His Honey Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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In the morning, Yu Zhinian was cooking breakfast when a familiar weight pressed lightly behind him. Xiao Yichi's jaw rested against his left shoulder, "Lawyer Yu, good morning~"

Yu Zhinian turned his head slightly, "Awake?"

"Mhmm!" Xiao Yichi came out with dramatic praise early in the morning, "Your bed is so~ comfortable to sleep in, my quality of sleep has increased." He kissed Yu Zhinian's face, mischievously saying, "I feel like I can't separate from it, what should I do?"

"It's okay, I'll be generous, I'll give it to you and buy another one." Yu Zhinian didn't give in to his game.

"Hmph." Yu Zhinian's alertness was too high. There was no other way but to act shamelessly. Xiao Yichi encircled Yu Zhinian's waist from behind, sticking to his back and not letting go.

The corners of Yu Zhinian's mouth gently curved up an arc.

When the two of them were eating breakfast, Yu Zhinian thought for a moment, "Xiao Yichi."

"Hmm?" Xiao Yichi had just taken a big bite of a bun, and his cheeks were bulging and moving, feeling particularly happy.

He made everything look good when he ate it. Yu Zhinian gave him his own bun, "Eat more."

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with him, Xiao Yichi happily buried his head in battle again. Yu Zhinian sighed in his heart. He said that he wanted to be honest with Xiao Yichi, but it really wasn't easy to talk. In fact, he really did not want to take a shortcut through him, it was just that no matter how he explained it, he couldn't help but have the feeling that he was giving himself away while covering the truth. What's more, when Ye Zhaolin reminded him to be cautious at that time, he also considered his own future and thought it would be better to keep a distance from Xiao Yichi. Saying it now, he was afraid that Xiao Yichi would be surprised and disappointed, even if only for a moment.

There was such happiness at the moment that he was afraid of even the smallest sound of tearing a candy paper, afraid of startling this happiness and letting it slip away.

"Do you have any plans today?" Yu Zhinian asked.

Xiao Yichi looked up, "I have to go back to the school. It's almost the beginning of the school year, I have to go to the library to borrow some books to prepare for class. My progress has fallen behind considerably and the teaching advisor probably harbours a grudge against me."

"Then let's have dinner together tonight?"

"We must!"

Then I'll confess to him tonight, definitely.

Fangda Law Firm, inside Nan Weiping's office.

The old man was really angered, pointing at Yu Zhinian and cursing, "You really ate a bear heart and leopard guts, ah, resigning for love?! What do you take the law firm for? Do you think you can just come and go as you please?!"

"I'm telling you, no way! Your personnel affiliation is still in Greater China, I have the right to call back your resignation application!"

Nan Jing glanced worriedly from outside the office from time to time, his grandfather hadn't been this angry for a long time.

When Nan Weiping opened his email early that morning, he saw the resignation letter that Yu Zhinian had sent to the HR department and copied to him.

The reason for the resignation was written as: "I have found a new goal in life. I am grateful to the law firm for the years of cultivation, but it is time for me to leave and start a new phase of my life." He rushed back to the law firm in a hurry. No, Yu Zhinian wasn't poached, but rather, he resigned in order to show pure love to his beloved. Listen to yourself, what kind of talk is this?! Being in a high position and still having a love brain! How could this happen?! Nan Weiping really hated that iron couldn't become steel so much that he almost had a heart attack!

Without a word, Yu Zhinian poured hot tea for the old man and brought it to him.

Nan Weiping took several deep breaths. After being hard, he softened, "... I understand that you have your own priorities in life, but if you are truly in love, you should not be afraid to go through the ups and downs. You are sincere with him, and the gesture is significant, but such a big sacrifice is also a burden for the other party. This isn't a disguised way for you to force him to accept your apology, right? Don't be self-motivated and ignore the other person's real needs. Secondly, senior partner is not only the title of an individual, but also the achievement of the whole regional law firm, which brings not only higher income and a better platform, but also a greater responsibility for the Greater China region to fight for more opportunities, rights and interests, so that the hard-working people here to get a greater likelihood of promotion. This is not something you just say you quit and then it's over, you represent more than just you personally. If this matter is pushed to the head office, what will they say about us? Finally, Zhinian, I'm retiring in a year. Old friend, we've been working side by side for so many years, it's not too much to ask you to see me off for the last leg of my career, is it? After one year, if you still decide to resign, I will have no power to stop you, do whatever you like." After saying that, Nan Weiping turned his chair and faced the floor-to-ceiling window, no longer looking at Yu Zhinian.

