If you had to choose an identity to go undercover, you'd choose a gynecologist.

When Chen Qing returned to the gynecology clinic, Chen He and Chen Xia were already sitting there anxiously waiting for him to come back.

Chen Qing walked in carrying a package of pastries wrapped in oil paper. She immediately saw Chen He sitting on a bench against the wall, while Chen Xia sat obediently beside him, her little hands on her knees. When she heard any noise, she turned her head slightly, her eyes filled with a mixture of unease and anticipation.

"Little girl, here, have some pastries." Chen Qing walked over and handed her a package of oil paper, the osmanthus cake inside still smelling warm.

Chen Xia reached out her hand following the sound, gently took the gift, and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle."

"Hey, what uncle?" Chen Qing raised an eyebrow, feigning displeasure, and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Do I look that old? Just call me brother."

Chen Xia giggled, her little hands groping to open the oil paper package, picking up a piece of pastry and taking a small bite.

Chen Qing turned around, took out the red rose from his pocket, and handed it to Xing'er, who was packing her medicine box: "Here's a rose for you."

Xing'er glanced at him, but didn't take the fingertips. She just gestured towards the corner of the wall with her lip: "There's a basket over there."

Chen Qing shoved the roses into her hand, saying, "How can they be the same? This is a gift from me."

"Thank you, sir." Xing'er took it, smelled it, and exclaimed, "It smells so good!"

Chen He, unable to contain himself any longer, stood up and grabbed Chen Qing's arm. "Dr. Chen, can we begin the treatment now?"

"What's the rush? Let her have a pastry to tide her over. The treatment will take two days and two nights, so she needs to eat her fill first. Alright, help her to the medical bed in the inner room, and I'll give her acupuncture."

Chen He quickly agreed, carefully helped Chen Xia to her feet, and led her by the hand into the examination room.

Chen Xia was still clutching the unfinished pastry in her hand, her steps hesitant, but she still obediently followed, asking softly, "Brother, will it hurt to get acupuncture?"

"It doesn't hurt, it's like being gently bitten by a mosquito," Chen Qing comforted her with a smile.

Chen He helped Chen Xia lie down, then stood anxiously to the side.

Chen Qing took the needle case out of the medicine cabinet, opening it with a soft "click." He sat down on the edge of the bed, silently calling out, "Xiao Ai, can we begin?"

"The repair process is already underway, don't bother me," Xiao Ai said.

Chen Qing nodded, picked up a silver needle with his fingertips, quickly ran it over an alcohol lamp, and then gently inserted the needle into the acupoints around Chen Xia's eyes.

His movements were skillful and gentle, and the force with which he twisted the needle was just right. The silver needle was firmly inserted into the acupoint, trembling slightly.

"Relax, don't be nervous. These needles are to help relax your muscles and improve blood circulation, allowing the blood and energy around your eyes to flow more smoothly, which will speed up the treatment."

Chen Xia slowly relaxed, and before long, her breathing became even and long. Her eyelids fluttered a few times, and she fell into a deep sleep.

The acupuncture lasted for a full hour. Chen Qing slowly withdrew her hand and carefully removed the silver needles one by one.

He took a black cloth and blindfolded Chen Xia, covered her with a blanket, turned to look at Chen He, made a "shh" gesture, and said in a low voice, "Let her get a good night's sleep. The repair process takes time. When she wakes up, there will be changes."

Chen He remained motionless, preferring to stay by Chen Xia's side and not leave her for even a moment.

It wasn't until late at night, when Yu Manli and Yu Zheng returned, that he reluctantly went to his meeting.

Chen Qing did not attend this meeting because he was not needed and did not want to know too much.

That night, Chen Qing didn't go back. He couldn't leave for too long, otherwise Xiao Ai wouldn't be able to play her role.

Chen He went back to sleep; he needed to be well-rested for the operation the next day.

........................

The atmosphere at the Hongkou Military Police Headquarters was somber.

The face of the Japanese Commander-in-Chief in Shanghai, Saburo Miura, was so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

His adjutant, Araki, stood before his desk, head bowed, listening attentively.

Saburo Miura asked, "How's the training for the second batch of Project Cuckoo personnel going?"

"Reporting to General Miura, the training is already underway in secret. I have carefully selected twenty men to infiltrate Chongqing in batches, ensuring that everything goes smoothly."

Saburo Miura nodded: "Okay, this time it must be kept absolutely secret, and we can't let what happened last time happen again."

"I understand. This time, the personnel were not selected from the military; I selected them from elsewhere to eliminate the possibility of leaks. However, General, I believe there was something fishy about what happened last time."

Saburo Miura suddenly stood up, burning with rage: "It's all because of those useless bastards from the Special Higher Police and the 76th Division. In the end, they couldn't even find the film reel, causing the Cuckoo Project to fail. To this day, they still haven't found out why the secret was leaked."

"General, I meant the leak. Very few people knew about Project Cuckoo. Wang Shen was just a confidential secretary. How could he know that the plan and the list were hidden in the safe?"

Saburo Miura frowned. "You mean, someone instructed him to do this?"

"There may be higher-ranking members of the Red Party lurking within our ranks."

"You suspect Xu Yan?" Saburo Miura shook his head violently. "Impossible! He's like a brother to me. We've been through thick and thin together all these years, utterly loyal. There's no way he would betray me!"

"General, there is a Chinese saying: 'Those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts.' I believe that all Chinese people are unreliable."

"What do you want?" Saburo Miura asked.

"I dare not. I believe that he should no longer be involved in formulating operational plans against the Kuomintang's Third War Zone. Moreover, his loyalty needs to be tested."

"How do you plan to test it?"

"I have a plan. We can forge a list of people who have infiltrated Yan'an in the second phase and deliberately leak it to Xu Yan. If he is really a member of the Communist Party, he will definitely leak the list. At that time, they will only fight among themselves and arrest their own people; and we can also use this to confirm Xu Yan's identity. It's killing two birds with one stone."

After pondering for a while, Miura Saburo finally nodded slowly: "Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. Be sure to act cautiously and don't alert the enemy."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Araki bowed and accepted the order. Just as he was about to leave, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

A secretary rushed in, looking flustered, clutching a telegram. He bowed and urgently reported, "Reporting to the General and Adjutant Araki! The Special Higher Police have just intercepted a mysterious telegram. The contents were encrypted, but we have already deciphered it. It says that someone is planning to assassinate an officer in our Military Police Headquarters!"

"Who?" Saburo Miura suddenly stood up, his eyes suddenly sharp, and Yuya Araki instantly tensed up, staring intently at the secretary.

The secretary swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly: "The telegram says the target is... Operations Staff Officer Xu Yan, the time is 5:30 pm tomorrow, and the location is near that abandoned building on the banks of the Suzhou River."

Saburo Miura took the telegram, waved for his secretary to leave, read it carefully, and handed it to Yui Araki.

"Araki, what do you think?"

Araki sneered, "General, I think this is probably a self-directed and self-acted ruse by the Red Party. By assassinating Xu Yan and then creating the illusion that the assassination failed, they want to prove that he is innocent. Otherwise, why would they assassinate Xu Yan at this time and send a telegram to deliberately let the Special Higher Police crack it? Isn't this obviously the thief crying 'stop thief'?"

Saburo Miura paced back and forth, finally making up his mind: "What you said makes some sense. Although I feel like a brother to Xu Sang, I also want to know the truth. Tomorrow, you will secretly set up an ambush around the abandoned building to see if this assassination attempt is real or not. However, it's best not to harm Xu Sang."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Araki Yui snapped to attention, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

………………