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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nHuo Shaoheng got up and walked into the bathroom. Gu Nianzhi heard the sound of the water turn on. She was still trembling from post-orgasmic bliss and was thoroughly exhausted.

nHuo Shaoheng was like a man who hadn’t seen a woman in 800 years, Gu Nianzhi thought. He’d positioned her every which way and made love to her many times. She couldn’t even lift her fingers, but Huo Shaoheng could go and take a shower as if nothing happened. Gu Nianzhi wanted to shower also, but she doubted Huo Shaoheng would be so considerate.

nMoreover, she didn’t want to be in the bathroom now. What if Huo Shaoheng saw her and pulled her in to “save water” again?

nGu Nianzhi could only sprawl herself out on the bed wantonly. After a while, her eyelids began to feel extremely heavy, and she had to fight to keep them open.

nJust then, she heard Zhao Liangze’s voice coming from the intercom. “Mr. Huo, Big Xiong managed to get some leads. Would you like to take his call?”

nGu Nianzhi bit her lip. Slowly, she hid amongst the sheets and, like an ostrich, covered her head.

nHuo Shaoheng had installed intercoms like these all over his room. They could be found in the living room, study, bedroom, and even the bathroom. All that effort, Gu Nianzhi thought, just to ensure he did not miss emergency messages from the force. Even though he was in the shower, she could still hear his conversation over the sound of the water.

nHe turned off the tap and replied, “I’ll get to the office building immediately.”

nHuo Shaoheng came out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist, changed into his military uniform, and spoke to Gu Nianzhi without turning to look at her.

n“Go back to your room. I have to get to work,” he said. Then he left, seemingly in a rush, as if something critical had happened. What Gu Nianzhi didn’t know what that if Huo Shaoheng turned around he wouldn’t be able to bear leaving.

nGu Nianzhi stuck her head out of the sheets. She watched Huo Shaoheng disappear and began to feel self-conscious.

nThey were so intimate just now, but Huo Shaoheng still left just like that. He hadn’t even bothered to coax her a little or give her a hug before leaving. She had heard what Zhao Liangze had said over the intercom. It wasn’t an emergency.

nWhy couldn’t Huo Shaoheng just come over and give her one last hug before leaving?

nGu Nianzhi came out from under the covers pouting and feeling deflated. She picked up the clothes Huo Shaoheng had scattered across the room and left without turning back.

nUpon returning to her room, Gu Nianzhi packed her things, took her bag and suitcase, and left the mansion. She walked to the main road, flagged a cab, and left for her dorm. She did not even contact Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong.

nIt was only Saturday, but she did not want to stay at Huo Shaoheng’s place any longer. She returned to an empty room. Ma Qiqi had left for the weekend as well.

nGu Nianzhi took a shower then sat in front of her table with her hair wrapped up in her towel. She began her skincare routine and put on a face mask. Then she brought her iPad to her bed and settled down.

nBut she couldn’t bring herself to read through the textbooks on her iPad.

nShe was confused by her emotions. She felt like she shouldn’t have left but, somewhere deep in her heart, she knew she had the right to do so.

nShe knew it wasn’t Huo Shaoheng’s fault, but she didn’t want to admit it was her fault. For the first time, Gu Nianzhi felt like her relationship with Huo Shaoheng was at a crossroads. She used to think she’d be content as long as Huo Shaoheng wanted to be with her, but now that he was finally hers, she realized she had an increasing amount of suitors, and she was not the same easily contented Gu Nianzhi anymore.

nWas it merely human nature to want so much?

nShe knew a one-sided love had no future, but how did one measure reciprocated love?

nGu Nianzhi couldn’t understand her own logic. She shook her head and decided not to think about it anymore. She forced herself to begin reading her textbooks and think about Miao Yunxiao’s case instead.

nShe’d heard Zhao Liangze say Yin Shixiong had already gotten some leads from B University before she left. She wondered if they already knew who had pressured the people from B University into deleting all the footage.

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nAt the Special Forces Headquarters, Huo Shaoheng stood in the control room with Zhao Liangze, video conferencing Yin Shixiong and looking at the internet records of closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) within B University.

n“Mr. Huo, by using the identity of a police officer I was able to check with the relevant personnel in B University’s IT department. Guess what? They told me that, due to the lack of maintenance, some of the CCTVs around the pond was damaged, and they didn’t have the footage we needed! They only just realized the problem and changed the cameras.” Yin Shixiong gave them a sly smile. “I asked if I could take a look at the damaged cameras, and they told me that they were all destroyed.”

n“Haha. They’re practically admitting they’re guilty!” Zhao Liangze laughed heartily. “They’re even destroying solid evidence. Pity they’re unaware the camera footage was uploaded to the Cloud immediately. It takes a long time to clear anything out of the Cloud, and it would leave traces everywhere.”

nYin Shixiong was also smiling happily on the other side of the room. “We didn’t expect this much evidence. It was a dead end looking for evidence so directly before.”

n“That’s what makes Nianzhi so smart. She’s great at finding loopholes in the law,” Zhao Liangze smiled as he spoke, but he couldn’t tell if this was a good or bad trait.

nHuo Shaoheng glared at him. “Nianzhi doesn’t need to find loopholes in the law to win lawsuits.”

nZhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong fell silent.

n“The law on its own has too many loopholes. Nianzhi was only trying to help fill them,” Huo Shaoheng continued, the corners of his lips curled upwards slightly. He looked immensely proud of her.

nZhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong closed their eyes in unison and remained silent. The look of immense pride on Huo Shaoheng’s face was too much to bear. They wanted to look away, if not, they wouldn’t know how to face Gu Nianzhi the next time they saw her.

nEven though they did not approve of Huo Shaoheng being with Gu Nianzhi, they knew it was impossible to tear apart a couple that was in love and wanted to be together.

nThey were no match for Gu Nianzhi’s brains.

nThey were no match for Huo Shaoheng’s combat skills.

nSo, what else could they do?

nThey could only overlook what they did not want to see.

nHuo Shaoheng ignored both of them and began issuing commands through the video conference. “Get the telephone records of the Prime Minister’s home and B University’s Principal, and track whoever called the relevant personnel at B University first. I believe the person who pressured the personnel was on the Prime Minister’s side.”

nIf Dou Aiyan really did not speak to Miao Yunxiao, then why would Prime Minister Dou pressure B University to delete all the footage and destroy the cameras? Huo Shaoheng knew the Cloud’s deleted information was retrievable within a certain timeframe.

nBy Sunday morning, Yin Shixiong’s investigation had a massive breakthrough. Yin Shixiong spent the entire night in the video conferencing room in B University and found a good amount of information. He uploaded and locked the data away so no one could interfere with it.

nIt was still early when he left the office building, so he decided to have some breakfast at the B University cafeteria before heading back.

nWhat he did not expect to find upon entering the cafeteria was Gu Nianzhi, holding a tray of food, walking beside He Zhichu.

nThey appeared to be having a conversation. Gu Nianzhi was looking at He Zhichu and smiling comfortably. Even though He Zhichu looked as cold as ever, his gaze on Gu Nianzhi was nothing but gentle.

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