Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi scanned the plaza and decided to go to the nearest supermarket, which was known for selling the best New Year goodies and the famous pumpkin seeds snack.
Gu Nianzhi was excited and started introducing the snack stall to Huo Shaoheng. Laughing with glee, she pulled him over and asked, “Huo Shao, do you like seeds ?
Huo Shaoheng looked at her and said nothing.
Gu Nianzhi pouted her lips and glanced sideways to Huo Shaoheng. The black shades further affirmed his emotionless face. Fine, she resigned in her head, I knew the seeds would too hard for an old guy like you.
These snacks will ruin your image huh, old guy?
However she continued to purchase another few bags of seeds, so that she would have something to welcome the guests with when they visit during the New Year.
She pointed to the seeds like an excited kid “I would like these sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and melon seeds please, 5 katis each.”
Huo Shaoheng held her hand down and told the shopkeeper, ” Just give us 2 katis each.”
Feeling annoyed, Gu Nianzhi grumbled, ” Would 2 katis be enough ? What do we do if we have too many guests?”
“The guests are not here for these seeds,” Shao Heng replied while taking over the bags of seeds from the shopkeeper. “You mentioned that you need to get some rice cakes as well right? The Chen Ji Rice Cakes there is renowned for their rice cakes. I had some of their rice cakes when I was young, it was really good.” He continued to distract her.
“Oh you like the rice cakes from Chen Ji? Then I have to try some.” Gu Nianzhi answered while squeezing her way through the crowd.
Huo Shaoheng looked at the three bags of seeds in his hands. They were traditionally packaged in red paper and looked beautiful. Then, shaking his head, he followed Gu Nianzhi in silence.
Gu Nianzhi arrived at the door of Chen Ji and was captivated by the tantalizing strings of glutinous rice. She immediately asked for 3 katis of rice cakes.
Huo Shaoheng had no choice but to stop her again, ” 1 kati is enough,” he told the vendor. “These are just side dishes,” He continued.
About to lose her cool, Gu Nianzhi protested, ” Well you said they were good, so what’s wrong with getting more? It’s not like we can’t afford them…”
Huo Shaoheng ignored her and took the bag of rice cakes from the shopkeeper. He held the bag of items on one hand, and held Gu Nianzhi’s hands on the other. He turned to her and explained patiently, “The rice cakes at Chen Ji are made with lots of glutinous rice. Your stomach is weak, too much of these rice cakes will give you indigestion.”
So he was looking out for me…
Her displeasure evaporated all of a sudden, tugged Huo Shaoheng closer to her and continued walking.
After walking for a while, a thought dawned upon Gu Nianzhi: “These must be heavy Huo Shao; shall we get a shopping cart over there ?”
There were shopping carts available for rent on the street and they can be used for the all shops along the arcade.
Although Huo Shaoheng was able to manage the bags, he could foresee that Gu Nianzhi would be getting more items. “That is a good suggestion. Why don’t you get one then?”
NianZhi happily went over to one of the shopping carts. She took the bags from ShaoHeng and put them in the cart, and they continued shopping.
“Huo Shao, have we prepared the ingredients for the New Year Dinner ?” NianZhi said her eyes were fixed on the fresh lotus roots in the grocery section. They looked so good, she was tempted to make braised lotus and pork ribs with them.
Huo Shaoheng noticed that Gu Nianzhi had her eyes on the lotus roots and thought it was harmless for her to have some. ” You can get some if you like, we can put the leftovers aside.”
Huo Shaoheng had a fridge and a cold storage room in his kitchen, so he was not worried about running out of space.
With the ease of the shooping cart, Gu Nianzhi went on a shopping spree.
Huo Shaoheng did not need Gu Nianzhi to help him with his groceries, as he had all he needed in the kitchen; from seafood, meat to fruits and vegtables. The shopping was just a way to fulfil her needs for novelty.
Huo Shaoheng thought that most of the items in the cart were not suitable for her, so he brought her to the dessert section in the supermarket instead.
There were many traditional sweets and snacks there, like caramel candies, sugar pine candies, osmathus candies, rose cakes and green bean cakes. These were only exclusive to Di Du during the New Year and not found elsewhere.
Huo Shaoheng decided to get some of these sweets for Gu Nianzhi, since his chefs did not know how to make these pastries.
Gu Nianzhi was really delighted and let out a beaming smile. Her big eyes turned into crescents and her lashes fluttered like butterflies. She looked up at Huo Shaoheng with a loving gaze, and leaned closely to him.
As they walked through the crowd in the arcade, Huo Shaoheng had one of his hand on the cart, while he held Gu Nianzhi closely on the other.
His tall and charismatic stature stood out from the rest and implied his extraordinary status. He had never failed to catch the attention of ladies.
As they continued, Gu Nianzhi started to feel warm and decided to get some ice-cream.
Even though the climate was cold during the season, the arcade and everywhere Gu Nianzhi went had enough warmers. She would never catch a cold.
Huo Shaoheng agreed and waited patiently in front of a café. He ordered an Americano, lit up his cigarette, and waited patiently for her.
