Chapter 722 The most familiar stranger

 Putting down the phone, Cheng Qianfan had a thoughtful expression on his face.

Hyoutaro Imamura called and said that there was a banquet hosted at his home for distinguished guests recently and invited him to accompany him.

 ‘Mr. Xiao Cheng’ naturally agreed happily and said he would keep the appointment on time.

Because they were worried that the phone would be monitored, the two did not speak in the name of teachers and students. This was an invitation sent to Cheng Qianfan, deputy chief inspector of the Central Patrol Room of the French Concession, in the name of Hyoutaro Imamura, Special Assistant to the Consul General of the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai.

Hyoutaro Imamura called, which is no problem in itself.

 Inviting him to a banquet is no problem.

 The senior officers of the patrol house all knew that Cheng Qianfan had a close relationship with the Japanese side, especially Hyoutaro Imamura of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai.

 And this friendship is exactly what the French Concession authorities need and are happy to see.

 Everything seemed normal, but Cheng Qianfan just felt that something was wrong.

 This is a feeling that cannot be described in words, that is, he subconsciously feels that there may be a problem, but he cannot tell where the problem is.

 …

 ‘Mr. Xiao Cheng’ naturally did not need to strictly abide by the commuting time. When there was still an hour before getting off work, Cheng Qianfan ordered Li Hao to prepare the car.

“Brother Fan, where are you going?” Li Hao had already started the car and asked casually.

“Hyoutaro Imamura is hosting a banquet at home to entertain distinguished guests, and he invites me to accompany him.” Cheng Qianfan said, “Go to the warehouse.”

His mind began to think about what gift to choose this time. Different from the previous gifts, this time there were distinguished guests present, so the gift he chose was naturally a real visit gift.

Moreover, Hyōtaro Imamura called the patrol room, so this was a relatively public visit. The gifts he prepared must be in line with his status and occasion.

Then he saw Haozi stunned for a moment, then smiled and muttered in a low voice, "Fortunately it wasn't Sanbonjiro who asked Brother Fan to accompany you."

 “What did you say?” Cheng Qianfan asked immediately.

 “It’s nothing, Brother Fan, I said Sanbonjiro…”

Cheng Qianfan made a gesture to signal Haozi to be quiet, and there was a look of surprise on his face. No wonder he always felt that something was wrong. It turned out to be the familiarity brought about by his status as 'accompanying'.

Previously, Sanbonjiro asked him to accompany the 'VIP' Kusanagi. That incident was one of the most dangerous experiences in his latent career. Naturally, it left a very deep impression in his heart. Therefore, when he encountered the same thing today, he You will have strange feelings subconsciously.

 Cheng Qianfan chuckled and shook his head. He was a bit disappointed.

 “Let’s go.” Cheng Qianfan said.

 …

 Li Hao started the car and was about to pass through the gate at the patrol room when he saw a little girl running over and waving her arms at the car window.

 “Brother Hao.”

“Brother Fan, it’s Xiaohuan.” Li Hao stepped on the brakes, turned to Cheng Qianfan and rolled down the window to scold, “Xiaohuan, you are looking for death, you almost hit me.”

“Brother Hao, is Mr. Cheng in the car?”

"What do you want from me?" Cheng Qianfan poked his head out, "What does your lady want from me?"

 Xiaohuan is the little maid next to Ying Huaizhen.

Or it can also be understood as the female child labor hired to clean the house and serve tea and water.

After being scolded by Li Hao, the little maid felt aggrieved, but she didn't dare to show it on her face. When she heard Mr. Xiao Cheng's question, she hurried to the car window and took out an envelope from her body.

“Mr. Cheng, the lady asked me to give this to you.”

 “What is it?” Cheng Qianfan took the envelope and asked casually.

"You will know when you open it, sir." Xiaohuan said, and then he added as if he remembered something, "The lady came home yesterday and called a lady named Xia to ask for something."

"I know." Cheng Qianfan squeezed it with his hand, knowing that it should be a photo. He took out a French currency from his body and handed it to the little maid, "Go back."

The little maid received the reward, she beamed with joy, bowed, and ran away happily.

Cheng Qianfan looked at the back of the little maid running away happily, smiled and shook his head. He rolled down the window and said, "Let's drive."

"yes!"

 …

Cheng Qianfan held the envelope in his hand and raised the corners of his mouth. He just said something casually yesterday, and Ying Huaizhen remembered it in his heart. According to what the little maid said, Ying Huaizhen called Xia Xiaoying late at night to ask Xia Xiaoying for more time. Developed a photo.

 Women are born to act.

Cheng Qianfan would have been a little moved if he hadn't known that Ying Huaizhen was ordered to seduce him.

