novelraw Chapter 166 : Asserting Ownership
Chapter 166 : Asserting Ownership
The hospital room where Shen Han stayed was quite spacious, with separate areas for a bathroom and a reception area.
As soon as Zhou Ming entered, his keen eyes noticed some office supplies on the coffee table in the reception area.
The person on the hospital bed couldn't see temporarily, so the office supplies clearly weren't for her.
Combined with some information Zhou Ming had received earlier, he could now determine that there was indeed a romantic relationship between the Empress and the guard captain.
Otherwise, given the Empress's status, how could she possibly come to a hospital room to handle official business?
This was obviously companionship!
Having more information should have been a good thing.
But at this moment, Zhou Ming couldn't feel happy at all.
To be precise, he was nearly scared to death.
His daughter ogling the Empress's Alpha right in front of her wasn't just a matter of etiquette.
This was a damn provocation!
Zhou Ming didn't care if his actions were appropriate anymore. He immediately elbowed his daughter to snap her out of it.
Zhou Nuoman was actually quite sharp-witted.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to navigate the business world so smoothly.
'Could those rumors online be true?'
'No way, the Empress's status is so lofty, how could she stoop to her own bodyguard?'
'Shen Han is indeed exceptional, but she doesn't have any background support. She shouldn't meet the Empress's criteria for a partner!'
In fact, Zhou Nuoman's considerations weren't wrong.
Take their financial groups for example. Even a young lady from a minor branch would calculate many interest-related clauses when choosing a partner.
Let alone the Empress of the Federation?
The Empress's choice of partner could be considered a matter of state affairs. One couldn't be too cautious.
Thinking of this, Zhou Nuoman regained a bit of confidence.
Driven by curiosity, she shifted her gaze, once again examining the Empress's position.
Although Gu Junwan was listening attentively to the report, none of Zhou Nuoman's little movements and changes in expression had escaped her eyes.
Sensing the Zhou young lady's gaze, Gu Junwan raised her eyes to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, Zhou Nuoman felt her mind explode.
Her calves began to tremble, her feet felt weak, as if she might collapse onto the carpet at any moment.
The Empress's gaze carried a sharpness, her authority self-evident!
Zhou Nuoman's pupils dilated, and she hurriedly lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Gu Junwan's golden eyes again.
She felt that her previous judgment had been terribly wrong.
The way the Empress had just looked at her clearly carried a sense of asserting ownership!
Having moved in circles of fame and fortune, Zhou Nuoman was no stranger to such looks.
She was shocked that she could "enjoy" such treatment from the Empress!
Immediately after, Zhou Nuoman became anxious.
She feared her blunder might affect her father's important matters.
After glancing at Zhou Nuoman, Gu Junwan no longer paid attention to her.
Of course, she wouldn't make things difficult for Zhou Ming because of this small incident.
The negotiations would proceed as they should.
The cleanup of the Zhou K Group didn't mean the war against financial groups was over.
For a long time to come, Gu Junwan would still need to use Zhou Ming as an example to subtly change the operating models of various financial groups.
Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu stood straight-backed, their expressions solemn.
They were completely unaware of the lightning-quick exchange of glances between the Empress and the Zhou young lady.
Only Xu Zhao, standing beside Gu Junwan, had witnessed the entire small "confrontation."
The special assistant maintained a neutral expression, but inwardly she was amazed!
'The Zhou young lady's courage is really too much! It was one thing to flirt with the dog in the car last time, but now she dares to show interest in the dog right in front of the Empress. She deserves to be frightened by Her Majesty.'
'The Empress is very generous in other aspects, but in matters concerning the dog's emotional world, her tolerance is tiny, so small that it can't accommodate even an admiring glance from another woman.'
......
Five days passed quickly. The evening Shen Han was discharged from the hospital, she returned to the villa and prepared a table full of dishes.
After work, Gu Junwan didn't return to her own residence but rushed to their little home to enjoy the warmth.
She gave Shen Han a week's vacation.
During this period, she herself also stayed in the villa that belonged to both of them. Their clinginess made even their two mothers hesitant to ask them to come home for dinner.
Shen Han was overjoyed, feeling like she was on a honeymoon every day.
Picking up and dropping off, feeding, warming the bed - she did it all.
The Alpha's vacation was only halfway through when Gu Junwan started to feel overwhelmed.
Every night she was coaxed into making love several times, and in the morning shower, the Alpha would still cling to her for a while.
For several days in a row, she went to the office building with sore waist and legs.
The perfume to cover the Alpha's scent had to be reapplied every 3 hours, otherwise it couldn't suppress it at all.
In recent days, young employees in the administrative office building had even begun discussing this in their small groups.
[Have any of you noticed that the Empress's complexion has been so good these past few days?]
[Yes, yes, I felt it too. Maybe it's because the financial group issues have been handled well. The Empress's mood is visibly better. This morning when Old Yang and I met Her Majesty, she even nodded and smiled at us!]
[Has the Empress changed her perfume? I smell something different from before. It's still a neutral woody scent, but I can't quite tell which one. I want to buy the same as Her Majesty's so badly.]
[I feel the Empress's aura is becoming more and more Alpha-like. Honestly, in terms of charisma, even top-tier Alphas can't compare to her!]
These rumors more or less reached Xu Zhao's ears.
It gave her a feeling of being the only sober one among the drunk.
She thought to herself: The dog is already an S-class Alpha, how could the Empress's aura not become more Alpha-like?
As for the same perfume, dream on. It's specially formulated, you can't buy it on the market.