Out of nowhere, a charming lady wearing a fur coat approached Huo Shaoheng. Her white slender hands held up an unlit cigarette. Giving him a bewitching gaze, she asked: “May I borrow a lighter, Sir?”
Huo Shaoheng puffed up a smoke ring and replied coldly, “…..No.”
Caught offguard by his rejection, the lady’s expression changed and sat across Huo Shaoheng, “Do you have to be so rude? All I asked for was a lighter!”
Huo Shaoheng looked at the lady nonchalantly for a while, and shifted his attention elsewhere. He didn’t seem to have any intention to continue the conversation.
Undefeated by the cold response, the lady sat there for a while. Eventually she felt helpless from his unfeeling attitude and sighed. As she stood up from her seat, she grumbled “What a jerk!”
Huo Shaoheng continued to ignore her words.
Another teenage girl approached him not long after. She gave him a cheerful smile and said, ” Hey there, I made a bet with my friends that you would look hotter if you remove your shades! Why don’t we cooperate and split the money when we win the bet?”
Huo Shaoheng remained unresponsive, as if no one was standing in front of him.
“Oh please, handsome…” , she remained relentless despite the indifference and tried to went up to remove his shades.
Many would find it hard to resist such a move from a young girl.
However Huo Shaoheng remained aloof. He lifted his head and gave her the evil eye and the girl froze in fear from his unfriendly vibes.
He continued with a cold voice, “…Scram.”
His words left the young girl flustered and discomposed. Her eyes went watery and she wailed while running away from the hostile treatment, totally forgetting about the bet she had with her friends.
It was only ten minutes after Gu Nianzhi left, but several ladies have attempted to approached the unfeeling man.
Seemed like there was a major shortage of hot guys around recently; ladies are much more open when it came to approaching men nowadays. They didn’t even mind being the first to strike up conversations!
Huo Shaoheng was speechless by what he experienced and shook his head, feeling lucky that he was the one who brought Gu Nianzhi up. She would never dare to flirt with other guys like that.
Gu Nianzhi returned with the ice-cream and heard how he dished out his cold rejections to another lady who made her attempt at him..
“Hey, that was uncalled for,” Gu Nianzhi said as she sat across Huo Shaoheng, with the ice-cream cone in her hand. ” Would you like to try some?” She said as she licked her cone.
Huo Shaoheng threw the cigarette butt into the bin by the tree, had a sip of his Americano and smiled warmly, “Yes please.”
“You really want to have some?” Gu Nianzhi replied reluctantly as she did not expect that Huo Shaoheng would want to have the ice-cream. It never came across to Gu Nianzhi that Huo Shaoheng would be interested in ice-cream. “Why don’t I get you another cone?”
“It’s alright,” Huo Shaoheng responded and pointed at her cone, “I will just take this.”
“Eh? But I have already…” Beads of perspiration threatened to fall off Gu Nianzhi’s forehead. She didn’t just ate it halfway; she had already licked the entire cone prior…
“It’s ok, I don’t mind at all.” He continued with a slight smile on the corner of his lips. Stretching his legs while stirring his coffee, he continued, “So you are not sharing that with me?”
“Of course not!” Gu NianZhi quickly extended the ice-cream cone to Huo Shaoheng. “Here, try it.”
Huo Shaoheng remained still. His eyes locked on to Gu Nianzhi with warmth and opened his mouth slightly, “Feed me.”
At this moment, not only Gu Nianzhi was caught offguard; Even Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong who were secretly on surveillance couldn’t believe what they just heard…
What the…
Is Mr. Huo under some kind of spell?
Gu Nianzhi blushed furiously, even her ears and neck turned red.
“Huo… Huo Shao…You…” She struggled to compose herself, but Huo Shaoheng held her hand firmly and pulled the cone steadily to himself and bit the tip of the cone.
She was surprised to see a huge part of her ice-cream bitten off, but she was too stunned react.
Huo Shaoheng held her hand again and pushed the cone to her lips.
She bit the cone without realising that she was eating the part that Huo Shaoheng just ate.
This was… The legendary indirect kiss!
Even though the sun was shining brightly, it was chilling outide at the Di Du’s south shopping arcade.
Gu Nianzhi felt warm and toasty. Even the ice-cream failed to cool her down.
…
On the other side, Zhao Liangze cut off the connections from Huo Shaoheng’shades and wiped out all the images that were captured.
His heart was pounding with nervousness. He had finally found the the answers he had been looking for.
When on earth did these two get together?
Or was it one sided?
…
Yin Shixiong’s headphone went silent, but his attention was elsewhere. He was focused only on the gorgeous couple in front of the café, sharing an ice cream cone.
When did all these start…
Yin Shixiong was uneasy.
Damn it!
The boss whom he had held with high regards, the girl whom he had doted on like his own daughter… Got together?!
How should he face them now ?!
How should he… Address them henceforth?
Fine if they got together. What’s this showing public displays of affection about? Showing off to singles like himself?!
He asked himself while struggling to remain composed. Deciding not to look anymore, he raised the newspaper in his hands.
However, after a while, he quietly lowered the papers again and continued to keep a close eye on the couple.
