Chapter 41: Her Back View

  The fisherman stood up from the big sofa and said, "Well, you've convinced me, young man. Now you can speak. Well, I promise you, I'll guarantee your safety."

  Ye Tu Fei took out a cigar from his pocket and played with it in his hand, "Actually, what I want to say you've already thought of. Only I can take him out of that villa, only by taking him out of that villa will you have the opportunity to make your move."

  Yu Nong didn't say a word, strolling to the window and gazing outside, his fingers lightly tapping on the windowsill. After a while, Yu Nong turned around and asked Ye Tufei: "Hey, why don't you serve the party and country instead of being a traitor?"

  Ye Tu Fei hummed softly and replied: "To survive! The Japanese still hold the lives of more than 200 of my brothers in their hands."

  Yu Nong sat back down on his large sofa and said, "Well, you've helped me out, but how am I supposed to explain this to the Japanese?"

  Ye Tu waved the cigar in his hand and asked, "Can I?" After getting the fisherman's consent, Ye Tu lit the cigar. "My task is to safely withdraw him from Hong Kong. Once he leaves Hong Kong, this person's life or death has nothing to do with me. If we can cooperate well, you can choose a most convenient place outside of Hong Kong to take action. I guarantee that I will deliver the man to your trap on time."

  The fisherman and farmer did not express their approval or disapproval, but the fisherman said: "Hey, being a traitor is always a shameful thing. Young man, don't you want to reform and make amends, and work for the party and the country?"

  Whether or not to serve the party and country is unimportant, what's important is that this task must be completed in order to save the lives of his over 200 brothers. Therefore, Ye Tu Fei accepted without hesitation: "I am willing, I just worry that the party and country you mentioned will not agree."

  The fisherman's mouth corner revealed a barely perceptible smile, saying: "Hey, I promised, it was the party state that promised, wait a bit and I'll have someone help you with the formalities, after that, you'll be a military/unified person."

  Is it glorious to be a soldier/uniformed person? Ye Tu Fei didn't know, but at this moment he knew that the plan he had spent all night thinking about seemed to have taken its first step towards success. Ye Tu Fei needed to continue moving forward, so he nodded at Yu Nong.

  However, Ye Tu Fei did not expect that this casual decision would have a huge impact on his future, almost costing him his life and nearly destroying his love.

  Of course, these are all things that will happen in a few years. For now, Ye Tufei's mind is only preoccupied with one thing: to safely escort that damned negotiation representative from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Only by doing so can his brothers have the opportunity to survive, continue to fight, and avenge their fallen comrades.

  "Hey, you've joined the Military Unity and only I and Ren Feng know about it. You just need to be responsible to me, now. You're still Nie Hengzi from Shanghai, what's your next move? Hey, wait for my return and I'll notify you."

  However, until late at night, Yu Nong was still unable to return. Helplessly, Ye Tu Fei had no choice but to leave first.

  That night, Ye Tu Fei slept very soundly.

  For three years, Ye Tu Fei repeatedly had the same dream.

  He stood by a quiet little lake, watching himself fly, soaring in the sky like Superman.

  Then he asked himself in heaven: "Do you know Superman? Have you seen this movie?"

  The heavens themselves did not respond.

  So he fought with himself on earth and in heaven.

  No matter how they fought, they couldn't tell who would win, so the two people started competing in a running race, and after that was wilderness survival.

  Then a stranger suddenly appeared and asked, "Do you know who you are?"

  "I am Ye Tu Fei!"

  That stranger's expression was extremely serious, and he asked: "How did you know you were Ye Tufei?"

  Two of them immediately turned over their shoulder badges, with the back printed: Super Large One Team One Middle Team, Ye Tufei.

  The stranger looked at him and asked again, "Do you know what this 'Special Big One Big Team One Middle Team' means?"

  Two people shook their heads simultaneously.

  The stranger suddenly disappeared, then the ground underfoot began to collapse. The two selves started running, but the speed of the collapse was getting faster and faster, while the self on the ground was running slower and slower. At this time, the self in the sky began to fly again.

  He was finally swallowed up by the collapse on the ground.

  The collapsed place was quickly filled with water, forming a calm small lake. He reappeared on the edge of the small lake and looked at himself flying in the sky, asking: "Do you know Superman? Have you seen this movie?"

  The heavens themselves did not respond.

  Every time he dreamed of this place, Ye Tu Fei would wake up. He didn't understand what the dream represented, and he really wanted to let it continue, but every time the result was disappointing.

  After waking up, I couldn't fall asleep again. Lying in bed with my eyes open, the voice of Ren Feng from the Fisherman's office last night echoed in my ears: "Can you tell me your story from three years ago?"

