982 International Joke

Upon careful consideration, there had only been a scant number of times when Huo Shaoheng’s heart had softened. Every time, it seemed to have something to do with the young girl named Gu Nianzhi.

Huo Shaoheng bent over, gently helping Gu Nianzhi pull up the blanket that had fallen halfway down when she flipped over.

His cool fingertips accidentally grazed Gu Nianzhi’s neck and, like an electric current, the numbness pa.s.sed through his fingertips to seep into her skin.

Gu Nianzhi woke up once again.

This time she had actually awakened.

Slowly turning around, she saw Huo Shaoheng’s incredibly handsome features. The dim yellow glow of the night light illuminated him from behind to cast a dark golden light across his features.

Every single inch of him was flawless.

Gu Nianzhi’s eyes were full of sleep and her voice was groggy as she murmured, “…You’re back?”

“I’m back.” Huo Shaoheng’s voice grew even more magnetic and deep. He naturally removed the covers to get into bed with Gu Nianzhi.

Gu Nianzhi’s heart couldn’t help skipping a beat.

By the time she reacted, Huo Shaoheng had already wrapped her in his embrace. He slept on his side next to her and got into the most comfortable position.

One arm naturally extended to her neck to act as her pillow.

Gu Nianzhi’s mind was still a bit groggy. She couldn’t tell if it was his left arm or right arm, but she was still worried about his right arm that had been recently injured.

She quickly lifted her head with great difficulty, refusing to use his arm as a pillow. “…That’ll hurt you.”

Huo Shaoheng kissed her cheek. “It’s fine, I’m already better.”

Extending his arm to press her down, he took her head and rested it on his arm.

Gu Nianzhi stopped struggling because this familiar person and his familiar scent was right by her side. The unprecedented sense of security once again allowed her to put down the vigilance that constantly burdened her.

Sleepiness rushed over her as Gu Nianzhi fell into a deep slumber.

Huo Shaoheng recalled the day’s events, particularly the great commotion online and the five-minute HD version of the short video. He originally intended to ask Gu Nianzhi if she had anything to do with it.

But seeing how tired she was, he didn’t ask her anything.

After all, why did it matter if she had done it? There would be a reason why she had done it, so he could just ask her about it tomorrow.

The online commotion had grown so huge that the Cabinet and Senate were not the only ones watching it closely. Even military personnel were also observing.

Huo Shaoheng and General Ji had already learned of this incident when they were with the base troops. General Ji had talked with Huo Shaoheng about whether the Special Operations Forces would be required to step in to investigate who was responsible for the incident.

They weren’t trying to give Prime Minister Tan justice, but they couldn’t be kept in the dark either. They had no idea who was responsible.

Huo Shaoheng hadn’t agreed at the time. His reason was that this was a domestic affair, so there was no present indication that this incident was related to foreign forces. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for the Special Operations Forces to intervene.

He also reminded General Ji that the Cabinet had the Secret Service, which was similar to the Special Operations Forces in terms of authority. The only difference was that the Secret Service was in charge of domestic affairs, unlike the Special Operations Forces which had jurisdiction abroad.

The huge scandal on Weibo would certainly require the Secret Service to step in and investigate.

Besides that, the person involved in the incident was the head of the Cabinet. In consideration of all the factors, private or public, the Secret Service should be one to spearhead the investigation.

General Ji also thought this was reasonable, so he didn’t mention this issue again.

The truth was, Huo Shaoheng only had to watch that video to get a general idea of whose handiwork it was…

When Huo Shaoheng thought about this, a trace of a smile appeared on his face. Touching his lips to Gu Nianzhi’s temples, he fell asleep with her.

…

When they woke up, it was already past 10 A.M. on the fifteenth day of the first month of Lunar New Year.

The official residence was very quiet.

The b.u.t.ter-yellow and white polka dot soundproof velvet curtains had been lowered to block out all the light and sound from outside.

When Gu Nianzhi woke up, her brain went blank for a second before she came to her senses.

c.o.c.king her head to see the deeply asleep man next to her, Gu Nianzhi’s eyes couldn’t help but become attracted to his long, dark eyelashes.

They were like two thrilling arcs that covered his handsome face.

Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but gently touch Huo Shaoheng’s long eyelashes.

However, as soon she touched them, Huo Shaoheng suddenly opened his eyes.

Gu Nianzhi nervously retracted her hand and instinctively found an excuse. “…I was checking to see if these were false eyelashes.”

After saying this, Gu Nianzhi quickly closed her and seriously regretted spouting such nonsense.

She would have been better off not saying anything at all. What was she trying to do by using such a ridiculous excuse?!

After some time, Huo Shaoheng took Gu Nianzhi’s hand and placed it in front of his eyelashes. “…Feel them yourself.”

Gu Nianzhi was quiet.

Fine. Her fingers curled slightly to quickly tap Huo Shaoheng’s long eyelashes.

The pale pads of her fingertips seemed to be p.r.i.c.ked the finest needles. Of course, it didn’t hurt or itch, but there was a physical feeling that could not be ignored. They were just like him, needles hidden in silk.

“Are they fake?” Huo Shaoheng chuckled, then kissed Gu Nianzhi’s cheeks which had already turned as red as little apples.

“…No.” Gu Nianzhi burrowed into his chest. “I was only saying that randomly, why do you need to take it so seriously?”

