My spy diary

Chapter 605 Threat (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The two were standing very close, and Shen Ruozhu looked at him with a smile: "If Director Dai knew that I was still a virgin after having intimate relations with you, he would be very surprised, right?"

Zhang Yi stared coldly at her; this news was far too unexpected. What surprised him even more was that Shen Ruozhu dared to take the initiative. Zhang Yi didn't know which organization she served or what other bombshell information she might have, but for both personal and professional reasons, he had to face this slightly smug little woman.

Moreover, the matter was already out in the open and couldn't be avoided. She hadn't proactively reported it to Dai Chunfeng, so she must have other motives. Thinking this way, Zhang Yi calmed down, gently releasing her and pretending not to care.

"Oh, is it so?"

After Zhang Yi calmed down, Shen Ruozhu seemed a little nervous and unconsciously sat up straighter:
"Don't worry, I didn't say anything when Boss Dai asked."

"This is why?"

Shen Ruozhu said mysteriously, "Guess."

"You've fallen in love with me!"

Shen Ruozhu suddenly laughed, her voice sounding somewhat manic.

Zhang Yi frowned and subconsciously turned his head to look at the doorway.

"Don't worry, no one heard you." Shen Ruozhu suppressed her smile and calmly pointed to the IV bottle. "The nurse won't come until this medicine is finished."

Zhang Yi wasn't worried about the nurse, but rather the mysterious person secretly watching him. He glanced at his watch and cut to the chase:

"Did Boss Dai send you?"

"Yes. Boss Dai told me to stick to you like a leech and keep an eye on you, just in case I also want to know where you really come from."

"Where did I come from?" Zhang Yi was startled; she clearly knew something. He deliberately remained silent and said, "Where did I come from? What could I possibly come from? I only have a burning passion and unwavering loyalty."

Shen Ruozhu interrupted him, lowering her voice and saying, "I'm not talking about the Military Intelligence Bureau. Let's be frank—I know you're involved in the cases of Zhao Wenwu and Zhao Longwen."

Zhang Yi looked at her and smiled.

"Whether you admit it or not is irrelevant; I have evidence." Shen Ruozhu's tone was full of confidence.

"What evidence can prove that I did it?"

Shen Ruozhu nodded.

Zhang Yi smiled knowingly: "You have the potential to be Sherlock Holmes."

Who is Sherlock Holmes?

“The protagonist of a novel called ‘A Study in Scarlet’,” Zhang Yi replied, changing the subject. “Since you have evidence, you should report it to Boss Dai. You’ll surely be rewarded for your efforts.”

“I pride myself on my high alcohol tolerance. That night I only had a few glasses of champagne, but after a few sips of the red wine you handed me, I became drowsy and unconscious. When I woke up the next day, I had a splitting headache and couldn’t remember anything. So I suspect there was something wrong with that glass of wine. You must have drugged it.”

"That day, I only suspected your motives, and wasn't sure of your identity. It wasn't until the next day when I heard the news of Yao Zechong and Zhao Wenwu's deaths that I suspected you had used me to create an alibi." Shen Ruozhu smiled, looking at Zhang Yi, and said, "Of course, that was just speculation. Until yesterday, when Boss Dai found me and asked me to monitor you, I finally confirmed that you had a problem. Tell me, who exactly are you?"

Zhang Yi sat opposite her, stared at her for a few seconds, and suddenly laughed: "Your analysis is quite thorough, impressive! You definitely have the potential to be a detective. If you were in our department, you'd at least be a team leader. Unfortunately, speculation isn't evidence. You're very smart, but your position limits the information you receive, so your conclusions are naturally off track. Let me tell you the truth: Li Yishan has been caught, and he identified Zhao Longwen as the mastermind. Now that he's dead, everything is settled!"

He had completely regained his composure: "You probably don't know this, but everyone at headquarters knows I like men, not women. So, what I did to you was just torture; there was no sexual pleasure involved. Therefore, whether you're a virgin or not doesn't prove anything. Heh, even if I took you to Boss Dai's office and made you repeat what you just said, do you think he'd believe me or you?"

"What did you say?" Shen Ruozhu was startled, her eyes wide with disbelief, and asked in astonishment.

Zhang Yi looked at her and said, slowly and deliberately, "I like men, do you understand?"

After a few seconds of eye contact, Shen Ruozhu still didn't believe him, staring at him as if trying to discern the truth in his words. After a moment of silence, she finally asked, "Does Director Dai know about this?"

"Of course!" Zhang Yi said calmly. "Many people at headquarters know this."

"Really?" Shen Ruozhu felt a wave of nausea. "There really are people who like men?"

Zhang Yi shrugged: "Men's affairs are something you women can't understand."

Shen Ruozhu stared intently at him, a puzzled look on her face, and muttered to herself, "You're a department head, you have all the power and fame that men want, so why don't you like women, but men instead? Two grown men." As she finished speaking, Shen Ruozhu's face turned red, and she shifted her position in disgust.

