Gu Nianzhi glanced at Zhao Liangze silently, understanding that this man obviously loved Bai Shuang but didn’t even know it himself. He had already given up any treatment for this malady…
She didn’t directly refute Zhao Liangze’s remarks, but merely smiled at him, saying, “I hope Brother Ze will get what he wants.” Then she pushed the car door open and jumped out, beckoning to Bai Shuang. “Miss Bai, we’re over here!”
When Bai Shuang saw Gu Nianzhi, her eyes lit up. She then looked at the Jeep behind her to see Zhao Liangze come out by himself. She seemed a little disappointed. “…It’s really only the two of you?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled as if she didn’t understand what she meant and fanned herself with her hand. “It’s so hot. How can it be so hot in May?”
Cape Town was in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons were opposite to those in the northern hemisphere.
It was the end of April and the beginning of May. Summer had just passed, and Cape Town was now entering autumn.
“Maybe it’s a scorching autumn since everyone is still wearing summer clothes,” Bai Shuang replied absentmindedly, then looked behind Zhao Liangze before retracting her gaze. She smiled and said to Gu Nianzhi, “Which bank do you want to visit first?”
Gu Nianzhi answered crisply, “It’s the one you showed me. I think it’s quite unique, so I want to see the layout.”
“Okay, come with me.” Bai Shuang grabbed her hand, and they walked into the lobby of the bank together.
Zhao Liangze carried a small travel bag that contained water, snacks, ointment oil, some band-aids, medicine, and a foldable umbrella.
He was wearing a khaki hunting jacket with a pistol in the pocket of the jacket lining.
Guns were allowed to be carried in Cape Town. For the sake of safety, Zhao Liangze must carry a weapon on him.
He followed Bai Shuang and Gu Nianzhi into the bank lobby.
It was mid-afternoon, so there were not many customers in the bank. As soon as the three of them walked in, they attracted the attention of everyone inside.
Bai Shuang was glamorous, Gu Nianzhi was charming and cute, while Zhao Liangze was handsome. It was impossible for them not to attract attention.
The bank’s account manager came over immediately and, with a big smile, asked in English, “Good afternoon, everyone. What can I do for you?”
Bai Shuang immediately looked at Gu Nianzhi and asked, “Do you want to open an account, or do you already have one here?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and shook her head. “I just came here to visit. There is no need to open an account, and I don’t have one either,” she replied.
Bai Shuang thought it was a shame and said, “Okay then. Maybe you can open an account in the future.”
She politely declined the bank’s account manager offer, saying, “We were attracted by the buildings here, so we just wanted to come and take a look.”
So, they were not clients of the bank.
The smile on the account manager’s face faded a little as he nodded to them and said, “Please help yourself.” As he said this, he turned around and went back to his office.
Gu Nianzhi looked around the lobby and quickly found the place where the handwritten English poem was hung.
Without bothering to hide her emotions, she hurried over and stood in front of the poem and studied it carefully with a frown.
Bai Shuang seemed to have only discovered Gu Nianzhi’s intentions, so she asked curiously, “…You like this poem? I don’t think it’s anything special…”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and crossed her arms in front of her chest with her jaw raised. “Don’t you think this poem is not only very nice when read out, but is also written in beautiful handwriting?” she asked.
Bai Shuang glanced at it. “Handwriting is always pretty looking.”
“Yes, but this is not something that ordinary people can write.” Gu Nianzhi squinted her eyes. “Do you know who the poet is?”
Bai Shuang shook her head. “I don’t know. Why would I know?”
After a while, she couldn’t seem to help but ask, “What’s wrong? Is this poem important?”
“Why do you think that?” Gu Nianzhi asked casually, her eyes staying practically glued to the poem as she tried to find something out of the ordinary about it.
Bai Shuang smiled and said, “Look at you, studying it so intently. Don’t tell me that it’s just a moment of curiosity?”
Only then did Gu Nianzhi look back at her and reply with a smile, “This poem is actually very interesting. But I can’t tell you if it’s important or not right now.”
“Why can’t you tell me? Two minds are better than one. If you tell me, we will analyze it together,” Bai Shuang suggested with a smile. “Three amateurs working together are smarter than one genius!”
Gu Nianzhi blinked her exceptionally large eyes and wondered out loud, “Actually, I don’t know what is special about it either. Maybe this question is too difficult. I might not be able to find the answer even if I spend a lifetime thinking about it.”
Bai Shuang seemed a little disappointed. She looked down and was silent for a while before finally saying, “How can I help you analyze it if you don’t tell me more specifically?”
So, she was forcing Gu Nianzhi to tell her?
If Bai Shuang really had nothing to do with this matter, Gu Nianzhi would not reveal a word to her.
But it was now clear that the people working behind the scenes with Bai Shuang knew that the poem was very important to Gu Nianzhi. This might mean it was the same people who had come after her in the Taj Mahal.
So, there is no need for her to hide this from Bai Shuang.
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes and said, “Actually, here’s the thing. My father once left me a poem, and it was this one. I think that there is a special connection between the two, which is hinting at something.”
She spoke half the truth, so no one would doubt it for the time being.
The highest quality lies were 10% false and 90% true.
Bai Shuang was taken aback and asked, “Huh? Your father? Have you found his whereabouts?!”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
She shook her head slowly and answered, “No, I’m still looking for him. This poem is one of the clues.”
In fact, Gu Nianzhi had learned from Reinitz that the poem did not predict Gu Xiang’s whereabouts, but something else such as data.
Her grandfather Gu Haoze had stolen the data from the Gestapo headquarters.
It was Reinitz who said that the Gestapo had been pursuing it for nearly half a century.
“Oh, that’s mighty important,” Bai Shuang suddenly blurted out in a Northeastern Huaxia dialect, which caused Zhao Liangze to frown.
He remembered that Bai Shuang actually hated the Northeastern Huaxia dialect, so she never spoke it before.
Although she was born in the Imperial Capital, her parents sent her to live with her grandparents in the Northeast for several years as a child, and she learned the authentic Northeastern Huaxia dialect.
When she returned to the Imperial Capital to go to middle school later on, she was teased by her classmates for a long time because of her Northeastern dialect.
Then she refused to speak in a Northeastern dialect ever again.
This time, she openly spoke it in front of him and Gu Nianzhi.
Zhao Liangze couldn’t help but cast a sidelong glance at her.
Bai Shuang seemed to want to speak incessantly, then continued as though nothing was amiss, asking, “If this poem is a clue, does it hint at a place or an object?”
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but glance at Bai Shuang. “It may be a place or an object. In fact, we don’t have any clues other than this,” she replied.
“So…” Bai Shuang frowned and nodded. “Then we will have to look for it again.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled without saying a word. Taking out her phone, she took a photo of the handwritten English poem.
Bai Shuang looked at Gu Nianzhi with gleaming eyes and suddenly said, “Nianzhi, do you know how many words and letters are in this poem?”
Gu Nianzhi raised an eyebrow. “I do know. There are 86 words, 365 letters. What about it?” she asked.