Then he chuckled and shook his head, yes, Ying Huaizhen hooked up with the famous Mr. Cheng in the French Concession on the orders of Xiao Mian, the Shanghai special case team.

Cheng Qianfan subconsciously put the envelope into the inner pocket of his suit. After thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate, so he picked up a book on his left hand side.

 He poured the photo out of the envelope and was about to put it in a book. Out of professional habit, he picked up the photo and glanced at it.

Just at this glance, Cheng Qianfan stopped placing the photo.

 “This person is...” He held the photo up and looked at it.

Ying Huaizhen is even more beautiful when she wears a beautiful cheongsam. The cheongsam perfectly embodies a woman’s beautiful body.

  Cheng Qianfan’s attention was focused on the photo background behind Ying Huaizhen.

There was a car parked on the side of the road below the theater. Only half of the car was in the frame. Several people were standing beside the car talking.

 …

 “Sakamoto Yoshino.” Cheng Qianfan first recognized his friend Sakamoto.

Sakamoto Yoshino, wearing a suit and leather shoes, was talking to several people, or to be precise, he was talking to the person in the middle.

this person-

Due to the angle of the photo, only the side face of the person talking to Sakamoto Yoshino was photographed.

 But—Cheng Qianfan’s eyes suddenly tightened!

This profile face actually looks like Taniguchi Hiranyuki.

 Among Kentaro Miyazaki's "relics" during his lifetime, although there is a photo of him and Hiroyuki Taniguchi, of course, it only shows the front face.

However, Cheng Qianfan had seen photos of Hiroyuki Taniguchi’s left side, right side, and even the back.

This was a secret order issued by Dai Chunfeng himself, instructing agents of the Secret Service to obtain the photograph of Hiroshi Taniguchi in Tianjin through legitimate means.

These photos were then brought over by Qi Wu, who was on a business trip to Shanghai. Cheng Qianfan carefully studied the photos, and after confirming that he had firmly memorized Taniguchi Hiroyuki’s physical features and back image, he destroyed the photos to remove traces of his body.

This matter was arranged personally by Dai Chunfeng. The entire "candid filming" operation was very cautious and confidential, and even the agents from the Tianjin Station who participated in the operation were all transferred back to the rear to work.

In addition, if it were not for the special status of Hiroyuki Taniguchi, who was a famous Japanese literati and archaeological expert, his sudden death would arouse attention and suspicion, which would be unsightly. Otherwise, Dai Chunfeng would have directly ordered the killing of Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 Because of this rigorous and sufficient preparation, Cheng Qianfan quickly determined that the person talking to Sakamoto Yoshino was none other than Kentaro Miyazaki’s ‘mentor’ Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

At the same time, Cheng Qianfan also instantly thought that Hyōtaro Imamura was going to host a banquet to entertain distinguished guests, and asked him to accompany him:

It is now clear that the distinguished guest that Hyōtaro Imamura wants to entertain is Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

Furthermore, Cheng Qianfan even understood that Hyōtaro Imamura's move should be to create a surprise between him and Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 Where is the surprise?

　　It is simply a life-threatening panic.

Cheng Qianfan let out a long sigh after figuring out the whole story.

Even though Shanghai is already feeling cold in November, Cheng Qianfan is sweating on his back at this moment.

 …

 Miyazaki Kentaro’s mother has passed away long ago.

  and has no other relatives.

 Miyazaki Kentaro was relatively quiet when he was a child, and his residence was a little remote. Apart from playing with Imai Tai, he didn’t have much contact with other children or neighbors.

When he reached middle school age, Kentaro Miyazaki left home to study.

 There are naturally some changes when a boy grows up.

Therefore, if there is anyone alive today who is most familiar with and understands Kentaro Miyazaki as an adult, it must be Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 It was already past two o'clock in the afternoon, and there were still three hours and a quarter of an hour before we went to the banquet at Imamura Hyoutarou's house.

  It can be said that time is extremely tight.

 Cheng Qianfan did not panic, let alone be at a loss.

Every time something big happens, you must stay calmer. This is one of the essential skills for a top agent to survive the brutal lurking career.

 …

 Cheng Qianfan closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

 He is thinking and remembering.

 Recalling the records about Hiroyuki Taniguchi in Kentaro Miyazaki’s diary, this is his most direct and valuable information about Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 Although he did not know when and where he would meet Hiroyuki Taniguchi before, it was even impossible for the two to meet for a long time.

 However, Cheng Qianfan has always been prepared for a rainy day. He has researched the relevant information countless times, and it can even be said that he knows it by heart.

 The recollection at this time is just to confirm that no details will be missed.

