Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The girl looked so thin, and her face was the size of his palm, yet her eyes were lively and bright. She always looked at people with focus, her eyes glimmering like pools of light that one could drown in. These were truly alluring eyes. However, the owner obviously didn’t understand her own appeal as she continued to look at him, appearing even more alluring. The man looked away and grunted, “I have an iPhone. I happened to bring my charger here today.” He then shouted something in German at the cabin. Gu Nianzhi heard him say, “Mother Hanna,” and was excited as she followed him over.
The back cabin windows opened, and an old woman looking to be in her sixties smiled kindly at them as she replied in German, “Reinitz, bring that cute girl inside. I can tell she’s hungry. Her eyes are gleaming.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. Was it that obvious? Reinitz chuckled quietly. The sound was like the middle string on a cello. One casual pluck was enough to reverberate the heart. As someone obsessed with voices, Gu nianzhi’s ears nearly burned upon hearing the sound. She knew this man was incredible, just his voice was enough to seduce…
“Go on in. Mother Hanna’s house is the only one within ten miles.” Reinitz bent over and spoke softly before opening the gate and stepping aside to let Gu Nianzhi in with a smile. Gu Nianzhi immediately felt reassured at the sight of the kind woman. Also, the man looked refined. He shouldn’t be scum like Seth. Gu Nianzhi thanked him and followed him inside.
The old woman named Hanna stood at the door with open arms. “My dear girl, you must’ve suffered. Come to Mother Hanna.”
Gu Nianzhi had already been wandering around the Alps for more than a week now and nearly teared up at the first kind words she heard. But she held herself back, inhaling deeply and hugging Mother Hanna. She replied in German, “Thank you.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know much German except for simple phrases like, “Hello,” “thank you,” and “goodbye.” However, her pronunciation was exact and in an authentic Hannover accent that she had learned from He Zhichu. Hanna was very excited and immediately spoke quickly in German. It was much too fast but also in a Hannover accent. Gu Nianzhi only answered with silence. She didn’t understand a word and looked at Reinitz helplessly.
Reinitz stood by her and was temporarily stunned by her large, soulful eyes. Smiling faintly, he spoke to Hanna in German. Hanna immediately switched to English and said to Gu Nianzhi, “You don’t speak German? But your pronunciation was so perfect and was in an authentic Hannover accent. I’m also from Hannover, so it felt very intimate.” As she spoke, she took Gu Nianzhi inside the cabin.
Gu Nianzhi smiled sheepishly. “I only know a few conversational phrases. I don’t know anything more complicated.”
“No problem, we all speak English.” Hanna winked at her like a playful child and was very optimistic.
Gu Nianzhi giggled and spied Reinitz walking in, looking straight ahead. He passed by her and turned to go into another room. Hanna had her sit down in the kitchen and carried out freshly baked bread and mayonnaise, as well as two Weisswurst sausages to set before her. She asked, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Cereus.” Gu Nianzhi was truly starving and swallowed hard at the sight of food, but she didn’t dare to eat it right away.
“Cereus? What a nice name. It’s pretty, like you.” Hanna served her enthusiastically. “Dig in! Aren’t you hungry?”
Gu Nianzhi still didn’t dare to move, her sparkling eyes scanning the food and her brain nervously thinking of some reason to refuse at first. It was food from a stranger, after all. Still, it was best to not eat it until she figured out if these people were friend or foe.
Hanna noticed Gu Nianzhi kept eyeing the Weisswurst and assumed she was shy. She picked up the cutlery and carefully cut up the Weisswursts in small pieces, speaking gently, “Here, you can see that I made this Weisswurst myself. I used the best Berkshire pork in all of Bavaria. They are free range raised and don’t live on livestock feed. Try it?”
Gu Nianzhi swallowed again, her yes glued to the Weisswurst. They looked so delicious, she really wanted to eat them… But since what had happened with the Reverend Mother at the nunnery, she had to be even more careful about eating food prepared by other people.
Just was she was hesitating, Reinitz walked out of the room and sat on the tall bench beside her. He took the cutlery to first eat a slice of Weisswurst, then had a piece of bread and sip of milk before saying to Mother Hanna, “Mother Hanna, can you go check the bathroom? I think she needs a shower.”
Gu Nianzhi instantly flushed and was totally speechless. It was like Reinitz somehow knew she was thinking. She only dared to eat what she saw others eat, and now that he had put it that way, she was too ashamed to continue eating.
Mother Hanna smiled. “Cereus, Reinitz isn’t good with his words. Just ignore him. You’ve been out there for a few days now. I’ll prepare a change of clothes. I hope you’ll like them.” She stood up and went to the room Reinitz came from. Only Gu Nianzhi and Reinitz remained in the kitchen, and this time she finally noticed he had changed. Gone were the thin checkered shirt and jeans. He now wore a slim and well-fitting white shirt with casual khakis. His tall rain boots were now changed to a pair of tennis hoes, and he sat with his long legs lazily stretched out by her as he pointed to the sausages on the plate and said gently, “Eat it. It’s good. I had some, and they taste pretty good.”
