Shanghai in the 1910s when rickshaw coolies plied their trade on the streets.

Have Love, Will Travel (3)

Let me clear the air. We did not engage in any sexual activity thereafter. This might sound crazy but I did not have the mood tonight. Maybe it was because I still got the blues bug or maybe she was right - I was a dumdum. Whatever it was,we spewed out inane comments from our mouths about everything except sex. Soon we came to the inevitable topic: the Song Jiao-ren murder.

"You make a big mistake by killing the man," she said, munching a cookie.

"Strange you should say that. Those were his last words to me before I put a bullet to his head."

"And he was right. Do you know he was going to be our first elected prime minister? With his death, our country's best chance of democracy may have died with him."

As if I did not know. "I might not have taken up the contract if I knew beforehand what a big-shot he was," I said, drinking my second cup of tea. "But then someone else would have assassinated him. Anyway I'm not going to cry over spilled milk - what's done is done."

"Am I next in your hit list?" she asked, leaning forward, her chin in her hands. "I saw you committing a murder. And you introduced yourself. When you did that, it means you were planning to make me your next victim. That's how you guys operate, isn't it?"

"I give you credit for that. You know the hit-man's code well."

"Every Tom, Dick, and Harry knows the hit-man's code," she scoffed. "So are you going to kill me?"

"I might."

"I don't think you will," she answered coolly.

"And why the hell not?" I said, trying to look mean.

"If I die, you won't see me stripping down to my knees. And I know how crazy you are about my ass." She mischievously flashed her eyebrows at me.

I laughed and I did likewise to her.

Then there was silence. It came drifting down like flashes of snow, sweetly smothering us. I could not break out of it. I did not know whether she could or not. I also realized there was something about this lady that was inherently appealing, a mercurial quality that none of my other girlfriends possessed. She was not only beautiful, she was brilliant, perky, and had a great sense of humor as well - the kind of gal I could fall head over heels for. Yes, I was very sure of my feeling now; it was not a short-lived passion but unadulterated love. My heart rejoiced as I gently touched her hand. It was soft and warm. 

"There is another reason why I am here," I finally said. "I wanted to see you before I leave Shanghai tomorrow."

She pulled her hand away and made a face. "Hey, killjoy, you really know how to spoil a woman's evening! I was expecting you to bring our romantic adventure to the next level, not make a bloody goodbye announcement!"

By the time I found my voice, she had gone to the back, most probably the bathroom to relieve herself. She looked pretty pissed. And who could blame her - I had just made an enormous goof. Suddenly I had the most awful thought: what if she had gone to grab her cleaver in the kitchen instead? Uh-oh ... shivers began running up and down my spine.

To be continued tomorrow ...