A '007' Story - Chinese Style - II

Looking at the dishes on the dining table: ‘Dong-An Chicken (東安雞)’ – tender pieces of chicken with red pepper, green onion and yellow ginger – it looked so good even without tasting it yet; ‘Stir-fried Kidney with Onion (洋蔥炒腰花)’ – my favor; ‘Dong-Po Pork (東坡扣肉)’; ‘Stir-fried Bamboo Shots, Dried Mushroom and Preserved Cabbage (炒三冬)’ – 2 famous Hunan dishes; and a ‘Yellow Croaker with Preserved Vegetable Soup (黃魚鹹菜大湯)’.

After a few rounds of toast, Ya-Ping got up and walked into her bedroom to change, I asked the maid to bring us rice, but she stopped her to suggest we would have more drinks later. I was thinking if I should take the opportunity to get her drunk, send the maid away, look for the key, and find the envelope to finish my mission. On the second thought, this may not be the best strategy – I should not take advantage of her friendship to harm her health; or maybe she could take more drinks than I do which means I would get drunk before she does. If I only kept on asking her to drink and not drinking myself, it might arouse her suspicion. Different approaches made me indecisive. I also knew that there is no moral when it comes to spy work. I have to use whatever means to complete my mission, but the extreme measure is for real enemies. General Dai told me that we only suspected she works for Japanese, but found no evidence to substantiate. If she were a Japanese spy and I could succeed, it would show that I am more skillful; or she were not a spy, I could continue to be her close friend and it won’t affect my official duties.

When she came out of her room, she asked the maid to bring another bottle of Whisky. I stopped her and asked for rice instead. I said to her:
“We had enough wine tonight. You should not drink any more because of your health. Overdoing it would worsen your poor health. You should take easy.
“There is an old saying ‘Half-blossom flowers are the prettiest, so are half-drunk women (花未全開酒半酣)’.”
This convinced her not to drink any more.

We went to ‘Li-Do (麗都)’ Dancing Club after the dinner. ‘Li-Do’ Club had mirrored walls so every dancer could see themselves while circling the dance floor. It looked like a ‘merry-go-round’. Many small gardens surrounded the dancing floor that makes you feel you were dancing in a huge beautiful garden. We then moved to ‘Hsien-Lok-S (仙樂斯)’ where they had the best band in town with very comfortable sofas under dim lights – most suitable for young couples. We took a table close to the stage, not dancing much. She used her pretty watery eyes to stare at me, showing me her deep passion toward me. I talked to her softly to soothe her little sadness and brought her some cheer. We left the club when the band was playing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ – the theme song from the movie ‘Waterloo Bridge (魂斷藍橋)’ and got a cab to take her home. At her building, she held my hand to say goodbye:
“It is late and I have to get up early tomorrow to shop. It had been a long day and I am exhausted, so are you. You should get back to your hotel and rest.”
In order to finish my assignment, I had to hold on any possible opportunity, so I said to her:
“It is too late to find a cab at this hour. Could I stay at your place and sleep on the sofa tonight?”
But she brushed me off and told me that there was a cab company just around the corner where I could find a cab. She also reminded me not to forget our affection to each other. I had no choice but to wish her a goodnight. I said that I would call her the next day.

Returned to the hotel room, I was thinking about what had been happening between us – her deep passion and my impasse in fulfilling my mission. Counting the days General Dai had been gone and there were only 48 hours left. It was the first field mission General Dai assigned me and I should not fail. I regret that I got caught by my own emotions, not be able to get Ya-Ping drunk to steal that document.

Further analysis made me regret that I didn’t get to know her better, to understand her real identity to find a better way to achieve my mission. I finally decided that I should try to accomplish the task the next day.

I woke up at 9 and went out shopping for personal items, and returned to hotel by noon. A quarter passed 12, Ya-Ping called, asking me if I was mad at her having turned me down the night prior? I replied:
“Not only I wasn’t mad at you, but admire your cool head for not getting us step out of bound.”
She invited me over for lunch, which pleased me and gave me another chance to try to get my hand on that envelope.