On the last afternoon of Shen Han's vacation, a group of people suddenly arrived outside the Peace Palace looking for her.
They were young men and women around 20 years old.
Each of them carried gift boxes, looking somewhat nervous.
These young people were friends Shen Han had made during her undercover mission at Jinxi Entertainment City.
Led by Yan Ni and Mu Ze, more than a dozen had come.
Recently, while cooperating with the special task force's investigation, Yan Ni had learned some information about Shen Han.
She knew the other was a military officer living in the Peace Palace.
She and Mu Ze had tried calling Shen Han but couldn't get through, so they decided to come here directly.
The phone number Shen Han used at the entertainment city was temporary. After returning, she had handed that phone over to the special task force, so she didn't know about Yan Ni and the others trying to find her.
The group jostled about, and finally Yan Ni acted as representative, walking to the gate to inquire about Shen Han.
Shen Han's name, if not thunderous throughout the Peace Palace, was at least known to everyone in the defense system.
As soon as the security guard heard they were specifically looking for Shen Han, he immediately became alert.
While registering the woman's identity information, he looked up towards Mu Ze and the others.
Mu Ze and the young men beside him used to be troublemakers in nightclubs, and some of their thinking habits hadn't changed yet.
Seeing the uniformed security guard staring at them, they instinctively started avoiding eye contact.
This reaction made the gate personnel even more suspicious!
So, the security captain reported this directly to his superiors.
He said there was a group of suspicious individuals outside the Peace Palace, and they were here for Captain Shen!
Within 5 minutes, this news was relayed to Xu Zhao.
Xu Zhao looked down at the monitor screen showing Yan Ni and the others, who were now secretly being guarded by security, feeling somewhat amused and exasperated.
She initially wanted to call Shen Han directly, but upon seeing Yan Ni and several other Omegas, she hesitated.
In the surveillance footage pulled up by security, Yan Ni wore a V-neck floral print dress with a khaki cardigan, looking gentle and beautiful.
After some thought, Xu Zhao reported this to Gu Junwan.
To be honest, she shouldn't have bothered the Empress with such a trivial matter.
But because there was a special factor involved, she didn't dare make the decision on her own.
After all, that Omega called Yan Ni was the "culprit" who had recently caused the dog to face a salary deduction storm!
This afternoon, Gu Junwan had no scheduled appointments.
When Xu Zhao knocked and entered the office, she was still texting with Shen Han.
As Xu Zhao reported the information from the gate, she felt somewhat uneasy.
She felt like a tattletale, always causing Shen Han's salary to be deducted, which made her feel guilty towards the other.
After relaying the news about Yan Ni and the others, Xu Zhao began secretly observing her Empress's expression.
However, Gu Junwan's face didn't change at all.
Her slender jade fingers tapped on her phone screen, sending a text to Shen Han.
[Manager Shen, your friends have come to see you. They're at the security booth on the north side outside the Peace Palace main gate.]
After sending the message, Gu Junwan noticed her assistant still standing nearby, ears perked up.
She looked as if she was waiting for her to give some instructions.
Gu Junwan smiled gently: "They're all Shen Han's friends. I've already told her to go receive them herself."
Hearing the Empress say this, Xu Zhao felt relieved.
As long as there was no salary deduction, it was fine. Otherwise, the dog might not dare to make friends in the future.
......
Upon receiving her wife's message, Shen Han immediately sprang up from the sofa.
She then began changing clothes and tidying her hair, preparing to go out and welcome them personally.
She actually quite liked the group of friends she had made at the entertainment city.
Although their family conditions weren't good and they had various minor faults, overall, they were a rather pure and kind group of people.
Previously, due to her mission, Shen Han hadn't been able to properly say goodbye or leave contact information.
Now that they had come here looking for her, she was genuinely happy.
While calling the gate, Shen Han hurriedly put on her shoes, about to go out.
Suddenly, she thought of something and turned back to the study to fetch and put on a pair of glasses.
These glasses were the detection equipment she had worn during her undercover mission.
They were no longer connected to the special task force's monitoring computers, but still maintained a program connection with Xu Zhao's work phone.
As long as she unlocked and activated them on her end, Xu Zhao's phone would synchronize with the view from her perspective.
......
In the Empress's office.
After Xu Zhao left, Gu Junwan casually opened a report.
But as she read, she found herself unable to concentrate.
Her mind kept wandering to Shen Han.
She was curious about what her Alpha would chat about with her friends.
Due to her status, Gu Junwan had lost the joy of relaxed gatherings with friends several years ago.
Childhood friends now revered her, and current friends were almost all business partners with vested interests.
She occasionally imagined what it would be like if she could join Shen Han in gatherings with her friends.
Would those young companions tease them? Would they clamor for Shen Han to tell the story of how they met?
Of course, curiosity aside, she wouldn't actually pull up video surveillance.
In the past, she had mostly done so out of work necessity.
Now, with Shen Han meeting friends, it would be inappropriate for her to eavesdrop or monitor.
Gu Junwan raised her hand to press her brow, just about to focus on continuing to read the report, when there was a gentle knock on the office door.
A few seconds later, Xu Zhao entered holding a phone.
She placed the phone on the desk in front of Gu Junwan, then said mysteriously: "Your Majesty, I don't know why, but Shen Han has unlocked her detection glasses again."
"We've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to disconnect the synchronization program. Why don't you take a look first?"
Seeing the screen showing a certain Alpha rushing to meet her friends, Gu Junwan's lips curved slightly upward, her heart filled with warm joy.