Shanghai morning

The next few days were peaceful, Wang Yao had a guilty conscience at first, a look from a certain colleague made him suspect that the other party knew his deadly secret.But in fact, people didn't pay more attention to him than usual, only Al asked what happened to the plaster on his neck-the knife by Liang Ziyu almost killed him.

Wang Yao had no way of knowing whether the other revolutionaries had left Shanghai safely, but he no longer wanted to risk finding them.He was terrified when he thought of the shocking scene at the checkpoint. He was very sure that it was Wang Nianjing who let them go, God bless.

On Sunday, Wang Yao still got up very early, but Wanwan usually slept in, so Wang Yao was not in a hurry to make breakfast.He first boiled water and made himself a pot of low-quality tea, and only started cooking porridge when the aroma of the tea leaves wafted out.

"Good morning, neighbor." Ivan came downstairs with a yawn, and sat down beside the creaking broken table, with his long legs stretched out, taking up a lot of space.Wang Yao felt that sooner or later this table would be broken by Ivan.

"Why did you get up so early today?" Wang Yao put the lid on the pot and turned to ask Iwan.

"The noise from the birds outside keeps me awake. I'll feed them all to the cat sooner or later!" Ivan scratched his messy hair, and his lustrous silver hair glowed gorgeously in the morning sun.

"Feeding the cat is too wasteful, it's better to bake it." Wang Yao said seriously.

Ivan stared in surprise: "Are you serious?"

"Of course, what's the truth about roasting a bird?" Wang Yao rolled his eyes at him, "But eating too much will hurt your eyes."

Ivan recalled the scene when a canary he raised was eaten by a cat when he was a child, and the cat's face suddenly changed into Wang Yao's, which made him shiver.

"Are you still afraid of the cold?" Wang Yao asked strangely, and poured a bowl of hot tea for Ivan at the same time.

"I just remembered something." Ivan felt that Wang Yao's face turned into a cat's face again, which was very scary.

Just as he was talking, Xiaofei, who got off work, hurried into the yard.

"Oh, I'm going to kill someone!" Xiao Fei shouted loudly.

"Kill who? Shouting!" Wang Yao was afraid that Xiaofei would wake up the sleepy Wanwan.

"The gangster who robbed the prison!" Xiaofei said vividly, "The Japanese are angry. They said that so many Japanese died. They must give an explanation, otherwise they will not let it go! Besides, robbing a prison is a capital crime. , that person will be shot tomorrow!"

Wang Yao's heart was shocked: Although he knew this was the result, Yunjian was going to die soon, and this news still made him feel uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart.

There was the sound of porridge gurgling, the steam made the lid of the pot tremble, and the viscous fluid that was foaming gushed out from the gap.

"Brother, I smell porridge." Wanwan walked down the stairs in a daze.

Wang Yao extinguished the fire in the stove: "You guys eat, I want to go out for a while."

"You didn't even eat breakfast? Where are you going?" Wanwan asked unhappily.

"Brother has something to do, take care of the house." Wang Yao hurriedly instructed, then put on his coat and walked out like the wind.

"Leave him alone, let's have dinner, let's have dinner!" Ivan said and ran to get the bowl.

Wang Yao was running fast on the road, he had never run so fast before, so after running for two miles, he was tired and had to slow down, and when he recovered, he started trotting again.He just wanted to get there quickly, and even faster, his heart was beating wildly in his chest, so strong that he felt the existence of life.When the familiar beautiful western-style building appeared in his field of vision, his heart suddenly tightened even more.

The beautiful and smooth music is like an angel singing in the morning. Roderich is in a particularly good mood today. He plays a beautiful and soothing melody with a faint smile, and his pale face is a little more bloody.Luther sat quietly and listened, watching tenderly the musicians who were more alive than usual.

At the end of the song, Roderich looked at Luther with a little pride, but found that the latter was absent-minded, and said unhappily: "You are distracted!"

"Sorry!" Luther came back to his senses, it was a wonderful job to be by Roderich's side, and he would never get bored, but there was one thing that weighed heavily on his heart today.

"It's really hard to make a layman appreciate high art," Roderich said sarcastically.