In addition to the records in Kentaro Miyazaki's diary, Cheng Qianfan is still recalling his correspondence and telegram exchanges with Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

After pretending to be Kentaro Miyazaki, it was impossible for him not to contact Hiroyuki Taniguchi. Cheng Qianfan found several replies from Hiroyuki Taniguchi among Kentaro Miyazaki's "relics", as well as a letter that Kentaro Miyazaki did not have time to send to Hiroyuki Taniguchi. .

 He carefully studied the unsent letter and then sent it to Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 Subsequently, after receiving a reply from Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Cheng Qianfan specifically approached Sanbonjiro and expressed his concerns about sending another letter to the teacher in his current latent status.

 Finally, Sanbonjiro made the decision that Kentaro Miyazaki did not need to reply to the letter from now on. If there was any matter, he could send it to Hiroyuki Taniguchi through the telegraph machine of the Super High School.

In this way, in the past two years, the contact between Cheng Qianfan and Hiroyuki Taniguchi, apart from the letter written by Kentaro Miyazaki himself, was the exchange of several telegrams between him and Hiroyuki Taniguchi. .

 …

 Through the diary, Cheng Qianfan carefully and meticulously studied the relationship between Kentaro Miyazaki and Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

 The relationship between Kentaro Miyazaki and this mentor is somewhat special:

 From an academic point of view, Kentaro Miyazaki respects Hiroyuki Taniguchi.

Hiroyuki Taniguchi was very strict with Kentaro Miyazaki, and even beat and scolded him frequently.

Perhaps it is for this reason that Miyazaki Kentaro is not close to Taniguchi Hiroyuki. This is very clearly reflected in the diary. Miyazaki Kentaro privately calls Taniguchi Hiroyuki the "Sword Axe". This nickname also shows that Got some questions.

 Cheng Qianfan gently rubbed his temples.

 The relationship between Kentaro Miyazaki and Hiroyuki Taniguchi is not close, which is good news.

 However, despite this, Hiroyuki Taniguchi knew Miyazaki Kentaro very well.

 There must be many things that only this pair of teachers and students know.

For example, Hiroyuki Taniguchi said something or explained something, or what kind of help Miyazaki Kentaro asked Hiroyuki Taniguchi to do, or even whether there was some kind of conflict between the two people. These are only two things. Talent knows.

 Once Hiroyuki Taniguchi and Kentaro Miyazaki talked about their teacher-student relationship and mentioned something on a certain day of a certain year, a certain month, Cheng Qianfan would probably not be able to pick up the conversation.

 …

also-

 “Haozi.” Cheng Qianfan said.

 “Brother Fan.”

 “Bring me the magnifying glass.”

"yes."

Li Hao took the magnifying glass from the glove box and handed it to Cheng Qianfan with his backhand.

Picking up the magnifying glass, Cheng Qianfan studied the photo carefully. His attention was on the other people around Sakamoto Yoshino and Taniguchi Hiroyuki.

With Hiroyuki Taniguchi’s status, it is certainly impossible for him to travel alone. He will be accompanied by assistants or security personnel.

 Cheng Qianfan held a magnifying glass in his hand and looked carefully.

To the left of Sakamoto Yoshino is a middle-aged man. Although this man’s face is from the front, he cannot be seen clearly from a distance.

There was a woman beside Hiroyuki Taniguchi. Cheng Qianfan stared at the woman’s face carefully:

do not know.

Beside this young woman is a young man.

 This person's face is profiled, and Cheng Qianfan cannot see the other person's face.

 At the far end, there is another man. He is smoking. He is turned sideways and his face cannot be seen clearly.

Cheng Qianfan shook his head slightly. He either couldn't see these people clearly or didn't recognize them.

This ‘not knowing’ means that he did not see photos of relevant people from the diary and other ‘relics’ left by Kentaro Miyazaki.

 However, this does not mean that Kentaro Miyazaki does not know these people.

The more likely scenario is that these people knew Kentaro Miyazaki, but were not very familiar with them, or that Kentaro Miyazaki had a very average attitude and perception towards these people, so he did not save relevant photos or group photos of these people.

Of course, it is also possible that Kentaro Miyazaki does not know these people.

 However, the first scenario cannot be ruled out.

 …

 Cheng Qianfan lit a cigarette and took a puff.

  Time is too tight and there are too many unknowns.

Once he goes to the banquet tonight, it is very likely that he will be found out, and this banquet will become a no-return banquet.

 Looking for an excuse?

 Avoid this dinner party invited by Hyotaro Imamura first?

 Cheng Qianfan fell into deep thought.

 In case of emergency, this method can be adopted.

 However, for a person of his status and job, the most taboo thing is ‘lying’.

 Yes, for hidden agents, the most likely thing to be exposed is ‘lies’!

Once you tell a lie, in order to complete the lie, you need to use countless lies to complete the lie. Then, you are not far away from being exposed.

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 (End of this chapter)