Chapter 35: Still picked it out

Liu Ying placed a listening device in her own room; Chen Yongren was not surprised at all.

It was just right to pretend not to know about the listening device, set off more smoke bombs, and disturb the Party Affairs Office's vision.

Want to get information from this young master's body?

Go ahead with your spring and autumn big dream!

Liu Ying actually also placed one in Liu Shuyun's room.

Could it be that she's worried I'll abduct Liu Shuyun?

"Since that's the case, I'll accept the gift, and don't waste money next time." As Chen Yongren was about to leave, Liu Ying reluctantly took the gift.

"Yes!" Chen Yongren replied obediently.

"Aunt, quickly open and see what gift it is." Liu Shuyun sat beside Liu Ying, without further ado opened the box, delighted: "Twin Sisters brand perfume, rose scent!"

"Aunt, look, this is still the highest grade, a bottle of perfume costs over ten silver dollars."

"A Ren, you're quite good at picking."

After a pause, Liu Shuyun seemed to realize something, looked at Chen Yongren, and reached out her hand.

"You just know how to make my aunt happy, right!"

"Where's my gift!"

"Wasn't this morning's meal the gift? All the essence went to you," Chen Yongren muttered, turned and took the small gift box from Zhang Haifeng's hand, and said with a smile.

"Look how anxious you are, your gift is here."

Liu Shuyun's eyes lit up, she immediately took the gift and quickly opened it.

Inside was also a bottle of perfume.

However, Liu Ying's bottle was rose-scented, the fragrance as rich as a blazing fire, matching Liu Shuyun's age of over forty, a mature woman.

But Liu Shuyun's bottle was rosemary-scented, the fragrance fresh, exactly suitable for Liu Shuyun, this kind of young girl.

No, it's a woman.

Even earlier on the train, Liu Shuyun underwent a transformation with Chen Yongren's help.

"Next time I also want rose scent." Liu Shuyun snorted: "For now, I'll consider you passed."

"It's already good enough to receive a gift, and you even picked it out." Chen Yongren said hypocritically: "Then shouldn't I properly thank you for letting me go?"

"Of course." Liu Shuyun said: "Then I'll punish you to accompany me out shopping tomorrow."

Liu Ying stood up and said: "All right, Shuyun, stop fooling around, bring the guests to sit, prepare to eat."

Hearing that, Liu Shuyun oh'ed, obediently brought Chen Yongren and Zhang Haifeng to sit.

Soon, A Cai brought the dishes to the table.

Braised lion's head, simmering crab congee, Hangzhou pepper beef, braised bamboo shoots, Hangzhou soy sauce duck, Dongpo pork, Shaoxing sesame duck and other classic Jiangnan dishes filled the table.

Liu Ying sat at the head seat.

Liu Shuyun sat on the right side of the table.

Chen Yongren and Zhang Haifeng sat on the left side.

"A Ren, I forgot to ask yesterday—what are you two planning to do in Shanghai?" Liu Ying said calmly.

Zhang Haifeng didn't know what to say, just buried himself in eating rice to ease his emotions.

"It's not that I want to do some small business." Chen Yongren feigned helplessness: "I ran around outside all day today and still don't know what to do."

"Nowadays, no business is easy to run; losing a bit of money is nothing, but make sure you don't drag yourself down too." Liu Ying spoke in the tone of someone who's been there.

Liu Ying's inner voice sounded.

"Small business?"

"Probably a knife-licking-blood kind of business."

"Young, yet quite slippery."

"But seeing him dare to come back, he surely hasn't noticed that there's a problem with my and Shuyun's identities."

"No, I already knew that; it's just that this place is safer. Chen Yongren added in his mind, and said aloud: 'Yes, Aunt Liu, I and Haifeng will be careful.'"

During this time, Liu Ying still asked questions indirectly, all of which Chen Yongren resolved one by one.

After eating and drinking to fullness, the servant A Cai came out to clear the table.

The several people each returned to their rooms to rest.

Liu Ying eagerly eavesdropped on Chen Yongren and them's conversation, wanting to know what they did today.

Chen Yongren pushed open the room door, turned on the hanging lamp, then immediately quickly closed the door.

He lifted the foot mat.

Originally, the osmanthus cake scattered underneath had mostly been trampled flat.

Chen Yongren had long known the house had a problem; now he merely found a reasonable excuse to let Zhang Haifeng believe it too.

"Haifeng, what do you think about today's Hongkou matter?" Chen Yongren asked deliberately.

Today's note left Hongkou, and Liu Ying also knew the two were agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

If they were still discussing business, it would clearly be telling Liu Ying that they knew there was a problem in this house.

It was entirely being clever in a foolish way, overdoing the act.

Since they wanted to fish, they also needed to lay some bait, letting the fish get a taste of sweetness.

Upon hearing that, Zhang Haifeng immediately understood: "What's there to see? It's just a wasted trip with no result; I said you couldn't find anything there, but you refuse to believe."

This time Zhang Haifeng actually showed more caution, cleaning up all the food scraps under the foot mat.

Seeing that, Chen Yongren nodded satisfactorily.

This guy also counts as having grown up.

"Catching Japanese spies isn't like that—those beasts won't have 'I'm a spy, come catch me' written on them." Chen Yongren said.

"That would be fine, saves us from having to search again one by one." Zhang Haifeng said helplessly.

The two of them exchanged words, putting on an act.

Chen Yongren searched earnestly indoors, and finally found a bug on the chandelier.

The bug's wires were mixed with the normal wiring; if you didn't look closely, it was basically impossible to notice.

Chen Yongren pointed at the chandelier to Zhang Haifeng.

Zhang Haifeng immediately understood; the bug was on the chandelier.

"I don't believe those Japanese spies would just let it go; now they don't know where the cat is, plotting something." Chen Yongren said.

"Forget it, forget it, take a bath and sleep; tomorrow we'll keep staking them out in Hongkou, I don't believe we can't find them!" Zhang Haifeng said impatiently.

Chen Yongren said: "Exactly, our comrades can't die in vain; we must make those Japanese spies pay with their lives!"

……

In the darkroom.

This room only had a dim chandelier and a desk.

Two listening devices were placed on the desk.

One monitored Chen Yongren and Zhang Haifeng; the other monitored Liu Shuyun.

A Cai held the listening earpiece in one hand and recorded the conversation of Chen Yongren and Zhang Haifeng in a notebook with the other.

When there was no sound in the earpiece, she checked it thoroughly again, then immediately handed the note to Liu Ying.

Liu Ying took the note, saw its content, and slightly frowned.

The content was quite ordinary: just an exchange between two young agents who returned empty-handed.

"A Cai, what do you think?" Liu Ying asked.

A Cai said: "Master, these are all normal conversations."

"There is no discernible pattern, nor does it resemble any kind of encryption,"

"Both inside and outside the words express that they want to take revenge on the Japanese spies."

"What could we possibly pick up from just one day of monitoring?" Liu Ying directly said: "Keep monitoring."

"Yes!" A Cai said.

Liu Ying turned her attention back to her earpiece, but suddenly heard the sound of a door opening.

"This girl, where is she heading?"

Liu Ying was puzzled.

A Cai beside her suddenly said: "The door to Chen Yongren's room is open."

"It sounds like the young lady's voice?"

"Young lady?"

Liu Ying immediately snatched the earpiece from A Cai's hand, put it to her ear, and just caught a sentence.

"A Ren, my waist hurts again today; could you give me another rub?"