Gu Nianzhi had an understanding of German military ranks, so she knew the white background and three stars with a silvery white corolla decoration was the rank of colonel in the army. The other that only had golden sashes with two silvery white arrows was the rank of sergeant and was probably an underling brought here by the colonel. Gu Nianzhi glanced at them, then averted her eyes and kept reading on the couch. The colonel walked over with his hands folded behind his back. He reached out to shake her hand before introducing himself in English. “My name is Colonel Als, and I am the Director General of the German Federal Intelligence Service.”
Gu Nianzhi looked up slowly and glanced at the proffered hand with no desire to shake it. She replied in English, “I don’t know you. You’re in the wrong room.”
“Wrong room? Haha…” Als chuckled and sat on the couch across from Gu Nianzhi. He steepled his white gloved hands and looked at her with great interest. “Nianzhi, Gu Nianzhi? That’s your real name, right?”
Gu Nianzhi was wracked with a full body shudder, and although she continued to look at her book, her hands were already unsteady. How did this person know her real name?! She had only told the nuns at the nunnery, Reinitz, and Mother Hanna that her name was Cereus!
The man smiled with even more menace when he noticed Gu Nianzhi’s face fall. He leaned forward slightly and reached out a white gloved hand to lift Gu Nianzhi’s chin, forcing her to look at him. “Miss Gu, didn’t your family teach you that it’s considered polite to look a person in the eye when you speak with them?”
Gu Nianzhi forcibly removed her chin from the man’s hand and closed her eyes to spit back, “My family only educated me about being polite to those who are polite to me. There is no need to be polite to people who lack a proper upbringing.”
“Hmm? You’re saying I lack proper upbringing? You have quite the gall…” The man didn’t appear angry but was enjoying the game of cat and mouse as he clamped a hand on her chin again. “Be good and come with us. Otherwise…”
Before his voice even fell, the ward door banged open once again, and Reinitz burst in, panting. His slightly tanned face was flushed red from running quickly, and his blue eyes squinted at the sight of Als’ hand holding Gu Nianzhi’s chin. “Let go of her,” Reinitz spoke in German and slowly walked over to push away the man’s hand. He pulled Gu Nianzhi up from the couch and shielded her behind his back. “Als, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? You hid her here and had me looking for a long time! We may be friends, Reinitz, but this is business, so I ask you not to interfere. I need to take her to my department and properly interrogate her.” Als raised his chin. “Reinitz, you are not part of my department, so you shouldn’t get involved.” Gu Nianzhi perked her ears up to listen to the German conversation. Thanks to her intense studying the last few days, she was able to understand most of it but still pretended she didn’t know anything at all. Her dark eyes drifted between Als and Reinitz.
Reinitz looked at Gu Nianzhi again and switched to English. “No Als, you can’t take her there.”
“I can’t take her there? But she doesn’t want to stay with you. She looks like she wants to run away any second now. Can you take responsibility for that?!” Als folded his hands behind his back and walked around Gu Nianzhi as he asked her in English, “Miss Gu, what do you think?”
Gu Nianzhi set down her book and asked calmly, “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
Reinitz looked at her with a conflicted expression. “The hospital says you’ve recovered and don’t need to stay here anymore.”
“So you have two choices. Either come back to the Federal Intelligence Service with me, or go stay at Reinitz’s house with him. However, he must guarantee that you won’t run away.” Als shot a look at Reinitz.
Gu Nianzhi’s mind was in chaos. What the hell was this Federal Intelligence Service?! How did they know her true identity?! Were they arresting her to threaten Huo Shao?! She guessed that this Federal Intelligence Service was similar to the Hua Xia Imperial Secret Service or Huo Shao’s Special Operations Forces. In that case, they would be Huo Shao’s existing enemies.
Gu Nianzhi looked down and revealed the creamy expanse of her delicate neck. Reinitz’s home or the Federal Intelligence Service–was that even a question? Were they really not forcing her to go to Reinitz’s house? Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips. Looking up once again, her expression was completely terrified as she grabbed Reinitz’s sleeve. “Reinitz, I’ll… I’ll go with you.”
Reinitz slowly moved his hand to grab Gu Nianzhi’s hand holding onto his sleeve. It was soft and felt almost boneless, smooth and warm. His heart gradually calmed down and completely filled with peace and joy. He only wanted to take her hand, even if he knew she was lying to him… Reinitz knew much better than Als what kind of person Gu Nianzhi was. He actually wanted to laugh when he saw the fearful expression on her intelligent little face… If he hadn’t personally witnessed how Gu Nianzhi held the gun and used one bullet to destroy the enemy’s bike in the Alps, he would certainly have been deceived by her little trick. Reinitz was calm and already had a hint of peculiarity in his heart. He actually liked seeing her rely on him like this…
“Are you sure you want to go with Reinitz?” From the corner of his eye, Als spied them holding hands. Turning away nonchalantly, he looked at the sealed window with a faint smile on his lips. “Who are you to him? How can he take my target from me?”
