Facing the newly-risen sun, the two jogged side by side on the sidewalk in the hotel area.
Zhao Liangze felt terribly uncomfortable, but he still had to pretend that nothing was wrong and giggle with Bai Shuang.
“…Bai Shuang, when did you suddenly begin to like wearing red clothes? I remember that you used to hate red clothes,” he said.
Bai Shuang squinted her eyes with a smile and said, “Really? I don’t remember what happened before. I think I look good in red now, so I just wear it…”
As she spoke, she ran around Zhao Liangze. “Does it look good? Do I look good in red?” she asked.
She ran out of breath, so her fair face had been tanned into a light honey shade. Her lips were slightly open and plump, unlike most Asians, and her big eyes were brighter and more alluring than the newly risen sun.
In Zhao Liangze’s eyes, her beauty was unparalleled at that moment.
But the more beautiful she was, the more heartbroken Zhao Liangze felt.
Finally, he couldn’t run anymore and gradually slowed down. He said, “I have to go back now. Nianzhi is alone in her room right now, and she will be scared when she wakes up.”
Bai Shuang was slightly jealous. “She is already an adult now. Why do you still treat her like a child?”
“She is not even twenty years old. In my eyes, she is still a little girl who needs to be taken care of.” Zhao Liangze replied coldly, “Unlike you, she can’t stand on her own yet.”
Bai Shuang was stunned speechless.
Her chest rose and fell violently, and after a while, she reluctantly apologized. “That was my fault. I shouldn’t be targeting Gu Nianzhi…” she said.
“You were wrong to begin with. What are you targeting her for?” Zhao Liangze glared at Bai Shuang but couldn’t chastise her anymore when he looked at her sweaty cheeks and listless eyes.
The two stood on the tree-lined path in the hotel area and looked at each other in silence. The sea breeze was blowing from close by, bringing the cool currents from the Atlantic Ocean and blowing away the anxiety in their hearts.
“Have you had breakfast yet?” Zhao Liangze asked after glancing at his watch to break the silence between the two.
Bai Shuang shook her head. “I ran out in a hurry this morning and didn’t eat anything.”
“Come to my place to eat.” Zhao Liangze turned around and began to leave. “I’m going to make breakfast for Gu Nianzhi anyway. The two of us won’t be able to finish the food by ourselves.”
Bai Shuang’s heart warmed, and she followed him with a smile.
When they were halfway back to the hotel, she quietly reached out and took Zhao Liangze’s hand.
Zhao Liangze’s footsteps paused for a moment, but he did not shake off Bai Shuang’s hand. He let her hold his and looked straight ahead as he continued to walk forward.
However, Zhao Liangze held Bai Shuang’s hand in return by the time they reached the entrance to the apartment-style hotel’s courtyard where he and Gu Nianzhi stayed.
The two didn’t let go of each other’s hands until they walked into the kitchen.
…
Gu Nianzhi was awakened by the strong, delicious scent of rice porridge.
Removing the blankets, she went to the bathroom to quickly wash up before changing into gym clothes and going to the dining room.
The hotel suite was the so-called open concept style kitchen. The dining room and the kitchen were almost integrated and merely separated by a set of sofas.
Standing at the dining room entrance, Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help but blink when she saw two busy figures in the kitchen.
She recognized Zhao Liangze’s figure, and the woman who was busying herself beside him and wearing red gym clothes seemed to be Bai Shuang.
What was she doing in their kitchen so early in the morning?
Gu Nianzhi walked in suspiciously and knocked on the kitchen counter. “Good morning, Brother Ze,” she said.
Zhao Liangze looked around. “Are you up now? Did you wash your face and brush your teeth yet?”
“I did.” Gu Nianzhi nodded and looked at the woman in red gym clothes standing next to him.
It really was Bai Shuang.
Bai Shuang turned her head and gave a flattering smile as she said, “Nianzhi, you’re up? Why didn’t you sleep a little longer? Breakfast will be ready soon.”
The corners of Gu Nianzhi’s mouth twitched. “Good morning, Miss Bai.”
She walked to the dining room and sat down. Rubbing her phone, she tried to figure out when Huo Shaoheng would be coming.
But after waiting all morning, there was no news from Huo Shaoheng.
After eating breakfast, Bai Shuang stayed with them for a while and kept looking in the direction of the door with great anticipation. However, no one came in.
Gu Nianzhi and Zhao Liangze both knew what she was looking forward to, so they were feeling very conflicted.
Gu Nianzhi still felt some hope for Bai Shuang.
Zhao Liangze had almost completely given up on her.
Being able to be with Bai Shuang for one more second right now meant that he would have one more second of memories in the future.
He knew that he truly had no future with her now…
The three of them were talking endlessly about mundane things in the living room. It was almost noon, but Huo Shaoheng still had not arrived.
Bai Shuang was just contemplating if she should find a reason to stay a while longer when her phone rang.
She picked it up to see that it was Li Dexi’s secret number.
Bai Shuang stood up calmly and said with a smile, “My team captain needs me for something. I will get going now.”
After walking a few steps, she asked again, “When do you plan to go to the bank? Just let me know if you need any help.”
Zhao Liangze also stood up and replied calmly, “Since a guest was here the whole time, we were unable to say anything and try to leave. Now that the guest is leaving, we can go out to the bank.”
He was using a very strange tone and treating Bai Shuang like a guest.
Bai Shuang’s face paled, and her lips trembled fiercely. The tears in her eyes nearly fell.