The old man spoke reasonably with every word, and in the end, he was moved with emotion.

Back then, he was framed by his colleagues and almost couldn't even keep his job. It was Nan Weiping who secretly helped him, and only then was he able to turn around and win a big victory. Nan Weiping was his mentor, friend and benefactor.

He turned his head to look at the door. There were a few team members worriedly peeking in, and when they saw him looking over, they hastily pretended to be passing by. He had a responsibility to them.

Nan Weiping was right, he couldn't be self-motivated. Being genuinely honest with Xiao Yichi was the top priority.

Yu Zhinian spoke, "... I understand."

Xiao Yichi was checking information in the library when his cell phone vibrated.

He took it out and looked at it, it was a special string of numbers. This was a dedicated phone number for the high-ranking officials. He picked it up while walking quickly towards the fire exit.

"Hello? Go ahead."

The call came from Zhao Huaimin. "Yichi, it's me, it's urgent. Where are you now? My commissioner will come over to pick you up, we need to have a secret video conference."

Inside the conference room of an office building, Xiao Yichi rushed to have a meeting with Zhao Huaimin.

The situation somewhere in the Middle East was getting more and more tense. The opposition forces were rampant and had approached the capital, ready to take over. They were radicals, famous for suicide attacks and burning cities. It was heard that many foreigners had been kidnapped as hostages along the way. The international community has sent peace negotiators to deal with them on several occasions, but they have returned in vain. This time there was a breakthrough, they agreed to let a journalist inside for an interview, saying that it was "to do them justice and restore their reputation".

At this point, Zhao Huaimin paused to let Xiao Yichi digest the information. The commissioner put the relevant information in front of Xiao Yichi at this time, so that he could look through it.

"... Yichi, do you still remember Adil Zaid?"

Xiao Yichi just happened to turn to the "Main Members" section. Adil Zaid, the very person Xiao Yichi interviewed back then, was the child who lost his legs in the war but still wanted to play football with his friends. He was seven years old then. Ten years have passed, and now he has become a military advisor to the opposition. His portrait was clearly printed on the file, and he was far away from the child with clear eyes in his memories.

Xiao Yichi was shocked.

"We received a request from the international community – Zaid proposed an interview with you, he said you'd be fair and objective in evaluating their merits." Zhao Huaimin stated the purpose of the meeting.

On both ends of the video, the two men looked at each other, neither speaking.

This trip was treacherous and unknown.

His chest was filled with various complex and strong emotions, Xiao Yichi was momentarily disoriented.

Zhao Huaimin spoke, ''According to our research and judgement, this could also be their scheme, trying to paralyse the international community so that they can take the capital in one fell swoop. And we don't know whether they have any foreign hostages in their hands or not, as the local situation is very complicated and their internal organisation is so tight that it's difficult to find out one way or the other. We are seeking consensus to use the international community's military equipment if necessary, but this will take time. Right now, we have no other way."

In the past, Xiao Yichi would have agreed immediately, because he was alone in the world and was free of worries.

But now it was different. He already had someone important in his heart.

He bowed his head, hesitating.

Zhao Huaimin was sympathetic, "Yichi, the situation came too quickly. This matter is currently only known to a few people, even Qiu San has been kept in the dark. You know, if he heard about it, he would never let you go. If it's difficult for you, we'll think of another way. At the moment, this is going on under the table and the international media is not allowed to know, after all, no one can guarantee what will happen after it's made public. We've had countless problems, and yours is just one of them, we'll find other ways to deal with the situation."

Xiao Yichi asked himself: what should he do?

His eyes touched Adil's portrait again. When he was about to leave at the end of the interview, the child asked him, will you come back? Xiao Yichi touched his head and smiled, the earth is round, we will definitely meet again.

Was it predestined that years later, he would go to this meeting? Xiao Yichi looked up, his expression serious and solemn, "Teacher, when do I depart?"

Zhao Huaimin understood his decision. "… In two hours. The special plane will take off from the airport here and send you to a certain country, then you will follow the local instructions and go to your destination."

Xiao Yichi nodded, "I understand." He stood up.

"Yichi." Zhao Huaimin called out to him. Without knowing whether it was due to his advancing age or the fact that he had been in a high place for a long time, he said, "Have you really thought about it? This incident, whether it's successful or not, we'll keep it low-profile." It would be best to survive, but if something unfortunate were to happen, not a lot of people would know about it.

"This time," Xiao Yichi said, "it's no different from the past, I'm just going to record someone's life." It wasn't supposed to be much of a great thing. What was great was the life itself.