I was sitting at her dining table half-an-hour later to enjoy our lunch. We chatted on the sofa afterward. She told me what were her plans for the day – watching the movie ‘La Traviata (茶花女)’ at ‘Da-Guan-Ming (大光明)’ Theater; having tea at ‘Fei-Da (飛達)’ Coffee Shop; Dinning at ‘Tao-Lok-Chun (陶樂春)’ Restaurant for Szechwan cuisine; followed by taking a stroll at ‘French Park’; and then accompanying her to ‘Bai-Lok-Men’ Club.

At the theater, Ya-Ping was touched and sobbing by the scene that the father of the main actor went to his son’s girlfriend’s apartment to break up their relationship, I handed her a handkerchief and a cigarette from my newly bought ‘Longine’ gold cigarette case and lit it for her. I took the purse from her hand and said to her:
“I just learned how to smoke, but have no urge and not using this case much. I would like you to have it as a souvenir.”
I opened the purse and stick the case into it.

We found a quiet corner table at ‘Fei-Da’ and ordered coffee and hotdogs. We chitchatted and laughed as if there were only two of us in existence. It was 6 o’clock when I checked my wristwatch. I asked her if we should go for dinner?

At ‘Tao-Lok-Chun’, I asked her why did she choose this restaurant? She said:
“You told me that you heard about me at this restaurant when we first met. I wanted to see if any guests here would mention any other pretty dancer so I could introduce you to her so you could have another friend.”
I knew she was teasing me, but we had lovely time at the dinner. I always liked Szechwan cuisine. I felt lucky that our relationship became more personal.

At ‘French Park’, we sat on the grass, leaning on each other, talking softly, and admiring the clear, starred sky. She put her two fingers on my mouth when I tried to say something, signaling me to enjoy the quiet and beautiful surroundings.

It was getting a bit chilly after half-an-hour, I suggested we should head back to the Dancing Club and she agreed.

After two dances, she urged me to leave. I asked her why. She said:
“I have to entertain other quests and I don’t want you get jealous.”
She saw me off at the door; I asked if I could see her the next day. She said to wait for her call at ‘New Asia’.

It was near 10 when I got back to the hotel. Someone was knocking on the door when I was ready for bath. I took out my pistol on right hand and opened the door with my left slowly. It was a female colleague who brought me a General Dai’s letter from Hung-Chou. The letter stated:
“Shiu-Yuan (my real name): I finished my business mostly, but still need 3, 4 days before coming back to Shanghai. How is your assignment coming along? You should use your brain to complete this mission, not by force; especially you have to separate your personal emotion from the work and not bringing on any extra baggage. Wish you luck.”
I was relieved after having read the letter. I felt lucky that I didn’t get Ya-Ping drunk at my birthday celebration to get the document; now I have a few extra days to finish my mission. Maybe I could plan better to accomplish this duty.

I went out to run some errands the next morning. 5 minutes after returning to my room, I got Ya-Ping’s phone call, asking me if I had decided when to leave? Whether I would like to meet with her today? I told her that I haven’t decided when to leave yet, maybe in a few days; I would also be delighted to see her today. We set the time and location. While I was waiting for her reply, an idea popped up in my head:
“Since you cooked so well, could I come to your place for dinner tonight? But not too elaborate, please.”
She gladly accepted my self-invitation and asked me to come early, like 4 o’clock.

Arriving at her door promptly, she had an apron on and was busy in the kitchen. The maid went back into the kitchen after answered the door. I was searching and looking while sitting on the sofa, trying to figure out the distance between the living room and the bedroom; whether it might raise any suspicion if I walked into the bedroom? The maid was still busy herself between rooms so I couldn’t find proper moment to move. Ya-Ping came out of kitchen to sit with me when her preparation was done. She told me the dishes she prepared and guaranteed that I won’t be disappointed. We chatted and listened a few records. She went back to the kitchen at 5:30. I wanted to seize the moment, so I asked her if she had any wine. She said that there were Whisky and Brandy; I told her that those are strong liquor and maybe we should have some table wine instead like Shao-Sing (紹興酒). I gave the maid some money and asked her to buy some. When the maid left, I quickly walked into the bedroom and got hold of what I was looking for and it only took me a couple of minutes. I walked to the kitchen and said:
“It smelled so good. Could I take a peek?”
“No, the kitchen is small and dirty. Wait until I finish. Stay in the living room, please.” She yelled toward me while stir-frying the dish in the wok.
I didn’t mean to check on the dishes, just to make conversation with her to see if she had noticed that I went into the bedroom. I was relieved to see that she showed no sign of awareness.

