"You'd better have a proper reason for calling this number."

Doodle.

"I'm bronze, and I'm calling again. I have important things to discuss with Mr. Qiao, which concerns An Ruoxi and ......."

A man on the other end picked up the phone. There was that tone in his voice that was accustomed to giving orders.

"What do you know about An Ruoxi?"

"I'm going to talk to Mr. Joe."

"I'm Joe Kansai." The man said angrily.

"You're not Boss Joe. Your voice sounds too young. ”

"My father doesn't answer calls from strangers. Tell me about An Ruoxi. ”

"And Ryan."

"Does the name mean anything to me?"

"Let your father speak."

"You can tell me anything you want to say about An Ruoxi."

Bronze hung up the phone, waited two minutes, and pressed the same number again.

This time, only halfway through the first bell, a hoarse old male voice said, "I'm Giordano." ”

"I was talking to your son about An Ruoxi just now."

"And Ryan." The voice sounded nervous. "My son said you mentioned Ryan as well."

"Absolutely."

"How do I know you're not a cop?"

"When we meet, you can search me to make sure I'm not with me."

"That doesn't mean you're not a police officer."

"Hey, if you have to think so, it doesn't make much sense to make an appointment to meet."

For a short moment, there was silence on both sides. "Where are you?"

"In the city of Hangzhou."

"Stand on the side of Nirvana Restaurant Street, and a car will pick you up in an hour. How does the driver know it's you standing there? ”

Bronze glanced at Officer Blue. "I have two dozen moons in my hand."

In a teahouse to the south of the Fugui Hall, Bronze didn't say a word, waiting until the guys brought them the dragon well they wanted and walked away. They chose a table in a remote corner, and there were not many people in the teahouse. Even so, Bronze looked around to make sure no one was looking in his direction before leaning down, opening his travel bag, and taking out the little thing he had taken out of the briefcase in the florist. This thing is metal, the size of a matchbox.

"What kind of trick is this?" Officer Blue asked.

"It gives a guiding signal. And this—" Bronze reached into his travel bag and pulled out a metal box the size of a cigarette case. "—Receive a signal, as long as the signal is not sent from a mile away. Cars drive south from here. You get on the rickshaw and wait in the square on the north side. After I got into the car sent by Giordano, you wait 15 seconds before you catch up so that it doesn't stand out too much. The receiver has a pointer that points to the left, right, or straight ahead, depending on which direction the signal is coming from. This scale uses 1 to 10 to tell you how close you are, with 10 being the closest. Bronze flicked the switch and pushed the receiver in front of the transmitter. Ok, working fine. You hold the receiver. If something goes wrong, our meeting point is in front of this tea house, and the time is every hour. But if I don't show up by 6 p.m. tomorrow night, go back to Santa Fe as soon as possible. Bronze looked at his watch. It's almost time. Let's go. ”

"What about your bag?"

"You hold it." The bag contained a pistol, a spare cartridge box, and that cartridge. Bronze knew he would be searched. Besides, it is impossible to frighten the other party when he sees Giordano with his weapons. "No matter where I was taken, 10 minutes after I got there, I called the number Lao Zhu gave me and asked to talk to me. To make people feel like something bad is going to happen if I don't answer the phone. ”

"And then?"

"I'll give you a hint when I talk to you, and you do it."

They walked to the door of the teahouse.

"You won't have a problem calling rickshaws here."

"Mr. Gu."

"What's the matter?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Nope."

"Then maybe there's another way."

"Getting out of here is the last thing I want to do. But I'm running out of time. Maybe it's too late. I don't know where to go other than to go directly to the source of the problem. ”

Officer Blue hesitated. "Good luck."

"Gong Yu needs good luck more than I do."

"But if ......"

"They've already killed her?"

"Yes."

"Then it doesn't matter what happens to me."

A minute later, the bronze walked into the darkening and rainy night. He turned to the right and walked towards the Fugui Hall, hoping that Officer Blue would call a car in this minute. He worries that Ryan might do something to Gong Yu, and he can't help but think that it was also raining the night Ryan shot his father in Shanghai.

He arrived at the Fugui Hall 5 minutes early, and stood under a porch to hide from the rain with Yueji in his hand. His feelings are complex, with varying degrees of doubt, worry, and apprehension. But only the doubts are for himself, and the rest are extroverted worries about Gong Yu, worries about what may have happened to her. But most importantly, he felt that he had made up his mind. It was the first time he had participated in an operation that was more important to him than his own life.

He remembered some things Gong Yu had said, which she had told him two days earlier. It was Mid-Autumn Festival, and on Friday, they came out of the party's party at that house and drove back to Bronz's home — the last moment of their normal relationship. At the time, it seemed like a normal relationship, but now Bronze realizes that there is nothing normal about their relationship. This sweet and bitter memory made Bronze feel empty inside. Later, they lay side by side, their knees also pressed against the crooks of her knees, curled up their legs, maintaining a spoon-like position. She was silent for so long that he thought she was asleep. He remembered smelling the scent in her hair as he inhaled. When she began to speak, the voice was so soft that he could barely hear it.