Gu Nianzhi’s lips twitched as her mind quickly considered what Als was implying.
“Did you hear me? Who are you to him? What right does he have to take you away?” Als turned around and went right up to Gu Nianzhi’s face. “According to law, only direct relatives have a right to take away my targets.”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart sank. Direct relatives? How could an unrelated man and woman be considered direct relatives? Only… husband and wife would be considered direct relatives. What a joke! Gu Nianzhi flushed red and was about to wrench her hand away from Reinitz when he instinctively held her tighter and said to Als, “Als, stop intimidating her. She’s my fiancee, and she’ll come with me. I guarantee she will stay in Germany.”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head. “I…”
Reinitz suddenly hugged her and pressed her head against him to whisper in her ear, “This is for expediency! Shut up!” Gu Nianzhi knew it was a lie but still felt uneasy. Also, how was she staying in Germany? She was a Hua Xia citizen! She must go back! She also had things left to do! She stubbornly stabbed Reinitz’s chest to make him let go. Reinitz released her and shot her a look that told her to stay quiet. Gu Nianzhi could only purse her lips and turn around with her head hung to avoid looking at the two men.
Als averted his gaze and looked at Reinitz with a sneer. “You guarantee? With what? Your life?”
Reinitz was quiet for a long time, and his handsome porcelain face appeared very solemn. He nodded slowly. “Right, with my life. I guarantee on my life that she won’t leave Germany.”
Gu Nianzhi jerked her head up and glared fiercely at Reinitz’s back. Her gaze was so intense, it nearly burned a hole in his back. She wanted to struggle, but Reinitz stuck his hand behind him and gripped her hand even more tightly with an unspoken message to calm down, not speak rashly, and to… entrust everything to him. But how could Gu Nianzhi entrust everything to a man she had known for less than two weeks? There was only one man that she would completely trust in her entire life and no other.
However, Als was eyeing them like prey, and Gu Nianzhi knew what was more important. She would be a goner if she accidentally ended up under house arrest by the Federal Intelligence Service, so she stayed quiet but decided to find a chance to have a serious talk with Reinitz. Not only was claiming her as his fiancee an act of expediency, but she wouldn’t be staying in Germany. Also Als’ words weren’t reasonable, so she wouldn’t be accepting them.
Ignoring Reinitz’s warning glance, she looked up stubbornly and replied to Als, “Colonel, you are being unreasonable, and this is also illegal. I’m not a German citizen, and this is illegal detainment. My family and nation won’t let you do this.”
Als turned around slowly and walked to Reinitz, shoving him aside and sneering at Gu Nianzhi standing behind him. “You’re talking about the law with me? Do you know who I am? Do you know what institution I work for?”
“I don’t care who you are or what institution you work for. It’s peacetime right now. The Hua Xia Empire and Germany are not at war, so you have no right to detain the citizen of another nation. Als, you may be a colonel, but I still have to say that you know nothing about the law. You think you can break the law just because you’re a colonel? You think your Federal Intelligence Service is above the law? Would you dare to say all that to your parliament, government, and citizens?!” Gu Nianzhi raised her head, completely unafraid.
Als looked at her and suddenly burst into laughter. “Hahahahaha…. You’re truly the A-ranked and most sought after target of our Federal Intelligence Service! You’re brave! You’re intelligent! You have a glib tongue! But Miss Gu, did you know that no one has ever dared to speak to me like that!? You want to be the first one?! But I don’t like being lectured like this. Do you want to die?”
Gu Nianzhi shook her head disdainfully. “So what? Kill me if you have the guts to!”
“Kill you? Did you know that as long as I wish it, I can make you suffer a thousand times worse than merely dying!” Als walked up and pinched Gu Nianzhi’s chin again. This time he used half his strength, and her chin immediately turned red and swollen.
Reinitz couldn’t stand watching from the side anymore and grabbed Als’s hand. “Enough! Als, you know that I will do as I say if you have me! Why are you giving her a hard time?”
Als let go, and Gu Nianzhi rubbed her chin with a vicious glare. As long as she could return home alive, she would be sure to exact revenge!
“What are you looking at? You think I won’t beat you?!” Als glared back at her. “I can easily kill you and bury your corpse in the mountains. Who would be able to ask me for you by then?”
Haha, Gu Nianzhi looked at him with disdain. If it was really so simple, they would’ve killed her in the mountains a long time ago! “I’m here, totally defenseless, so there’s no surprise if you kill me. The Germans were able to start two world wars in the first place. Why do you people need a reason to kill a weak woman? What a joke!” Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she brought up the most untouchable part of German history.
As expected, both Reinitz and Als instantly looked uncomfortable, but no one could argue back. Even the sergeants looked at each other uneasily, their loyalties wavering. Gu Nianzhi was even more certain now that these people were German soldiers and also government officials. There was no way they could be like the mercenaries hunting her down on the Alps who would pay any cost or disregard all reputation as long as they could kill her. These people wouldn’t kill her because they weren’t after her life. Gu Nianzhi’s mind worked at lightning speed and practically analyzed Als’ psyche.