Zhao Huaimin didn't say any more and nodded, "The commissioner will contact you in two hours."

Walking out of the office building, Xiao Yichi felt that the scenery in front of him was no longer the same as before. In front of him, it was as if rolling smoke was billowing up, and sprawled across the road were perhaps corpses, or perhaps injured people. The smell of blood and scorched earth mingled, and screams and cries were interspersed with the sound of roaring artillery.

He swallowed hard. He wanted to see Yu Zhinian.

Xiao Yichi beckoned to flag down a taxi, "Please go to Fangda Law Firm."

He must leave these two hours for Yu Zhinian.

Yu Zhinian was about to go to a meeting when his cell phone vibrated – it was an incoming call from Xiao Yichi.

He picked it up while walking, "Hello?"

"Zhinian." Xiao Yichi was sitting in his car, looking at the receding street scene on the side of the road. He called out to the other party, but he didn't know how to go on.

Yu Zhinian stopped in his tracks. This was not Xiao Yichi's usual tone, "... What's wrong?"

"Are you at the law firm? I want to see you."

It so happened that Nan Jing passed by Yu Zhinian and pointed to his watch, the time of a meeting was almost here.

"I'm here. What happened? Do you need me to come to you?"

"I'm already on my way. Let's talk about it when we meet, okay?"

"Okay." Yu Zhinian ended the call and instructed Nan Jing, "Go and tell the client that the meeting has been delayed by five minutes."

Nan Jing nodded and headed for the conference room. Yu Zhinian went to find Nan Weiping. "Lawyer Nan, can you help me support the next client meeting? I may have an urgent matter." Both were experienced lawyers and were very used to sudden changes.

Nan Weiping quickly took the documents Yu Zhinian handed over, "What's going on?"

"A private matter."

Nan Weiping glared at Yu Zhinian. It concerned a client meeting, so he held back, "I submit. Hurry up and tell me the main points of the meeting first."

Xiao Yichi knew he was interrupting Yu Zhinian's work, but he needed to tell him the truth and then say goodbye properly.

He walked into the lobby just as Yu Zhinian came out of the elevator.

Seeing Yu Zhinian walking towards him, Xiao Yichi was suddenly flooded with sourness in his heart, which went straight to his eyes and stung him so badly that he closed his eyes. Opening his eyes again, his eyes were already red.

"What's wrong?" Yu Zhinian walked up to him and asked worriedly when he saw that his expression was abnormal.

Xiao Yichi calmed down, "Zhinian, I've received a temporary interview assignment and have to go to the Middle East, I'm leaving in about an hour and a half."

"..." Yu Zhinian looked at Xiao Yichi, as if he understood his words, but also as if he didn't, he just looked at him.

After ending the call, Yu Zhinian knew that something must have happened. He was confident that he could protect him from natural and man-made disasters. But this, this was completely outside his expectations.

"When can you come back? Is it dangerous?" The feeling of losing control gradually became real. Yu Zhinian almost had to hold his breath in order to curb his heartbeat, which started to speed up.

Xiao Yichi wanted to smile and say, "Don't worry, it's not dangerous, I'll be back soon." But just in case, just in case this was the last time they met, he didn't want Yu Zhinian to receive false comfort from him.

"... The return date has not been determined." When the words actually reached his mouth, Xiao Yichi still couldn't bear it, "This won't be much different from the interviews I've done in the past, I can handle it."

Yu Zhinian did not let his words fool him. He understood, this trip, must be very treacherous.

"Can you not go?" His tone was a bit anxious.

Xiao Yichi looked at him, then shook his head.

"Why?!" The people coming in and out of the lobby all looked towards them.

Yu Zhinian didn't care about the eyes of the passersby. He moved closer to Xiao Yichi and held his arms, his tone half-commanding and half-pleading, "Yichi, don't go."

Xiao Yichi was moved, but he caressed Yu Zhinian's face, "Zhinian, I'm sorry."

Even if Adil Zaid hadn't named him, if he had known about the situation, he still would have gone – As a journalist, this part of him was deeply inspired by his "responsibility" and "mission", so much so that he couldn't make the choice of "not going".

"It's my responsibility as a journalist."

Responsibility. This was one of the reasons why Yu Zhinian stayed with the firm.

Some people put it behind them, while others kept it in their hearts. Those who valued it were destined to carry the burden forward.

Yu Zhinian's eyes also reddened, "What about me, Xiao Yichi, what about me?"

Xiao Yichi instantly broke his defences, pursing his lips deathly tight, the corners of his mouth trembling.

