War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1842 Makeup

In the darkroom with only one person left, he developed all the negatives that he had stolen last night into photos. By the way, he also made a new set of copies.

These photos and copies were promised to Hirano Aoi, and probably, they were the source of the photos that he could see in his threatening letters in later years.

So did Hirano Aoi survive?
Wei Ran couldn't help but think as he hung all the developed photos and negatives on a rope to dry.

This was destined to be an answer that he would only know at the end, even though he already had a vague guess.

Leaving the darkroom and returning to the next door, Wei Ran followed Zhang Taichuan and accompanied Hirano Aoi to the clinic they had not visited for a long time.

Nowadays, whether it is this clinic or the theater opposite, the doors and walls are already covered with various anti-Japanese propaganda posters.

These big-character posters were both new and old, in Chinese and Japanese. The content even included condemnations of the "traitor Qin Lichuan", "traitor Jin Fengrong", "traitor Wei Ran" and "traitor Mu Anzhi", as well as enumerations of the numerous crimes they had committed.

"I have also raped women and forced them into prostitution."

Wei Ran looked up at his own big-character poster with great interest, "Wow, you stole so much?"

"You'd better be careful. If they catch you, you'll be thrown into a pig cage." Zhang Taichuan joked with a smile.

"The handwriting is so beautiful," Wei Ran praised again.

“Yes, it’s really well written.”

Zhang Taichuan pointed at the one that belonged to him and commented happily, "Tsk tsk, look at it, the handwriting is so delicate, it can be seen that it was written by a female student."

“This content is not like”

Wei Ran smiled and said, "She is passionate and her writing is sharp. She is a real tough girl."

"What is a tomboy?" Zhang Taichuan asked puzzledly.

"Tough girl"

Wei Ran thought about it, and said, "That's a manly woman" when Hirano Aoi finally opened the door lock.

“You know how to use words.”

Zhang Taichuan said, but carefully took down the poster that had only four corners posted, "Female masculinity is good. There should be female masculinity when there are men. With men and female masculinity, we have nothing to worry about."

"Do you still plan to keep it?"

Wei Ran did not give the other party a chance to finish his words. At this time and in this place, there were some things that could not be said. There was no guarantee that someone passing by might be staring at them the whole time.

"Keep it, keep it as a thought."

As Zhang Taichuan spoke, he had already carefully rolled up his copy of the poster into a paper tube and pinned it to the back of his collar, like
Just like putting a label on yourself.
"Go, go."

Wei Ran sighed silently, and followed Hirano Aoi into the clinic together with the other party.

There were also a large number of big-character posters thrown on the floor of the clinic, so much so that they could even feel the softness under their feet with every step.

If these were placed in the paperless communication world of the future, there would be a similar behavioral verb in a certain sense - cyberbullying.

But even if no one explained, Wei Ran knew that these big-character posters were actually a protection for them in a sense.

But Wei Ran couldn't help but look at the paper tube stuck in the back of Zhang Taichuan's collar again.

"These words are newly written, and I recognize them." Zhang Taichuan whispered into Wei Ran's ear while the door was closing.

"Who?" Wei Ran asked silently.

"Lin Qiaoan's sister, Lin Qiaozhi, is also my brother-in-law's cousin. When my sister married my brother-in-law, she was the flower girl. That little girl is very clever."

Zhang Taichuan whispered, "This girl must have come to Shanghai with Qiao An."

Your future daughter-in-law? Wei Ran muttered to himself, but did not expand on the topic.

Turning his attention back to the clinic, he saw that there were not many medicines in the medicine cabinets along the wall, and the counters were covered with dust.

Obviously, Hirano Aoi hasn't been here for a long time, but it is necessary to come here to check on the packing this time.

Following Hirano Aoi upstairs, she opened the closet, packed a few clothes at random, and also took out a small pistol with a flower-mouthed handle, which might have been given to her by Hirano Daisho, and put it in her bag. Then she asked Wei Ran and Zhang Zhengqi to help her take a light suitcase each, and then she went downstairs, locked the door, and left.

