A group of people gathered together and strode across the red carpet.
Gu Nianzhi stood by the red carpet and took a small step back politely.
Reinitz walked right past her on the red carpet.
Although Gu Nianzhi stared straight ahead and maintained her poker face, there was the slightest hint of a smile on her lips.
Reinitz also had a hard to read expression on his face and marched right past her, his strides calm and steady. His elaborately embellished German Army uniform consisted of silver epaulets, a red collar, and a copper buckle on his waist. Bright leather belts with buckles were tied around his waist, and they accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs. Although he was in standard military composure, the outfit had a sense of solemn yet forbidden beauty about it, making him seem all the more tempting to those watching.
There was a slight gust of wind as he passed by her. He smelled of “Cool Water” cologne, and his scent was like a refreshing ocean breeze—musky, seductive, intoxicating, and utterly oozing with masculinity.
As Gu Nianzhi saw him, she thought about how unrealistic his beauty was and how unattainable he seemed and reminisced about the time he was in the Alps, cutting wood in front of the cabin with sweat streaming down his sturdy bronze back.
What was Reinitz’s true identity?
When she was in the Alps, Gu Nianzhi had never doubted him for a second, until she was captured by Als…
Gu Nianzhi lowered her eyes and stared at the red carpet on the ground in front of her.
She then started thinking about how since Reinitz was the ace of the Federal Intelligence Agency of Germany, his true identity wasn’t that different from that of Huo Shaoheng, and somehow, this made her feel relieved.
Reinitz and Huo Shaoheng, they were essentially the same kind of people…
They would assume whatever identity was required of them, because that was their profession, their job.
Even professional actors weren’t as professional as them, because actors didn’t need to be afraid of making mistakes. There were directors, there were lines, and even if they did make mistakes, they always had the chance to make things right again and fix their mistakes. But for Reinitz and Huo Shaoheng, mistakes could cost them their lives.
Therefore, since the stakes were much higher, their acting skills were constantly being sharpened…
Gu Nianzhi felt her anxiety gradually begin to dwindle.
Perhaps she had been overthinking. Reinitz probably hadn’t exposed her because he saw more value in keeping her secret than exposing her.
Gu Nianzhi suddenly raised her head with contentment, and the smile on her lips gradually widened.
At this moment, Reinitz, who had been carefully watching her out of the corner of his eye, noticed the shift in her mood and expression and suddenly turned towards her.
Although it had only been momentary, his piercing gaze felt like fire burning on her face.
Gu Nianzhi froze, then looked up, but Reinitz had already turned back and was facing forwards once again.
All this time, the German Chancellor had been walking side by side with Speaker Long and leading her team of delegates proudly while waving her arms to the honor guards with a smile on her face.
The music started blaring even louder.
The camera turned towards them, and everyone smiled.
Real life was like a movie. “Movies reflect real life,” thought Gu Nianzhi as she followed the military out of the airport.
A group of people headed towards their personal vehicles.
Speaker Long was surrounded by the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as he climbed into the car in front, while Gu Nianzhi followed the people in the Secretariat to the car in the back.
As for Reinitz and the others, they would be sitting in a special car that was sent by the German Embassy.
Soon after, the police cars cleared the road in front of them, and the passing vehicles all made way as row after row of bulletproof cars sped through the spacious highway of the imperial city.
The personalized vehicles took them to the banquet hall in the parliament building. By that time, it was already around seven in the evening.
A welcome reception was going to be held there, along with a small press conference that would announce to the world the friendly negotiation that was to happen between the Huaxia Empire and Germany.
This was the first time Gu Nianzhi had attended such a formal and solemn banquet.
When she followed Speaker Long into the banquet hall, the Minister of Foreign Affairs came over to have an intimate conversation with Speaker Long, so she had to step back.
Then, a secretary that had previously worked in the Secretariat but was now working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the German Embassy came over to talk to Speaker Long.
Gu Nianzhi had to step back yet again.
Later, several translators from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also came forward and surrounded Speaker Long, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Huaxia Empire’s ambassador to Germany. Gu Nianzhi was completely squeezed out of the circle.
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t a professional translator at all. Her German was merely at a conversational level, nowhere near good enough for formal occasions.
Following Speaker Long were his secretary, assistant, and security personnel that had been with him for many years. Gu Nianzhi stayed behind them and kept a low profile.
On occasions like these, she didn’t want to be in the limelight at all.
If she hadn’t practically forced herself to come for the sake of getting used to such occasions as a part of her job, she wouldn’t have wanted to attend at all.
All she wanted to do was relax at home while scrolling through Weibo.
She was starting to regret forcing herself to attend such an event where she was constantly in a state of anxiety due to fear that any faux pas could embarrass herself and her country.
Gu Nianzhi mocked herself inwardly and found a place to stand.
Although she was still standing next to the banquet table, from her concealed position, it was hard for others to notice her.
The banquet hall was scallop-shaped and had a one-foot-high podium. Now, there were two high tables, and behind the tables stood Speaker Long and the German Prime Minister.
There was a microphone in front of them, and they were both speaking.
Gu Nianzhi’s gaze looked over, and she suddenly discovered that this time, they stood side by side.
