Furthermore, because of his diet, the nature of his work, and years of physical training, Reinitz was also very strong and fit, just like Huo Shaoheng was.
But this time, upon seeing him in his black, gold-rimmed priest uniform, Gu Nianzhi saw that Reinitz had lost a lot of weight.
His features were even more chiseled and striking, while his slightly sunken blue eyes, under his brows, appeared like the calm surface of the sea.
However, his expression changed slightly when he suddenly saw Gu Nianzhi.
He walked over to Gu Nianzhi and ignored Huo Shaoheng.
Standing in front of Gu Nianzhi, he lowered his head and smiled faintly. “Cereus, I didn’t expect us to be such soul mates. ”
They had met here without any appointment.
Gu Nianzhi gazed at Reinitz with an ambivalent expression. She was keenly aware that his vibe had changed.
In the past, no matter how much he pretended to be gentle or cold, he always gave off a passionate vibe that was unique to Reinitz.
But when she saw Reinitz standing in front of her now, she could no longer sense his unique vibe and passion. It was as if he had already seen everything in this world, and there was nothing else that could ignite his passion towards life.
Gu Nianzhi’s gaze moved down inch by inch as she looked at the shiny brass buttons on Reinitz’s priestly attire, all the way from his neck to the hem of the clothing at his knees.
The well-tailored priestly attire made Reinitz’s shoulders appear wider his waist narrower, and his figure taller and more slender.
A ray of sunlight shone through the stained glass windows of the church, and shined right on Reinitz’s golden hair. It was as if he had been crowned with a golden crown.
His untouchable beauty was even more otherworldly, as if he was about to ascend to immortality in the next moment.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes sparkled, abd she smiled as she said, “Reinitz, what are you up to this time? Last time I saw you, you were pretending to be a woodcutter from an Alpine farm, and now you’re… cosplaying as an Orthodox priest? Oh, no, you’re a Christian priest, aren’t you? ”
“A Catholic priest. But, I’m not cosplaying. ” Gu Nianzhi’s teasing didn’t anger Reinitz. His smile was very gentle, yet this gentleness seemed different from what he had shown in the past.
In the past, his gentleness was like a ball of fire enveloped in ice.
In the present, his gentleness was like gentle warm water, where one could clearly see the bottom in a glance.
Even Huo Shaoheng frowned in surprise.
Gu Nianzhi clicked her tongue and waved her hand. “No? If you’re really a Catholic priest now, then I’ll broadcast me pole dancing live. ”
Huo Shaoheng caught his breathe for a moment.
For a moment, Reinitz wavered in his decision to become a priest.
But they quickly snapped back to reality.
Reinitz laughed heartily this time. “Then I’ll be waiting. When are you going to show me? I’ll find a place for you to pole dance. ”
Gu Nianzhi: ” ! ! ! ”
No Way!
What is this? !
Her feet hurt.
Gu Nianzhi, who had always been good at throwing other people under the bus, now got a taste of her own medicine.
“Major General Hillent, please don’t tease Nianzhi. She’s an impressionable person who’ll believe whatever other people say. It’s best not to make such jokes. ”
Huo Shaoheng spoke up for Gu Nianzhi.
What a joke.
Even he hadn’t ever seen Gu Nianzhi pole dance before, so who the hell did Reinitz think he was?
Reinitz’s smile fell and he gazed at Huo Shaoheng calmly. “I’m not joking. ”
” … Are you really a priest? ” Gu Nianzhi asked in surprise, “But this morning you had just posted on social media saying that you’re leading a team to participate in the opening ceremony of the International Special Forces Competition… I never knew that priests could also be military leaders of your country’s special forces… ”
Reinitz drew a cross on his chest, then said lightly, “Mr. Li Dexi was supposed to lead the team, but he unfortunately dued in Cape City, so our bureau called me back from the monastery. I’m only temporarily replacing Mr. Li Dexi. When they find a suitable candidate, I’ll return to the monastery. ”
So it was still for Li Dexi’s sake.
Gu Nianzhi calmed her nerves and shrugged. “So that’s how it is. Then I haven’t lost yet because you’re not a priest at the moment yet, right?”
She emphasized “at the moment ” .
Reinitz stared at her for a while, then smiled slowly as he said, “Cereus is still as unreasonable as ever. Well, this time, you owe me a pole dance. ”
Gu Nianzhi’s face fell. “How so? You were a priest before, and you were called back to be the team leader, so of course you’re not a priest anymore. How can you be so unreasonable? ”
Reinitz wanted to say that his role as the team leader was part-time. Even if he had come to Moscow, he had been ordered to do so by the church in order to discuss a future cooperation with the Archbishop of the eastern Orthodox Church.
However, upon seeing that Gu Nianzhi was unwilling to back down and Huo Shaoheng’s countenance was as calm as water, Reinitz did not insist.
He smiled a little. “Alright, now that we’re done with that conversation, I have something to discuss with Major General Huo. Should we discuss it here or somewhere else? ”
Huo Shaoheng sighed a little inside. He pulled his hand out of his trouser pocket and placed it on Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder. “I’m off work today. I don’t want to talk about business.”
“It’s not business. I want to discuss a private affair with you.” Reinitz paused, and his expression became less animated again. “I have something to ask you about Li Dexi. And about Gu Nianzhi. There’s something I need to tell you. ”
Huo Shaoheng tightened his grip on Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder.
Gu Nianzhi thought Huo Shaoheng was interested and quickly said, “Okay then, let’s go out and find a restaurant to eat at. We can talk while we eat, okay? You even sent me a Wechat message this morning saying you wanted to treat me to a meal! ”
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips and stared at Gu Nianzhi with a blank expression. ” … You just had breakfast. ”
“We can find a restaurant and slowly walk there. Just treat it as something good for digestion… ” Gu Nianzhi felt that she was very understanding and didn’t need Huo Shaoheng to explain further to understand what he meant.