Even though Zhang Yicheng was shrewd and thick-skinned, and his words were against his conscience, he still felt disgusted by her words and actions, and quickly changed the subject:
"On another note, since you have suspicions about me, why don't you report me to Boss Dai?"

"Reporting you? Why should I report you?" Shen Ruozhu gritted her teeth, her fierceness rising to her pink cheeks, and said hatefully, "I just think that Yao Zechong and Zhao Wenwu, those two bastards, deserved to die."

"Oh?" Zhang Yi was taken aback. He should have been happy to hear her say that, but he felt that Shen Ruozhu's change in attitude was too abrupt and strange, so he dared not take it lightly at all. After considering it carefully, he asked, "Do you have a grudge against them?"

"From the first moment you saw me, you must have thought I was Zhao Wenwu's lover, a promiscuous woman, right?" Shen Ruozhu retorted.

“Isn’t that right?” Zhang Yi nodded.

"Actually, yes and no." Shen Ruozhu wasn't guilty about her contradictory words, but instead cast a hot gaze at her and spoke eloquently.

Her account was unbelievable to Zhang Yi—
Shen Ruozhu, 22 years old this year, comes from a small landlord family in Suzhou. Her parents are relatively open-minded and sent her to a private school when she was young. Shen Ruozhu is also very hardworking and got into a girls' high school.

However, fate is unpredictable. In her second year of high school, her mother suddenly fell ill and passed away. Shen Ruozhu was only fifteen years old at the time, with two younger sisters. The aunts and grandmothers in the clan not only showed no sympathy or help to the orphaned girls, but also often bullied them because her father was honest.

After her mother's death, her father, who had never cared about family matters, became completely distraught and depressed, soon developing a serious lung disease. The family's meager possessions were almost entirely sold off to pay for her father's medical treatment, leaving Shen Ruozhu with little to no inheritance. She was forced to discontinue her studies and stay home to care for her father and younger sisters. To ensure his eldest daughter's education wouldn't be neglected and to provide care for his younger daughters, her father arranged for them to marry a stepmother.

This stepmother was a widow with two daughters to support. But she was lucky enough to give birth to a boy the following year.

Having a son late in life, the father doted on him immensely, treating him like a precious gem. As a result, Shen Ruozhu's status in the family plummeted. Furthermore, her stepmother constantly whispered in her ear, stirring up trouble and saying things like "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent," urging her husband to marry off their daughter early for a large dowry.

No matter how reluctant the father was, seeing his several hungry children at home, he could only make his eldest daughter suffer.

And so, without Shen Ruozhu's knowledge, her family arranged a marriage for her with her stepmother's cousin.

This man was short and stocky, with a bulbous nose, fish-like eyes, and a waddling gait—a veritable toad. Being a toad wouldn't have been bad enough, but this fellow was not only ugly but also a womanizer, a frequent visitor to brothels, and a notorious womanizer. Shen Ruozhu, having entered high school and seen the world, naturally resented marrying such a man and thus conceived the idea of ​​running away from home.

Just then, news arrived that Shanghai had fallen and the Japanese invaders were advancing rapidly. Many students abandoned their studies, joined the army, and rushed to the battlefield to fight against the Japanese. Shen Ruozhu also decided not to continue her studies and joined the tide of resistance against Japan. She and many classmates applied to the Jiangxi branch of the Central Military Academy. The exam went very smoothly, and they were all very happy, excited that they too could one day fight on the battlefield like men to defend their country.

But they never dreamed that on the day of assembly and reporting, the military academy sign that was supposed to be there was suddenly taken down, and the instructors took them directly to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Police Academy.

Upon arriving at the school, they were informed that they would receive special agent training to prepare talent for the soon-to-be-established Military Intelligence Bureau.

These naive and idealistic students had no idea about the nature of espionage work. They only heard their instructors say that the Military Intelligence Bureau was the most revolutionary and anti-Japanese organization, and they believed it to be true. They were filled with fantasies about the future, thinking they had escaped the mental shackles of their feudal families and entered a free world. Little did they know that they had just jumped out of one pit of fire and fallen into another. By the time they discovered that what their instructors were teaching them were all methods of kidnapping and murder, it was too late for regrets.

And so, after graduating from police academy, Shen Ruozhu was assigned to the Jiangshan County Police Bureau. One day, while on duty, she unexpectedly ran into her high school classmate, Liu Lianfang, whom she hadn't seen for several years.

Instead of joining the army, Liu Lianfang chose to pursue further studies and was admitted to Suzhou University. Meeting an old friend in a foreign land was naturally a great joy in life. Upon learning that Liu Lianfang had fled here, that his parents had been brutally murdered by the Japanese invaders, and that he was now alone, penniless, and destitute, Shen Ruozhu took it upon herself to help her old classmate rent a house and settle down.

Even so, Liu Lianfang lived in constant fear and tears. She had never suffered such a blow in her life. Shen Ruozhu would come to keep her company every day, reminiscing about their school days.