Instead of one person on the Huaxia side, and the other person on the German side, there were no divisions based on country.
Was this an attempt to reflect the friendly diplomacy of “you have me” and “I have you”?
Gu Nianzhi almost laughed out loud, thinking that the people who had arranged this were being absurd.
But after a while, she ceased her laughter.
Because of this positioning, Reinitz stood next to her.
Gu Nianzhi was by no means short. At the age of 19, she had reached a height of four feet and ten inches, and with the help of elegant heels, she stood over five feet and eight inches tall.
Yet when Reinitz, who was as tall as Huo Shaoheng, stood next to her, she seemed at least a head shorter.
Gu Nianzhi awkwardly moved towards the corner and intentionally distanced herself from Reinitz.
Another person could fit in the distance between them.
Compared to other arranged pairs, the gap between them was much larger.
At that moment, there were many people on the stage, which had fairly limited space. When they finally had to stand for photos, everyone gathered together and crowded the place.
The more people, the more variety there was in body scents.
The scents of colognes on the men weren’t all as refreshing yet musky as Cool Water, just like the perfume on the women didn’t all smell rosy and floral.
A variety of intense and light, musky and fresh odors were all mixed together like a chemical reaction in the air.
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t a high maintenance princess, but she couldn’t help but sniff from the overwhelmingly powerful scent, and she had the urge to grab the fan in front of her to rid herself of the nauseating fumes.
Reinitz stood beside her with his hands behind his back, still not looking at her, though he was standing in front of her like a rock, separating her from the increasingly dense crowd on the other side, leaving her with a relatively spacious area all to herself.
However, to her, it was already pretty spacious in the corner.
Now that he was standing closer, the Cool Water cologne scent emanating from his body was even more obvious, slightly offsetting the scent of various colognes and perfumes on the other side.
Gu Nianzhi felt somewhat overwhelmed by his intoxicating scent.
She couldn’t ignore him anymore after what he was clearly doing and said “Danke (thank you)” softly in standard dialect German.
Reinitz didn’t say anything and acted as if he hadn’t heard her words of appreciation, and he still wore that same impassive poker face, but the slender fingers hidden behind his back tingled a little.
“…We are honored to visit his Excellency the Prime Minister of the Huaxia Empire. I hope the two countries can develop international relations in accordance with the principles of friendship and mutual assistance…”
The German Chancellor finished her speech, and now it was Speaker Long’s turn to speak. He spoke eloquently and with a solemn air.
The German Chancellor stood next to him in a slightly hunched position, but her sharp and bright blue eyes gleamed as she listened to Speaker Long’s speech and nodded along with a smile on her face.
After both leaders had finished speaking, it was now time to take pictures.
Personnel from both sides had already lined up and stood on both sides of the table in the banquet hall.
Gu Nianzhi tried to conceal herself in the corner as much as possible, and had the urge to pull the curtains over herself to hide from the cameras.
Reinitz caught sight of this and was secretly bewildered. If she disliked such occasions so intensely, why had she come?
He took a step forward calmly and placed himself in front of her, his tall and imposing body effectively blocking Gu Nianzhi from public view.
Gu Nianzhi breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want anyone to see her awkward self in that photo.
She stretched back as far as possible, hiding behind Reinitz.
The professional photographers in front of them were holding high-performing cameras and clicking the camera shutters rapidly.
After a few snaps, they snapped their fingers. “All done! Thank you all for your cooperation!”
Speaker Long smiled and shook hands with the German Chancellor, then said, “Thank you for your visit, and there will also be a small banquet later on. I hope you enjoy our Chinese food.”
The German Chancellor smiled when she heard what he said. “All else aside, the Huaxia Empire has the best food, hands down. I have been here a few times, and I never fail to be amazed by the delicious food.”
When she said this, the microphone on her was still open, so her words were broadcast through the loudspeaker for the entire crowd to hear.
There was a moment of silence in the bustling banquet hall.
The reception staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately said with a smile, “The chancellor is too flattering. Germany also has amazingly delicious food, such as Bavarian white sausage. Every time I go to Germany, I can only eat that if I can’t make it to a Chinese restaurant. Hahaha…”
Both the Germans and the Chinese in the banquet hall laughed heartily.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help laughing, as the people in this foreign ministry were really silver-tongued and clever with words.
From “all else aside,” the German Chancellor had basically been insinuating that food was basically the only good thing the Huaxia Empire had.
However, the Huaxia Empire’s Foreign Ministry’s immediately refuted this and insinuated that the famous Bavarian white sausages were just substitutes for Chinese restaurants, meaning that Germany didn’t even have food as an indicator of their cultural greatness.
However, Gu Nianzhi’s own impression of the Bavarian white sausage was very positive, and she couldn’t help but swallow in hunger.
Only then did Reinitz curl the corner of his lips, take a step back, and stand side by side next to Gu Nianzhi.
In the noisy hall, he stared straight ahead without meeting her gaze, yet the corner of his mouth showed a faint smile, and his voice was soft and gentle, so low that only Gu Nianzhi could hear it.
He said, “I brought you Bavarian white sausage that was made by Mother Hanna herself.”