Als was stunned silent by Gu Nianzhi. He finally looked at Reinitz and put a fist by his mouth as he cleared his throat. “Fine, you can have your glib tongue, but I don’t care. Tell me, Reinitz’s fiancee, are you coming to jail with me or going home with Reinitz?” He then added, “But you have to remember that if you run away, Reinitz will also be subject to corrective punishment.”
Reinitz pursed his lips, his gaze elsewhere as if he hadn’t heard what Als had said. Gu Nianzhi would certainly not be going to jail. She snorted. “Why do I have to accompany you if you’re going to jail? Of course I’m going with Reinitz.”
“You–!” Als was enraged and raised his hand to strike Gu Nianzhi’s cheek. He didn’t expect this woman to be so mouthy. She needed a beating!
Reinitz gripped Als’ arm once again and warned, “Als! Enough!” Als angrily pushed him away and looked down as he left in a huff. His underlings all scattered behind him, leaving only Gu Nianzhi and Reinitz in the room. The bodyguards at the door turned away and closed the door for them. Gu Nianzhi closed her eyes and could only feel her knees turn into jelly. She instantly slumped on the couch and was speechless for a long time. Reinitz saw this and finally understood the young girl had only acted tough and was already at her limit, but her words had truly shocked him. Most people chose to bow down in the face of power, but she was the only one who chose to challenge the law.
Reinitz looked at her with a conflicted expression, and sometime later, he took his phone to make a call. He went to the fridge to get a jug of milk and poured a glass to heat in the microwave and bring to her. “Drink some milk.” Gu Nianzhi accepted it and downed the glass in one gulp. She cradled the empty glass but still remained quiet. Reinitz stood beside her and held a coffee cup as he looked at the scenery outside the window and said softly, “Come with me Cereus. Come to my home, and I’ll protect you.”
Gu Nianzhi’s mouth twitched, she wanted to tell him that she didn’t need his protection, and she only wanted him to let her go home. But if she left Reinitz now, then her only option was to be brought back to the Federal Intelligence Service by Als. She would truly be trapped forever at that point. Reclining her head, she looked at Reinitz’s sculpturally beautiful profile and his expression that seemed to be beyond all worldly pleasure. She sighed gently. “Thank you, Reinitz.”
Reinitz looked up slightly and began to tidy up Gu Nianzhi’s things. She had been in the hospital for a week or so now, so there were many random items. They had all been purchased by Reinitz. Soon after, someone knocked on the door. Reinitz opened it and Gu Nianzhi turned to see someone delivering two large suitcases. They were Louis Vuitton, sturdy and tough looking suitcases necessary for family vacations. Gu Nianzhi said to Reinitz, “Do I even have that many things? Do we need two suitcases?”
Reinitz was quiet as he pressed his lips together and packed all her belongings into the suitcases. They did end up filling both of them.
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. How embarrassing. She had no idea. Reinitz took her hand to walk out of the room. A bodyguard came in to take the two suitcases and followed behind them. Gu Nianzhi asked Reinitz, “Have the hospitalization fees been paid?”
Reinitz glanced at her. “You’re going to pay if they aren’t paid yet?”
“I think Als should pay, or the German government.” Gu Nianzhi shrugged. “You are holding me hostage here. Don’t tell me you’re not willing to pay for the hospitalization fees? Isn’t that too stingy?”
The words rang strangely in Reinitz’s ears. He walked a few steps and stared straight ahead as he said, “No one is holding you hostage. But you do need our protection here. If I let you go now, you’ll be hunted down in a few days.”
Gu Nianzhi frowned. “Reinitz, I didn’t expect you to sound just like Als.” She felt that her freedom was being restricted, and her jail was merely being swapped from the true jail cell in Als’ Federal Intelligence Service to Reinitz’s home.
Reinitz laughed. “Als would be happy to hear you say that.”
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and stopped speaking. She followed Reinitz to the parking lot, and he walked to a red Aston Martin. Opening the door, he smiled at her. “This is my car. We don’t need to take a cab anymore.”
Reinitz had called a cab when he took Gu Nianzhi to see Mother Hanna at the other hospital. Gu Nianzhi had even asked if he had his own car at the time… Looking at the flashy luxury sports car, she then glanced at Reinitz with a shake of her head. “I didn’t think you were this kind of person, Reinitz.”
Reinitz was speechless. He wasn’t interested in being lecherous, imbibing, gambling, or doing drugs. He just had one small hobby, so why couldn’t he drive a nice car?! They got inside, and the bodyguard put both suitcases into the SUV parked behind. The SUV followed the Aston Martin out of Charlotte Hospital’s parking lot, and they got onto the highway heading out of the city. In less than half an hour, they arrived at a beautiful country villa. It wasn’t very big, but it was much larger than Mother Hanna’s cabin.
