and military will most definitely reopen the investigation and summon her for questioning.”