  A story from three years ago? Ye Tu Fei could only respond with a bitter smile.

  Three years ago, when Ye Tu Fei regained consciousness, he found himself lying in a cave with only rags covering his body. He had no idea what had happened or even what his name was or where he came from. Later, on the back of the shoulder patch of his tattered clothes, he discovered a line of words: Special Large 1st Brigade 1st Battalion Ye Tu Fei. He couldn't recall the true meaning of these words, but he knew that "Special Large 1st Brigade" should be his unit and "Ye Tu Fei" should be his name.

  After wandering for nearly a month, he arrived at a town called Jiajiawang, and it was from that day on that Ye Tuifei finally had a life story to tell others.

  In these three years, Ye Tufei often found himself inexplicably producing some strange ideas. For example, the way to get rid of Jia Yungui was that he suddenly thought of a martial arts novel and had an epiphany. Martial arts? Ye Tufei could only bitterly smile at this idea of his own. Another example was when Wei Xiangdong confessed to him that he was indeed a Communist Party member, a strange warmth arose in his heart, and he impulsively wanted to loudly tell Wei Xiangdong that he too was a Communist Party member.

  Bitter smiles had become more frequent, and they had also faded. The dreams that often appeared had also thinned out. However, a seemingly casual question from Ren Feng last night once again stirred up waves in his heart.

  After the sky brightened, Ye Tufei found that all the military and police sentries around the villa had disappeared. This showed that Yufen had fully followed his plan. Ye Tufei's mood relaxed, and he was able to lure in the help of the military/police force. Perhaps within a week, he would be able to complete this arduous task.

  Just this morning, a couple moved into the villa next to Ye Tu Fei's.

  This couple didn't have anything particularly special about them, the man looked like a member of high society, and the woman looked elegant and refined with good breeding. As for the more than ten-year age gap between the two that could be discerned from their faces, in Hong Kong it was also quite common. People who weren't careful couldn't see anything unusual, only someone as meticulous as Ye Tufei could see that there was something off about this couple, the man's gaze had almost never stayed on the woman for more than three seconds.

  They were obviously a fake couple.

  Unfortunately, the couple's process from getting off the car to entering the house just missed Ye Tuofei's attention. When Ye Tuofei noticed the couple, all that was left for him was their backs. And it was this fleeting glimpse of their backs that struck Ye Tuofei like a thunderbolt.

  Just from her back, Ye Tu Fei recognized the woman, Ouyang Xue Ping.

  It wasn't until a while later that Ye Tufei finally calmed down and began to think. He set up several hypothetical possibilities, but each one was immediately negated, and in the end, the original one still occupied the main position: Ouyang Xueping got married, not to Ye Tufei, but to another man.

  His mind was in a whirlwind of confusion and anxiety.

  Ye Tu Fei wasn't mistaken, the woman was indeed Ouyang Xueping. After retreating from Xuzhou, she first followed the hospital to Wuhan. At the end of the Battle of Wuhan, her husband used his privilege to transfer her from the war zone hospital in Wuhan to Chongqing. Not long after that, her husband was sent to work in Hong Kong, and as a family member, she could naturally follow him.

  His husband, Miao Zhenning, was a deputy director-level cadre in charge of propaganda at the Second Bureau of the Administrative Yuan of the National Government of Chongqing. This time, his mission to Hong Kong was to contact the British side under the pretext of running a newspaper, hoping to get support from the British side for the Chongqing government.

  Miao Zhenning and Ouyang Xueping got married two years ago in Nanjing. After the wedding, Ouyang Xueping stayed with her troops all along, so they were apart more often than together. This time, Miao Zhenning finally managed to get Ouyang Xueping discharged from the army, and he rented that villa, moving in this morning.

  But all of this is just a facade. Just like the performance between these two, Miao Zhenning had never gazed at Ouyang Xueping for more than three seconds, and except when putting on a show in public, in private settings, the two would maintain a distance of at least one meter from each other.

  Their true relationship is comrades-in-arms and fellow soldiers. Marriage was merely a tool used to disguise their identities.

  For these branches, Ye Tufei couldn't know, he could only believe his eyes and intuition. He couldn't understand why all this was happening, he felt ashamed, and he decided to go next door to ask Ouyang Xueping, to ask her what was going on!

  Just as Ye Tu Fei opened the door and was about to go out, the people from Yu Nong arrived. The tone of the person who came was very urgent, requiring Ye Tu Fei to leave immediately, saying that the boss needed to see him right away. Ye Tu Fei hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately decided to put the bigger picture first and got into the car with the people who came.