Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“The hospital must meet you in order to discharge him?” Huo Shaoheng was only troubled for a moment before composing himself and beginning to question Gu Yanran. “Then wouldn’t they know who the patient is? Didn’t you just say the hospital doesn’t know what kind of person the patient is?”

Gu Yanran stared at Huo Shaoheng with a frown, and after a while, she seemed to finally understand his convoluted words. “The thing is, the doctors and nurses certainly don’t know what kind of person the patient is, but a very complete procedure is required in order to discharge the patient. Not a single step can be missed. When I first had my father admitted into the hospital, I chose the highest-level clearance for discharge.” Gu Yanran explained the rules and regulations of the discharge procedure for hospital patients. “The highest clearance requires immediate relatives to be present in order to discharge the patient. As for who is considered an immediate relative, is Mr. Huo well aware? Only children, parents, or spouses are considered immediate relatives.”

So that was the case. Huo Shaoheng’s heart instantly calmed down, but he asked casually, “Must the immediate relatives be present? Can’t you use power of attorney?” If that was a possibility, then Gu Yanran wasn’t required to personally go to the hospital and catch the gunmen’s attention.

“Of course not.” Gu Yanran wagged her finger with a smug look. “If power of attorney was possible, then that wouldn’t be considered the highest clearance for patient discharge. That would be one step below.”

“In other words, there’s no other way to discharge your father other than an immediate relative personally going to the hospital?” Huo Shaoheng again repeated Gu Yanran’s explanation.

“Right. Mr. Huo is perfectly correct. Now, within the Gu family, only my father and I are immediate relatives, so… This is a difficult situation.” Gu Yanran spread her palms, her expression extremely helpless. “How about this? If Mr. Huo can help us arrest the person behind the gunmen, I’ll discharge my father immediately. I’ll emigrate with him to your nation. What do you think?”

So, after all that, she was still insisting that Huo Shaoheng first help arrest the mastermind behind the gunmen before he could enjoy the benefits that came along with Gu Xiangwen. But Huo Shaoheng’s thoughts on trying his best to find Gu Xiangwen differed from the high-ranking Huaxia military elites. He didn’t really care about the benefits that Gu Xiangwen could bring after he woke up, because he knew that some things could not be forced. No one knew if Gu Xiangwen would be willing to cooperate with them after he woke up. They wouldn’t force him to do anything for them, so this was not enough motivation for him.

Gu Nianzhi was a large part of why he was using all efforts to find Gu Xiangwen. That way, he can give her a proper identity. But Huo Shaoheng didn’t want Gu Yanran to know about this, so he pretended to listen with interest before replying, “This is a serious matter, and we still have no leads on the gunmen. It’s not impossible to arrest them, but it will take a lot of time. I’d like to ask you not to visit your father even once during this period of time. In other words, you don’t have to discharge him, but can we see him first?”

People went to compare items from three stores before purchasing. It would only make sense to see the actual person they were rescuing? Gu Yanran understood what Huo Shaoheng meant and knew he wouldn’t help her with the request unless she gave him some benefit to start with.

“That’s not a problem. I can arrange a time. Mr. Huo can personally go to the hospital at an indicated location and time to see my father.” Gu Yanran agreed quickly and reached her hand out to him. “I look forward to working with you.” Her business demeanor was generous and decisive, without a hint of delay. It was as if her earlier dragging on with the decision had merely been an illusion.

Huo Shaoheng smiled faintly and stood up to briefly shake Gu Yanran’s hand. “I look forward to working with you.”

Leaving the Gus’ Mandala Manor, Huo Shaoheng looked up to quickly glance at the location where someone had been hiding earlier. He noticed that the presence in that spot had disappeared, so they must’ve left. Yin Shixiong walked over to open the car door for Huo Shaoheng, and he silently got inside. His car quickly drove out of the Gus’ Mandala Manor to return to the General Consulate of the Huaxia Empire in Barbados in the city limits.

…

When Huo Shaoheng returned to Gu Nianzhi’s room, she was still asleep. She lay on the bed, hugging the blanket, not appearing very elegant. A long leg stuck out from under the blankets with the fabric twisted around it. Her skin was as pale as a fresh piece of lotus root.

Huo Shaoheng swallowed hard, walking over to help her adjust her blankets. She acutely woke up and half-opened her eyes to see that Huo Shaoheng had arrived. Immediately relaxing, she hugged his waist and snuggled against him before closing her eyes again. Huo Shaoheng knew she was awake but had the habit of staying in bed for a while before fully waking up. Huo Shaoheng decided to sit on the edge of her bed and crossed his arms to think about the day’s situation. On the way back, Gu Yanran had already sent him the time and location. It was to be 8:00 a.m., three days from now. It wasn’t too early or too late, and that was when he could take the special pass Gu Yanran had given him to visit Gu Xiangwen. Of course, he could only visit with the special pass but had no way of discharging him. Huo Shaoheng also wanted to take the opportunity to let Gu Nianzhi see Gu Xiangwen. It was her father, and she hadn’t seen him for six or seven years now.