Luther smiled: "Fortunately, I have one of the best musicians to inspire me."

There was a smile in Roderich's melancholy eyes: "Even if it takes many years to inspire!"

Luther stood up, walked behind Roderich, hugged the musician's thin body tenderly, and buried his face in the thick and soft black hair: "I don't care, we have many, many years."

Roderich's cheeks were smudged: "I can't play the piano with you like this!"

Luther refused to let him go. At this moment, he felt extremely peaceful. Nothing could compare to the peace of mind Roderich brought him.

Someone knocked on the door: "Master Ludwig, Mr. Edelstein, may I come in?"

Luther let go of Roderich and said to the door, "Come in."

A tall, thin new servant pushed the door open, with a prominent face expressing the unique charm of Eastern Europeans.

"What's the matter, Torres?" Luther asked.

Torres doesn't speak German fluently, and he bites every word as clearly as possible: "There is a Chinese who asks to see you, and he says you know him."

"Chinese?" Luther frowned and thought of someone, "Did he say his name?"

"His name is Wang Yao." It was difficult for Torres to tell the name of the Chinese.

But Luther understood, and he walked out immediately.

"Where are you going?" Roderich was surprised by the sudden change in Luther's attitude, and stood up abruptly.

"It's very important, I have to see him." Luther said.

"What's so important about that Chinese man named Wang Yao? Isn't the idiot's painting finished? Why is he still here now?" Roderich was very disgusted with Wang Yao.

"Rod, you have to believe me, it's better that you don't know these things." Luther would rather let Roderich misunderstand than want this person who belongs to the pure art world to know the cruel reality.

Seeing Luther running out without looking back, Roderich slumped back on the piano bench, not noticing that Torres bowed to him and left.

When he came to the living room, Luther saw that Wang Yao was stroking Gilbert's big dog Hans. Hans liked Wang Yao very much, and whenever he saw this Chinese man, he rushed to sniff him enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay! Stop messing around!" Wang Yao smiled and patted Hans on the head.

Torris took Hans away, Wang Yao stood up and faced Luther: "Have you heard?"

Luther looked away: "I read the newspaper."

"He will be shot tomorrow," Wang Yao said, "Is this your reaction?"

Luther shook his head: "I knew it would happen."

"I want...to see him again." Wang Yao said, "I'm not his friend, but you are."

Luther said helplessly, "I'll take you there."

Coming to Tilanqiao Prison again, Wang Yao was not as nervous as last time, but more anxious.

It was still Luther who spent money to dismiss the guards, but this time the guards did not allow Wang Yao to enter the cell to speak, and they could barely see each other's faces through the bars.

Luther didn't leave, he asked Yunjian, "Yunjian, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Yunjian said: "I never asked you to do anything for me, and I don't need it now."

"I just want to help you as a friend," Luther said a little angrily and anxiously, "If I knew what you were doing, I would definitely stop you, and I wouldn't watch you die like this!"

"Let me have a chat with Mr. Wang alone," Yunjian said. "That's the best thing you can do for me, Mr. Beschmidt."

Luther looked at Wang Yao, then at Yun Jian, and shook his head helplessly: "I don't want you to become like this." He had no choice but to leave the cell door and wait for Wang Yao outside.

After Luther's footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, Yun Jian smiled at Wang Yao: "Mr. Wang, thank you so much, I didn't believe in the wrong person!"

Wang Yao didn't want Yunjian's gratitude: "I didn't do anything, you did it all, I just did a little favor at the end."

Yunjian said: "Everything I hoped for has come true, and that's enough."

These words sounded like last words. Wang Yao felt a blow to his heart and couldn't help feeling sad. He risked himself and said, "Didn't you ever think that you can survive? Don't you have any other way to save people? Do you have to take you?" I will change my life!"

Yunjian smiled and shook his head: "Mr. Wang, let me tell you a foreigner's story: During the French Revolution, a man named Dani was sentenced to death for trumped-up charges, and his young and beautiful wife was devastated. Story There is also a man named Carton, who is Dani's friend and rival in love. "

Wang Yao didn't know why Yunjian was telling the story of "the civet cat for the prince". He asked anxiously, "What? Is there a woman waiting for Aji?"

