20demayo Page 329
Page 329
But Norma has already begun monitoring all the ports around the world, and will take action as soon as she finds the slightest clue.
At that time, Gu Ran will definitely go there in person to see what kind of person that so-called patriarch really is.
……
Last year, Gu Ran spent the Lunar New Year on the Moniach in the Three Gorges. At that time, the ship was full of student council members. He had New Year's Eve dinner with Nono, Caesar, Zero, and Lu Mingfei.
The number of people for this year's Lunar New Year was the same as last year, but Nono wasn't there, and Caesar didn't come either. Gu Ran called Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, and Ling. Li Enshu, a girl from South Korea, was also coming. The five of them simply gathered at a table in the Norton Restaurant.
This year, Gu Ran is still the only one using the Norton Hall. Li Enshu is also there. Lu Mingfei is away at his dormitory because Finger is doing an internship. He hasn't been to the Norton Hall much since his dormitory is closer to Nuonuo's. If Nuonuo comes back, he can see her right away.
We ate hot pot for New Year's Eve dinner because it's simple. You just put in the hot pot base and cook everything in the pot, and you don't need to prepare any other ingredients.
Normally, the atmosphere at dinner parties is always lively with Finger around, but this year Finger went to do an internship early on, and Ling and Chu Zihang are expressionless and don't like to talk.
Fortunately, Li Enshu and Lu Mingfei were quite talkative, and with Gu Ran adding some humorous touches, the New Year's Eve dinner went fairly well.
After dinner was almost over, Gu Ran went to get a large tray and brought in several potted plants: "Come on, one pot for each person, they're all New Year's gifts..."
"What kind of flower is this?" Lu Mingfei asked curiously.
Zero, who was standing to the side, quietly spoke up: "It's Arctic poppy."
She glanced at Gu Ran, curious about how he got the flowers.
The Arctic poppy is not the opium poppy; it is a flower that grows in extremely cold regions and is also known as the Icelandic poppy. This flower is almost entirely wild and rarely grown in pots.
“When I was in Chicago, I passed by a potted plant shop and saw it. The white lady selling the flowers said it was imported from northern Canada and could only be sold for a short time in winter. It was cultivated in peat moss from the northern ice fields. I thought the flowers were pretty and you would like them, so I bought a few pots.”
The temperature is quite cold right now, and the Arctic poppies are still in bud, not fully open. The flowers are white, yellow, and pink, and they fill the flowerpots in clusters, which is very cute.
Gu Ran distributed the potted plants to everyone: "Everyone, please choose one. Lu Mingfei, if you like yellow, then go for the yellow one..."
"Hey, hey, hey, I feel like you're implying something. I, I want the white one!" Lu Mingfei shouted as he picked out a bowl of white ones.
Then Gu Ran handed a pot of yellow and pink flowers to Ling: "I didn't give you a gift for your birthday last month, so I'll give you an extra pot of flowers as compensation."
"Thank you."
Zero's delicate pink hands held a pot of flowers in each hand. Her eyes were fixed on the flower buds. She thought to herself that pink Arctic poppies were rarely seen in Black Swan Harbor; they were usually white and yellow.
For people living in the Arctic Circle, having a touch of pink to accompany them during the long winter is a rare romantic experience.
"You're welcome. May you stay eighteen forever," Gu Ran said with a smile.
"She doesn't look any different this year compared to last year. She still looks like she's fourteen, forever a minor." Lu Mingfei asked Lingmei with some suspicion, "Are you sure you didn't lie about your age?"
Zero didn't speak; it seemed she didn't want to lie, which was why she remained silent.
"Of course, girls should stay young and beautiful forever!" Lee Eun-sook put her arm around Zero's shoulder. She was always carefree and forgot that Zero was a girl who didn't like being touched.
Fortunately, Zero didn't mind the physical contact; she just kept looking at the two pots of Arctic poppies.
Chu Zihang then stood up and said, "I'll wash the dishes."
In his view, since the guest did not bring anything, he should take the initiative to wash the dishes.
"Me, me, me too, I'll help too." Lu Mingfei was also a freeloader, so of course he had to contribute. He had been raised by his aunt since he was a child, so he had some sense of propriety.
After the two went to wash the dishes, Lee Eun-sook drank a few more cups of Korean sake. People from South Korea are known for their many tricks at the drinking table, so she suggested, "How about we play Truth or Dare?"
