The streets early in the morning were quiet, empty of people and the lights glowed with loneliness.
A shadow suddenly emerged from the greenery by the kerb. It limped across the road, past a grass patch, and then came to a house.
The Germans and the CIA were all looking for Xia Lei but he was right under their noses.
Xia Lei went around to the back of the house. He used a metal wire to open a window, and he clambered through the window, into the house.
The house was big. The fittings, furniture, appliances and so on were all top quality. It wasn’t difficult to see that this was a middle class German home.
Xia Lei went past the living room, and into the kitchen. He found a bottle of juice and a cooked sausage in the refrigerator. He didn’t bother washing his hands or use any dining etiquette. He grabbed the sausage and shoved it in his mouth, then washed it down with a mouthful of juice. He was starving.
Several minutes later, Xia Lei finished stuffing his belly. He went cautiously up to the second floor. His left eye twitched when he came to a room door, and what was going on in the room immediately entered his left eye’s vision.
Behind the door was a bedroom, and two women were lying on the bed. The two women were sleeping while hugging each other, and they seemed very affectionate and sweet. There were a lot of rubber toys placed messily on the bedside table. On the wall at the head of the bed was a wedding picture, but there weren’t any men in the picture. There were just two women.
‘Well, damn… This is a lesbian’s house.’ Xia Lei frowned.
He urgently needed some clean men’s clothing but he clearly wouldn’t be able to get what he wanted in a house for two women.
After some hesitation, he opened the door softly and tiptoed towards the bedside table with many silicone toys on it.
From the average person’s point of view, those things were only toys to please a woman, but Xia Lei saw them as the main material for making a disguise mask.
He left the room several minutes later. He hadn’t just taken those toys, but also a few makeup products, a set of women’s clothing, and a golden wig….
The light of dawn dispersed the darkness, and the sleepy city of Duesseldorf awakened. The blue Rhein River was like a sparkling and shining ribbon in the morning sun.
A taxi stopped at a street corner and a tall young woman with golden hair got out. She took out 20 euros from her handbag, gave it to the driver, and followed the pavement.
Two German police officers approached, and one of them was speaking into a walkie talkie as he walked.
The woman with golden hair brushed past the two officers.
“Stop!” yelled a German police officer all of a sudden.
The woman with golden hair immediately went rigid. She looked back to see the German police officers walking briskly over to a young Asian man on the pavement. He was sandwiched by the policemen in the blink of an eye.
“Please show us your Personalausweis,” said a German police officer.
“I’m sorry, what did you say? I don’t understand…” The Asian man replied in Chinese.
“Personalausweis!”
“I really can’t understand you. Can you speak English? Korean would be fine too.”
The golden-haired woman turned back and continued walking.
There was a Chinese restaurant opened by some Chinese people at the end of the street. It only opened for lunch and dinner. There weren’t any customers in the restaurant since it was morning. A waitress was mopping the floor, and an Asian man was standing at the counter, doing some accounting with a calculator when the golden-haired woman passed by the restaurant entrance.
The golden-haired woman walked in.
“I’m sorry madam, we are not open for business yet.” The waitress mopping the floor spoke stiffly in German.
The golden-haired woman didn’t talk to her. She went directly to the middle-aged man doing calculations.
“Hello? Madam, we’re not open for business. Please come back in the afternoon.” The female waitress came after her, but didn’t dare to stick out her hand to stop the woman.
The man behind the counter looked up at Xia Lei, his eyes full of alarm and wariness. He said tentatively, “Madam, do you need anything? You can see that it isn’t our operating hours right now.”
The golden-haired woman lowered her voice. “May I ask where I can buy a ticket to Duesseldorf’s home game?”
The golden-haired woman’s voice was very strange. It sounded like a man but also like that of a woman, giving one the feeling that she was a transsexual.
The man behind the counter stared blankly, then said, “What a coincidence, I’m also a fan of Duesseldorf’s team. I just happen to have an extra home game ticket. I can sell it to you. How much money are you willing to spend?”
“21 euros,” said the golden-haired woman.
“Please come with me.” The middle-aged man left the counter and walked towards the inside of the restaurant.
The golden-haired woman followed the middle-aged man into a storeroom. Once they entered the storeroom, the Asian man immediately turned around and put a gun to the golden-haired woman’s head. He coldly asked, “Who are you?”
The golden-haired woman spoke in Chinese. “You don’t have the authority to know. Tell Section Chief Long to come out and see me.”
The golden-haired woman had a transsexual voice earlier, but she now had a full-on male voice, and she spoke in authentic, mainland-accented Chinese.
“You are…” The middle aged man seemed to have guessed who was in front of him but he couldn’t believe it, because the person he was thinking of was a man, the man that the Germans and American CIA were currently searching the entire city for. However, the person standing in front of him was a very real-looking woman. She had a woman’s face, a proud, perky chest, and round butt.
The golden-haired woman took off her shawl, exposing the Adam’s apple that only a man would have.