…
“Huo Shao, I thought you hated sweet stuff,” Gu Nianzhi stuggled to strike a converstation while looking at her ice-cream cone. She was still blushing from just now.
Huo Shaoheng pulled her wrist to him and said, “Come here.”
His force pulled her over and she landed on his lap.
The sun was up clear in the sky and the rays kissed the pavement of the arcade. The blue sky remained clear, as if it reflects the feelings of Gu Nianzhi.
Initially frozen, her body began to relax after a while.
Why should she be afraid?
Isn’t this what she had been hoping for?
Having somebody to hug and kiss her under the clear blue sky?
She gave her lips a quick lick and aimed for Huo Shaoheng’s lips.Their lips met. She planned to escape before he could react.
But she had clearly underestimated his reflexes.
His arms were already around her waist. She couldn’t escape even if she wanted to.
“So you want to just run off like this? How dare you,” He replied with a sly smile.
Gu Nianzhi could feel his breath on her ears as he leaned closer. It felt like the best thing that had happened to her and she was almost fainting from this sudden happiness she was feeling.
“Huo Shao, you said we will be officially together if I can manage to sweep you off your feet? So I guess that counts?” Gu Nianzhi began poking at Huo Shaoheng’s hard and chiselled chest.
“Oh, did I say that?” Huo Shaoheng tilted his head and looked around, feigning ignorance. Not many people saw the couple as the trees blocked their vision.
With his arms still around her waist, Huo Shaoheng stood up, “So are we going to continue shopping?”
“Of course we are not done. Let’s go to Scion Plaza,” Gu Nianzhi replied. Her heart was elated and held tightly to Huo Shaoheng’s hands. She didn’t want to let go again.
The couple left the Di Du south arcade with their hands held tight, like a pair of loving doves.
At the carpark, Huo Shaoheng placed the items in the boot of the car and the pair drove off to Scion Plaza to look out for gifts.
Huo Shaoheng’s earphones remained unsually silent. He guessed that Zhao Liangze and Yin Shxiong were greatly “traumatized” by their display of affection.
But he had no plans to explain his actions.
As Yin ShiXiong entered his car, he began arguing furiously with Zhao Liangze.
“Big Xiong, what else did you see?!” Zhao Liangze pursued him with questions. “I had cut off the connections with Mr. Huo, in order not to leave any traces. Do you think that was easy for me?!”
“What else can I see?!” Yin Shixiong replied, sounding traumatized by the whole event. “They were publicly displaying their affection for each other and Nianzhi even kissed him! Pfft, this girl is really getting bold!”
Zhao Liangze: “!!!”
What?!
Damn, he totally missed the show!
Should have cut off the connection later if he had known!
“Are you serious ? Did NianZhi kiss Mr. Huo, or the other way round ?” Zhao Liangze could not surpress his curiousity
“Of course Nianzhi kissed Mr. Huo.” Yin Shixiong remembered it too well. That did not even count as a kiss in his opinion; it was more like a brush across Huo Shaoheng’s lips.
Sadly, at his angle, he could not be sure if Gu Nianzhi’s lips have really touched Huo Shaogeng’s.
Yin ShiXiong still had a lot of confidence in Huo Shaoheng’s reflexes. He was sure that if Huo Shaoheng was unwilling , Gu Nianzhi wouldn’t even have a chance to kiss him even if they were very close to each other.
Yin Shixiong was quick reflexes, butHuo Shaoheng was way faster.
“Oh, so Nianzhi really did kiss Mr. Huo,” Zhao Liangze’s heart sank a little after rcalling the gaze she gave to ShaoHeng at the Interrogation Room. That was a loving gaze after all…
But given the type of person Mr. Huo is; his age and experience; would an 18 year old young girl like Gu Nianzhi be able to handle him ?
And she has always idolized him all these while.
Even if NianZhi really has feelings for him,, would that really be love?
Zhao Liangze thought even more than Yin Shixiong.
So given the situation now, even if it was really love, Gu Nianzhi already couldn’t pass the Political Investigation.
It is just impossible for them to be together ! So why are they wasting time?
More importantly, the entire army knows that Huo Shaoheng is Gu Nianzhi’s guardian, so if they are together… There would be a bad record on his profile…
The more Zhao Liangze pondered, the more disturbed he felt. After not smoking for a long time, Zhao LiangZe walked to the open grounds outside, lit up a cigarette and took a long puff.
Yin Shixiong’s voice came from Zhao Liangze’s earphones, “Little Ze, when do you think these two started being romantically involved? We really failed as his secretaries, man, we knew nothing about his love life.”
Zhao Liangze exhaled with a ring of smoke. “Yes, yes we are too dumb, that’s why Mr. Huo confessed to us in this way, if not we would still be in the dark,” he sighed.
“What! So you are saying Mr. Huo showed us these on purpose?!” Yin Shixiong exclaimed, “So, so, so he knew that we were spying on him and still allowed NianZhi to kiss him?!”
“Are you dumb or what ?!” Zhao Liangze replied in frustration. Putting a hand in his pocket, he took a long puff of cigarrette. “Mr. Huo did nothing! It was Nianzhi who made the first move! Remember this; she made the first move!”