Gu Ran rubbed the little girl's head and laughed, "What do you want to say in the truth, like the fact that you were still wetting the bed when you were thirteen?"
“Who wets the bed at thirteen?” Lee Eun-sook said, her breath reeking of alcohol, as she hugged Zero’s neck. “How could anyone wet the bed at thirteen? Shame on you!”
The kitchen in the Norton building is an open kitchen. Lu Mingfei heard the commotion and said, "If someone is still wetting the bed at thirteen, I will definitely make fun of him (her) until he (her) is eighteen!"
Gu Ran pursed her lips and glanced at Ling subtly.
Zero remained expressionless, but with lightning speed she removed Lee Eun-sook's hand from her. Lee Eun-sook, without support, almost fell, but fortunately Gu Ran caught her.
"I'm going back." Zero was about to leave, carrying two pots of Arctic poppies. The indoor environment was too warm, and if the flowers stayed in there for too long, they would mistakenly think that spring had arrived.
Such a small flower, which thrives in extreme cold, should bravely bloom in the wind and snow. Although keeping it indoors will allow you to see it bloom sooner, greenhouse flowers cannot withstand the ravages of severe cold.
It's better to keep them outside.
Gu Ran tossed the slightly dizzy Li Enshu onto the sofa and covered her with a blanket. This girl had a low alcohol tolerance, but she loved to drink.
By this time, Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang had already cleaned up the dining table and wiped the sink dry.
Logically, they should say goodbye now, but both of them stayed, seemingly having something to say.
Ever since Gu Ran inexplicably spoke to Chu Zihang at the hospital, the two of them have never mentioned Odin or Jormungandr again.
Chu Zihang knew that this was to prevent someone from eavesdropping, so he didn't bring it up again.
However, Odin was the enemy that Chu Zihang had been searching for, and he desperately wanted to know where that person was.
"I don't know where the person you want to know is either," Gu Ran sighed. "But I'll help you, because I'll be looking for him too."
Chu Zihang nodded silently: "Thank you."
"Need not."
"I'm going back."
"Okay, when you write to your mother, remember to include today's New Year's Eve dinner; she'll be happy."
"Ah."
After seeing Chu Zihang off, Gu Ran looked at Lu Mingfei and said directly, "I don't know where Nuonuo went either, although she came to see me on the day you witnessed Chen Wenwen and Zhao Menghua's love..."
"Hey, can you stop stabbing me in so many times with just one sentence?" Lu Mingfei complained, then asked, "What does Nuonuo want with you? She didn't even tell Caesar before she left."
"That must be a secret!" Gu Ran smiled mysteriously. "Actually, it's nothing. I just hope that if she encounters difficulties in the future, everyone will come to her rescue."
“How could she encounter difficulties? She’s a red-haired priestess, is there anything she can’t handle?” Lu Mingfei said with a shifty gaze.
"Who knows? If no one had saved her, she might have already died once," Gu Ran said, looking at Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei avoided his gaze, and after a while said somewhat flusteredly, "I, I'm going back to my dorm. Thank you for the flowers!"
Gu Ran shouted at his retreating figure, "Stop all the resources you're using! Norma knows what you're up to!"
Lu Mingfei, clutching the flowerpot, staggered a few steps, then turned back somewhat embarrassed and shouted, "You, you, you, how could you slander my innocence out of thin air!"
Gu Ran smiled and waved to send him away, though he knew perfectly well whether he had gone or not.
He also knew that Lu Mingfei had a secondary account on the Night Watchers website, which only followed Nuonuo and checked every day to see if she posted any beautiful photos.
After seeing off all the guests, Gu Ran made a video call to Su Xiaoqiang. It was already the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year for her, and she was waiting at home for people to come and wish them a Happy New Year.
As well-known mine owners in the area, the Su family naturally expects people to come and pay their respects during the New Year, and they don't need to make any special visits to anyone.
The only person I should visit is Gu Ran's mother, but Zhang Qiong is currently in Shanghai, spending the New Year with Zhang Wanjun and Wa Zhu, and is not in Binhai City.
Su Xiaoqiang had just finished her New Year's breakfast and received her New Year's money from her parents—a cash red envelope containing 88,000 yuan.
People who come to pay New Year's visits later will also give her lucky money. Every year she can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan just from lucky money, which is more profitable than private entrepreneurs in rural towns.