Yunjian just laughed: "Carton is willing to sacrifice himself, because he knows that his sacrifice can bring about a better result. No matter what others think, it is the best result for him."

"Do you really think so?" Wang Yao asked.

"Mr. Wang, this is the only time in my life that I don't listen to anyone's orders. This matter is completely decided by myself and I have done it." Yun Jian said, "If you ask me if there is any other way, I will All methods have been considered, and only by doing so can the least number of people be sacrificed and the greatest chance of success."

Wang Yao sighed: "Do you really think it's worth it?"

Yun Jian said something in English: "Itisafar, far better thing that Ido, than I have everdone;itisafar, far better rest that Igoto, than I have ever known."

At this time, someone came towards the cell, Wang Yao thought it was a guard, but it was Wang Nianjing who appeared in front of him.

"Mr. Wang, please go back." Yunjian said in the prison.

Wang Yao didn't know what to say, after thinking about it, he said, "Goodbye."

After Wang Yao walked a certain distance, he looked back and saw Wang Nianjing standing in front of the cell door, holding Yun Jian's hand protruding from the transom.

On the way back, Wang Yao couldn't calm down for a long time, he didn't want to go home, he didn't want to explain anything to the gang.

Unexpectedly, he asked Luther to stop in front of the Yokohama Zhengjin Bank—it was only an intersection from Jardine Matheson Bank. Luther thought that Wang Yao had something to go to the foreign firm, so he parked the car on the side of the road and let Wang Yao get off. car.

After Luther's car left, Wang Yao went straight to the gate of Yokohama Specie Bank.

The staff in the bank thought that Wang Yao was an old Chinese who came to handle business for the first time, so they politely and arrogantly asked him if he wanted to open an account.

"My name is Wang Yao, and I'm a clerk at Jardine Matheson. I want to see Mr. Honda Ju." Wang Yao said.

"Do you have an appointment?" the staff member asked haughtily.

"Please tell Mr. Honda: Wang Yao wants to see him." Wang Yao said, "He will agree to see me."

The staff was even more disdainful: "There are many people who have friendship with Mr. Honda, but there is no clerk, let alone a Chinese!"

"You are also Chinese!" Wang Yao said angrily.

"Sir, we are a bank here, not your kangtou, please don't shout here!" The employee raised his voice.

Wang Yao suppressed his anger and said: "I didn't come to quarrel, I really have something urgent to see Mr. Honda, I just want you to tell me!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Honda is not so free, and I don't have time to meet crazy Chinese!" The bank staff once again put on the unique face of a Chinese who works for a Japanese.He straightened his back and walked away proudly from Wang Yao, just as a Japanese guest came in, his waist immediately bent into a shrimp, with a humble smile on his face, he greeted the guest in Japanese with a Chinese accent.

Wang Yao stood there awkwardly, at a loss for what to do.

"Yao Sang, why are you here?" A voice came suddenly.

Wang Yao looked up and saw that it was Honda Ju: "Mr. Honda, I was looking for you."

"Looking for me?" Honda Ju was very surprised, "You didn't ask me out... Are you looking for me in your own name this time?"

"Yes, it's completely personal." Wang Yao said.

Honda Ju looked around, he was bored by the noisy front hall, he said to Wang Yao: "Please follow me."

Wang Yao followed Honda Ju and followed the Japanese to the office upstairs of the bank.

The decoration of Honda Chrysanthemum's office is a typical Western style, very luxurious. It seems that it deliberately emphasizes the degree of Westernization of the owner of this place, and deliberately draws a line from the entire East.But in some parts of the room, Japanese culture shows its presence in a way that cannot be ignored: On Tian Ju’s desk is a pair of Japanese knife holders, with a gun and a dagger lying on it, although the sword In the sheath, it still has a strong aggressiveness.

Honda Ju sat down in the large armchair behind the desk, and invited Wang Yao to sit opposite him: "Please sit, Yaosang."