Gu Nianzhi looked into Reinitz’s ocean blue eyes which seemed to somehow know what she was worrying about. That’s why he had discreetly eaten in front of her to let her know the food was fine. Such thoughtfulness nearly shamed Gu Nianzhi. She truly thought she was being too paranoid and had judged a gentleman’s character with ill intentions.
Even with the tragic case of Li Haiqing, there had been a righteous prosecutor as well as police who hid direct evidence from greedy and self-serving superiors. How could she treat everyone with unfair suspicion? She would be too fussy if she still refused to eat. Picking up her cutlery, she slowly lifted a piece of sausage to her mouth and chewed. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had real food for over a week, but she cried in happiness as soon as she tasted it! She really started to cry.
“Why are you crying? It’s not to your taste?” Reinitz asked gently and picked up a napkin from the dining table to wipe her tears. Even though he was being very gentle and suppressed all his strength, his movements left several red streaks on Gu Nianzhi’s tender skin. He froze and looked helplessly at the napkin. “Your skin is so delicate.” It was merely an observation, yet there was also a hint of flirtation.
Gu Nianzhi wiped her face and laughed without continuing the topic. She quickly devoured the Weisswurst. Swallowing the food, she said, “It’s very delicious. It’s way better than the Weisswurst from four star Michelin restaurants.”
Reinitz knew he had misspoken earlier but finally sighed with relief when Gu Nianzhi easily dispelled the awkwardness. He changed the topic. “Of course, the secret to making good Weisswurst is the pork. Even the best chef can’t make good Weisswurst without good quality pork.”
Gu Nianzhi sipped the milk and nodded. “Right, in the Hua Xia Empire we have a saying that even the best housewife can’t cook without rice. It’s the same principle.”
“Even the best housewife can’t cook without rice? Well said.” Reinitz chuckled quietly. His blue eyes shimmered with starlight and were very alluring.
Gu Nianzhi looked away and picked up a slice of bread. She spread mayonnaise on it and began to nibble. Reinitz watched her eat and went to get another sausage from the steamer when he saw her quickly gobble up the last two. He cut them up for her.
“Thank you.” Gu Nianzhi’s head nearly fell down to her chest, and she felt very shy.
Reinitz couldn’t help sighing internally at the sight of her helplessness. What a child… She had just been adamant about refusing food from strangers, but now she was completely ashamed accepting the smallest kindness from others. “You’re welcome. You’re too thin and need to recuperate, but you shouldn’t eat too much all at once. Don’t have any more after this sausage. There are still many in the pot, and I can get you more later.”
Reinitz advised her gently, “Go shower after you eat, then rest a bit and come out for dinner.” He could tell this girl was at her physical limit, but her energy was still very high. Her dark, shining eyes looked like they could suck people in when she looked at them. Reinitz had never found dark hair and dark eyes this attractive before. He had always preferred blonde-haired, blue-eyed German girls. “Eat slowly, I’m going to have a smoke.” Feeling Gu Nianzhi’s tenseness, Reinitz left the kitchen and smoked outside.
Soon after, Gu Nianzhi could see Reinitz’s back from the kitchen window. He sat on a white fence in the front yard, long legs supporting his body against the ground as he held a cigarette in his hand. His smoking posture was a lot like Huo Shao’s… Gu Nianzhi quickly looked down to continue eating. She hadn’t seen Huo Shao for so long that everyone was starting to look like him, but who could actually compare with him? Looking down, she slowly ate all the food and stood up to take the plates and cutlery to the sink to wash.
“Put it down, I’ll wash.” Reinitz’s voice could be heard from behind.
Gu Nianzhi turned around to discover he had returned without her noticing. He crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen doorway.
“That’s ok, I used them so I can wash.” Gu Nianzhi persisted and set the dishes in the sink. Just as she reached out to turn on the tap, a large hand appeared from behind to also turn it on. The hand happened to cover Gu Nianhzi’s, so she shrank back as if shocked and wiped her hands on her back as if she had touched something dirty and had to clean it off.
Reinitz smiled and turned on the tap. “Go shower, I’ll wash the dishes.”
Gu Nianzhi also knew that she was a mess and probably an eyesore. She stopped insisting and whispered as she retreated, “Thank you.” Turning away, she went to the room Reinitz had pointed to. She was resilient and decisive at such a young age. This surprised Reinitz because he didn’t dislike it all. He smiled as he put soap in the sink.
…
After Gu Nianzhi left the kitchen, she turned the corner in the small hallway. The door was ajar, and the plump Hanna was making the bed. The room had white walls, wooden floorboards, a Victorian-style vanity on the left side of the window, and a four-poster bed in the middle covered with white bedding with small floral print. Everything appeared clean and bright, and looked like it was freshly laundered. Gu Nianzhi coughed quietly. “Thank you, Mother Hanna.”
