Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“You’re welcome.” The young man adjusted her blankets. “Are you hungry? You slept all day. Do you want some food? This is a bar, so we only have some snacks. I can get something for you. What do you want?”
Gu Nianzhi was completely famished and felt as thin as paper now. Pursing her lips, she whispered, “Anything would be fine. I’m not picky.”
“Ok.” The young man’s smile grew. “I’ll buy it for you.”
Gu Nianzhi looked up and suddenly said, “Can I ask to use your phone for a bit?”
“Ok.” The young man generously handed his phone over without question. It was also an iPhone but an older model. In order to not make Gu Nianzhi feel embarrassed, he even offered compassionately, “Take your time, there’s no rush. Get in touch with the nunnery, and I’ll get some food for you.”
He really thought she was a nun? Gu Nianzhi was speechless. After he left, Gu Nianzhi was alone in the room. She opened the phone app and dialed He Zhichu’s number. Just like the other day, it kept ringing, but no one picked up nor was there an option to leave a voicemail. Listening to “Forever” playing, Gu Nianzhi rubbed the phone quietly and had a new understanding of her situation. She gave up calling him. She thought that regardless if Professor He had returned from home yet or not, she probably wouldn’t be able to reach him. And Gu Nianzhi didn’t dare call Smith or her colleagues because of the Trojan virus. Lastly, she would never call Huo Shaoheng, Yin Shixiong, or Zhao Liangze’s numbers from a stranger’s phone. Who else could she call?
As Gu Nianzhi frowned in deep thought, she finally thought of Ma Qiqi! She could call Ma Qiqi! She now knew that the person behind it all had a deep understanding of her situation, so that was also why they wouldn’t be prepared against a regular person like Ma Qiqi. Compared to the other people in Gu Nianzhi’s life, Ma Qiqi was a nobody. For the person planning all this, Ma Qiqi had just a minor role that could be completely ignored, and it was because of this that Gu Nianzhi could try to outsmart them.
She needed to try to see if she could tear an opening out of the omnipresent web that surrounded her. That way, she could escape and see the sun again. Gu Nianzhi never expected Ma Qiqi to be her last lifeline when she got into trouble! She anxiosuly started to dial Ma Qiq’s number, but as soon as she input it, the German mobile operator sent a text notification saying that the phone was not enabled for international roaming, so it was unable to connect the call.
Gu Nianzhi rubbed her chin and finally felt the evil power of the god of destiny. She had finally found someone generous enough to loan her a phone, but then it was unable to make international calls! Of course, she knew that it was very expensive to make international calls, and the young man probably didn’t come from a wealthy background if he worked at a bar in a dingy little village. Gu Nianzhi didn’t want him to receive a ridiculous phone bill because of her one call. However, the point was that even if she paid the bill herself in order to enable international calls, it would still take some time to work.
Since she couldn’t make the call, Gu Nianzhi looked down at the phone screen and casually swiped until she saw a familiar app. Her heart hammered. Never did she expect that the most popular Hua Xia instant messaging app would be installed on the young man’s phone! This was the app that she wanted to install the night before on the bar owner’s laptop but didn’t get a chance to! Back in the Hua Xia Empire, she had heard that the app was also very popular abroad but assumed it was an exaggeration. Now she knew it was the truth.
However, Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes as she secretly mused, what a coincidence! Right, so even though she couldn’t make international calls, she was still able to go on an instant messaging app. See, what a coincidence? Gu Nianzhi had a wry smile on her lips as she tapped the app open and entered her campus username and password to quickly log in. It should be sometime around 9pm in the Hua Xia Empire right now. Gu Nianzhi quickly opened her friends list and didn’t hesitate to send a message when she saw Ma Qiqi’s icon lit up. However, Ma Qiqi didn’t seem to be there and was only showing as online. She waited a bit and didn’t get to receive a reply before she heard footsteps outside—someone was here. Gu Nianzhi had no choice but to change her plans. She opened a chat and quickly said to the camera, “Qiqi! Qiqi I’m in Berlin! Help me!” She then sent it off quickly before logging off right away and spending a few seconds to clear her login history.
Just as she set the phone down, the door opened. The blonde bar owner smiled as she walked in with a first aid kit. “You finally woke up.”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and smoothed her hair. “Thank you for taking me in again. I… I took your baseball bat and left 50 US dollars. Did you see it?”
