No. 19 Qiaodong Road, Hongqiao District, a two-and-a-half-room blue brick house, is where Jiang Xinyu lives.
Although the exterior of the house is very old, the interior decoration is decent. The bedrooms and living rooms are all covered with floors, and all kinds of furniture and daily necessities are complete. The most important thing is a telephone.
Jiang Xinyu unlocked the door and stepped across a small piece of carpet spread at the door. The carpet was sprinkled with incense ash. If someone sneaked in, they would leave footprints on the floor. This was an indispensable preventive measure for secret agents.
Jiang Xinyu sat tiredly on the sofa, gently rubbing his temples with his hands to relax his nerves. After eating a meal, he had passed another test. If he didn't say a word correctly, it would arouse Hattori Hikoo's suspicion.
"Ring ring ring ring!" The phone on the table rang.
Jiang Xinyu picked up the phone: "Hello?"
"Excuse me, is this Jiang Xinyu's family?"
"I am Jiang Xinyu, and you are... Miss Mei Na, right?"
"Yes."
"How do you know my home phone number?"
"I asked the police."
"Oh, what's the matter?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot to return your clothes today."
Jiang Xinyu laughed dumbly: "Miss Mei Nai, is this why you called so late?"
"A person's credibility is very important. I said I would return the clothes to you today, but I didn't do it. Of course I have to explain the reason to you."
"It really doesn't matter... Uh, where are the clothes? I'll pick them up tomorrow."
"...Should I send it to you?"
"No need to bother, just tell me the address."
"Actually, when I went to see Ayako yesterday, I brought my clothes with me, but I forgot to take them down."
"At Miss Ayako's place?"
"Um."
"What room number does she live in?"
"No. 87."
"Okay, tell Miss Ayako that tomorrow morning... around nine o'clock, I will go over to pick up the clothes."
"If you don't have time..."
"I have time. Thanks to Major Hattori's special care, the police station gave me three days' leave."
"Okay then, goodbye..."
"goodbye."
…………
The next day, Jiang Xinyu rode his bicycle to the front of the Asia Hotel. He locked the bicycle against the wall and walked into the lobby.
"Waiter."
"Hello, sir, how can I help you?"
"Which floor is room 87 on?"
"Go up to the fourth floor, turn right and keep walking."
"Thanks."
Jiang Xinyu went up to the fourth floor and walked forward slowly in the order of the room numbers, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87...
"Dudu!" Jiang Xinyu reached out and knocked on the door.
The door mirror dimmed, and the door opened immediately. Yamaguchi Ayako, wearing a Chinese suit, stood inside the door: "Hello, Officer Jiang."
"Hello, Miss Ayako, I'm here to pick up my clothes. Did Miss Mina tell you?"
"come in."
Yamaguchi Ayako let Jiang Xinyu into the room. She walked to the window and opened the curtains, making a gesture of invitation: "Officer Jiang, sit down wherever you want."
Jiang Xinyu sat on the sofa and took the tea bowl handed over by Yamaguchi Ayako: "Thank you... How long has Miss Ayako lived in Northeast China?"
Yamaguchi Ayako smiled and said: "Officer Jiang, that place is now called Manchuria."
"Oh, yes, yes, I made a mistake."
"I stayed in Manchuria for a full ten years, so my Chinese may have a bit of a local accent."
"Oh... where is Miss Ayako's family?"
"Yes, we were among the first batch of Japanese immigrants to Manchuria and Mongolia. We first lived in Xinmin. When I was ten years old, my family encountered bandits on the way to Shenyang, and my parents were unfortunately killed..."
"I'm sorry for bringing up your sadness."
"It's nothing, it's been so many years..."
"Gudong!"
Suddenly there was a sound from next door, like the sound of someone jumping down from a high place and stepping on the floor.
Jiang Xinyu pointed to the wall: "Are you okay?"
"It's okay. A family of three lives in the next room. The child is seven or eight years old. He is very naughty and always makes all kinds of noises."
“Is the sound insulation effect of the rooms in such a luxurious hotel so poor?”
"The fourth floor is just an ordinary guest room. I heard it is divided into two rooms, so the walls are very thin. The VIP room on the fifth floor is twice as big as this, and it is said that the sound insulation is very good."
"So that's it..."
Yamaguchi Ayako suddenly smiled and said: "Yesterday at the banquet, Officer Jiang admitted that he was a person who was afraid of death, but some people didn't think so."
Jiang Xinyu thought for a moment and said, "Is it Miss Mei Nai?"
Yamaguchi Ayako covered her mouth and smiled: "You guys really have a good understanding."
Jiang Xinyu: "Actually, whether you are afraid of death or not, it's all relative terms. I just don't want to die if it's too worthless."
Yamaguchi Ayako's eyes flashed: "What does it mean to be worthless?"
"If you take the gendarmerie car back just to show off in front of your colleagues and be targeted by the rebels because of this, I think it has no value."
Yamaguchi Ayako nodded slightly and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Jiang Xinyu stood up: "Miss Ayako, it's time for me to take my leave after interrupting you for so long."
Yamaguchi Ayako said quickly: "Please wait a moment, Mina should be arriving soon."
"Tuk-tuk! Tuk-tuk!"
Before she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside. Yamaguchi Ayako walked over and took a look through the door mirror, and then opened the door. Maybe she was walking in a hurry, Hattori Mina's chest was heaving and she was panting slightly.
Yamaguchi Ayako joked: "Mina, I spent a lot of time to keep him for you, how should you thank me? (Japanese)"
Hattori Mina's face turned red and she whispered: "What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't let you keep him... (Japanese)"
Yamaguchi Ayako: "Stop being reserved, don't I understand you yet? (Japanese)"
While they were talking, the two people walked into the living room.
Hattori Mina bowed and said, "Hello, Officer Jiang."
"Hello, Miss Mina."
Yamaguchi Ayako: "Mina, I remember you don't like tea. Would you like the waiter to bring a pot of coffee?"
Hattori Mina waved her hands repeatedly: "No, tea is also good."
Jiang Xinyu: "You two ladies, let's talk. I have something else to do, so I won't accompany you."
Yamaguchi Ayako looked at Hattori Mina and made a helpless expression.
There was a trace of disappointment in Hattori Mina's eyes, but she quickly adjusted her mood and said: "Officer Jiang, wait a moment, I will give you the clothes."
She walked to the closet, opened the closet door and took a look, then turned around and asked, "Ayako, where are Officer Jiang's clothes?"
Yamaguchi Ayako walked over, gently closed the cabinet door without leaving a trace, and said, "I took it out a long time ago, it's on the clothes hanger."
As the cabinet door opened and closed, Jiang Xinyu saw a black leather suitcase placed inside. He felt strange. He seemed to have seen the same suitcase somewhere...