Chapter 186: Meeting Yingzuo

From where “Miyazaki Kentaro” was standing, he could observe the facial expressions of the couple quite clearly.

The young woman’s expression did not match that of a woman passionately involved in an illicit affair.

She appeared to be enjoying the sensory stimulation brought by her lover’s sweet words and caresses, yet her gaze wandered constantly, as though she were observing the surroundings.

The man’s action of caressing the woman’s buttocks also did not fit the characteristics of a lustful rake. He repeatedly rubbed the same spot rather than letting his hand roam up and down.

Special Service Office agents?

People from the Party Affairs Investigation Department?

Or perhaps agents of the Comintern?

Japanese agents?

Cheng Qianfan had no way of determining the answer, but he quietly committed the matter to memory.

“Are you Mr. Miyazaki Kentaro?” a young attendant approached and asked respectfully.

“I am.” Miyazaki Kentaro nodded.

“Miyazaki-kun, your seat is over here. Please come with me.”

“Thank you.”

Following the attendant, Miyazaki Kentaro arrived at a row of seats near the front.

More than a dozen people were gathered together, surrounding a man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight and conversing with him.

“Miyazaki-kun, this is His Excellency Imamura Hyotaro, aide to Deputy Consul General Iwai Eiichi,” the attendant introduced respectfully.

“Imamura-san.” Cheng Qianfan bowed.

“Hahaha, Miyazaki-kun, I have long heard of your reputation.” Imamura Hyotaro looked at the handsome Miyazaki Kentaro and nodded in satisfaction. “Graceful and talented indeed, worthy of being an outstanding son of the Yamato race.”

Then he enthusiastically said to the others, “Gentlemen, this is Mr. Miyazaki Kentaro, beloved disciple of Professor Taniguchi Hiroyuki of Kobe University, and an itinerant poet of the Empire.”

“This junior, Miyazaki Kentaro, greets all of you seniors.” Miyazaki Kentaro bowed.

“Miyazaki-kun, is Professor Taniguchi feeling any better?” asked a middle-aged man with a drooping moustache.

The attendant quietly explained from the side, “This is Professor Sakamoto Nagayuki of the Imperial University of Tokyo.”

“Thank you for your concern, Senior. My teacher unfortunately suffered a fall and is currently recuperating in bed,” Miyazaki Kentaro replied respectfully. “Senior Sakamoto’s work Journey of Admonition thoroughly captures the indomitable history of struggle of the Yamato race. Each time I read it, I gain new insights.”

“I’m old, old. It’s the young people’s world now.” Sakamoto Nagayuki smiled faintly as he pulled a young man beside him forward. “Yoshino, you and Kentaro are about the same age. You should get to know each other well.”

“Miyazaki-kun.” Sakamoto Yoshino bowed shyly. “I am Sakamoto Yoshino. Please guide me.”

“Sakamoto-kun, please guide me as well.”

“It is truly our regret that Taniguchi-kun could not attend this grand occasion,” another middle-aged man said as he approached, shaking his head.

Zhou Huaigu!

Miyazaki Kentaro immediately recognized who the man was.

Taniguchi Hiroyuki had long been active in Beiping and Tianjin, and Zhou Huaigu was acquainted with him.

Miyazaki Kentaro’s diary had once recorded that he had met this man at Taniguchi Hiroyuki’s residence:

This was a fawning Chinese middle-aged man who spoke nauseating words of praise to the “executioners”... though the Beiping roast duck he brought tasted quite good.

“Mr. Zhou, I trust you have been well.” Miyazaki Kentaro bowed slightly. “The roast duck you brought last time was exceptionally rich and delicious. I often think of it.”

“Hahaha, if Miyazaki-kun likes it, then after we return to Beiping, I shall host a banquet and treat you to fine cuisine,” Zhou Huaigu said delightedly.

Imamura Hyotaro nodded slightly.

He had long heard that Taniguchi Hiroyuki possessed an outstanding disciple.

This young man had worked tirelessly for the Empire for years and was considered exceptionally capable.

Now, seeing his conduct and manners, Imamura Hyotaro felt even more satisfied.

“You two young men must feel uncomfortable sitting with us old fellows. Off you go.” Sakamoto Nagayuki smiled.

Miyazaki Kentaro repeatedly protested that he dared not, but then hurried away with Sakamoto Yoshino almost as if fleeing.

The crowd burst into laughter.