When they got back home, Zhao Jingrong was holding the baby Gentaro or Morpheus, and at the same time, he was teasing the big yellow dog with a black mouth and a black tongue who was trying to stand on his hind legs with an apple in his hand.

"Is anyone following us on the road?" Zhao Jingrong asked.

"No." Zhang Taichuan handed the big-character poster to the other party and said, "Look who wrote it."

Hearing this, Zhao Jingrong threw the apple in his hand to Gouzi, handed the baby in his arms to the old woman beside him, then took the poster and opened it to read, "Hey, this was written by Qiao Zhi?"

"Yes, it's posted at the entrance of the clinic." Zhang Taichuan said with a smile, "Everyone has a copy."

Just at this moment, another old maid came over and said, "Mr. Mu invites you over."

"Go, go."

Zhang Taichuan put down the suitcase he was carrying and said, "I guess Sister Qiao Zhi is already waiting for us."

At his call, everyone including Hirano Aoi lined up and went through the tunnel to the next door. Then they saw Lin Qiaoan and a young girl dressed in a neutral style in a room.

This beautiful girl was Lin Qiaozhi. Wei Ran, who had seen her photo in later life, recognized her at the first sight.

"I knew it was Qiao Zhi coming."

Zhang Taichuan shook the poster in his hand, and then complained, "Qiao An, why didn't you say a word yesterday?"

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao"

Lin Qiaozhi greeted them briefly and said, "I just arrived this morning. I left separately from my brother because I was afraid of danger and being caught together."

"Did you come here by yourself?" Zhao Jingrong asked.

"Wang Fu and Wang Gui came here to protect me," Lin Qiaozhi explained briefly, then switched to Japanese and took the initiative to greet them, "Is this Mr. Wei and Miss Hirano? I am Lin Qiaozhi."

"Hello, Miss Lin." Hirano Aoi bowed and greeted her, while Wei Ran extended his hand and shook hands with her gently.

"We don't have much time so let's keep it short."

Lin Qiaoan said, "Ms. Hirano, all the antiques were hidden last night. This evening, the firewood collection team will escort a batch of crates onto the ship and leave first to lure away Ichiro Hoshino's people who are watching us."

"Those crates are filled with all kinds of old books and newspapers," Lin Qiaozhi added with a smile, "and the shipping cost alone is quite a lot of money."

"Early tomorrow morning"

Lin Qiaoan smiled and continued, "Mr. Hirano will go to the dock to send Miss Hirano and Kawaguchi to board the ship first. At that time, you two will need to act a little closer to confuse the line of sight."

"Shall we leave first?" Hirano Aoi asked in surprise.

"That's right"

Lin Qiaoan nodded, "Just get on board, my sister Qiao Zhi and I will also be on board. When the ship starts sailing, we will pretend to be you. When we reach Ningbo Port, someone will take you off the ship and back to Shencheng."

"What about you?" Hirano Aoi asked subconsciously, "Will you be in danger?"

"No, don't worry."

Lin Qiaozhi explained, "Ms. Hirano, please come with me. I brought two identical sets of clothes and I need you to try them on."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Hirano Aoi uttered a fairly standard Chinese sentence, bowed, and followed Lin Qiaozhi to the next room.

"Has the beast prepared the letter?" Lin Qiaoan asked.

"Ready"

Zhao Jingrong said as he took out a sealed envelope and handed it to Wei Ran. "He said in the letter that he has sold all the antiques to Boss Mu and exchanged them for gold bars and US dollars, and is preparing to do a big business in Feilu Funeral."

"This old guy can't help it now."

Zhang Taichuan said with a smile, "We've lost everything, this old guy should not be beaten."

"Even if he dies, he has to bite the hook and be caught before dying." Zhao Jingrong said.