“Huo Shao, what are you thinking about? Why are you so distracted?” Gu Nianzhi hugged Huo Shaoheng’s waist and closed her eyes to lay down for a while. She mumbled groggily. “You didn’t even kiss me. This doesn’t make sense…”

Huo Shaoheng broke into laughter and lowered his head as he’d been told to kiss her cheek. “Since you’re awake now, you should get up. You never get up on time even when you’re away from home.” He then raised his hand to gently slap Gu Nianzhi’s butt through the blanket.

“Domestic violence… Domestic violence…” Gu Nianzhi cried softly, arching her body rebelliously so that the thin silk blanket was wrinkled into ripples. It was a tempting sight. He wanted nothing more but to rip it away to see what lay underneath…

“You call that domestic violence? Hmm?” Huo Shaoheng decided to scoop Gu Nianzhi up, blanket and all. He held her in his arms and pretended to throw her down. “Do you really want to try some domestic violence?”

“No… No… Huo Shao. Fine, forgive this little girl…” Gu Nianzhi giggled, opening her glittering eyes to smile broadly at Huo Shaoheng. She then hugged his neck and kissed him once on each cheek.

“Ok, I’ll let you off today, considering it’s your first violation. But if you do it again, you’ll be punished for both offenses.” Huo Shaoheng whispered in Gu Nianzhi’s ear, his hot breath igniting a fire by her ears and the heat instantly spreading from it all throughout her body. She was so excited that even her toes curled up.

Gu Nianzhi throat began purring faintly like a little kitten, and before she could object, Huo Shaoheng had already lodged her lips with a kiss. A longer and tender morning kiss finally had Gu Nianzhi awake with satisfaction. She hummed as she went to wash up in the bathroom. As soon as she walked in, she was very touched to see that all the toiletries and even the towels were the brands she liked. It was obvious that Huo Shaoehng had someone prepare them for her. Because of this, she spent a bit more time to wash in the bathroom in order to fully enjoy the considerate preparations Huo Shaoheng had made for her. If she didn’t wash well, it would be a shame for all the body wash, face wash, and shampoo to have traveled across oceans to get there.

Huo Shaoheng looked at his watch to see that Gu Nianzhi had been in the bathroom for almost an hour. Did it take that long? Had she fallen asleep in the bathtub? Huo Shaoheng stood up and went to knock at Gu Nianzhi’s bathroom door.

“Nianzhi?”

After a while, Gu Nianzhi finally turned off the shower and used a towel to dry her body. She then put on a bathrobe and wrapped her hair in a towel before opening the door. Huo Shaoheng stood at the door with his arms crossed as he assessed her. “You showed? What took so long?”

“I had to wash well. I was stinky from flying in the plane for so long.” Gu Nianzhi crinkled her tiny nose. “Also, Huo Shao made such great arrangements to ensure that everything in there were my favorite toiletries. Otherwise, I really would have not been used to it.”

“Yeah.” Huo Shaoheng waved his hand nonchalantly. “Come out if you’re done. There’s something I still have to tell you.”

Because this situation required Gu Nianzhi’s presence, Huo Shaoheng also had to include her into the planning of the operation. Of course, this was also with the special approval of the Huaxia Imperial Supreme Military Council. Otherwise, he wouldn’t reveal the plan to Gu Nianzhi.

“Then Huo Shao should go out first. I’ll come out after I get dressed.” Gu Nianzhi quickly looked for clothes to change into.

Huo Shaoheng was busy, too, so he raised his arm to glance at his watch. “Your clothes are in the suitcase over there. It was all sent yesterday. Remember to choose a more mature outfit and to wear more adult-looking makeup, too.”

Gu Nianzhi nodded and heard the door close as soon as she found the suitcase. Turning around, she saw that Huo Shaoheng had already left. She really had been in the bathroom for too long.

Gu Nianzhi shook her head regretfully but immediately cheered up when she saw the suitcase full of new clothes. Opening it up, she spilled all the clothes onto the bed and tried them on one by one. She even did something new by mixing and matching. Another half an hour passed with her putting on clothes. By the time she walked out of the room, she saw Yin Shixiong squatting by her door. Gu Nianzhi said nothing.

“Miss Gu, you’re finally out.” Yin Shixiong looked up at her with a wink before getting accustomed to Gu Nianzhi’s mature and stunning makeup. He didn’t get up. “Your Brother Xiong has old bones and can’t get up after squatting down all day waiting for you.”

Gu Nianzhi reached out to him with a smile. “Brother Xiong, I’ll pull you up.”

Yin Shixiong squeezed her hand and stood up with a smile. “Thankfully, Nianzhi is sweet enough to take pity on Brother Xiong.”

Gu Nianzhi pushed him. “Fine, fine! Hurry up and tell me what you were doing at my door? Did Huo Shao ask you to come?”

“Yes.” Yin Shixiong nodded. “Hurry up and come down with me. We have to discuss the concrete plan now and were only waiting for you.”

Gu Nianzhi fumbled at her clothes sheepishly. “You were all just waiting for me?”

“What do you think?” Yin Shixiong took her to a small conference room then closed the door. “Mr. Huo, Nianzhi is here.”

Looking up, Huo Shaoheng instantly saw a glamorous young woman walk in. She slightly arched her delicate neck, coral lips glistening with a pearly sheen and her face absolutely stunning. Glancing through the room, she was incomparable!