Chapter 529 - Bias

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

Ever since Huo Shaoheng saved her when she was 12, Gu Nianzhi had been growing up in the Special Forces headquarters alongside him—she’d never had any interactions with the world outside.

In the beginning, her lessons had been conducted by tutors who were engaged by the Special Forces. Eventually, the tutors had found her to be extremely gifted—almost a genius—which had caused them to put in even more effort to teach her.

After only two years, she took the University entrance exam at the age of 14 and had achieved an impressive grade, which had allowed her to enter any majors in any university she wanted. The army had been worried about her during that time. They did not want her to appear in public. Therefore, she had not left the headquarters to attend university but had attended online lessons from distinguished universities for two years.

That had been the case until about two to three years ago when Huo Shaoheng and his men could not discover where she’d come from no matter how they tried. Therefore, they intended to let her interact with society to see if there would be any changes. That was the reason why she had been allowed to attend a university. Also, if someone was searching for her, it would be easier for them.

Because the Special Forces of the Hua Xia Empire was so well protected—and because she was at Huo Shaoheng’s side—information was even harder to uncover. Heck, it was practically impossible for information to be uncovered.

However, things would be different the moment Gu Nianzhi went out to attend university. It was similar to getting out of a well-protected “castle” and returning to society, somewhere where she was able to interact with others. In order to remain with Huo Shaoheng, Gu Nianzhi had selected a university in C City. This way, she would be able to remain by his side.

This had happened until six months ago, when she graduated from university and managed to become He Zhichu’s postgraduate student. She had to leave C City and head to Di Capital.

Thankfully, the Special Forces had decided to shift their headquarters to Di Capital at that time. Had that not been the case, Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi would really have had to be separated from each other.

Gu Nianzhi had been paying attention to He Zhichu’s reaction after she was done narrating her life as far as she could remember. Head hanging, He Zhichu batted his lashes a little, cleared his throat, and said clearly and coldly, like someone had dropped cubes of ice into some spring water, “If I told you that there was a bias involved, would you believe me?”

He still looked expressionless. Even his tone sounded monotonous. He reached for his coffee but did not take a sip. He was merely twirling the cup on the coaster slowly, listening to the sound it produced.

The moment Gu Nianzhi heard that, she fell silent and did not probe further.

It had taken her so much effort to change the relationship between her and He Zhichu back to that of professor and student. She didn’t want to ruin it and make things awkward again.

“Oh? So it’s like that? I see. It’s just all about timing, isn’t it?” Gu Nianzhi managed to change the topic, and it indicated that she did not wish to pursue it further.

He Zhichu breathed a sigh of relief...

Gu Nianzhi’s question had been too sharp. He Zhichu hadn’t known how to answer her at that point of time. All he could do was reveal a partial truth. If she was willing to listen on, he’d seize the opportunity.

A pity she did not wish to listen on, but it’s okay. He’d just keep it to himself then. As long as she doesn’t harp on the reason anymore.

A smile spread out on his cold face. “It’s good that you understand. Oh, by the way, did you manage to catch up on the work you’ve lagged behind on due to your absence for that past few days?”

Gu Nianzhi frowned at the mention of her work. “Professor He, can you give me an extension, please?”

He Zhichu looked at her silently. His eyes spoke of nothing but coldness.

“Two days? One day?” Gu Nianzhi bargained, not wanting to give up so easily.

He Zhichu finally nodded. “One day. I’ll give you an extra day to complete what you’ve lagged behind on—fulfilling your duties as my teaching assistant at the same time.”

“That’s too much! Would I even have the time to sleep, then?!” Gu Nianzhi almost wailed, but she couldn’t bear to not be his teaching assistant, as the remuneration was really high...

It was oddly satisfying to see the figures of her bank account increasing each month.

“Then cease your services as my teaching assistant; I’ll look for others.” He Zhichu was bent on Gu Nianzhi not giving up the job, so he decided to be passive-aggressive.

Indeed, Gu Nianzhi reacted as he’d expected. She said sternly, “Professor He, please calm down. I’ll definitely complete my homework and fulfill my duties as a teaching assistant well.”

“Okay. I look forward to your performance.” He Zhichu finished the instant coffee made by Gu Nianzhi in a gulp upon replying.

It tasted horrible, indeed.

He Zhichu placed the cup back on the coffee table with a look of disgust.

Gu Nianzhi smiled sheepishly as she stood up and bid He Zhichu goodbye. “I’ll make a move first, then, Professor He.”

Nodding, He Zhichu felt vibrations from his phone. It was Gu Yanran. He rejected the call and turned to Gu Nianzhi. “Quickly go back and complete your assignment and fulfill your duties as my teaching assistant. I’ll check tomorrow.”

He Zhichu picked up Gu Yanran’s call only after Gu Nianzhi had left.

“Mr. He, you were trying to confirm Gu Nianzhi’s identity when you called me to ask for Nianzhi and my family doctor and dentist when we were young, weren’t you?” Gu Yanran asked directly, not beating about the bush.

He Zhichu had expected Gu Yanran’s call, so he merely acknowledged with an “Mm,” before continuing, “Congratulations for successfully finding your little sister.”

“...You already found out a while ago, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me about it then?” Gu Yanran stood in front of the French windows of her villa, still feeling messed up inside.

