Chen Han Wen was considering his plans for the north after the Anti-Japanese War, while at the same time, in Dai Li's office, Chen Hua was instructing Zeng Mo Yi.
As Dai Li's secretary and lover, Chen Hua had access to his office. Zeng Mo Yi happened to be looking for her when she was cleaning Dai Li's office, so they naturally had to talk there.
Zeng Mo Yi's visits to Chen Hua were becoming more frequent, and they always revolved around Chen Han Wen. Chen Hua naturally assumed that Zeng Mo Yi was softening her stance, giving her hope that she could get Zeng Mo Yi into Chen Han Wen's bed. With Dai Li conveniently absent, and Zeng Mo Yi seeking her out to share "little secrets," Chen Hua naturally wanted to find a safe place to talk.
But what were Zeng Mo Yi's intentions?
She simply wanted to enter Dai Li's office. While conversing with Chen Hua, Zeng Mo Yi was distracted, observing the office. She also believed that Dai Li would keep the list of 73 undercover agents in his office, but she didn't know where he kept it.
Where could it be?
Zeng Mo Yi analyzed the situation while agreeing with Chen Hua.
Chen Hua hadn't considered that Zeng Mo Yi could be an underground communist. Seeing Zeng Mo Yi's uneasy demeanor, she assumed she had been swayed by her words. Putting her arm around Zeng Mo Yi's shoulder, she said, "Little Zeng, we agreed, we'll have dinner with Ming Cheng tonight."
"Oh, ah?" Zeng Mo Yi was taken aback. She was diligently analyzing the situation with Chen Han Wen, why was dinner suddenly on the agenda?
I never planned to use a beauty trick to get information!
"Th-this, Sister Chen Hua, isn't this a bit too fast? I..."
Zeng Mo Yi tried to explain, but Chen Hua didn't want to hear it. Instead, she said, "My silly little sister, how can that be too fast? It's already too slow, okay? Don't you know how much Ming Cheng is in demand? Even after defeating the Japanese, if Ming Cheng goes into business, he'll be one of the top richest men, okay? His business skills are something the Four Great Families envy, you know."
Chen Hua continued to persuade Zeng Mo Yi, but Zeng Mo Yi stared blankly... She no longer cared about exploring Dai Li's office. All she could think about was how to escape Chen Hua's invitation.
However, she couldn't find a suitable excuse. After a moment of thought, she said, "Th-then, Chief Chen is so busy with his work, would he have time..."
Mainly, she was concerned that Chen Han Wen wouldn't have time. He was so busy, it wouldn't be good to disturb him, would it?
"Silly sister, Ming Cheng has Xu Zhong Yi helping him in the General Affairs Department, what could he possibly be doing? Doesn't he go out and play with the Central United Front's vixen every day?"
Chen Hua believed that as a member of the Military Affairs Commission, even though it was honorable for Chen Han Wen to sleep with Central United Front women, he should choose a woman from the Military Affairs Commission at his age, now that it was time to get married.
Wasn't Zeng Mo Yi a blooming flower of the Military Affairs Commission?
Chen Hua took it upon herself to arrange the invitation to Chen Han Wen, "I'll invite Ming Cheng, just put your mind at ease, little sister, I'll take care of it."
Zeng Mo Yi wanted to say something else, but Chen Hua pushed her out, "Come on, come on, this is the Director's office, it's not good for us to stay here for long. If he finds out, I'll definitely get yelled at. Let's go out first, we can talk about it later."
Chen Hua pulled Zeng Mo Yi out.
Then she told her to wait in the office for good news, which made Zeng Mo Yi furious.
When did she agree to have dinner with Chen Han Wen? Besides, would Chen Han Wen even have the information Zeng Mo Yi wanted?
She had no way to defend herself... Zeng Mo Yi felt like she couldn't speak up, so she left dejectedly.
Chen Han Wen was indeed a good man, a dream lover in the hearts of many young women, but... Zeng Mo Yi didn't want to, or to be precise, she wasn't quite ready.
Zeng Mo Yi was the Party's undercover operative in Chongqing. As the Japanese army began to show signs of decline, she keenly sensed that a war between the Nationalists and Communists was inevitable. At that time, she would be dancing on the edge of a knife, with death lurking at every turn.
In such a situation, how could Zeng Mo Yi even think about personal matters?
What if Chen Han Wen was caught in the crossfire?
Zeng Mo Yi's mind was in turmoil.
The current situation didn't seem to align with her expectations.
...
Chen Hua thought that as Dai Li's woman, if she invited Chen Han Wen to dinner, he should give her face.
She mentioned the invitation to Zeng Mo Yi and Chen Han Wen to have dinner together, and said to Chen Han Wen, "Ming Cheng, I've helped you so much, you should be grateful."
"Grateful, of course, I'm grateful... Zhong Yi has a set of cosmetics, they're really good, I'll send them to you later."
Chen Han Wen readily agreed, smiling. For women, either "packaging" works wonders or sending cosmetics. These two gifts are always reliable, but having dinner together at night... that's a no-go: "Little brother is grateful for Sister Hua's help, but... Lin Tao is throwing a tantrum lately, I have to coax her first. I can't have my flag flying outside and my house in chaos, can I?"
"That vixen... why bother with her? She's just causing trouble!"
Chen Hua expressed her dissatisfaction with Lin Tao and reminded Chen Han Wen, "Ming Cheng, don't forget why she approached you in the first place. She wanted to kill you... Can you keep such a woman by your side? Be careful, and look at Mo Yi, what a great girl, she's gentle, elegant, and intelligent. You two would be a perfect match."
After saying this, Chen Hua leaned closer to Chen Han Wen and whispered, "Besides, if you get Mo Yi, won't that make that Central United Front vixen feel threatened? When she makes a fuss, just kick her out! With Mo Yi, you'll have a happy life for a long time to come."
Hearing Chen Hua's words, Chen Han Wen felt a surge of disgust.
Chen Hua was simply a mistress, a woman Dai Li bought with a price tag. Therefore, in her worldview, any woman could be bought and sold with a price tag. The only reason they weren't together was that the price wasn't right.
This kind of rhetoric filled Chen Han Wen with disgust.
He liked many women, but he had never considered kicking any of them out. Every woman was his true love.
As for Chen Hua... Chen Han Wen didn't want to be too deeply involved with her. Once she got old and lost her looks, Dai Li would kick her to the curb. But it wasn't certain, after all, Dai Li had the heart of a villain.
"Sister Hua, next time. I'll stay with Lin Tao for now. We'll talk about other things later."
Chen Han Wen looked at Chen Hua and said with a smile, "I'm a playboy, I'm a bit of a womanizer. Lin Tao is good to me, so I won't betray her."
Chen Han Wen wasn't averse to women, but he knew clearly that Zeng Mo Yi wouldn't have come looking for him just to sleep with him. She was probably seeking the list of 73 undercover agents in Shaanxi. He didn't want Zeng Mo Yi to be exposed so soon, so he would delay things as much as possible.
Chen Han Wen just gave a casual excuse, avoiding the dinner invitation, but his casual reason made Chen Hua feel lost.
Although Chen Han Wen was a playboy, he was devoted, he wouldn't play with women casually. How unlike Dai Li... he was just a tool to him, to be discarded once he was no longer useful.
And besides himself, who else was a tool for Dai Li?