Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 14.2

Chapter 14.2

Yu Hongdou walked out of the study and went into the dining room with her brother and He Yunqin without talking.

Yu Hongdou had to accept that He Yunqin was as talented as Peter Wang, but she was still puzzled as to why He Yunqin was interested in this case so much. ‘He seems a bit suspicious, and it’s too hard to get a clear answer from him. Thinking about what happened this afternoon, Peter Wang seems a little more honest than He Yunqin. But right now, the most important thing is to find Cousin Yuqi. Peter Wang wouldn’t ask He Yunqin to write articles on his behalf if He Yunqin is not talented. It’s best to wait until he finds someone on his own, and then my brother can kick him out. Let’s see.’

She felt relief and sat at the table, resting her chin and waiting for Mrs. Zhou to bring the food.

Yu Hongdou’s mother and brother sat beside her, and He Yunqin sat facing her.

Her elder brother seemed to be on guard, and he was still cautious in his polite speech, but her mother, who never forgot the etiquette of hospitality, had already graciously persuaded He Yunqin to eat. “Mr. He, I will trouble you and Detective Wang to find Yuqi.”

In the middle of the meal, He Hongdou remembered that because of He Yunqin, her pants were ruined, and she glanced at the light above her head with a frown.

He Yunqin spoke briefly to Mrs. Yu, and he saw that Yu Hongdou’s expressions changed four or five times in the blink of an eye. When he saw it, he found her amusing.

 *****

The next day, when Yu Hongdou woke up, she cleaned herself quickly and went to find her brother in his room. Unfortunately, her brother had already left early in the morning. 

When they were having breakfast, Mrs. Yu explained what she had learned from her son. “After Yuan Ruoli had come out of the Xinya Tea House that day, he had gone to a club to play bridge. Someone in the club gave him testimony.” Mrs. Yu sighed and continued her explanation. “Ruoli himself insisted that he never saw your cousin after the incident. But you know what? When your brother and others checked near the train station, they found a Western clothing store that was owned by the Yuan family.“ 

Hearing that, Yu Hongdou gasped. ‘Such a coincidence?’ She looked at her mother and asked, “What else did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything else. Oh, he just said that he might come to your school to find you at noon, and he will take you to a nearby restaurant for a meal at noon.”

“That would be good.” Yu Hongdou also planned to ask her brother about the results of the investigation of the clothing shop.

She looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was time for her to go, so she hurriedly finished her breakfast and went back to her room to change clothes.

Before leaving her room, she caught a glimpse of the coat hanging on the bed frame and wanted to hand it over to He Zhuyun. But after thinking for a few seconds, she thought it was not a good idea because it could cause any misunderstanding.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she ran downstairs, Mrs. Yu chased after her with the coat in her hand. “Aren’t you going to return this to Gu Yun? I ironed it last night. Such expensive clothes… Even if Gu Yun is your friend, you better give it to her quickly.”

Seeing her mother put the coat in the basket on the bicycle, Yu Hongdou felt her life was not good. “I got it,” she replied reluctantly.

When she got to the campus, Yu Hongdou took the coat and tried to place it in her locker. But she couldn’t fit it inside the locker, so she had to carry it into the classroom.

She had two classes in the morning, and the first class was about the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

“Hey, where did you buy this from? It’s really beautiful,” Gu Yun, who sat next to Yu Hongdou, exclaimed.

“It’s not mine, and I will return it later,” Yu Hongdou replied. She also felt a little guilty, remembering how she used Gu Yun as an excuse when her mother asked about the coat.

The second class was a new music theory class this semester.

When walking to the classroom, Gu Yun discussed it with Mei Lizhen, another friend of theirs. “I heard that Duan Mingyi studied at Wellesley Women’s College in the United States. It is a very good university, but I don’t know how the lectures are going to be.” 

Hearing the name Duan Mingyi, Yu Hongdou was stunned. “Is she really the one who conducts the lectures?”

In the past two days, she had been so busy looking for her cousin Yuqi that she forgot about the new music theory teacher.

Gu Yun felt a little unhappy that Yu Hongdou was uncertain. She said, “You will find out once the class starts.” 

Yu Hongdou went into the classroom carrying the coat. As soon as she sat down, a girl came to them and greeted them with a smile. “Senior Sister Yu, Senior Sister Gu, Senior Sister Mei.”

It was He Zhuyun.

After saying hello, He Zhuyun picked up the books on the desk and walked over to sit next to Yu Hongdou and the others.

Before sitting down, He Zhuyun looked down at Yu Hongdou’s coat on the stool and asked in surprise, “Sister Yu, why did you bring your coat to school?” 

Yu Hongdou looked at He Zhuyun’s face carefully and saw that she didn’t recognise the coat—obviously, the clothes were not hers.

“Oh, this is not mine. I’ll return it later,” Yu Hongdou replied with a smile.

At this moment, there was a slight commotion in the classroom. 

Yu Hongdou looked towards the door and saw a person with a graceful figure walking in.

It really was Duan Mingyi.

End of chapter 14

Have a nice day!