"Wei Ran, it's your turn next."

Lin Qiaoan said, "Once the old ghost appears, lure him with a letter first, and then Jingrong will come over to help. If he takes the bait, you two will follow him onto the boat.

If he doesn't take the bait, we'll cut off the people around him, or even tie him up and put him on the boat."

"No problem," Wei Ran replied casually, and put away the letter.

"What should we do with the child?" Zhang Taichuan asked at this time.

"In the letter, Hirano Daisho used him as a bargaining chip to gain Laogui's trust," Zhao Jingrong said, "This is sincere enough."

"Will he be willing to do that?" Wei Ran said, but then shook his head, "It's safer than taking it on board."

"Yes, it's safer than taking it on board."

Zhang Taichuan smiled and said, "Hirano Daisho has no choice but to trust us at this time."

"Is anyone watching the child?" Wei Ran asked.

"Xiaowu and Liuzi are also watching the firewood collecting team."

Zhao Jingrong replied, "Don't worry about the child. Wei Ran, if he gets on the ship, we have to be well prepared. It's hard to guarantee that there will be no one following Hoshino Ichiro."

"Don't worry, I'm very familiar with this job."

Wei Ran answered confidently, he was indeed very familiar with it. The last time he was on the same boat with the Japanese photographer, he slaughtered a whole boat of people. How can you be very familiar with it? Zhao Jingrong shook his head but did not ask any more questions.

After a while, Hirano Aoi, who had changed into an outfit so beautiful that it was eye-catching, walked in. Behind her, Lin Qiaozhi, who was wearing the same dress, followed.

Although Hirano Aoi is more than half a head shorter than Lin Qiaozhi, with the help of high heels, the two of them are exactly the same height at this moment, especially since they both wear large, veiled sun hats and exactly the same jewelry.

Wei Ran was even sure that if he were to help with the makeup, he could make the two of them look more similar and closer to Hirano Aoi.

"Very good," Zhao Jingrong praised repeatedly, "You can't recognize it from a distance."

"This is not made up yet," Lin Qiaozhi said, "It will look more like it after I put on makeup."

"There's still time now, why not try putting on some makeup," Wei Ran suggested.

"also"

Lin Qiaozhi's personality was as "manly" as the big-character poster she wrote. Without any hesitation, she simply opened the suitcase she brought with her, took out a makeup bag from it, and began to help Hirano Aoi put on makeup.

However, after just reading the beginning, Wei Ran shook his head and asked them to stop. Then, under Lin Qiaozhi's puzzled gaze, he asked Hirano Aoi to wipe off the makeup that she had just applied on her face.

"Do you know how to put on makeup?" Lin Qiaozhi asked curiously.

“There are two types of makeup”

Wei Ran began to work while explaining irrelevantly, "The first is to make people more beautiful, so makeup is needed to cover up flaws and highlight the characteristics and three-dimensionality of the appearance. This is also the purpose of most girls wearing makeup, to become beautiful."

"What about the second one?" Lin Qiaozhi asked with interest.

“The second is convergence”

Wei Ran explained, "It's like the various costumes on the stage. No matter who the actor is under the paint, as long as he wears the same face makeup and the same costume, the audience will know who the actor is playing, and will not pay attention to who is playing the role."

“So you use.”

"If you want two people to be the same, being beautiful is not the goal, but simply being the same is not enough."

Wei Ran used the handle of the brush in his hand to slightly lift Hirano Aoi's chin and said, "Ms. Hirano has the typical appearance of a prostitute, with delicate and soft features, an oval face, relatively large eyes, but a flat nose.

According to our Chinese standards, she is a beautiful girl from a small family, gentle and well-behaved. But the biggest feature of this face is her teeth, which are unique to the nuclear recruiters. This is also the most revealing part, so after boarding the ship, Miss Hirano has to show a sad emotion so that she doesn't have to show her teeth when she smiles. "

Pulling away the brush handle that was holding Hirano Aoi's chin, Wei Ran continued to work while saying, "So if we want to make her more recognizable, we have to highlight her strengths so that everyone can recognize her at a glance. That's Miss Hirano, the pitiful Miss Hirano who is sad."