The middle-aged man understood immediately. He nodded, then turned and walked to a corner. He lifted a dirty carpet, revealing a square-shaped wooden board. He opened the wooden board, and underneath was a passageway which slanted downwards.
“Consultant Xia, please enter. The two section chiefs are down there.” The middle aged man’s voice carried respect.
The golden-haired woman in front of him was indeed Consultant Xia Lei of Bureau 101.
Xia Lei could achieve a 90% resemblance to another person with makeup by using the face mask making techniques he had learnt from his father, Xia Changhe, and the ability of his left eye. Right now, the Germans and American CIA were scouring the entire city of Duesseldorf for him, but he had managed to come here still.
Xia Lei bent over to enter the underground passageway. The middle-aged man closed the wooden board and covered it with the carpet.
No one was in the basement. A television set was currently broadcasting the latest news. Two bottles of German beer sat between two sofas still, next to a plate of stewed meat and a pile of peanuts. Some peanut shells were scattered all over the table. He could see that someone had just been drinking and watching the news.
Xia Lei was about to walk out of the passageway when he stopped and said, “Don’t be nervous, it’s me. I’m coming in now. Don’t ambush me — I’m injured.”
Long Bing and Tang Yuyan, who were hiding at both sides of the passageway, appeared immediately after he spoke.
Tang Yuyan and Long Bing had been certain Xia Lei had come when they heard his voice, but they paused when they saw a golden-haired woman in front of them. They stood there, unmoving.
Xia Lei reached up to take off his mask, revealing his own face.
“Whew…” Long Bing let out a long sigh of relief. Her heart was filled with emotion as tears of happiness formed in her eyes.
It had been just yesterday when she thought that she would never see Xia Lei again, but Xia Lei had appeared in front of her again now. All of this seemed like a dream, and this dream of separation through life and death had made her realise that she actually loved him deeply, so deeply that there was no point of return.
Xia Lei’s lips formed a smile. A sunny, easy smile filled with confidence.
Long Bing couldn’t control her emotions anymore. She walked up to Xia Lei. She was going to throw herself at him even if Tang Yuyan was here. She had to kiss him!
However, Tang Yuyan lost control first, before Long Bing could walk over to Xia Lei. She threw herself into Xia Lei’s embrace with abandon and a girlish squeal, hugging him firmly as though afraid he would leave again.
Long Bing froze on the spot immediately, with a very odd look on her face.
It was quite normal for her to do stuff with Xia Lei because she was Xia Lei’s woman. The number of times they had slept with each other was in the double digits. However, on what basis was Tang Yuyan being so intimate with him? Who was she to him?
Xia Lei was feeling awkward too. The one he wanted to hug was Long Bing, but the person who had squeezed into his embrace was the young lady of the Tang Sect. Tang Yuyan was in his embrace, snuggling into his arms like a cat — he couldn’t just push her away, could he?
“You know what? I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again in this lifetime… Yesterday, when you pointed the gun at your own head to save me, so I could leave, I,I, I… I...” Tang Yuyan said a lot of ‘I’s but she couldn’t finish her sentence.
She probably would have finished it if Long Bing were not present.
“Ah-ahem.” Long Bing cleared her throat.
Tang Yuyan seemed to only just realise what she was doing and her face reddened immediately. She let go of Xia Lei, then rolled her eyes at Long Bing. “What are you ahem-ing at? This is called a deep camaraderie between fellow comrade-in-arms.”
Long Bing didn’t speak. She walked to Xia Lei and suddenly hooked her arm around Xia Lei’s neck, to plant a kiss on Xia Lei’s lips.
What Tang Yuyan? What Shentu Tianyin? To heck with them!
A lover? A third party? To hell with all of those judging gazes!
I am Long Bing, and I am a woman who isn’t afraid to love or hate!
Tang Yuyan gaped at Xia Lei, who was entangled with Long Bing. Their hot, steamy kissing made her face turn red. She was so sour about it that she felt like she had been soaked in a vinegar jar. Even the air was sour!
“A-HEM!” Tang Yuyan cleared her throat too.
Long Bing pretended not to hear Tang Yuyan’s voice. Long Bing had been tame while Tang Yuyan was silent, but the ‘AHEM’ prompted her to stretch her tongue into Xia Lei’s mouth, past his teeth, to play with his tongue.
Xia Lei was at a bit of a loss…
“Mmh… nnnh... uuhn!”
Schlurp… Schlick, schlurp...
“Hello?! What are you guys doing? Do I not exist?” Tang Yuyan couldn’t take it anymore.
Long Bing let go of Xia Lei then, and she was calm as she said, “What are you groaning about? This is just the camaraderie between fellow comrade-in-arms."
“Bah! Are you sure it isn’t that of a fuck-buddy?”
Long Bing was speechless.
Xia Lei coughed awkwardly. “Stop arguing. I’ll tell you my plan.”
“A plan to escape?” said Long Bing. “Boss Shi already made the arrangements so all we have to do is wait here.”
Tang Yuyan and Long Bing’s eyes went to Xia Lei’s face at the same time.
Xia Lei shook his head. “No.”
What plan did he have at this critical juncture?