“When I came here, I checked the restaurant ratings. There are a few nice Russian restaurants not far from here. Of course, it’ll take at least half an hour to walk there. ”
“That’s fine too. Let’s walk slowly and talk slowly. ” Reinitz immediately agreed. “I know a nice restaurant about a mile from here. It’s less than half an hour’s walk. We can listen to music while we dine. The place is allegedly where Tchaikovsky composed music. ”
Tchaikovsky was the most famous musician in Russia. His ballets compositions “Swan Lake, “”Sleeping Beauty, ” and “The Nutcracker” were world-renowned.
Gu Nianzhi immediately nodded. “Okay, okay. Shall we go over and take a look? ”
She was asking for Huo Shaoheng’s approval when she asked this.
Huo Shaoheng put his hands in his pockets and said nonchalantly, “Since both of you have agreed, I have no objections. ”
Gu Nianzhi immediately realized that there was an uncharacteristic resentful tone in Huo Shaoheng’s words.
This was too uncharacteristic. Wasn’t this all because he wanted to talk to Reinitz?
Gu Nianzhi suddenly felt a little aggrieved.
She had always prioritized Huo Shaoheng’s needs first. She thought of what he had wanted, and had gone through all sorts of hardships for him, but he had acted as if he did not appreciate her kindness..
The two of them avoided eye contact for a while.
Reinitz looked at the two of them with amusement and said humorously, ” … If you two get into a fight, I won’t become a monk anymore. I can immediately renounce asceticism. ”
Catholic priests weren’t allowed to marry.
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Huo Shaoheng lowered his eyes and chuckled. “Major General Reinitz must be joking. We didn’t get into a fight. This way, please. ”
He stepped aside and let Reinitz lead the way.
Reinitz glanced at Gu Nianzhi. “Cereus, are you okay? ”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t even look at Huo Shaoheng. She said angrily, “I’m fine! I’m great. Reinitz, let’s go to the restaurant you mentioned. I won’t pay if it’s not delicious! ”
“I said it’s my treat, so of course you don’t have to pay for it. ” Reinitz walked on Gu Nianzhi’s other side nonchalantly. He and Huo Shaoheng walked on Gu Nianzhi’s left and right sides respectively like her two bodyguards.
Huo Shaoheng followed them quietly.
Along the way, Reinitz sized Gu Nianzhi up a few times and said, “Are you okay? I heard that Li Dexi went to Cape City because of you. You didn’t fall for the trap did you? ”
Gu Nianzhi was fuming, but upon hearing that Reinitz was asking a serious question, not knowing how to answer him, she glanced at Huo Shaoheng warily.
As if he wasn’t looking at Gu Nianzhi, Huo Shaoheng’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, but he had already noticed her small movements from the corner of his eye.
After a moment of silence, Huo Shaoheng said, “We’re very sorry for what happened to Li Dexi. Father Reinitz, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed today. ”
This meant that Huo Shaoheng will not comment on the matter at all.
Even if Reinitz had evidence that Li Dexi had gone to Cape City to kill Huo Shaoheng and kidnap Gu Nianzhi, Huo Shaoheng would not be so stupid as to confess.
In their line of work, there were many things that could be done but could not be discussed out in the open.
Even if they were caught on the spot, they could never admit their doings.
Gu Nianzhi understood Huo Shaoheng’s position and remained silent. She did not tell Reinitz about what had happened in Cape City.
Upon seeing that the two of them still had their guards up, Reinitz sighed and said, “I have no intention of pursuing the matter. I had no idea that Li Dexi had gone to Cape City. I had already entered the monastery by then. ”
Feeling a little down, Gu Nianzhi walked silently.
Huo Shaoheng sighed a little. He understood that it wasn’t Gu Nianzhi’s fault; she had good intentions.
He thought about it for a moment, then pulled out the small ring box from his other pocket and placed it in the pocket next to Gu Nianzhi’s.
He reached out and held Gu Nianzhi’s hand gently. He interlocked his fingers with hers and put her hand into his pocket. Hand in hand, they walked in Moscow’s Red Square.
The wind blew gently, and Gu Nianzhi’s black hair fluttered in the wind.
As soon as Gu Nianzhi’s hand entered Huo Shaoheng’s pocket, she felt Huo Shaoheng holding her hand to feel a small square box in his pocket.
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Huo Shaoheng gave her a meaningful smile.
Although Gu Nianzhi did not know what the small box was, her mood miraculously improved.
It was because she knew that Huo Shaoheng was implicitly explaining the change in his mood. It was all because of this little box.
In the past, Huo Shaoheng would never have done such a thing.
Gu Nianzhi squeezed the hand in Huo Shaoheng’s pocket to show that she understood. She pulled her hand out to clutch Huo Shaoheng’s arm, and turned to ask Reinitz, “Reinitz, I believe you. But why did Li Dexi experience misfortune when he went to Cape City this time? ”
“Because he targeted you, ” Reinitz said bluntly.
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Huo Shaoheng wasn’t surprised. To alleviate her fear, he patted Gu Nianzhi on the back of her hand, then looked up at Reinitz and said, “Did Li Dexi target Nianzhi because of the Daiwa scientists’ DNA data from during the war? But how does that data have anything to do with Nianzhi? ”
Since Gu Haize, Gu Nianzhi is a third generation descendant already. It had been almost a hundred years.
Could it be that Reinitz also knew about the unique qualities of Gu Nianzhi’s physique?
