To Míng Lóu, Mèng Rú had always been special.
Míng Lóu first met Mèng Rú when she was only two years old. She did not behave like a child in her interactions with others. What shocked Míng Lóu even more was that he could hear her inner voice. Thus, the young Míng Lóu deeply remembered this unusual child.
When Mèng Rú was three years old, Míng Lóu was amazed that she seemed to have foresight because she saved Míng Chéng. To Míng Lóu, she was truly a peculiar child.
When Mèng Rú was five, she came to Shanghai to set up a factory. Míng Lóu was surprised to discover that she also possessed extraordinary business acumen. Fifteen-year-old Míng Lóu was worried; this child's intelligence was almost supernatural, and since ancient times, extreme intelligence has often led to misfortune.
When Mèng Rú was seven, she came to Shanghai to study and live in the Ming Mansion. Even though Míng Lóu was focused on his own affairs, he knew Mèng Rú was dedicated to her studies and was a highly knowledgeable child.
When Mèng Rú was twelve, she went to Paris to study with Míng Lóu and Míng Chéng. Míng Lóu was either on a mission or on his way to one, while Mèng Rú rarely asked for help, and in Míng Lóu's memory, she was very independent.
It wasn't until she was thirteen and became his Comrade that he truly began to focus his attention on her. At that moment, he was surprised to find that the little child had grown into a woman. When he learned about her physical condition, Míng Lóu was angry, yet an indescribable tenderness also welled up in his heart.
Mèng Rú was indeed diligent and exceptionally intelligent, successfully completing her Master's degree in medicine with excellent grades at just fifteen years old. Considering she was about to engage in underground work, Míng Lóu decided to personally train her to ensure her safety.
During the training, no matter what challenges she faced, she displayed extraordinary perseverance and quickly mastered various skills with her outstanding intelligence. Moreover, from beginning to end, she never uttered a single complaint, nor did she ever grumble about the hardship. Míng Lóu thought he admired her.
Before Mèng Rú's sixteenth birthday, he had never fathomed her innermost thoughts and emotions.
That night, as the bright moonlight shone upon Mèng Rú, Míng Lóu also felt that the Moon seemed exceptionally radiant.
That night, Míng Lóu glimpsed the heart of a sixteen-year-old girl. However, Míng Lóu, who was twenty-six, believed that although Mèng Rú could disregard it, he could not. Furthermore, he was the eldest brother who had watched her grow.
After careful consideration, Míng Lóu concluded that a young girl's thoughts are ever-changing and would likely fade with time. Therefore, he sent Mèng Rú back to Shanghai to carry out a mission.
When he received Mèng Rú's telegram, he didn't know if she understood that "Ming Family Fragrance" represented the inheritance of the Ming family. It was not just a perfume but a symbolic emblem of the Ming family, reflecting their identity and status. However, he did know, and for reasons unknown, he had agreed to develop a special perfume for her.
When Míng Chéng learned of this telegram and said he also wanted to develop a perfume for Mèng Rú, Míng Lóu felt resistant internally, but he had no standing to object.
In the years that followed, he countless times felt trepidation and regret for sending Mèng Rú back to Shanghai instead of keeping her by his side; he had almost lost her!
Upon receiving the news from Shanghai, his mind went blank. When he came to his senses, the perfume he had developed for Mèng Rú had already been smashed in his hand. His heart was utterly panicked.
At that moment, he confirmed his feelings: Míng Lóu liked Mèng Rú!
As an excellent agent, Míng Lóu could not abandon his mission to go find her. So, he secretly mobilized all his contacts within the Military Statistics Bureau to search for her, dead or alive.
With telegrams being sent from Paris to various locations, personnel from the Military Statistics Bureau contacted their counterparts in Changsha to search for Mèng Rú.
The Red Party's organization also instructed its underground members in Changsha to covertly search for Mèng Rú. She was an excellent Comrade, and the organization should do its part.
As a large number of personnel dispatched by Yú Jǐngxíng and Míng Jìng arrived in Changsha, the search efforts by the Nationalist Party, the Red Party, and the business community stirred up speculation among the military and political officials and social elites of Changsha. The entire city wondered who this distinguished person who had disappeared could be.
As the disappearance dragged on with no news from Mèng Rú, the various parties gradually began to lose hope.
As for Mèng Rú, she was rescued by Wáng Tiānfēng from the cliff and immediately sent to the hospital by his subordinates, so no information leaked.