As Wei Ran explained, the makeup on Miss Hirano's face became thicker and thicker. Although she was still herself, even more like herself, but as Wei Ran had just said, the makeup on her face was filled with a melancholy temperament.

"It's your turn"

Wei Ran motioned Lin Qiaozhi to sit down, and started to work again while explaining, "Ms. Lin is different from Miss Hirano. Although you also have an oval face, your temperament is more dignified and generous. It should be cultivated from living in a large family since childhood.

In addition, your skin is fairer and your facial features are slightly more three-dimensional, so you need to consider modifying them through shadows. Of course, your teeth are also neater, so you can't smile easily.

In combination with these, we need to cover up your appearance and temperament characteristics, so that your facial features and temperament are in line with Miss Hirano. Considering that you may not be able to hide your heroic spirit, we need to draw you as if Miss Hirano is sulking. "

"Where did you learn all this?" Zhang Taichuan couldn't help but ask.

“I learned this when I was studying photography.”

Wei Ran replied as a matter of course, "Photography requires taking good-looking photos of people, and makeup is a necessary means of retouching one's appearance."

"If there weren't any war, you would definitely be a photography genius." Zhang Taichuan's sigh made Wei Ran tremble.

Gently smearing the mistake he had just made, Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "Yeah, it would be nice if there was no war."

“The war will end”

Hirano Aoi stared at herself in the mirror, then smiled brightly and said, "Mr. Wei, after the war is over, if I am still alive, and if you are still alive, can you help me draw it again? And take a photo for me too."

"Okay," Wei Ran agreed straightforwardly.

“Please help me draw it once when the time comes.”

Lin Qiaozhi said, "If I am still alive at that time, and if I am ready to get married, Wei Ran, please help me put on makeup. Make me as pretty as possible. I want to charm my future man to death."

"You silly girl, you just talk nonsense every day." Lin Qiaoan shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "She has been spoiled at home."

"There's nothing wrong with women dressing up to please themselves." Wei Ran said, "At least painting more beautifully can please yourself."

"You are quite good at talking," Lin Qiaozhi smiled.

"Don't move"

Wei Ran reminded him, "After all, your current makeup is done to imitate Miss Hirano's appearance, so it's better to look angry. It will look weird if you smile."

Hearing this, Lin Qiaozhi immediately shut her mouth.

"What's the situation in Portugal and Macau?" Wei Ran asked in his native language while painting.

"Many people starved to death. Some ate soil, tree bark, and even human flesh. But everyone was still trying to do something."

Lin Qiaozhi's smile disappeared completely. "Since the Mingxiang Women's Troupe went to Portugal and Macau, they have been performing charity shows to raise funds for the anti-Japanese war. The main singers always leave the stage until their voices become hoarse."

Taking advantage of this topic, Lin Qiaozhi entered the mood that Wei Ran had set for her. The makeup on her face was also gradually being perfected.

Finally, when the makeup on her face was completed, Lin Qiaoan and others looked back and forth at the two girls' faces.

Frankly speaking, Wei Ran didn't draw them very alike, but even Lin Qiaoan had to admit that his sister Lin Qiaozhi did look like the pitiful Hirano Aoi next to her when she was angry.

"According to common sense"

Wei Ran said as she packed her makeup bag, "A man next to a beautiful girl won't attract too much attention. Even if someone notices that it seems like a different man has appeared, no one will care or find it strange."

"Why?" Hirano Aoi asked in confusion.

“It’s normal for beautiful women to be popular.”

Wei Ran smiled and said, "So it will be enough if Second Uncle and Uncle Lin try to wear the same clothes when the time comes."

