Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi didn't notice at first when the landline in the dorm rang.
Everyone had a phone these days, and many people had more than one. Who would call a landline?
It was as if they didn't hear the ringtone at all.
Gu Nianzhi's phone rang as well.
She froze when she heard Huo Shaoheng's unique ringtone. She reached out to unlock it and pressed the side of her face against the cold phone. She said drunkenly, "Hello."
Huo Shaoheng froze. "You're drinking? Where are you? "
Gu Nianzhi laughed and stood up dizzily with the phone. She said to Ma Qiqi, "I'm going to take a call. You eat first."
Ma Qiqi waved her hand and slurred, "Go, go. It's best if I go alone. I'm telling you, if you come back late, I'm going to lose everything!"
"Fine, fine, fine! Lose everything if you can … "Gu Nianzhi mimicked Ma Qiqi's words and floated to her own room.
She entered the room and closed the door. Leaning against the door, she spoke to Huo Shaoheng, "Huo Shao, you finally have time to call me?"
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
She seemed to be quite drunk.
"Where are you right now?" Huo Shaoheng asked in a low voice as he leaned back in his chair. His back was a bit sore, so he put an arm behind his head and massaged his shoulder as he spoke to Gu Nianzhi with his eyes closed.
"Aren't you very resourceful? Don't you have a satellite detection system? How can you not know where I am? "Gu Nianzhi held the phone to her ear. Alcohol gave her courage, and she also began to talk back to Huo Shaoheng.
This was unimaginable when she was sober.
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
He spun around in his chair before standing up and walking out of the Central Control Room's underground engine room. He walked up the stairs to the ground floor and pushed open the two bulletproof glass doors to walk to the open space in front of the Special Operations Forces' office building.
It was a spacious square surrounded by bare grass. There were no trees, only large lawns and groups of flower beds.
Of course, it was still early spring, so the grass hadn't appeared yet, and the flowers were nowhere to be seen.
There were some metal benches at the edge of the square. Huo Shaoheng walked over to one and sat down. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
Gu Nianzhi waited for a long time, but Huo Shaoheng didn't say anything. She became nervous, and her back was covered in sweat. She immediately sobered up.
She used her hand to support herself against the door and stood up. Her feet fluttered towards the sofa by the wall.
When he reached the sofa, his legs turned to jelly, and he slumped onto the sofa. He reached out to grab his little panda pillow and hugged it in his arms, gritting his teeth and refusing to speak.
She was afraid that the moment she opened her mouth, she would 'surrender' again …
Huo Shaoheng took a few deep drags of his cigarette before he snapped out of the world of data and words on the internet.
"… Nianzhi," he said slowly, "Where are you now?"
Again, he wouldn't give up until Gu Nianzhi answered.
Gu Nianzhi immediately knelt down. She didn't have Huo Shaoheng's tested nerves and indomitable willpower.
She was just an ordinary girl. Was she stupid to compete with the former coach of the special forces in terms of endurance and endurance?
"I'm in the dormitory," Gu Nianzhi murmured. She stared blankly at the geometrically patterned carpet on the floor.
Huo Shaoheng blew out a ring of smoke and said slowly, "Okay, that's good." He paused, then smiled. "… Why are you so grumpy?"
"You spoil me," Gu Nianzhi said sullenly. "You spoil me like this, and now you say I have a bad temper. I'm not happy!"
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
Fine, it was all his fault.
Huo Shaoheng flicked the ash off his cigarette and stopped smoking. He put on his headset and said to Gu Nianzhi, "… Then I won't spoil you anymore."
"No, you have to continue spoiling me." Gu Nianzhi sat up straight and hugged the little panda pillow even tighter. She then emphasized, "I can't not spoil you. I'm used to it."
Huo Shaoheng laughed. "Okay, then be good and I'll continue spoiling you."
"… I'll spoil you only if you're good. I'm not really spoiling you." Gu Nianzhi protested. "Also, you were so mean to me today!"
Huo Shaoheng continued to smile silently. After a while, he threw the cigarette into the trash can near the bench and stretched his long legs lazily against the metal bench. He said quietly, "You're not angry anymore?"
Gu Nianzhi rubbed her chest and found that the pent-up anger had dissipated.
She was indeed not angry anymore, but the problem still remained.