I used an excuse of meeting a business associate to excuse myself after we had our dinner and desert. I told her that I would come to Bai-Lok-Men later to see her.

Back to my room, I couldn’t wait to check the envelope I took from Ya-Ping’s place. The words of ‘Top Secret, Keep It Safe.’ were written on the cover and it didn’t look like a female’s handwriting. I would wait for General Dai to check the contents when he returns from the trip. This was the tenth day from the day I had received my order. I wished that General Dai could be here at the time. If the content wasn’t important I could return it to its original place without Ya-Ping’s noticing it missing.

I met General Dai at train station when he arrived back from Hung-Chou. He moved to Mr. Chen’s house, a colleague. He called me into his room, asking me about my assignment. I reported to him the whole process in detail and handed him the envelope. He read the writing on the cover and checked the seals on the back, but left it on the desk without opening it. It puzzled me why didn’t he open this important document right away. I said:
“I got this envelope the day before yesterday and didn’t feel appropriate to open it myself and leave it to you. Why don’t you open it? Sir.”
“I have some urgent matter to tend to right now. Come back here at 7 tonight to dine with me. We will deal with it then.”
While he was putting his hat on, he turned and said to me:
“I am quite satisfied that you have ably completed the mission I assigned you. Maybe you could take more in the future. We will talk about it later.”

I arrived at Chen’s residence at 6:45 and General Dai wasn’t home until 7:10. A thirty-something young man came with him.
“This is Mr. Sun who is a local field agent.” General Dai introduced him to me. He then asked him:
“How come Miss Yean Bing (燕冰) isn’t here yet? Go give her a call.”
I was wondering who is that Miss Yean? Each time General Dai comes to Shanghai, it was always I who had accompanied him and I don’t recall to have met anyone named Yean Bing. Could that be a new recruit? I wondered.
Sun returned to report that she was already on her way. Soon, the doorbell sounded and Sun went to answer the door. Watch from afar I saw a poised young lady, dressed plainly. When she walked into the room, I was shocked to see that it was Ya-Ping. She was also surprised to see me there and turned her puzzled eyes toward General Dai.
“Don’t be alarmed. I can assure you that we are all colleagues here. I am starved. Let’s eat and talk later.” General Dai tried to clear the air.

I was still in the dark and had faintest idea what was going on. She is a dancer at Bai-Lok-Men, and a possible Japanese spy, and now one of our own? Fortunately our boss is right here. Could it be a special drama he had directed and arranged?
The host, Mr. and Mrs. Chen were out; there were only four of us at the dinning table. Ya-Ping, lowering her head, peeked at me, blushingly, from time to time.

We went to the living room after the supper. General Dai gave the instruction to the maid:
“If anyone were looking for Mr. and Mrs. Chen, just tell them that they were out and not available. You can retire now and don’t let anyone disturb us.”

Pointing at me, he turned to Ya-Ping:
“This is Mr. Cheng, my personal assistant. A very hard working individual, very smart and diligent. I used my business trip to Hung-Chou to test his field ability, so gave him this assignment to steal that envelope from the chest drawer in your bedroom. I deliberately lied to him that you were a Japanese spy to keep him alert. During those ten days, he was able to get close to you and finish his mission. I am very satisfied and quite impressed.”
General Dai got up and walked to the bedroom to retreat that envelope, putting it on the coffee table. When Ya-Ping saw the envelope, she said:
“It can’t be the one. Before I left tonight, I saw the envelope Mr. Sun gave me when I took a medicine out of the chest drawer. I didn’t lose it.”
General Dai smiled at her:
“Do you still remember the hidden marks on the envelope?”
“Yes, there are three seals in the back cover and Mr. Sun’s writing on the front cover – Top Secret, Keep It Safe.”
General Dai showed her the envelope to check if it is the one? He also waved Mr. Sun over to check. Both of them nodded after checking. Ya-Ping then said:
“How about the one in my drawer?”
General Dai replied:
“This showed Mr. Cheng’s excellent skill. He replaced the real one by a similar envelope so you wouldn’t notice. You could take this one back to compare. There are no writings on the front cover of the envelope in your drawer since Mr. Cheng only noticed the seals on the back cover and didn’t see the writings on the front cover when he first saw the envelope. Now you should all know the purpose of this training. But I am very proud of your performance as well – you controlled your emotion well. Although you developed feeling toward Cheng, you kept your cool, not stepping over the line. You also kept this envelope very tightly in the drawer close to your bed, locked it and kept the key in your purse all times. This is a good approach. However you had a small lapse to let Cheng get hold the key and steal the envelope. Maybe this is a good lesson to you.”