This was too unbelievable to her. She had been feeling dazed ever since confirming this piece of information.

Then she had remembered to call He Zhichu.

If she guessed correctly, He Zhichu had provided Huo Shaoheng with the help he needed to get his hands on the information to prove Gu Nianzhi’s identity because it meshed with He Zhichu asking her for the contacts of their family doctor and dentist shortly before the incident occurred.

“I didn’t know much earlier than you. Like you, I didn’t expect her to be your sister from the beginning,” He Zhichu said leisurely. The smile on his lips spoke of haughtiness—something it was lucky that Gu Yanran couldn’t witness. If she had, she’d have blown her top.

He Zhichu also walked to his French windows and stood in front of them, looking down from level 28. The people bustling on the streets looked like ants; it was impossible to distinguish Gu Nianzhi from where he was. He continued monotonously, “Until I figured that we could use the records from the family doctor and dentist from when she was young, I contacted you for their details.”

“...It was a coincidence, then?” Gu Yanran had held it in for too long, but she blurted out in the end, “Isn’t it too much of a coincidence?”

“Well, that was the truth, and it was quite coincidental. I couldn’t deny even it if I wanted to.” He Zhichu’s smile had a tinge of mockery in it. “Yes? Miss Gu, are you ready to welcome your little sister back home?”

“Home?” Gu Yanran paused. Some emotions flashed past, and she quickly composed herself and smiled. “Now that I’ve confirmed that she’s my little sister, of course, she’d have to go home. She’s the daughter of the Gus. Of course, she has to go home.”

“But she’s already a citizen of the Hua Xia Empire.” He Zhichu reminded Gu Yanran daringly, “I’m afraid she wouldn’t agree to go back to Barbados with you if your home is still there.”

Gu Yanran sighed. “Ok. I’ll speak to her.”

Vexed, she looked at the picture in her hand again. Then she placed it back into the picture frame and into her Yves Saint Lauren handbag carefully.

...

Upon returning to her dormitory, Gu Nianzhi saw Ma Qiqi eating at the table.

Seeing her enter the dormitory, Ma Qiqi was stunned for a second. Then she let out a stifling scream and jumped at Gu Nianzhi, looking her left and right, up and down, trying to make sure she was fine. Then, laughing heartily, she exclaimed, “You’re finally back, Nianzhi! I thought you had forgotten about me! They were already all saying that you had transferred schools!”

“What? How many days has it been? How did such rumors surface?” Gu Nianzhi tilted her head, feeling ridiculous. “Tell me who started the rumor—I promise not to kill her!”

“Hahaha... Kill my ass. Judging by your frame, you can’t even outfight me...” Ma Qiqi laughed and bickered with Gu Nianzhi for a while before letting her go. “Fine. I shall not tease you anymore. You’ve been gone for a few days and must be tired. You’ve even lost weight—look at that chin!”

Ma Qiqi’s long, slender, fair finger pointed at Gu Nianzhi’s exquisite chin. “Look. So pitiful.”

“Yeah, right! Enough all right. Always poking fun at me.” Gu Nianzhi laughed and pushed Ma Qiqi’s hand away. “Go to your class. I still have to complete my work. Professor He only allowed me an extension of one day. I’ve got to remain awake for 24 hours to finish everything on time.”

“Ok, ok. I shall not disturb you then.” Ma Qiqi let go of her knowingly. “I’ll be heading to the library. Shall I treat you to dinner tonight?”

“Nah, make it the day after. I got to rush my work today and tomorrow.” Gu Nianzhi made an “ok” hand sign. “I’ve received your thoughts. That’s more than enough.”

Nodding, Ma Qiqi replied, “Okay, do your best! I’ll be making a move first.”

After packing her bag, Ma Qiqi made her way to the library for revision. Gu Nianzhi remained in the dormitory alone and began rushing on all her backlogs.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Hearing that it was from an unknown number, Gu Nianzhi did not pick it up—Huo Shaoheng and He Zhichu had personalized ringtones in her phone. There was another ringtone for the people on her contact list. The last ringtone was for people who were not on her contact list.

She forgot about the time the moment she became busy, only stopping when her stomach was growling and would have fainted if she still hadn’t found something to eat. That was when she finally stood up to call for takeout.

Looking at her phone, she saw a few unanswered calls from unknown numbers. It indicated that the time was 9 o’clock at night as well.

She’d returned to her dormitory at noon and hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since then. To think that nine hours just passed just like that! No wonder her neck felt so cramped.

Gu Nianzhi gave her neck a rub and redialed the missed call on her phone. The person picked up almost instantaneously.

“May I know if this is Miss Gu, please?” The voice on the other end sounded vaguely familiar.

Slightly taken aback, Gu Nianzhi asked, “You are...?”

“I am your older sister, Gu Yanran. Have you forgotten so quickly?” Gu Yanran’s bright and clear voice came from the other side of the call. Gu Nianzhi sighed.

Patting on her chest to calm herself down, Gu Nianzhi adjusted her tone and tried her best to be calm. “Madame Gu has arrived at Di Capital already?”

The number indicated on her phone was a local one. Therefore, she was certain that Gu Yanran had already arrived at the Hua Xia Empire.

It has only been... two days?

Smiling, Gu Yanran nodded. “Yes, I just landed this morning and have been wanting to look for you, but why didn’t you pick up all your calls?”