"Xiao Yichi, I-" Yu Zhinian was eager to confess, but before the confession was complete, Xiao Yichi covered his mouth with his hand, "Zhinian, don't say it." Before today, how he longed to get sweet words of love from him.

"Don't say it. Leave me something to think about, wait for me to come back."

Yu Zhinian took him into his arms. There was still a lot that needed to be said between them that remained unsaid.

Unfortunately, time waited for no one.

They returned to Xiao Yichi's house and hurriedly packed his bags. 

Xiao Yichi dragged his backpack out from under the bed, skilfully checked the emergency items inside, and then took the clothes from Yu Zhinian's hand and stuffed them into the bag.

Yu Zhinian caught a glimpse of a silver tag fastened to the backpack and saw Xiao Yichi taking out a necklace with the same silver tag and preparing to wear it. He suddenly understood what it was for and panic surged through his heart. He grabbed Xiao Yichi's hand and hugged him, "Yichi, don't go, please, don't go." He tightened his hand, as if this could confine the person and prevent him from leaving.

Xiao Yichi hugged his face tightly, where tears were already flowing.

Tears filled his eyes, "Yu Zhinian, I love you. In order to hear what you want to say to me, I will definitely come back."

There had never been a moment that made Yu Zhinian so terrified and helpless. Happiness was obviously in his arms, but he couldn't keep it, and he watched helplessly as he walked away step by step.

The commissioner's car was already parked on the side of the road. Yu Zhinian refused to let go and gripped Xiao Yichi's hand firmly.

The two gazed at each other, afraid of missing a single glimpse.

The commissioner had no choice but to go up and remind them of the time.

Yu Zhinian once again embraced Xiao Yichi and gave him a deep kiss, whispering in his ear, "Yichi, I'll be waiting for you, you must return safely."

Xiao Yichi concealed the vibrations in his internal organs, hugged him back and nodded his head vigorously, "I will definitely return to your side."

The car door closed. The car started, kicked up dust, and drove away.

Yu Zhinian stood in place, gazing out into the distance.

There were grandpas passing by him, teasing the birds; there were aunties passing by, asking how much today's vegetables cost; there were also couriers riding electric bikes, winding through the streets and alleys. The rhythm of life on this day should be no different from the usual. But in many unknown corners, a shocking separation of life and death was taking place.

His heart had been ripped out of his chest, he was at a loss over what to do.

His world had been turned upside down.

Arrived at the airport.

The commissioner opened the door and alerted before Xiao Yichi came back to his senses "Please follow me."

"... Thank you."

They didn't use the unusual airport route, so there wasn't a single person on the road. When they arrived at the waiting room, the commissioner made a "please" gesture, "The specialised plane is being inspected, it will be ready soon. Commissioner Zhao is already waiting inside, please come in."

Xiao Yichi was surprised. Zhao Huaimin came with the special plane to bid him farewell. "Teacher." Xiao Yichi tried his best to squeeze out a smile.

Zhao Huaimin shook his hand, "Yichi, thank you for your hard work."

He shook his head.

Even the words advising him to pay attention to safety seemed feeble. Zhao Huaimin only said, "Time is short, is there anything you're worried about and need my help with?"

Xiao Yichi organised his thoughts. "... Teacher, I'm in love. My partner is Yu Zhinian, a lawyer from Fangda Law Firm. I can't be at ease about him, can you watch him for me...?"

Zhao Huaimin nodded, " Okay."

Xiao Yichi remembered something, "... If the opportunity is right, can I ask for your help in getting him into Fangda's global management committee? I heard that would require your support at this level. I have great confidence in his abilities, he won't disappoint."

Zhao Huaimin accepted the request, "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you."

"I thank you, too, for being willing to step forward."

A staff member came to inform them that the special plane was ready.

"A team of specialists will meet you there, so you can relax. We still have the peacekeepers if necessary. Yichi, we're behind you, trust us."

"I've always trusted." Xiao Yichi shook Zhao Huaimin's hand firmly and said goodbye.

In his career as a correspondent, he had encountered several dangerous and unpredictable situations. Every time, he didn't run away or avoid it, but rather met it absolutely head on.

Every time, he had not lost to fate.

This time, it was no exception.

As he was about to board the plane, he turned around, "Teacher, please apologise to Lanshi for me. The tone of my previous email to him wasn't very good. Please tell him that we will always be good friends." After saying that, he stepped into the cabin.

Zhao Huaimin waved at him and watched the cabin door close.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

This chapter broke my heart 😭

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: February 21, 2024