Gu Nianzhi finally understood the problem clearly. Huo Shaoheng couldn't fool her …
"Huo Shao, I'm not angry anymore. Can I ask you a question now?" Gu Nianzhi's voice calmed down. The faint hint of tears in her voice was gone. Huo Shaoheng sighed in relief and felt a trace of guilt.
His attitude became even more gentle. "Okay, ask away."
"It's like this." Gu Nianzhi covered her phone with one hand and twisted the little fringe on the panda pillow with the other. She hesitated on how to speak.
"Ask me anything. Why are you hesitating when you're talking to me?" Huo Shaoheng hugged the back of his neck and looked up at the starry sky.
The stars were especially bright at night. They shimmered like diamonds on fine black velvet.
Although the weather was cold, he needed the cold air to clear his head.
Gu Nianzhi blurted out, "Did you go on a date with someone today?"
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
He leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. He asked calmly, "Why do you ask?"
"Of course there's a reason." Gu Nianzhi bit her lip and said reluctantly, "I saw the photo …"
Huo Shaoheng sensitively thought of Xie Dezhao and Xie Qingying.
He had specifically gone to the European-style cafe to see Xie Dezhao. However, when he came out, Xie Qingying also came over to talk to him.
"What photo?" Huo Shaoheng didn't plan on telling Gu Nianzhi about the Xie's. Gu Xiangwen hadn't found out yet, and he didn't want the Xie's to know about Gu Nianzhi's relationship with them. "If it was me, you should tell the person who took the photo that it's illegal and the consequences will be severe."
Gu Nianzhi thought about Miao Yunxiao's mocking expression and giggled. She said sourly, "Not only that, but I also heard that the organization is going to matchmake you, right? My classmates are calling you cousin-in-law … "
Huo Shaoheng was a bit surprised.
If Gu Nianzhi had previously made him feel like a child throwing a tantrum because she couldn't get candy, her words now forced him to take her seriously.
"Who told you that?" Huo Shaoheng asked calmly. "You're taking it seriously when I don't even know about it?"
"I didn't take it seriously, but I'm worried that if we continue like this, the organization will really introduce you to a girlfriend." Gu Nianzhi felt her nose sting again. She quickly let go of the pillow and took a tissue from the small table next to the sofa to wipe her nose. She said in a muffled voice, "Then what do you plan to do? Accept it? Or accept it? Or accept it?! "
So it was about that.
Huo Shaoheng refused to admit that he was relieved.
If Gu Nianzhi had asked him this a few days ago, he really wouldn't have known how to answer.
But now, he had an idea.
"I already have a girlfriend. Why would they introduce me to one?" Huo Shaoheng asked her calmly. "Your information isn't reliable. Don't listen to other people's gossip in the future."
Gu Nianzhi was speechless at his words.
"Huo Shao, you won't tell me anything. How can I not listen to other people's gossip?" Gu Nianzhi muttered quietly, but because it was the first time Huo Shaoheng had said the word "girlfriend," her heart was already blooming with happiness.
Had she finally seen the light of day?
Huo Shaoheng thought about it for a while and gently flicked his fingers on his thigh. He said quietly, "Nianzhi, stop fooling around."
"It's too late. I'm already fooling around." Gu Nianzhi hugged the little panda pillow and rolled around on the sofa. "Tell me, how are you going to coax me?"
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
He discovered that Gu Nianzhi was becoming bolder and bolder in front of him. She could even say something like that so openly.
She wanted him to coax her and said it so confidently.
Huo Shaoheng clasped his hands together to support his chin. His elbows rested on his thighs as he leaned forward on the metal bench. He waited quietly for a while before asking, "What's going on with the photos?"
He wanted to clarify these two matters before speaking.
Gu Nianzhi was in the mood to talk and told him about Miao Yunxiao showing off the photos. She then complained, "She thinks I'm your kept woman and keeps being jealous of me …"
Huo Shaoheng chuckled quietly. "Then are you willing to be my kept woman?"
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
Oh my! Was Huo Shao flirting with her just now?
Gu Nianzhi was drunk from listening to him.
Gu Nianzhi's heart thumped wildly, and a warm current instantly flowed through her limbs and bones.
The dry fields were suddenly flooded with rain, and she felt full of life again.
"… No!" Gu Nianzhi's eyes sparkled. Her petite face was very charming. "Keeping a kept woman is an illicit relationship. I want to have a legitimate relationship with you. Simply put, I want to be your girlfriend."