Instead, she took a deep breath and looked up at the crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling.
Suppressing her tears, she said, “I’m sorry about wasting your time.”
She turned and left in a hurry, so Zhao Liangze also went out with Gu Nianzhi.
…
By the time Bai Shuang returned to her hotel room, she had already recovered.
She smiled and opened the door to see Li Dexi sitting on the sofa in her living room. Four muscular men in black suits stood in a line behind him.
These four muscular men wore sunglasses and obviously looked like Germans.
Bai Shuang nodded. “Mr. Li Dexi, what’s the matter?”
Li Dexi smiled and said, “I should ask you this. You have a very good relationship with Gu Nianzhi and have stayed with them all morning.”
Bai Shuang smiled and replied, “Of course. I already told you in the beginning that the two of them are easy to deal with, but Huo Shaoheng is a lot harder.”
After saying this, her expression sank. “Huo Shaoheng hasn’t come yet. He is so cunning; will he not fall for the bait?”
Li Dexi had been paying close attention to Bai Shuang’s expression, so no movement escaped his scrutiny.
He could see that Bai Shuang had no professional training, so she was not very skilled in many areas.
But because of what happened with her father, she was destined not to stand with the Huaxia Empire again.
Li Dexi was very reassured in terms of this about Bai Shuang, but he was just worried that she was not experienced enough. Things would be bad if Zhao Liangze and the others saw through her.
After repeatedly asking Bai Shuang about Zhao Liangze and Gu Nianzhi, he was convinced that she had not exposed herself. Li Dexi nodded in satisfaction and said, “You don’t need to worry about Huo Shaoheng. He has already arrived at Cape Town.”
Bai Shuang’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really? He came already?!” she asked.
“Yes.” Li Dexi stood up. “Do you know when they will do it? You have to follow them.”
The corners of Bai Shuang’s eyes twitched, and she whispered, “They are going to the bank now. I will let them go first, and if you need help, I will take action when the time comes.”
Li Dexi was even more satisfied now. “Well, don’t appear too eager. It’s best if they come to you, begging you for help.”
From Li Dexi’s perspective, the other party might be suspicious if Bai Shuang took the initiative to go with them.
But if the other party was helpless, Bai Shuang could gain their trust again by lending them a hand.
Bai Shuang’s eyes flickered as she said, “…But how can I help them? How about you give me the key to that bank safety deposit box, and I will look for a chance to pretend that I got it from the bank?”
Li Dexi sighed and shook his head. “If I had the key, I wouldn’t have spent all this effort to lure them here.”
“Oh? You don’t have the key? That… Then… It would be pointless if they can’t open the bank safe!” Bai Shuang blurted out. She felt very nervous.
She never guessed that Li Dexi didn’t have the key either…
But in Li Dexi’s eyes, even though the items in the bank safe were very valuable, Gu Nianzhi was still the most important thing.
If he could kidnap Gu Nianzhi and use her for research, the data might as well be scrap paper.
Could data from more than half a century ago even compare to having a living person and specimen?
Gu Nianzhi had everything they wanted.
But he would not tell Bai Shuang all this.
Li Dexi and Bai Shuang also had a common enemy – Huo Shaoheng.
Bai Shuang wanted to kill Huo Shaoheng because she had to avenge her father’s death.
Li Dexi wanted to kill Huo Shaoheng purely because of Gu Nianzhi.
He understood clearly that he had to kill Huo Shaoheng first in order to fully possess Gu Nianzhi.
Otherwise, he would face Huo Shaoheng’s ubiquitous pursuit to the ends of the earth.
He would spend the rest of his life hiding away.
If that was the case, then what was the point of taking Gu Nianzhi?
He would never be able to sit down to do research, let alone produce any results.
Truthfully speaking, Li Dexi was not confident that he could survive a fight with Huo Shaoheng.
He felt that the most important thing for him was to hide in the shadows and use various traitors to kill Huo Shaoheng.
From the previous Hong Kangquan to the current Bai Shuang, they were all lethal weapons Li Dexi was prepared to use to kill Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng was lucky last time, so he was able to escape even the logic-defying magnetic field on the ocean.
This time, they were thousands of miles away from the Huaxia Empire. Li Dexi was anxious to see who else would be rescuing him and Gu Nianzhi.
With an eager smile on his face, he walked to Bai Shuang and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Gu Nianzhi is very smart. I am sure that she will be able to find a way to open the safe.”
Bai Shuang pursed her lips and asked dubiously, “…But they have no credentials or identification. How can they find that safe?”
She was afraid that they wouldn’t even be able to enter the basement where the safes were located.
“Hahahaha… That’s up to you, my dear,” Li Dexi said with a snap of his fingers.
One of the four bodyguards behind the sofa took off his sunglasses, and came to Li Dexi’s side.
Li Dexi pointed to him and said to Bai Shuang, “This is an executive of that French bank, but he actually works for me. He has the credentials to the safes and a topographic map of the basement. What do you think? Find a chance to leak this information to Gu Nianzhi and Zhao Liangze. When they come back from the bank, it will be the moment you take action.”
At that moment, Gu Nianzhi and Zhao Liangze had already arrived at the bank.
The two of them walked around in the lobby without asking a word about the safes. Instead, they only asked about opening an account and then sat down in the lounge area with the excuse that they were waiting for someone.
They took out their phones and sat on opposite ends of the sofa as they started playing on their phones.
They actually connected to the free WiFi that the bank provided to their customers and hacked into their network.
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