At the warehouse outside Huishan Wharf, Chen Fan waited for ages before the warehouse owner finally arrived.
Seeing Boss Zhu, the warehouse owner, appear, Chen Fan quickly tossed away his cigarette butt and waved to him.
At the same time, a black sedan bearing a golden chrysanthemum emblem sped along the road behind Boss Zhu.
Sitting in the back seat, Fujiwara Kyoka stroked the heart-shaped silver locket hanging against her chest.
The locket was hollow, with a photograph set into each side. Both photographs had been specially trimmed into hearts, with Fujiwara on one side and her fiancé, Suzuki Kyoichi, on the other.
Fujiwara leaned back against the car's leather seat and casually glanced to the side.
Kyōichi's birthday was only half a month away. Seven years had passed in a flash, but Fujiwara still missed him...
She did not know whether it was because she missed him too deeply.
Kyōichi's figure actually appeared before her eyes, and he even waved to her...
Stranger still, the Kyōichi before her was dressed in a crisp suit, his face just as it had been back then. Even his smile was exactly the same. Seven years had passed, yet he had not changed in the slightest.
How could a person go seven or eight years without changing?
Unless he was not human...
"So this must be a hallucination, right? Is it because I miss you too much, Kyōichi...?"
The speeding car soon left that figure behind.
"Kyōichi..." The next moment, Fujiwara abruptly snapped out of it. "Stop the car."
Screech! The car braked sharply, startling the guard.
Fujiwara anxiously rolled down the window. In the distance, a group of people had indeed gathered in front of that enormous warehouse, but Kyōichi in his crisp suit was not among them.
Judging by their clothes, they were merely a group of laborers accustomed to hauling goods for a living.
So had it really been nothing but a hallucination?
"Miss Fujiwara, what happened?" the guard asked, his hand reaching toward his waist.
"Nothing. I was mistaken."
Fujiwara rubbed between her brows, unable to hide the disappointment in her eyes. "Let's go."
Of course, Fujiwara did not know that what she had seen was no hallucination. By the time the car stopped, Chen Fan had already followed Boss Zhu into the warehouse.
The car drove on, farther and farther away...
Meanwhile, inside the warehouse...
The warehouse was divided into front and rear sections, occupying ten mu in total, with around three thousand square meters of usable space.
Ever since the Battle of Shanghai broke out, this warehouse near Huishan Wharf had become a hot potato.
The reason was simple: it was closest to the wharf controlled by the Japanese.
Merchants all wanted peace and stability. With so many Japanese around here, if some of them played dirty and something happened, none of the merchants could afford the losses.
Cao Bin knew the situation here too and had discussed it with Chen Fan beforehand.
Chen Fan did not care about that, however, and readily told Cao Bin to arrange a meeting with Boss Zhu.
Negotiations went smoothly. One was eager to get the place, the other eager to rent it out, and they only haggled over the price for a while.
Boss Zhu wanted a hundred and twenty silver dollars a month.
Chen Fan talked himself hoarse and bargained the price down to ninety-five.
After paying six months' rent on the spot, Chen Fan told Brother Bao and his men to tidy up the warehouse first.
He needed to find a way to get money.
Although Old Knife Handle had lent him five thousand silver dollars, once he added up the shop, goods, warehouse, and miscellaneous expenses, he would not have much left.
Chen Trading Company was still preparing to open, and he also needed to stock it fully.
That would require another sum of money. Once business was on track, everything would become easier.
After giving his instructions, Chen Fan did not linger. He climbed into the Austin that rattled everywhere except its horn and headed for Kingston Road.
It was about time to settle the accounts for his last cloth-smuggling deal with Old Knife Handle.
Shengping Theatre, Kingston Road, Shanghai.
By the time the car reached its destination, the sky had darkened, but the theatre was still bustling...
Shengping Theatre held evening performances five days a week, with none on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
It was the weekend, and lights shone throughout the theatre, upstairs and down.
Figures thronged both floors, and attendants led people back and forth through the aisles.
The performance onstage had reached a lively passage, the gongs and drums beating with mounting urgency.
Chen Fan did not go to the front. As usual, he went around back to the door of Old Knife Handle's office.
Most people here knew Chen Fan by now. He had barely reached the door, before he could knock, when it opened.
A woman in a moon-white blouse and skirt walked out, lowered her head and dipped in a slight bow to Chen Fan, then drifted toward the front of the theatre.
Inside the office, Old Knife Handle had clearly already heard of Chen Fan's arrival. Smiling, he pointed to the leather sofa beside him. "Young Master Chen, you've come at just the right time."
"I was just thinking of sending someone to fetch you. Sit."
Chen Fan's gaze lingered on Old Knife Handle for a moment. Today, he was dressed more smartly than usual...
He wore a dark purple satin mandarin jacket patterned with floral medallions, Western trousers, and a pair of handmade Italian leather shoes.
From the look of him, he might have been heading out to a wedding feast.
Chen Fan asked amiably, "Sixth Master, you're dressed so finely. What is it? A social engagement tonight?"
"What social engagement? I was waiting for you." Old Knife Handle poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "If you didn't come, drinking this wine alone would be no fun."
Chen Fan raised his glass toward Old Knife Handle. "Impressive, Sixth Master. You figured out I'd come tonight?"
"Did that take any figuring?" Old Knife Handle shook a cigarette out of his case, fitted it into a white jade cigarette holder, lit it, and took a drag before saying leisurely, "You've been making quite a stir, Young Master Chen."
"These past few days, you've been buying a shop and opening a trading company, spending money like water."
"And today you rented a warehouse..."
"I did the sums. You must have spent almost all the money you had, so naturally you'd come to settle accounts with me."
"Young Master Chen, not only did I work out that you'd come today, I also arranged for someone to be here for you."
With that, Old Knife Handle clapped his hands. The door opened at the sound, and a graceful figure swayed alluringly into the room.
Chen Fan considered himself a man who had seen something of the world, but even he could not help marveling at the sight of this woman.
The woman before him was simply too captivating.
It was not the allure of heavy makeup, but a seductive charm that seeped from her very bones.
She wore a pale lotus-colored qipao edged in dark gold. The fabric was exceedingly thin, yet its collar stood neatly upright...
Only through her inadvertent movements could others catch a glimpse of the creamy white skin below her neck...
Judging by her face, she was about twenty-five or twenty-six. Her figure had clearly undergone years of professional training, its curves almost perfect...
A hint of a smile hovered in her eyes, and her lips were as red as if she had just eaten cherries.
"Miss Jin is a star in Shanghai's performing arts circles. She originally had a performance tonight. I had to call in a favor especially to invite her here."
"Don't underestimate her. A queue of her admirers would stretch from the French Concession to Hongkou and still not fit them all." Old Knife Handle's voice carried a touch of pride...
"Miss Jin, this is Chen Fan, Young Master Chen, a rare young talent here in Shanghai."
"Not only is he accomplished in both literary and martial arts, he also has quite a knack for business. You two should get better acquainted..."
"Miss Jin?" Something stirred in Chen Fan's mind. "You're the celebrated Kunqu performer renowned throughout Jinling, Jin Xiangyu, Boss Jin...?"
"You flatter me, you flatter me. People are simply kind enough to support me." Jin Xiangyu lifted a hand to cover the corner of her mouth, alluring charm radiating from her entire being as she said with a light laugh, "Sixth Master said he would introduce me to an important person tonight. Mr. Chen, I've been waiting for you for ages..."