"When I was a little girl," she whispered, "my parents had a terrible fight. ”

She was silent again.

Bronze awaits.

"I never knew why they fought," Gong Yu continued softly, without a hint of nervousness in his voice, "I still don't know." The problem of money, alcoholism, can be anything. Every night, they yelled at each other. Sometimes it's worse, it's not just shouting. They threw things and scuffled with each other. At night they fought especially terrible. During the Chinese New Year, my mother always prepared sumptuous dishes. Then, right around to eat, something happens to make them start yelling at each other again. My father would rush out the door, leaving my mother and me to eat. And during the meal she would tell me over and over again that my father was a terrible bastard. ”

She fell silent again, and Bronze didn't rush her. He knew very well that whatever she wanted to talk about was in her heart, and she had to let her speak slowly.

"They were fighting harder and harder, and when I couldn't take it anymore, I had to beg them to stop. I pushed my father to stop him from hitting my mother. But that only turned him around against me. Bronze finally continued, "I still have in my mind the image of my father's fist coming at me. I'm so scared he's going to kill me. Here's what happened at night. I ran into my bedroom to find a place to hide. The shouting in the living room grew louder and louder. I tucked the pillows under the sheets and lined them up to make it look like I slept there. I'm sure I learned this method somewhere else. Then I shrank under the bed and went to sleep, thinking that if my father came in and killed me with a knife, I would be able to save my life. I've slept like that every night since. ”

Gong Yu's shoulders rose and fell slightly, and Bronze felt that she was sobbing. "Was that the same with your childhood?" She asked.

"No, my father was a professional soldier. He was strict and clinging to discipline and control. But he never touched me roughly. ”

"You're so lucky." In the dark, Gong Yu wiped his eyes. "I used to read stories of knights and beauties, princes and all that. I've always dreamed of living in those stories, with a knight to protect me. When I was a child, I was very good at drawing. I used to draw the knight I had in mind. Being squirming, Gong Yu turned towards him. Now, the moonlight shone on her face, and tears glistened faintly on her cheeks. "If I draw that knight again, he'll be like you. You make me feel safe. I don't have to sleep under my bed anymore. ”

Two hours later, the killers broke into his house.

A shower of rain hit Bronz's face, interrupting his memories. Although still troubled by his feelings, he kept an eye on the cars passing through the stagnant water in front of the Fortune Hall. Conflicting questions tormented him. Is what Gong Yu told him true? Or was she trying to make the hook tighter, using lies to trick him into gaining more sympathy, to trick him into protecting her despite the danger? The question boils down to one thing, is she loving him, or is she taking advantage of him?

He'd been thinking about it with boredom since he learned yesterday that she had lied to him about her experience. He had to know the answer. He had to find her and find out what was going to happen, although, if it wasn't what he wanted it to be, he didn't know what he would do, because in fact he was completely in love with her.

The headlights pierced through the rain curtain, and a gray sedan pulled out of the traffic and stopped on the side of the road in front of the bronze. The rear door opened, and one of Giordano's men got out of the car and motioned for Bronze to get into the car with a stiff head movement. The bronze muscles tensed and the resolve strengthened. He walked over to the man, holding a bouquet of moons in each hand.

"That's right." The man smirked. He had a broad chest and shoulders, and his clothes were tightly taut around his body. "When I searched you, your hand just held the flower and didn't move."

"On the street? There's a police car coming up there. ”

"Get in the car."

Bronze counted, and he saw two men in the front seat and another in the back seat. When he got into the car, he felt the first person right behind him, huddled next to him. He held the matchbox-sized sender in his right hand, along with the flower stem. The driver drove the car off the side of the road, and the tires splashed with rain. The man sitting in the passenger seat aimed a pistol at the bronze. The two men in the back seat searched him.

"He didn't have anything with him."

"What about the flowers?"

The two men pulled the rose from the bronze hand. They were so engrossed that they didn't notice that he was still hiding the small transmitter in his cupped right hand.

"Whatever you want to talk to your boss, it's best to be honest." One of them said, "I've never seen such a big fire." ”

"Hey, what's so smelly here?" Another asked.

"It's these flowers. It smells like the smell of a poor ghost's funeral. ”

"Probably this guy's funeral." The man on the left of the bronze smirked as he rolled down the window and threw the crumpled Yueji out.

During the entire trip, Bronze did not say a word, and those people ignored his presence. Along the way, they talk about women and casinos — both Ann's topics, and nothing suggests they're criminals. And Bronze kept wondering if Officer Blue was keeping up, if the transmitter and receiver were normal, and if the driver would notice the tail in the back. He kept telling himself that he had to have faith.

It was just after 8 p.m. The rain became more intense, and dusk turned into night. The headlights pierced the rain and the driver drove through a few streets at random just in case someone was following, then headed north on the congested avenue and finally drove west onto the broken bridge. On the West Lake side, he drove north along the boulevard. An hour after picking up the bronze and getting on the bus, the driver drove left into the sleeping town of Longjing.

