Huo Shaoheng smiled when he saw Gu Nianzhi’s awkward expression. “Listen to the voicemail to see what he wants. ”
“Okay. ” Since Huo Shaoheng didn’t mind, Gu Nianzhi opened Reinitz’s voicemail.
Reinitz’s clear throaty voice sounded from her phone.
He spoke in German, and got straight to the point. “Cereus, you’re in Moscow too? ”
“When did you get here? Come dine with me when you have spare time. ”
The voicemail had been sent a while ago, and was immediately withdrawn right after it was sent.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t have time to open it, ” … ”
Huo Shaoheng crossed his arms and asked, “Are you going to dine with him? ”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head. “Forget it. I won’t know what to say when I see him. Whenever I see him, I think of Li Dexi, and then I think of Bai Shuang. ”
This was a terrible memory, and Gu Nianzhi didn’t want to relive it.
Huo Shaoheng was relieved. “Glad that you understand. Get up. I’ll take you out to have some fun after breakfast. ”
“Huh? Have fun? Where are we going? ” Gu Nianzhi was overjoyed. “Are you free? Can you go out? It won’t affect your work, right? ”
She was still concerned about his work even at such a time.
Huo Shaoheng’s heart warmed slightly. He patted her head and his voice subconsciously softened. “It’s okay. I can accompany you all day today. ”
The opening ceremony of the National Special Forces Competition was tomorrow. Everyone was resting today, and the military camps did not have training today. Everyone had the day off.
Many of the Special Forces soldiers also went out to have some fun together.
Gu Nianzhi happily washed up and changed into an outfit suited for having fun outside. She and Huo Shaoheng went downstairs to have breakfast.
In this hotel, breakfast was served buffet-style.
The row of cabinets against the wall was filled with a splendid array of food.
A variety of fruits were displayed beside the cabinets at the entrance of the hotel. There were also quite a number of tropical fruits. This was a rare sight in Moscow, a high latitude city.
The large yellow bananas skewers were so sweet that they were nauseating. The bright red cherries tasted sweet and juicy. The green apples did not taste as sour as they looked. Instead, they tasted sweet but with a smack of sourness, just enough to arouse one’s appetite.
The strawberries and peaches appeared to be the same size when they were placed together.
There were also watermelons, pineapples, mangoes, and melons. They were all cut into slices and neatly placed on a shiny silver plate.
Gu Nianzhi glanced around as she walked. She picked up a buffet tray and filled it with cherries and mangoes. She placed them on top of organic yogurt, then mixed them together and ate them.
After passing the fruit section, she saw a variety of nuts and dried fruits. Of course, there were also raisins and dried cranberries.
Then there were all sorts of drinks, including the famous sparkling mineral water, all sorts of freshly-squeezed natural fruit juices, as well as beer, red wine, and even vodka.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but tug her lips when she saw the vodka. “People actually drink vodka this early in the morning? ”
Huo Shaoheng smiled but didn’t say anything.
Was there some sort of misunderstanding about the Fighting Tribe?
The men here would rather have no women than no vodka.
And the women here can drink industrial alcohol like it’s vodka.
Gu Nianzhi walked past the drinks section and looked right past at the salad and cheese sections, then she stopped at the meat section.
As expected of meat, she got a whiff of the overpowering delicious smell.
Gu Nianzhi did a rough count, and discovered that there were at least a dozen different types of ham, red sausages, and smoked salmon.
Next to the meat section was the bread section.
There were more than 20 types of bread to choose from.
People who suffered from choice overload would probably suffer a meltdown upon seeing so much food.
Gu Nianzhi was very picky about meat. Her favorite seafood wasn’t offered there, so she chose smoked salmon and mixed-grain bread.
She halved the mixed-grain bread and placed the smoked salmon in the middle, the same way she ate pork buns at home.
Gu Nianzhi feasted merrily.
Huo Shaoheng waited for her to finish eating, then brought her a small bowl of something that looked like honey jelly. He said, “Try this. It’s very rare to come across at home. ”
“Huh? What’s this? ” Gu Nianzhi took a bite out of curiosity. Slightly soft and tender, it tasted a little like wood ears, but it was overwhelmingly sweet.
“Beehive. ” Huo Shaoheng said mirthfully.
Gu Nianzhi: ” ! ! ! ”
Just as she was about to spit out the beehive, Huo Shaoheng added, ” … It has cosmetic effects. ”
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Then she had to swallow it even with her eyes closed!
After finishing the sickeningly sweet beehive, Huo Shaoheng brought Gu Nianzhi a cup of Russian black tea to relieve her nausea.
Gu Nianzhi scrutinized the cup that the hotel provided black tea in.