Huo Shaoheng imagined Gu Nianzhi's high spirits when she said this and was a bit intoxicated. This child had grown up and was difficult to discipline. It wasn't easy being a parent, but why was he so happy with it?
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it." Huo Shaoheng relented and gave Gu Nianzhi a hopeful future.
Fortunately, Gu Nianzhi understood him. If he said he was thinking about it at this point with other women, they would definitely explode.
However, Gu Nianzhi knew that when Huo Shaoheng said he was thinking about it, it meant he was going to do it soon. He wouldn't say he was thinking about something unless he was 100% sure.
"Really?!" Gu Nianzhi was overjoyed and stood up from the sofa. "Really … I'm thinking about it."
Huo Shaoheng nodded and stood up from the metal bench to walk towards the office. The stars in the sky were even brighter and his mood brightened as he looked at them.
Gu Nianzhi wanted to take a mile when she was in a good mood.
She asked in a roundabout way, "Huo Shao, are you still working overtime tomorrow?"
Tomorrow was Saturday, so everyone was usually off.
Huo Shaoheng put his hands in his trouser pockets and slowly walked forward. "I still have some work to finish. What's wrong? Is there something? "
"… No, yeah, there is …" Gu Nianzhi stammered. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day … Do you have any plans?"
Huo Shaoheng paused and said calmly, "I never celebrate Western holidays. Did you forget?"
Gu Nianzhi remembered. She really had forgotten before.
She had been blinded by the atmosphere stirred up by her classmates.
She lowered her head in shame and quickly found an excuse to save face. "I remember now. I have to prepare my thesis tomorrow and was worried I wouldn't be able to leave. "
"Yeah, study hard." Huo Shaoheng praised her and walked into the office. He saw a few subordinates coming over to report to him. Huo Shaoheng said to Gu Nianzhi, "Ok, I still have something to do. I'm going to hang up now."
Gu Nianzhi looked at her phone and saw that Huo Shaoheng had already hung up.
She lay on the bed for a while and waited for her mood to recover before opening the door and walking out.
Ma Qiqi was completely drunk under the table.
Gu Nianzhi was angry and amused at the same time. She helped her up and sent her back to her room to sleep.
Gu Nianzhi went to take a shower again and washed off the smell of beer and fried chicken from her body before going to bed.
Although it was a bit of a pity that there would be no program on Valentine's Day tomorrow, she could still understand that Huo Shaoheng's work came first.
As long as she could be with him openly, it didn't matter if she didn't celebrate Valentine's Day for the rest of her life.
…
Huo Shaoheng returned to his office and listened to his subordinates' reports. He pointed out a few directions for them to continue researching.
Yin Shixiong came in with a stack of documents and said to Huo Shaoheng, "Huo Shao, Little Ze won't be here tomorrow. Are these all for you?"
Huo Shaoheng turned around from his chair and asked Yin Shixiong, "Has Little Ze already started his vacation?"
"No, it only starts after midnight." Yin Shixiong laughed. "What's wrong? Is Huo Shaoheng regretting it? "
Huo Shaoheng looked at him coolly. "Get him to help me get a phone number."
Gu Nianzhi had just given Miao Yunxiao's phone number to Huo Shaoheng in order to show that she wasn't being unreasonable and had the truth behind the photos. She told him that there were photos of Huo Shaoheng and a woman at a cafe on that phone.
Huo Shaoheng knew that it had to do with Xie Qingying, but he couldn't say that it was completely groundless.
He understood Speaker Long's intentions, but he couldn't accept it.
However, when he thought of Xie Qingying's appearance, Huo Shaoheng was still a bit worried that Gu Nianzhi would overthink things after seeing the photos.
Yin Shixiong called Zhao Liangze over and gave him the phone number that Huo Shaoheng wanted to find.
Zhao Liangze accessed Miao Yunxiao's phone in less than ten minutes and found her photo album.
The photos of Huo Shaoheng, Xie Qingying, and Xie Dezhao were all taken recently, so he found it immediately.
He downloaded the two photos and emailed them to his own email, then completely deleted the photos from Miao Yunxiao's phone as well as the photos stored in her cloud account.
However, when Zhao Liangze deleted the photos Miao Yunxiao had uploaded to the cloud account, he found a few photos of Miao Yunxiao and Xu Piaohong.
