Shanghai Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page B

need to reveal his real identity.
    â€œWell, I’m—sort of a cop—for hire.”
    He’d been a cop for so long, it was the first thing that came to mind.
    â€œOh—a private investigator?”
    That was ironic. Old Hunter, Detective Yu’s father, was helping out at a private investigator’s office in Shanghai. For Chen, though, “private investigator” meant something else—an investigator who was independent of the Party’s legal system.
    â€œWell, you could say that.”
    â€œThat’s really interesting,” she said., “You’re based in Shanghai, aren’t you?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œNow we meet, though not known to each other before.”
    â€œOh, it sounds like a line from ‘Pipa Song.’”
    â€œI like pipa. And ‘Pipa Song’ too.”
    Pipa, a zitherlike musical instrument, had been popular in ancient China and was still commonly used in Suzhou opera. Bai Juyi, a Tang dynasty poet, wrote a celebrated long poem about a forsaken artisan playing pipa, entitled “Pipa Song.” It wasn’t surprising that Qian, a native of Suzhou, liked the instrument. But the line she cited from the poem was a curious choice. The original couplet read:
    Two pathetic souls adrift to the ends of world, / now we meet, though not known to each other before .
    She was apparently well-to-do, and she had taken him for some sort of Big Buck as well. So why did she choose those two lines?
    He began to feel a bit uneasy about her and felt pressured to say something merely for the sake of saying it. He decided to change the topic. “Why were you at the cemetery office today?”
    â€œI was there to pay the annual fee for my grandparents’ grave.” She quickly changed the topic back: “Please tell me more about your business. I’ve only read about private investigators in foreign mystery novels.”
    He shouldn’t have said anything about his work. One fib, however well meant, inevitably led to another.
    â€œLike the PIs you read about in those translated novels, I work for my clients. Unlike them, however, the profession isn’t legally licensed in China. It’s still a sort of gray area.”
    â€œSo you work like a cop—” she said, with a sudden glint in her eyes, “but for the client, not for the government.”
    â€œThat’s a good way to put it. There’s another difference. A Chinese PI has to stay away from anything involving high-ranking officials and politics. It’s just as hopeless as pitting eggs against rocks.”
    â€œThat’s so true. And so sad.”
    The car swerved and pulled onto the main road. Almost instantly, the traffic became heavier, and the car was caught in a traffic jam. They slowed down to a dead stop. Chen looked out the windshield. A long line of unmoving vehicles stretched as far as he could see.
    â€œI can’t even see the end of the line,” she said apologetically.
    â€œI’m so, so sorry. You wouldn’t even be on this road if it weren’t for me.”
    â€œNo, it’s like this everywhere right now. It’s just after lunchtime, and, particularly around Qingming, there are a lot of people like you, who are hurrying back to the railway station.”
    â€œYes, the traditional lunch in Suzhou. A lot of Shanghainese like to do that after finishing their duty at the cemetery. Well, I’m in no rush. There are a number of trains to Shanghai leaving in the late afternoon and evening. I can take any one of them.”
    â€œThen how about having lunch here?” she said, casting a glance at a side road. “I know a couple of good local restaurants, not too far away. The traffic might be better when we’re done.”
    It was another surprising invitation from this young woman, but this one made sense. It was no fun being trapped in unmoving traffic. And there was nothing urgent waiting for him back