It appeared like an ordinary cup with a handle, but there was a medieval copper mural on the body of the cup, so it immediately appeared more valuable.
It looked like a work of art.
“I have to say, the artistic taste of the Russians is unrivaled. ” Gu Nianzhi sighed. “In terms of literature, they have Tolstoy; in terms of painters, they have Repin, and in terms of music, they have Tchaikovsky. Every one of them are distinguished talents of this world. ”
“Yes… ” Huo Shaoheng smiled as he said, “The design and painting of their TU-160 nuclear bomber appear so beautiful that one can hardly believe it’s a long-range nuclear strategic bomber since it’s as beautiful as a white swan soaring in the sky. Although its real name is the pirate flag, everyone who has seen it calls it the White Swan. ”
Gu Nianzhi had an ambiguous expression.
She was gushing about beautiful things like literature, art, and music, while Huo Shaoheng’s focus was on the “nuclear strategic long-range bomber that was so beautiful it appeared like a white swan”..
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and couldn’t help retorting, “Are you sure that a nuclear strategic bomber is comparable to the likes of literature and art? ”
One created beauty, while the other destroyed beauty.
How were they similar in any way?
“You don’t believe me? ” Huo Shaoheng pulled out his phone and found a few pictures of the TU-160 on the Internet. “Take a look yourself. If it doesn’t appeal to your eyes, then my bad. ”
Gu Nianzhi glanced at the pictures incredulously. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the plane that was soaring like a white swan.
Amidst the blue sky and white clouds, a large plane with smooth lines was flying among the clouds.
The sleek front end of the aircraft made it appear like a beautiful and proud white swan.
The white paint did not refract light at all despite being under the sun’s rays. It did not have the harsh blinding light, and Instead, it appeared more gentle and endearing under the sunlight. Arousing a sense of intimacy, it appeared like the fair face of one’s lover.
Gu Nianzhi was so wonderstruck she could hardly breathe.
After a long while, she finally let out a long sigh, and said, ” … Are you sure this is a nuclear strategic bomber? ! The color is so breathtakingly beautiful! It’s extremely white, but it’s not glaring at all even under the sun’s rays! ”
How could such a sublime thing be associated with a strategic deterrent weapon?
Was there something grotesque mixed in?
Gu Nianzhi had only seen America’s U-2 stealth aircraft, which appeared as evil and devilish as black bats, but had never seen such a noble and beautiful bomber plan.
She couldn’t help having the impression that such a sublime thing had absolutely no connection to the words “nuclear bombing”.
“This is Russia’s most advanced lusterless white airframe camouflage paint. It can also reflect and interfere with radar detection signals to transform into a stealth plane. ” Huo Shaoheng sighed. “It’s a pity that Russia can’t even build such a good plane herself. ”
Gu Nianzhi: ” ? ? ? ”
“The prototype crashed during the test flight, and much valuable data was lost. The engineers from back in the day had already passed away, so their blueprints were exceedingly esoteric. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the data regarding the Tu-160 was incomplete so it couldn’t be used to build new white swans. Nowaday, there are only eight white swans in service, and each one destroyed means one less permanently. ”
Upon seeing that seemed to know Huo Shaoheng everything regarding the Tu-160 by heart. Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been coveting this thing.
..
After breakfast, the two of them left the hotel and headed for St. Vasily’s Ascension Cathedral in Moscow.
Gu Nianzhi blinked when she saw the tall building that looked like nine onions in the distance. “Aren’t those the Kremlin and Red Square we were at yesterday? ”
“Yes, the cathedral is right next to the Red Square. ”
“Since when do you like churches? ” Gu Nianzhi was baffled.
Huo Shaoheng curled his lips and led her away.
His fingers caressed the ring box he had bought a while ago in his pocket. Huo Shaoheng, who had always been calm and composed, felt a little excited.
However, he did not say anything as he led her into the Cathedral.
In the morning, there was no one in the cathedral.
Gu Nianzhi was attracted by the colorful murals around her and hardly knew what to focus her eyes on.
Huo Shaoheng was about to speak when he suddenly heard the muffled sound of conversation coming from a corner of the confessional.
He looked up and immediately froze.
The Archbishop of the Church was dressed in black priestly attire while talking to a tall man standing in front of him.
The man had his back to them and was also dressed similarly like a priest.
Soon after, the man drew a cross on his chest and turned around to leave.
He turned around to see Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi in front of him. He stopped dead in his tracks.
Gu Nianzhi’s gaze went to the man in the black priestly outfit.
Unexpectedly, the man turned out to be Reinitz.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes immediately widened.
Why was Reinitz dressed like a priest?!