However, before the two could open their hearts to each other, fate taught them another lesson.

“That day I came back from my case to look for her, only to find she was missing. Later, I found out that she had been arrested by the Kuomintang's Investigation Bureau and framed as a Japanese spy.” As she said this, Shen Ruozhu gritted her teeth and said hatefully, “How could Lianfang be a spy? They’re just trying to frame her. It must be that guy surnamed Yao who coveted her beauty and got carried away by lust, which is why he dared to do such a heinous thing.”

Zhang Yi hadn't expected Liu Lianfang to be Shen Ruozhu's classmate. Seeing her preoccupied expression, he knew there was more to the story, so he asked:

"and after?"

Shen Ruozhu sighed and said, "I thought that by relying on my identity as a police officer, I could find out the truth and clear Lianfang's name. But I underestimated the shamelessness and unscrupulousness of these people. Overnight, the Plum Blossom spy case rapidly expanded. The investigation office, based on a fabricated confession, started arresting people everywhere, even involving the garrison. After my repeated appeals went unanswered, I had no choice but to seek help from Police Chief Zhao Wenwu."

"You're like a lamb entering a tiger's den."

"Yes, but what can I do?" Shen Ruozhu said, tears welling up in her eyes. Back in school, she and Liu Lianfang were the two students from the same class with the most similar family backgrounds, and therefore had always been very close. More than anyone else, she didn't want tragedy to befall Liu Lianfang, and no matter how treacherous the road ahead, she had no other choice but to go.

"Zhao Wenwu agreed?"

"That bastard Zhao Wenwu is no good either." Mentioning Zhao Wenwu, Shen Ruozhu recalled his lecherous, ugly face beneath his confident, high-sounding pronouncements and his vulgar words. A wave of disgust and shame washed over her, but it passed quickly, and she said bitterly:

"That bastard was already lusting after my body. When he saw me offering myself up, he naturally agreed without hesitation, saying that Yao Zechong and his uncle were very close and that he could send me back with just one phone call. Of course, I wouldn't believe his one-sided story."

Therefore, Shen Ruozhu and Zhao Wenwu reached a private agreement: as long as he rescued Liu Lianfang, Shen Ruozhu would fulfill her promise and become his lover.

However, as time went by, there was still no news about rescuing Liu Lianfang. Zhao Wenwu could no longer restrain himself and repeatedly made indecent advances towards Shen Ruozhu. If it weren't for her good skills, she would have almost let him succeed.

Zhang Yi paused for a moment, then asked, "And then?"

Shen Ruozhu sighed again: "Everyone in the police station knows about the Plum Blossom spy case, but no one ever mentions it. They just ignore it because it doesn't concern them. But I can't. Not to mention Liu Lianfang, there are so many innocent girls. I can't live with myself if I don't rescue them."

But ultimately, I was just a nobody. Left with no other choice, I secretly wrote letters of denunciation, not only to representatives of the local gentry, but also to newspapers, and even to the Kuomintang's secret police, hoping to escalate the matter, ideally to the mountain town, so they could no longer cover it up. You know what happened next.”

Zhang Yi was somewhat surprised: "You even wrote a letter of denunciation to the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics?"

"So what?" Shen Ruozhu sneered. The Plum Blossom Spy Case ended in an unexpected way. It started in absurdity and ended in an equally bizarre way, but Liu Lianfang would never come back. "So, they deserved to die. Yao Zechong and Zhao Wenwu deserved their fate."

She paused, stared at Zhang Yi for a moment, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Director Zhang, in other words, we were once in the same boat and fought side by side. Don't worry, I won't report you."

Zhang Yi remained calm: "Yes, we all serve the Party, the State, and the Military Intelligence Bureau, so that makes sense."

"I've told you everything in detail, but you still don't believe me?"

"Of course I believe you, why wouldn't I?" Zhang Yi continued to feign ignorance. There's a saying that a gentleman avoids deep acquaintances, and even if Shen Ruozhu's words were true, they weren't truly open with each other. Furthermore, conscience is not the same as faith; one is moral perception, the other a spiritual anchor. Conscience leans towards instinctive moral responses, while faith is a actively chosen and upheld spiritual anchor.

Shen Ruozhu snorted and muttered, "Director Zhang, do you have a single truth to tell?"

“Every word is true.” Zhang Yi glanced at his watch, stood up, walked to Shen Ruozhu, and looked at her with a daunting gaze. “Speaking of conscience, you are indeed a good policeman, but the police station and the Military Intelligence Bureau do not need people with conscience. No matter what Director Dai promised you, this is my last warning to you: do not do things that you are not capable of taking responsibility for. Think of your family.”

Shen Ruozhu stared directly at him and said, "Is this considered a threat?"

"No, it's a warning."

After saying this, Zhang Yi turned and left the ward, slamming the door shut behind him.

Shen Ruozhu's face was as cold as ice.

(End of this chapter)