Reluctantly, Wang Yao sat in the chair opposite Honda, separated by a large desk, he felt like a prisoner awaiting trial, and the ruthless judge opposite was about to drop the sharp sword of judgment on his neck.

"Yao Sang, what can I do for you?" Honda Ju leaned forward, with his arms resting on the table, with an attitude of listening attentively.

On the way here, Wang Yao had rehearsed many times in his heart, but when this moment came, he still felt timid and guilty.He forced himself not to back down, and said the words he had prepared: "Mr. Honda, you should know about the prison robbery a few days ago, right?"

Honda Ju nodded: "Of course I know, there are Japanese people who died unexpectedly."

Wang Yao said cautiously: "Then you must also know that the Chinese who was arrested during the prison robbery will be executed tomorrow."

"Why is Yao-san interested in this matter?" Honda Ju asked meaningfully, those deep eyes were like a bottomless pit that could suck a person's soul into it.

"I know that Mr. Honda has a lot of contacts, especially in the Japanese army," Wang Yao said, "It was Mr. Honda's subordinates who clashed with the dock workers last year, right?"

"So?" Honda waited for him to continue.

Wang Yao summoned up his courage and said: "The prisoner to be executed is a servant of Mr. Ludwig Beschmidt's family. He did not commit a crime. He was just a scapegoat who was stuffed into prison by gangsters. I implore Mr. Honda to come forward and say something. , spare his life."

Honda Chrysanthemum stood up slowly, with an imposing manner: "Yaosang, you don't think I know nothing, do you?"

Wang Yao looked up nervously at Honda Ju, whose gloomy face was like a black sun in the sky.

Honda Chrysanthemum leaned forward and put his hands on the table: "The prisoner is an important figure of the Revolutionary Party. He hid among foreigners as a servant and planned many crimes of attacking Japanese and destroying Japanese businessmen's property. Do you think I'll agree to let him go?"

Wang Yao's lips trembled: "You may have misunderstood him. It is impossible for him to do such a big thing by himself. I am afraid that the real revolutionary party planted him in order to escape."

Honda Ju went around the table, walked to Wang Yao calmly, lowered his head and put his lips close to Wang Yao's ear: "I also heard that a suspicious car drove out of the checkpoint in the middle of the night a few days ago. There was a foreigner, two A Chinese man and a gangster, and when the car came back two hours later, there was one less person on board—one less Chinese man.”

The breath of Honda Chrysanthemum blows on Wang Yao's cheeks and ears, making him shiver like ice.

Honda Ju straightened up, turned his back to Wang Yao and said, "For Yaosang's sake, I will let the prison release all the other workers, but this one called Yunjian must die. If Yaosang has nothing else to do, please Come back, take care!" The last three words were bitten hard, like a warning.

It wasn't until Honda Ju left the room that Wang Yao finally found his breath. He stood up with his limp body supported, but just as he took a step, he was tripped by a chair and fell to the ground. He knelt on the floor trembling and couldn't get up. Trembling horribly, like someone in a sudden illness.

Wang Yao couldn't remember how he got out of the Yokohama Specie Bank. When he came back to his senses, he had already walked a long way by the Huangpu River.Jiang Feng dried the cold sweat on his face, calming him down a bit.

"Yao, what's wrong with you?" An anxious voice came from behind him.

It was Al who rushed over: "I called you several times, but you didn't seem to hear me." Although it was Sunday, Al had been staying in the foreign firm. Just now he wanted to take a breath at the door, and just happened to see Wang Yao coming from Yokohama. out of the bank.

Wang Yao still felt weak all over, he grabbed Al's arm with a trembling hand: "I'm sorry, let me take it easy..."

Al didn't say anything, he held Wang Yao's hand and waited for him to calm down.

Wang Yao took a few deep breaths, and finally let go of Al's arm slowly: "Thank you, Al."

"Shall I take you home?" Al asked.

"No need." Wang Yao said.

"What's wrong with you?" Al asked, frowning.

Wang Yao let out a long breath: "I'm scared, I'm really scared... I thought I was going to die just now."

"It won't be that easy." Al looked back at the gray building of Yokohama Specie Bank in the distance.

The bell on the customs house tolled like a death knell.

tbc