Hanna turned around and laughed heartily. “You’re welcome. Did you finish eating? Go take a shower.” She set a stack of clean clothes on the bed. “I wore this dress when I was young, and the undergarments are brand new and unworn.” The undergarments were still in their packaging. It was a small tank top with panties.
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “Thank you, I’ll go shower now.” She went over to hug Hanna and kissed her cheek. In Germany it was customary for young people to kiss their elders on the cheek to express affection.
Hanna was very happy, hugging Gu Nianzhi back and kissing her cheek. She gushed, “You’re such a cute little girl! I’ve always told Reinitz to hurry up and get married and have kids. That way, I’d have a pretty little granddaughter to take care of! But he won’t listen! Otherwise, my granddaughter would be your age by now!”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes widened. “No way?! How old is Reinitz?! How could he have a daughter my age?!”
Hanna froze and carefully studied Gu Nianzhi. “You’re 11 or 12, right?”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. While women loved to be mistaken for a younger age, saying a girl who was nearly 19 years old looked 11 or 12 was not a compliment. It meant she looked underdeveloped.
Gu Nianzhi quickly puffed out her chest. “How can I be only 11 or 12? Mother Hanna has bad eyesight.”
Pfft… The sound of a man’s quiet laughter could be heard by the door. Gu Nianzhi stiffened immediately. Reinitz was standing at the door.
Hanna glared at him. “What are you laughing at?! Am I wrong? Hurry up and get married and have kids! You’re almost 30!”
“I’m 28 and will be 29 next month. I’m not 30 yet.” Reinitz’s voice could be heard from behind them. “Mother Hanna, Cereus should be 15. She’s right, how could I have a daughter that old already?”
Gu Nianzhi flushed again. This mother and son sure loved to joke. She mustered her courage and whispered, “I’m already 18 and am turning 19 next month…”
Hanna and Reinitz looked at each other and were momentarily speechless. Hanna patted her shoulder awkwardly. “Hurry up and shower. I’ll go see what to make for dinner. Cereus, what do you want tonight?”
“Anything would be fine. Thank you, Mother Hanna.” Gu Nianzhi quickly thanked her and watched Hanna shuffle outside. Reinitz moved aside at the door, and Hanna glared at him before passing by and heading to the kitchen. Gu Nianzhi walked over to close the door, but Reinitz was still leaning against it and regarded her haughtily. Gu Nianzhi grabbed the door, unsure whether to ask Reinitz to leave so she could close it. After some time, Reinitz said nonchalantly, “Looks like you Hua Xia girls tend to appear young. You look about the same as 11 or 12-year-old German girls.”
Gu Nianzhi got angry and puffed out her chest once again. “Do 11 or 12-year-old German girls have D cups?” She immediately regretted her words as soon as she saw Reinitz’s flabbergasted look. She should’ve bitten her tongue instead of spewing nonsense! Had she lost her mind, arguing with a strange man about that!? Face flushed, she tried to slam the door shut.
However Reinitz merely straightened his body and quickly glanced at her chest with raised brows. “Can’t see it.” He then turned away.
Gu Nianzhi gritted her teeth and secretly thought it was better he couldn’t see it. Would she actually show them to him just to prove they were D cups? She wasn’t stupid… Slamming the door shut, Gu Nianzhi carried the clothes Hanna prepared for her to the bathroom.
The bathroom was mainly decorated in blue with light blue walls and matte navy floor tiles. The only other color was the white bathtub. It resembled naval style decorating and happened to suit Gu Nianzhi’s taste. Gu Nianzhi didn’t take a bath but opened the curtains covering the tub to shower. There were many different types of shampoo as well as Vichy face wash, making it leagues ahead of the nunnery. Although these weren’t the brands Gu Nianzhi preferred, she would certainly not nitpick now. They were kind enough to take her in. What fussy idiot would be dissatisfied with brands of toiletries?
Closing the shower curtain, she washed herself completely from head to toe. Her hair was especially dirty since she had only shampooed properly once in the last few days. Her hair was completely knotted. Gu Nianzhi spent a great deal of effort washing her hair, then lathered herself in body wash and quickly rinsed. Wrapping herself in a towel, she peered at herself in the mirror and finally realized why Hanna and Reinitz said she looked 12. She was way too thin. Her face was small to begin with, but the previous plumping baby fat on her face was now completely gone. Her palm-sized face had shrunk, only leaving her large, startling dark eyes. With a pointed chin, slender neck, and jutting collarbones, she was the portrait of “stick thin.”
As for her chest, Gu Nianzhi looked down to check. It had only shrunk by a bit. It probably wasn’t an impressive D cup anymore, but it was still a C. Needless to say, her waist could be encircled by her own hands. This thinness was not attractive at all. If she hadn’t been that tall, even fellow Hua Xia people would assume she was only 13 or 14….