Huo Shaoheng didn’t reply. He lifted her head from his arm and supported the back of her neck to give her a long and pa.s.sionate kiss.

Perhaps it was because of the dopamine emitted due to the hormonal stimulation that caused people to feel happiness, but lovers don’t notice each other’s morning breath, even when they have just woken up early in the morning.

Gu Nianzhi was actually very sensitive when it came to this, but she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it since she was with Huo Shaoheng.

Before their kiss even ended, Gu Nianzhi could feel the protrusion from the lower half of Huo Shaoheng’s body.

She was so anxious that she went motionless, deathly afraid of further stimulating Huo Shaoheng.

Luckily, Huo Shaoheng didn’t insist on taking things further. He hugged Gu Nianzhi’s warm body some more before getting out of the bed and going back to his room to wash up.

Gu Nianzhi finally sighed in relief and slowly got up from the bed. She also went to the bathroom to shower and wash up, then changed into a white cashmere sweater embroidered with a blue bear on the back. With her freshly shampooed, half-wet hair hanging loose, she went downstairs for breakfast.

It was almost 11 AM by then, so the kitchen had prepared brunch for them.

As soon as Gu Nianzhi went downstairs, she saw many orderlies milling around and finally realized that Lunar New Year was already over. The soldiers on vacation had come back to their work posts.

“Good morning, Miss Gu.”

“Good morning, did you have a happy New Year?”

“It was pretty good, I just came back from my hometown. Thank you, Miss Gu.”

“Miss Gu, I brought some pecans from my hometown and already shared some with my comrades. There is still a bag left and I especially saved it for you.” A younger orderly walked over with a cloth sack and stuttered as he spoke to Gu Nianzhi.

It always felt nice to be remembered and cared about.

Gu Nianzhi felt very happy. She accepted it with a smile. “Thank you, I love pecans a lot.”

She wanted to pay him, but the soldier had already run off happily. He shouted, “I’ll bring you some more if you like them!”

After some consideration, she brought the pecans back to her room and picked out a large box of G.o.diva chocolates from the mini-fridge. She went downstairs to the orderlies’ duty room and was able to see the young soldier at first glance. He was working on his computer.

Gu Nianzhi walked inside and set the box of chocolates beside his desk. She smiled. “Thank you for your pecans, please try my chocolates. They are very delicious too.”

The young soldier looked up with shock and couldn’t help but blush when he saw the sweetly smiling Gu Nianzhi. He wanted to refuse, but when he saw Gu Nianzhi’s huge, hopeful eyes staring back at him, he mindlessly accepted the exquisite box of chocolates and took a quick look.

“G.o.diva? These chocolates are very expensive! My sister loves them a lot!” he said excitedly.

“That’s great! I still have some more. If she likes them, I can give you another two boxes.” Gu Nianzhi nodded at him with a smile before walking out of the orderlies’ duty room.

When she sat down in the dining room, Huo Shaoheng set down the newspaper he was holding. He asked calmly, “Where are the pecans?”

Gu Nianzhi was stunned.

“I happened to pa.s.s by and see it.” Huo Shaoheng languidly poured some milk for Gu Nianzhi. “I’ll desh.e.l.l them for you.”

Gu Nianzhi recalled once using a small hammer to crack pecans when she’d eaten them in the past.

Huo Shaoheng, Yin s.h.i.+xiong, and Zhao Liangze had sat and divided a pile of pecans between themselves. As if they were training their hand strength, they’d used their bare fingers to crush the pecans’ outer sh.e.l.ls…

Gu Nianzhi somewhat missed the days when Yin s.h.i.+xiong and Zhao Liangze had also been there.

“Huo Shao, when is Brother Xiong coming back?” Gu Nianzhi knew Yin s.h.i.+xiong had returned home for vacation, so she was allowed to ask about it.

As for Zhao Liangze, he was on a mission. She didn’t ask anything about him.

“Very soon.” Huo Shaoheng curled his lips into a smile, then poured maple syrup over the pancakes. He pushed them towards Gu Nianzhi.

Today’s breakfast was Western food.

As per usual, Huo Shaoheng had a steak in front of him. However, today it was cooked with the Chinese method of charcoal grilling.

Gu Nianzhi had pancakes, milk, and scrambled eggs.

They’d just begun to eat when they heard Yin s.h.i.+xiong’s loud voice calling from outside. “Huo Shao! Huo Shao! What on earth is going on?! I was so worried all day and night!”

Yin s.h.i.+xiong hurriedly rushed into the dining room and froze when he saw that Gu Nianzhi was also there.

Huo Shaoheng elegantly raised a gla.s.s of red wine in his direction. “Big Xiong, did you have lunch yet?”

“No, that sounds perfect. Give me the same thing,” Yin s.h.i.+xiong said to the orderly standing at the door.

The orderly quickly instructed the kitchen as Yin s.h.i.+xiong sat down by Gu Nianzhi.

He’d originally wanted to ask about why his marriage request had been returned and required being rewritten, but when he saw that Gu Nianzhi was there, he instinctively changed the topic.

“What’s the matter?” Huo Shaoheng asked languidly.

Yin s.h.i.+xiong swallowed, suppressing the burning unease in his heart as he said, “The thing that’s on Weibo, it’s caused a huge scandal about the prime minister! Hehe, this is truly an international joke!”

Gu Nianzhi’s hand shook and the golden syrup on her pancakes spilled onto the white bone china plate in front of her.