“Yes, what a deal!” The bar owner winked at her. “I only spent 15 euros to get that baseball bat and have used it for a few years. Factoring in depreciation, that was a great deal!”
Gu Nianzhi nodded and replied calmly. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to have something to protect myself on me. If it wasn’t for that bat…” She stroked the baseball bat by the bed. “I wouldn’t have survived to see you again.”
The bar owner grew serious at those words. “What’s your name? The police are still looking for you, and they also discovered four bodies in the little forest over there. Apparently, they are all Chinese.” As she spoke, she studied Gu Nianzhi with a look of disbelief. She couldn’t believe that this tiny girl, who was so thin she could get blown away by the wind, would be able to kill four strong grown men!
Worry flashed across Gu Nianzhi’s face when she recalled what the police said last night. She was worried that two of the four dead men were Special Operations Forces personnel. There was no doubt the other two were evil and deserved to die! If that was the case, then the Special Ops must know she was in trouble and had been using satellite tracking to locate her. However, they were killed by those two evil men, which meant the mole within the Special Ops was colluding with the person hunting her down. The mole would figure out her location and tell the people hunting her her whereabouts. Gu Nianzhi’s expression darkened. She raised her hand to slowly rub her diamond earrings.
The bar owner sighed when Gu Nianzhi remained silent. Half her face was swollen, and she also had abrasions from bullets on her arms. “Don’t worry. There’s no way you killed them. Here, I’ll change your dressing.” As she spoke, she opened the bar’s first aid kit and took out gauze and medication. She leaned over to remove the bandages on Gu Nianzhi’s left arm.
Gu Nianzhi reacted and discreetly covered her left arm. “That’s ok. You can leave the things here, and I’ll change it myself in a bit.”
“You can change it yourself?” The bar owner didn’t insist. After setting the things down, she said, “I heard the rumors that two of the dead were resisting the police and were killed by them. The other two had their throats slit by the two killed by the police.”
“Oh? Are you sure?” Gu Naiznhi straightened her back, her expression nervous. “How did the police know that?”
“Very simple. I heard that the two men killed by the police had knives on them. Their fingerprints were also on them, along with blood from the men who had their throats slit. They knew as soon as they did the comparison. So this case is closed, and you don’t have to worry. It had nothing to do with you,” the bar owner reassured her kindly.
Gu Nianzhi smiled, but it pulled at the wound her face and made her gasp. “Nothing to do with me? They beat me up, and I only regret not getting revenge myself.”
The bar owner was curious. “Who beat you? The two men who had their throats slit or the two killed by the police?”
“The two killed by the police.” Gu Niazhi shrugged. “It should be them. Honestly, if you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have known there were two other people from earlier.”
“Is that so?” The bar owner nodded and stood up. “Then you rest, I’ll be going now.” She said, “Remember to change your dressing.”
Gu Nianzhi agreed and watched her leave. As soon as the bar owner left, the blonde young man buying her food came back. He carried a paper bag with an “M” on it. It was McDonald’s fast food. Gu Nianzhi laughed. Fine, there was a McDonald’s here, too?
The young man set the paper bag on the nightstand and said to her, “I rode my bike there, so it’s still hot. Do you want to eat it right now?”
“Thank you.” Gu Nianzhi nodded slightly and accepted the paper bag to take out the box. She wrapped a piece of fried chicken in a napkin to pass to the young man. “Here, eat with me.”
It was already past 3pm, so it was time for a snack. The young man didn’t pretend to be polite and gobbled up the fried chicken from Gu Nianzhi. She also gave him some fries and poured half the box of milk from McDonald’s for him so he got to have a bit of everything. She smiled as she watched him eat all the food before slowly taking some for herself. The young man looked very honest and was even embarrassed in the end. “I’m sorry. I actually finished eating before you.”
“No problem.” Gu Nianzhi smiled at him. “My face is swollen, so it takes me a long time to eat. It’s normal that you ate faster than me.”
The young man laughed as he asked her, “You still need my phone?”
“Oh, I’m done. No thanks.” Gu Nianzhi pointed to the phone by her pillow. “Thanks a lot.”
She kept thanking him, and the young man was delighted. “I’m glad I could help you.” He looked sympathetically at Gu Nianzhi. This nun was all beat up and was too scared to even call the police…