General Dai then gave her $200 reward for her and me to share for a job well done and a day off. He said to us when we were ready to leave:
“Shiu-Yuan and I will leave for Nanjing the day after tomorrow. You should also finish your business here and head back to your station in Beijing. You will receive a new assignment soon. You two would only have tonight and tomorrow, so enjoy, you two. Oh, keep this envelope as a souvenir.”

General Dai always treated his staff well. He would reward you when you successfully completed a mission – some cash and a few days of holidays. It really made people willing to work for him and devote themselves to the tasks without any complaints.

After Mr. Sun said goodbye to us, Ya-Ping and I left the house. Once we were out of the door, Ya-Ping ran, I had to run after her. I caught her and held her arms. She turned toward me with furious eyes. I pushed her into a cab that had just unloaded a passenger. Asking her where should we go to talk, she didn’t answer, so I asked the driver take us to DDS Coffee Shop.

She still had a long face when we sat down; I asked her why was she so mad?
“While I spent time to shop and cook for you, to go out with you, to keep you company, and to fall for you; you were just working on your assignment. Are you happy now that you had accomplished your mission on my expenses?
“You embarrassed me and made me look like a fool in front of my superior. Are you satisfied?”
“Please listen to me, Ya-Ping. After you have listened to my explanation if you still feel that I had done something to harm you, then be mad at me and punish me.
“I want you to know that I had no idea that we are colleagues. All I was told was you are a dancer at Bai-Lok-Men and likely a spy for Japanese agency. Stealing that envelope from you was just my assignment and I never intended to harm you. For example, at that birthday dinner you gave me, I didn’t get you drunk because I didn’t want to jeopardize your health. Didn’t that show you how much I really cared about you?
“Although I succeeded and you felt you had failed, you shouldn’t. Even General Dai had praised you on your behavior and conduct.”

Her face was gradually softened. She asked me when did I open her drawer because she had no clue what had happened. I explained:
“I held your purse for a little while when you were sobbing at ‘Da-Guan-Ming’ Theater. I took an imprint of the key when I went to men’s room and made a duplicate that night. When I sent your maid to buy a bottle of wine and you were busy in the kitchen, I went into your bedroom, unlocked the drawer and swapped the envelope with an identical one I prepared ahead of time.”

Suddenly she took the ‘Longine’ cigarette case out of her purse and said:
“Is this also your tool? Maybe you should keep it as a memento.”
“No, it is not a tool. I meant to give it to you as a souvenir. Take a look inside. I had inscribed some words: ‘To my dearest sister - Ping, from Juo-Yean’.”
I could see that she was touched when she checked the writing and returned the case into her purse.

I asked for her contact address in Beijing and she was silent. She told me that she would in the next few months try to dissolve the engagement to her fiancé that was arranged by parents of both families and asked General Dai to transfer her to Nanjing to work or to Hung-Chou for more trainings. She would then look me up and I should not get in touch with her before then.
“I joined the Bureau in Beijing not long ago. I was assigned to investigate a Japanese officer in Tianjing. He was transferred to Shanghai about 6 month ago and I was ordered to follow him, so I came to Shanghai and used dancer at Bai-Lok-Men as my cover. Now that guy was transferred again so General Dai asked me to return to Beijing.

That was the last goodbye I said to her at her door that night and never saw her again.

* * * * *

During those Sino-Japanese War years, each time I was in the area of Beijing-Tianjing, I enquired about Ya-Ping with no result. After the War, I was the Head of Personnel Division and returned to Nanjing, I sought through all the records and never saw any file on ‘Yean-Bing’, even those secret photos of some staff. She was like an angel dropped from the sky and vanished in thin air. All I had was my fond memory of her.