The occupants of the car sat up straight nervously. The driver drove through the almost empty town, turned right again, made a few more turns, and finally came to a quiet and wooded area. The lights here are elegant and bright, and there are large houses on half an acre of land everywhere. Between each property stands a wrought iron fence with sharp iron at the top. The car pulled up a lane and stopped in front of a majestic metal gate. The driver leaned into the rain and said, "We brought him." ”

The gate opens a gap on either side, enough for the driver to drive in. The bronze looked back through the rain-washed rear window and saw the door close as the car entered. He didn't see any signs of possibly following. The car drove along a curved driveway and finally stopped in front of a three-story brick house with many gables and chimneys on the roof.

Bronze had become accustomed to low adobe houses with rounded corners and flat roofs, so the house seemed unreal to him. Arc lights illuminate the ground. Bronze noticed that the trees were some distance away from the house, and all the shrubs were short. Even if an intruder managed to get through the level, he couldn't find any hiding place when he tried to approach the house.

"There's a good show to watch." Said the man on the left of the bronze. He opened the door on his side, got out of the car, and waited for the bronze. "Come out, don't keep him waiting."

Bronze's arm was caught, but he didn't say anything. In fact, he welcomed the action, so that he had the opportunity to pretend to trip as he was dragged in the rain to the wide stone steps leading to the house. He stumbled beside a bush, took the opportunity to shove the little guide under the bushes, and let the man pull him up and drag him into the house. His heart seemed cold.

The foyer is spacious and has a marble floor. The first thing he noticed was a guard with a gun in the corner, and then he saw a big man with a pockmarked face behind the guard. He then scarcely had time to look at the other possible exits, so he hurried through an oak-walled hallway, through the double doors, and into a study with a thick carpet.

On the opposite side of the bronze wall are leather-bound books. On the wall on the right is a portrait of the family. On the left side is a glass case against the wall, each with a number of vases. In the center of the room is a large antique desk, behind which is a man in his 70s. He was a stocky man, dressed in an expensive dark blue tunic with smoke in his mouth and squinting at bronze. The man's face shrunk terribly, his chin cracked, and a deep wrinkle on each cheek. His short, thick white hair stands out against the background of his tanned skin.

A man sitting at the table turned towards the bronze. This is a man in his 30s, but the difference between him and the old man is not just in age. The young man was dressed fashionably, and compared to the conservative clothes of the old man, he looked vulgar. The young man wore eye-catching jewelry, while the old man could not see a single piece of it. Young people don't seem to be as healthy as older people, and they're a bit blessed, probably recently giving up exercising because of alcoholism.

"Have you searched him?" The old man asked the guard who had brought the bronze in. His hoarse voice sounded like the one heard on the phone, the man who claimed to be Giordano.

"I searched him when I picked him up and got into the car." Said a guard.

"I'm still not satisfied. This guy's clothes are wet, give him a bathrobe to wear. ”

"Yes, sir."

Giordano looked at the bronze. "Okay, what are you waiting for?"

"I don't understand."

"Take off your clothes."

"What?"

"Do you have a hearing impairment? Take off your clothes. I'm going to make sure you don't have anything on you. Buttons, belt buckles, zippers, I suspect them, especially since you were once an undercover agent. ”

"Ryan must have told you a lot about me."

"That son of a bitch." Said the young man.

"Shut up," Giordano warned, "don't talk until we figure out he didn't have anything with him." ”

"When it comes to my clothes, do you mean it?" Bronze asked.

Giordano didn't answer, just stared at him.

"Maybe it's your way of going for thrills."

"Hey." The young man stood up angrily. "Do you think you can come into my father's house and insult him?"

"Shut up." Giordano said it again.

The young man hesitated whether to slap the bronzer in the face. He stared at his father for a moment, then stepped aside.

Bronze takes off her clothes.

Giordano nodded. "Good. Cooperation is always a smart approach. ”

Bronze took off his shirt as he watched as Giordano walked to the glass case where the vase was placed.

"What do you know about porcelain?" Giordano asked.

The question was more than Bronze had expected, and he shook his head in bewilderment. "You mean bone china or something?" Bronze calmly took off his shoes.

"That's a type of porcelain. It is called bone china because it is made from grinding bones into powder. ”

Bronze is calmer. He unbuckled his belt, unzipped it, and took off his trousers. He felt a stinging in his skin.

"All the clothes." Giordano commanded.

Bronze stood there with as much dignity as he could, his arms hanging at his sides. "What's next?

The young man looked very angry. "Do you want a slap in the face, verbose?"

"Shut up." Giordano repeated his warning.

A guard walked in with a white towel bathrobe.

"Give it to him." Giordano gestured with a cigar. "Get his clothes to the car."

The man did so. Bronze put on a bathrobe. The robe was knee-length, and the wide sleeves were just above his arms. As he tied the strap, he remembered the practice clothes he wore when he was learning the art of fighting.

Giordano picked up a vase made in the shape of a heron. The bird's neck was straight, and its hooked beak was open. "Look, the light seems to be able to penetrate it. You listen when I tap it with my finger, it echoes, like crystal. ”

"It's interesting." There was a lack of enthusiasm in the bronze tone.

But he showed his calmness and calmness, which made him not so obscene and flustered in front of this powerful person.

。