He showed Huo Shaoheng the photo album he downloaded and said, "Huo Shao, this Policewoman Xu looks pretty good. I think she's better than Xie Qingying."
Zhao Liangze winked at Yin Shixiong as he spoke.
Yin Shixiong quickly agreed, "Miss Xu is pretty good, but Miss Xie will definitely not pass the background check."
Xie Qingying had grown up overseas and was a foreign citizen. With a background like that, she would never be the wife of a high-ranking military official.
Speaker Long was probably too excited to do anything and was only trying to stop Huo Shaoheng from having anything to do with Gu Nianzhi.
But it was too late, the relationship could no longer be broken.
Huo Shaoheng ordered Zhao Liangze, "Go investigate Deputy Chief of Staff Xu. She's so good at currying favor, there seems to be a problem."
Zhao Liangze quickly said, "I'll investigate when I come back tomorrow after my vacation, ok?"
"Ok, there's no rush. You go on vacation first." Huo Shaoheng waved his hand to dismiss Zhao Liangze.
Yin Shixiong watched Zhao Liangze's hurried back and laughed, "Huo Shao, Little Ze has finally figured it out. He's planning a secret Valentine's Day surprise and even invited his sweetheart for dinner."
Huo Shaoheng rubbed his temples with his right hand and thought for a while before asking, "… Valentine's Day? Why is everyone celebrating Western holidays now? "
From Christmas to Valentine's Day, and now there's Halloween. Is there going to be Thanksgiving in the future?!
"Huo Shao, you don't understand. Young girls all like this, and on this day, they'll even compare their boyfriends' looks, money, cars, and gifts. Basically, as soon as Valentine's Day comes, their WeChat moments will be flooded with all sorts of roses, chocolates, and diamond rings. For single people, Valentine's Day is number one on the list of killer singles! "
Yin Shixiong said excitedly, "Oh! I want to find someone to celebrate Valentine's Day with! "
Huo Shaoheng was speechless.
After a while, he asked, "Does everyone celebrate this holiday in college?"
"Of course, this holiday started in college. Colleges are the 'hardest hit' places for Valentine's Day." Yin Shixiong took out his phone and found a random college website to show Huo Shaoheng. "Look, they even want to hang two big red hearts at the school gates. Anyone who sees it will cry."
Huo Shaoheng glanced at it and realized it was Gu Nianzhi's B University. He looked down. "You can go now."
After Yin Shixiong left, Huo Shaoheng held a pen in his hand and poked it unconsciously on the desk. Finally, he gripped the pen and made a difficult decision.
…
On Saturday morning, Gu Nianzhi woke up early and bought two sets of breakfast. She left one on the table for Ma Qiqi and ate one for herself. Then she knocked on Ma Qiqi's door. "Qiqi, I'm going to the library to study. Breakfast is on the table. Eat it yourself."
Inside, Ma Qiqi had a splitting headache. She held her head and wailed to show that she understood.
Gu Nianzhi smiled as she walked out the door.
She purposely woke up early so she could avoid those bored people who liked to pry into other people's private lives.
Yes, she was talking about Miao Yunxiao.
Gu Nianzhi thought to herself maliciously.
…
Gu Nianzhi really didn't pay attention to the outside world in the library and only focused on reading. Other than buying a burger for lunch, she didn't go out at all.
In the evening, she received a call from Yin Shixiong saying someone had delivered something to her. She quickly packed her bag and left the library.
Riding her bike back to the dorm, Gu Nianzhi noticed many girls pointing at an eye-catching car.
She peeked out and saw it looked like a sports car. From the logo, it was probably a Ferrari.
A tall man in a casual suit with wide shoulders and a narrow waist leaned against the car door with his hands in his pockets. He looked ahead expressionlessly, ignoring the girls who were passing by and pointing at him.
That man was Huo Shaoheng!
Gu Nianzhi's eyes widened and her mouth almost fell open.
She watched in a daze as Huo Shaoheng walked closer and reached out his hand. "I'm here to pick you up for Valentine's Day."
Gu Nianzhi asked dumbfoundedly, "Don't you never celebrate overseas holidays?"
"Yes, but for you, I can make an exception." Huo Shaoheng calmly held her hand.
※ ※ ※
This was the second installment of 5,000 words. Reminders for the monthly and recommendation votes!
Sorry, I miscalculated, I'll have to wait until tomorrow …
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