“Finally escaped.” Miyazaki Kentaro straightened his suit, shook his head, glanced at Sakamoto Yoshino, and said with a smile, “I am not good at socializing. If my teacher had not repeatedly ordered me to do so, I would rather sit alone in a corner. I hope Sakamoto-kun does not laugh at me.”

“I’m the same.” Sakamoto Yoshino smiled bitterly. “Being around elders makes me uncomfortable all over.”

The attendant standing not far from the two listened a little longer before quietly leaving and reporting softly to Imamura Hyotaro.

“So that’s the reason.” Imamura Hyotaro nodded.

He had felt a trace of doubt earlier.

Rumor held that Taniguchi Hiroyuki’s student was quite introverted and disliked social interaction.

He had been surprised by Miyazaki Kentaro’s apparent sociability.

It turned out that Taniguchi Hiroyuki had given strict instructions beforehand.

“Listening to one’s elders and being willing to restrain one’s natural temperament, very good.” Imamura Hyotaro’s impression of Miyazaki Kentaro improved even further.

Yingzuo Eiichi sat in a corner with his uncle, Yingzuo Teiaki, observing the hall with great interest.

“Eiichi, what do you see?”

“The majesty of the Empire,” Yingzuo Eiichi replied. “These Chinese wag their tails before the Empire. This is the glory brought by the Empire’s might.”

“You’re wrong.” Yingzuo Teiaki shook his head. “What I see is the sheer number of Chinese. If the Empire is to occupy China, it will need many more people like Zhou Huaigu and Liao Zhifan.”

Liao Zhifan was an important Chinese participant in the Sino-Japanese Friendship Symposium and a pro-Japanese figure.

At that moment, he was mingling beside Zhou Huaigu, occasionally offering flattering remarks that drew laughter from the Japanese attendees.

“What’s he doing here?” Yingzuo Eiichi said in astonishment, frowning.

“Who?”

“Cheng Qianfan, a Chinese police officer from the police station, and my junior schoolmate from the East Asia Common Culture Academy.”

“The Chinese man you wanted to kill last time.” Yingzuo Teiaki remembered who he meant. “It seems he is quite well liked by Imamura and Sakamoto.”

“Uncle, I’ll go over for a moment,” Yingzuo Eiichi said.

“Go ahead. Have a good reunion. The Empire needs young men like Cheng Qianfan who are friendly toward the Empire.”

“Yes.”

Miyazaki Kentaro had developed a favorable impression of Sakamoto Yoshino.

He appeared shy by nature, yet became quite interesting once one grew familiar with him.

Just then, Miyazaki Kentaro caught sight of Yingzuo Eiichi walking directly toward them.

He said silently to himself, “Here he comes.”

He felt both wary and expectant.

Before arriving, Cheng Qianfan had already speculated about which acquaintances he might encounter.

He was not worried about acquaintances from the Chinese side.

The ones he feared were acquaintances among the Japanese.

The Intelligence Section of the Shanghai District of the Special Service Office had been searching for Yingzuo Eiichi’s whereabouts for a long time.

However, the man’s movements were extremely secretive, and no significant progress had previously been made.

During his most recent meeting with Song Fuguo, Song Fuguo informed him that Yingzuo Eiichi’s trail had finally been discovered and that his identity had been confirmed:

Yingzuo Eiichi’s current true identity was that of a senior agent of the Special Higher Police Section attached to the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai.

At present, Yingzuo Eiichi was also the Japanese officer responsible for Zhou Huaigu’s security.

Miyazaki Kentaro had been ordered by Taniguchi Hiroyuki to attend this symposium.

If he failed to appear, suspicion would inevitably arise, and the identity would lose its security and become unusable.

He had come.

At present, the greatest danger and hidden risk lay in Yingzuo Eiichi.

The two had known each other previously.

They were schoolmates, and Yingzuo Eiichi was by nature highly suspicious, a trait Cheng Qianfan feared more than anything else.

One could say that among all Japanese agents currently in Shanghai, Yingzuo Eiichi knew him best and was also the most dangerous.

Therefore, after learning this intelligence, Cheng Qianfan had begun making thorough preparations for today’s meeting.

“Brother Cheng, long time no see,” Yingzuo Eiichi said with a smile.

“Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else. And you are?” Miyazaki Kentaro asked with a puzzled expression, first making sure that the man was indeed speaking to him.