Of course, her parents would also give a similar figure, which, in terms of the family's revenue, would be neither a loss nor a profit.
Su Xiaoqiang's parents were playing with the dog in the yard, encouraging it to bark "woof woof" a few more times, hoping for a good omen for the coming year.
Su Xiaoqiang sat on a chair in the garden and video-called Gu Ran. She whispered, "You don't know, last year all those people brought their sons to visit, but after they found out I had a boyfriend, this year they all brought their daughters. They want to become my best friends."
"I'm curious, what kind of position is handkerchief sex?"
"You're being indecent again, you big bad guy!" Su Xiaoqiang, wearing the jade bracelet Zhang Qiong had given her, tapped the iPad screen hard, making a crisp sound.
Chapter 372 An Ordinary Night of Explosion
Gu Ran laughed and said, "Right now, you look just like a young lady from a wealthy family. In ancient times, only young ladies who never lifted a finger were qualified to wear jade bracelets because they didn't have to do any housework and weren't afraid of breaking them."
"I'm a young lady, huh!"
"Yes, yes, you're the oldest."
After chatting for a while, Gu Ran also video-chatted with Su's parents, wished them a Happy New Year, and received 188,000 yuan in lucky money from them. This amused Su Xiaoqiang, who then pouted and said that her parents didn't love her anymore and that she received less lucky money than strangers.
"I plan to go to Shanghai on the second day of the Lunar New Year to wish your mother a happy new year and let her know that I am filial!" Su Xiaoqiang said to Gu Ran.
Gu Ran said, "Okay, be careful."
"I know, with Grandpa Lü and Lü Xue'er by my side, everything will be fine."
Just then, guests started arriving at the Su family's home, so Su Xiaoqiang ended the video call with Gu Ran.
Gu Ran video-chatted with her mother to wish her a Happy New Year, but Zhang Qiong was stingy and only gave her a lucky red envelope of 880 yuan, while Zhang Wanjun at least gave her 8,800 yuan!
Gu Ran found the New Year's greetings and asking for red envelopes quite interesting, so he visited Nuwa again. Nuwa was a generous person and gave him a red envelope containing 88,000 yuan.
Although she looks like a child, she has the mind of an old lady and is always very generous to younger generations.
However, ordinary people can't get red envelopes from Nuwa. Even Zhou Shushu, who is a member of the Zhou family, has never received a red envelope from Nuwa.
……
After the New Year, Lake Michigan was hit by a cold wave and began to freeze. The rowing students took a break and stopped going into the water. It wasn't until early March that the thick ice gradually loosened and the temperature finally began to warm up.
As temperatures rise, it also means that the second semester of sophomore year is about to enter its second half, with midterm exams starting at the end of February.
Lu Mingfei must have been working hard, because he passed all his midterm exams without failing any subjects. As a result, his credit card wouldn't be suspended, and his scholarship would continue to be paid as usual.
One night.
At eleven o'clock, a red flame more than ten meters high suddenly spewed out of the well in Valhalla, turning the entire school blood red in the flames, like a demon king's castle under the setting sun.
Such things are nothing out of the ordinary at Kassel College. Gu Ran glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window in the Norton Building study, then stopped paying attention and continued studying Japanese.
He started learning Japanese more than two months ago in preparation for going there soon.
In the Amber Building next to the Norton Building, the student council girls in white lace dresses were dancing enthusiastically. Occasionally, their gaze would pass through the two buildings and catch sight of Gu Ran reading a book in front of the study.
Lee Eun-sook then sent Gu Ran a text message: "Oppa, tonight's fire is a sulfur fire, so be sure to wear a gas mask and turn on the air purifier."
"Okay, thank you for reminding me."
"By the way, when I was reading about how my predecessors were breaking through the Pentagon's firewall in the library, I found a document called 'Project Prism.' This document was copied from the National Security Agency of the United States. It turns out that our Internet is under the surveillance of the United States. I was stunned!"
“It’s okay, Norma will cover for us,” Gu Ran texted Li Enshu. “But Norma knows everything you did.”
"I'd rather Norma know what I ate yesterday than America does!"
Gu Ran didn't actually use American software much, so he didn't care about it. Things like bank transaction information and amounts were things that any government agency could access if they wanted to, so Gu Ran had no intention of hiding anything.