"Where did you learn these nonsense?" Zhang Taichuan shook his head in confusion but did not refute.

Wei Ran smiled and didn't explain, "Ms. Hirano, Ms. Lin, you can only put on your own makeup on the ship, so I'm afraid I won't be able to help you then, but there is a trick."

"What method?" Lin Qiaoan asked.

"Kimono, Japanese makeup."

Wei Ran smiled and reminded, "Just paint your face white, but it won't work when we get on the boat tomorrow morning. We need to let everyone clearly see Miss Hirano get on the boat."

"I will prepare two sets of kimonos in advance," Hirano Aoi took the initiative to say.

"Let's get ready," Lin Qiaoan said, "In that case, let's wear kimonos when the time comes."

"Okay," Zhang Taichuan agreed straightforwardly.

Everything was ready. Wei Ran and the others, as well as Hirano Aoi who was wearing a dress, returned to the next room, while the Lin brothers and sisters quietly left the next room on the other side and went somewhere unknown.

That night, Hirano Daisho stayed at the military station and did not come back. Instead, Hirano Aoi, led by Zhang Taichuan, wore the dress and the makeup that Wei Ran had put on for her, and rushed to the military station to have a final reunion with her brother.

The next morning, Wei Ran changed into a formal suit early and went next door to help Hirano Aoi put on makeup. Then he took his camera and, together with Zhao Jingrong and Zhang Taichuan, escorted Hirano Aoi, who was holding the child in her arms, to meet up with Hirano Daxiang, who had arrived earlier.

"Mr. Musashi, please take a photo for us."

Hirano Aoi said as she handed the baby to Zhao Jingrong, then looked at her brother Hirano Daxiang, "Can we take a photo without the child this time? Just you, me, and Mr. Kawaguchi."

"no problem"

Hirano Daito readily agreed, but he stood between Hirano Aoi and Zhang Taichuan in a slightly stingy manner.

It turned out to be this time.
Wei Ran glanced at Zhang Taichuan and Hirano Aoi who were secretly holding hands behind Hirano Daisho, then raised the camera and pressed the shutter.

He naturally knew that it was impossible for the two of them to develop feelings for each other.

He knew even more clearly that this secret hand-holding action was completely for the possible peepers around and for those who would see the photo in the future.

After taking the photos, Hirano Daisho also took off the wakizashi from his waist, held it in both hands and handed it to Zhang Taichuan, "Mr. Qin, I'll trouble you to take care of my sister and Gentaro, please!"

Looking at Hirano Daisho who was bowing slightly to him, and Hirano Aoi who was gently holding him with one arm, Zhang Taichuan took a deep breath and reached out to take the blood-stained wakizashi, "Mr. Hirano, please rest assured, I will take good care of them."

"It's getting late," Zhao Jingrong said, "Miss Hirano, please get on board."

"See you at Feilu Funeral, brother."

Hirano Aoi hugged her brother Hirano Daisho, then turned around, picked up her luggage, and walked towards the boarding stairs with Zhang Taichuan who was also carrying luggage.

"My sister won't be in danger, right?" asked Daito Hirano.

“Please rest assured”

Zhao Jingrong, holding the child in his arms, replied, "We are friends, we will definitely ensure her safety."

"Yes, we are friends." Hirano Daisho breathed a sigh of relief, "And my Gentaro."

"I will send him to my teacher's house temporarily after you leave."

Zhao Jingrong replied in a low voice, "Give it to Miss Hirano when she comes back, and Kawaguchi will send the photos to you then."

"That's good"

Hirano Daisho took a deep breath, picked up the suitcase beside him, and shook hands with the two men. "Well, it's time for me to board the ship and leave. Gentlemen, we will meet again."

“We will definitely meet”

Wei Ran and Zhao Jingrong said in unison. As they watched Hirano Daxiang walk away, and as the white light gradually filled their vision, they each silently added in their hearts, "Wash your neck clean for me and wait!"