Li Yiming sat in his cell, the sunlight streaming in and turning the air a translucent gold.
Lu Huaizhang sat opposite her, his once jet-black hair now gray, and his aged face bearing a look of relief.
"So, Director, what do you mean?" Li Yiming asked with a smile.
"What does it mean?" Lu Huaizhang said with a wry smile, "It means nothing."
Having worked together for many years, the two knew each other inside and out. Lu Huaizhang remained silent, and Li Yiming did the same. After a long while, Lu Huaizhang finally spoke as if he had made up his mind: "The principal wants me to personally send you on your way. It will be this afternoon, a public execution. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last time we speak."
"For all these years of my service—" Lu Huaizhang gently tapped the edge of the enamel mug with the lid, his voice barely audible, just enough to be covered by the tapping, "There's something I've always wanted to ask you."
"What?"
Lu Huaizhang hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Which of you is Li Yiming?"
Li Yiming's eyes widened suddenly for a moment, then he chuckled and shook his head: "I don't understand what you're talking about."
However, deep down she thought, Lu Huaizhang truly lives up to his name.
Memories flashed through my mind, like a train traveling through a long, pale tunnel, finally stopping in a small courtyard.
A wealthy, scholarly family had two daughters. Although they were born only minutes apart and looked almost identical, they developed completely opposite personalities. The elder was gentle and kind, while the younger was unruly and mischievous. They were like the North and South Stars hanging in the sky.
In turbulent times, people are as adrift as the stars Shen and Shang. These two sisters were fortunate enough to stay by each other's side, but they were not fortunate enough to walk the same path.
The older one joined the Kuomintang, while the younger one, by nature fond of freedom, disdained any political party. From then on, they went their separate ways, each to a different place.
In their final argument before parting ways, the fiercely independent younger sister cut her palm and swore to her older sister with the blood that came from the same mother that she would prove that the path she had chosen was the right one.
The older sister sneered, "I'll be waiting for the day you come to me with your wounds, admitting defeat!"
And so, in order to prove that their chosen path was superior to the other's, the two sisters embarked on a ten-year journey of struggle.
Time passed, and the older sister became a key personnel in the Ninth Bureau. The younger sister, however, remained missing. Then one day, during a torrential downpour, the older sister passed by and found her younger sister begging on the street.
It turned out that the younger sister had been running around all these years, but because she lacked the skills, she had never been able to find a stable job. And unwilling to work in the brothel, she ended up begging on the streets to make a living.
The older sister felt a surge of pity for her younger sister, and the bond of blood took precedence, overshadowing her former competitive spirit. She then took her younger sister back to her home to care for her.
The older sister had always been careful with the family fortune left by their parents, which was more than enough to support her younger sister. However, ever since the younger sister came to live with her, strange and mysterious things had started to happen in the house.
It turns out that the younger sister was no ordinary person either. After parting ways with her older sister, she joined the Communist Party and fought her way through countless hardships to become a brave and fearless fighter on the hidden front. Now that Ruguan was in dire need of liberation, the organization learned that the older sister was working in the Ninth Bureau and began to plot to have the younger sister turn her to the Communist side.
However, turning someone to a defection is no easy task. The younger sister knew all too well that although her older sister seemed gentle, she was actually the most stubborn and tenacious person. Changing her mind was harder than changing the world. Therefore, she had no choice but to temporarily settle for second best and infiltrate her sister's side to steal some intelligence.
According to the younger sister's plan, she must first frame her older sister as a member of the underground Communist Party, leaving her with nowhere to stay in the Ninth Bureau. With this solid accusation pinned on her, the Ninth Bureau would inevitably punish her, and then she could be rescued. In this way, although her older sister could no longer remain an undercover agent within the Ninth Bureau, it would at least prevent future conflicts between siblings.
As the younger sister, she understands her own flesh and blood best. It's impossible to get her to change her faith; she can only hope she quickly extricates herself from the quagmire of the Kuomintang.
Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other for many years, but the bond between them had grown stronger. The older sister seemed completely unguarded with her younger sister, often telling her amusing stories from the Ninth Bureau. She would also occasionally bring home some confidential documents. Of course, she would be careful not to let her younger sister see them.
The younger sister orchestrated the plot to frame her older sister, like a cunning and treacherous serpent, meticulously planning everything so that her sister had no chance of escape.
The younger sister was outstanding. She had carried out missions for years without ever losing. Soon, the Ninth Bureau was in chaos, and Director Lu Huaizhang had to personally take charge of the Cleanup Operation. Before long, the investigation led to the older sister.
One spring night, the younger sister triumphantly recounted her plan to her older sister, saying, "The Ninth Bureau has laid a trap, just waiting for you to return so they can capture you. Now, you only have one path left—come with me."
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