The next day, Wáng Tiānfēng's mission was complete, and Mèng Rú was still unconscious. Because he did not know if she was alive or dead, and she recognized him and Míng Lóu, Wáng Tiānfēng took Mèng Rú with him on a military truck when he left Changsha.
This made it even more impossible for the various parties to find her in Changsha.
When Mèng Rú woke up, she felt pain all over her body. She found herself lying in a hospital and felt immense relief that she had survived and her life was saved.
Wáng Tiānfēng was nowhere to be seen, only two subordinates left guarding the hospital room door. They said only one sentence: "The team leader is on a mission and will return in about half a month. To prevent any information from leaking, you cannot leave this room for now."
Not being allowed to leave was such a ridiculous reason concerning leaking information. She had been unconscious; what information could she possibly leak?
"System, are you there? How is my physical condition?" Mèng Rú asked, touching the gunshot wound on her arm.
"Host, everything is currently fine, but you must pay close attention to your recovery. Furthermore, your kidneys were overloaded this time. Fortunately, there were no problems, but you must eat more kidney-nourishing and tonifying foods in the future. This incident was too perilous; if you hadn't encountered Wáng Tiānfēng, you might have lost your life."
"I know. But if those three bandits don't die, and if they were to harm elder brother and Yúnshū under the influence of the plot, it would be bad. So, they must die, no matter the cost," Mèng Rú said, gazing at the hospital light, lost in thought.
"Did Míng Lóu receive the news of my disappearance? I'm quite curious about his reaction. Does he not know I like him yet?"
"Sometimes, I think about it, and including my modern age, I'm practically an old aunt. But never having been in love is truly disheartening! If it weren't wartime, I would definitely pursue him passionately. But now, I can only think of him secretly from afar. If only he were by my side right now."
The System was a bit speechless. "Host, you have just escaped danger, you should rest more. A love-struck mind is not advisable!"
In the Ming Mansion, as the people sent out returned one by one, there was still no news. The atmosphere in the house grew increasingly somber. Mèng Yúnshū couldn't eat or sleep. Míng Tái stayed by her side all day, worried about her.
Míng Lóu successively received replies from various locations of the Military Statistics Bureau, with no trace of Mèng Rú. Míng Lóu continued to carry out his missions step by step as planned, but his increasingly heavy dark circles indicated he was not as composed as he appeared.
While waiting for Wáng Tiānfēng to return over the next half month, Mèng Rú repeatedly refined her story for dealing with Wáng Tiānfēng. Wáng Tiānfēng was inherently suspicious, and Mèng Rú was afraid he would discover she was a member of the Red Party.
Half a month later, Wáng Tiānfēng appeared in the hospital room. Mèng Rú felt like she would grow moss if he didn't come any sooner.
As Mèng Rú prepared to face his interrogation, he looked at her strangely. "I was on a confidential mission before and missed Míng Lóu's telegram searching for you. Today, when I sent a mission completion telegram to headquarters, the telegraph operator learned of my whereabouts and forwarded the telegram to me."
"Before I left, I asked my subordinates to see if they could find out your identity. I didn't expect that by taking you away, it inadvertently caused your whereabouts to be unknown, and various parties searched almost all of Changsha. It seems your identity is not simple, Mèng Rú!"
Mèng Rú's heart skipped a beat as she was about to reply.
"He cares about you so much; are you Míng Lóu's girlfriend! He mobilized all his contacts in the Military Statistics Bureau just to find your whereabouts. I didn't realize Míng Lóu was attracted to younger women, which is why he remained single all along."
Mèng Rú breathed a sigh of relief. So her identity as a woman had been exposed, not her identity as a member of the Red Party. However, after hearing Wáng Tiānfēng's words, Mèng Rú found them to be somewhat plausible.
But did Míng Lóu really care about her? Wasn't it because she was his subordinate in the Red Party? Wasn't it because of Míng Jìng?
Regardless of Mèng Rú's inner thoughts, she could not let Wáng Tiānfēng misunderstand. Mèng Rú knew that to ensure the discipline and secrecy of the organization, and to prevent agents from letting personal relationships affect their work or leak secrets, the Military Statistics Bureau had regulations prohibiting relationships and marriage.
Mèng Rú pondered for a moment and said, "Officer, you're mistaken. I am Míng Lóu's subordinate, codenamed 'Moon'. He is looking for me because I possess a large amount of his confidential information. He had no choice but to find me. You can send a telegram to 'Viper' to confirm."
It was time to test the tacit understanding between her and Míng Lóu...