Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 20.2

Chapter 20.2

Ms. Qiu stood in an elegant manner by the door wearing high heels.

It looked like she was off to work at Paramount. She wore a stunning lake green honey velvet cheongsam paired with a matching sweater. Her hair was freshly permed, puffed up like a burst of fireworks. Her face was petite, about the size of a palm, with bright red lips and long, delicately drawn eyebrows.

He Yunqin held back a smile and greeted her, “Miss Qiu.”

Miss Qiu glanced at He Yunqin and then at Yu Hongdou. “Miss Yu, so you know Mr. He?” Her voice was full of curiosity.

Yu Hongdou remembered seeing He Yunqin go up to find Ms Qiu, who lived on the third floor and thought not to join their conversation. She gave a slight nod and said, “Ms. Qiu, Mr. He, I’m going home. You two can chat.” With that, she opened the door and stepped inside the building.

They seemed to exchange a few more words, but there was no sound of footsteps leaving for a while.

When Yu Hongdou made her way upstairs, she found her mother was waiting for her to know about her cousin. 

After chatting with her mom for a bit, she recalled the earlier encounter and walked over to the back room window, peering down curiously.

It was quiet outside, and no one was around. ‘It seems He Yunqin had already left.’

***

Yu Hongdou spent half the night sifting through old books and newspapers but didn’t uncover any useful clues. Planning to head to Fuhua Lane to pick up her bicycle in the morning, she finally drifted to sleep around three o’clock in the morning.

****

The next day, she woke up at six, headed downstairs, and spotted a bicycle parked under the awning of the tailor’s shop. She was taken aback, walked over, and gently touched it. There was no doubt—it was her bike.

‘Could it be that He Yunqin had dropped it off for me this morning?’ She stood there for a moment, relieved that she wouldn’t have to take the tram to Peter Wang’s place, saving her a ton of time.

Feeling cheerful, she hopped on the bike. Since it was still early, she decided to ride over to the police station to check if her brother had come back.

As she reached the police station, a car pulled up at the same time. The door swung open, and Yu Chongyi stepped outside, followed by a pale, slender, middle-aged woman.

The woman looked visibly shaken. As soon as she got out, she clutched her chest and exclaimed, “I told you, I didn’t kill anyone.” 

Yu Chongyi maintained a serious mood and replied politely, “Mrs Yuan, please come inside for questioning. If you’re innocent, we won’t accuse you wrongly. We have some important leads to discuss with you regarding the other two missing persons, so we need your cooperation.”

The woman seemed on edge. Upon hearing this, she snapped, “So you know I’m Mrs. Yuan. You need to find Yuan Ruoli. If something’s happened to me, he wouldn’t let you go.”

“Mr. Yuan is also part of our questioning,” Yu Chongyi mentioned.

Mrs Yuan turned pale. “What do you plan to do? Is it about Wang Meiping? We’ve already let her go; she’s dead. You should be looking for the real killer instead of asking us—”

Yu Hongdou stared across the street, realising that this was Yuan Ruoli’s ex-wife. It seemed she still had lingering feelings for him, based on her words.

Reflecting on that tea party, it looked like Yuan Ruoli was trying to win over her cousin, who was also quite taken with him. If they ended up together, Mrs Yuan would really be out of the picture. Was that why she came up with such a terrible idea?

‘Regardless, now that they have found this person, my cousin will be found quickly.’

With that thought, Yu Hongdou felt a bit relieved. Noticing it was getting late, she hopped on her bike and headed back to university.

***

Since she barely slept the night before, she dozed off during the first class.

After class, Gu Yun and she went to the library to grab the newspaper. 

Thinking of something, Gu Yun suddenly said, “I heard that someone has been chasing Li Lulu recently. Guess who it is; it’s Lu Jingheng from Nanbao Foreign Firm who harassed you last time.” 

Yu Hongdou raised her eyebrows, surprised. ‘This guy switched targets so fast? It is almost amusing; he is like a pesky fly, and now that he is after someone else. What a relief; I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.’

As they chatted and walked, they spotted a striking foreign car parked at the school gate from a distance.

They saw Lu Jingheng standing in front of the car, clutching a big bouquet of deep red roses, looking like he was waiting for someone. 

When he spotted Yu Hongdou, he seemed surprised at first but quickly turned away with a look of disgust. Yu Hongdou remembered how many times He Yunqin had given him a beating. She wasn’t sure if Lu Jingheng’s attitude had changed because of that, but it made her feel a bit pleased, so she pulled Gu Yun away with her.

A little later, Li Lu from the Foreign Languages Department showed up, and Lu Jingheng greeted her, still holding the flowers. 

Li Lulu appeared a bit shy and grabbed her two female classmates, and together they walked to the car, hand in hand. 

The driver of the Lu family approached to open the door. 

With his straight posture and swift movements, Yu Hongdou couldn’t help but notice the driver. He was in his forties, dressed in a suit, with a square face and a friendly smile. 

He respectfully opened the door for Li Lulu and her friends before taking his seat in the front.

***

Back in the classroom, Yu Hongdou noticed there was still time left, so she laid her head down on the table and dozed off.

Gu Jun asked her, “He Zhuyun’s mom is having a birthday party next week, and a bunch of classmates are invited. Are you going?” Without even opening her eyes, Yu Hongdou replied, “He Zhuyun hasn’t asked me yet. Once she officially invites me, I’ll think about it.”

“You love to roam around, and this is a perfect chance. Why did you choose to hang out there?” Gu Yunqi asked.

Waving her hand, Yu Hongdou replied, “I’ve got a lot going on at home right now; it’s a bit chaotic, and I just can’t focus on having fun.”

Gu Yun rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the classroom window. At that time, Duan Mingyi and Wang Meili, the head of the Foreign Languages Department, strolled by.

She watched Duan Mingyi’s elegant figure and remarked, “Ms. Duan is only in her early twenties, but she looks like she’s from a different generation. Did you know she and her brother-in-law were middle school classmates? I heard He Yunqin has always had a crush on his sister-in-law and never really got over it—”

Yu Hongdou looked up and scoffed, “Gu Yun, you know so much, yet your grades are terrible!”

Gu Yun was taken aback for a moment. “I was just making a casual comment, not stating facts. Why are you getting so worked up?”

Yu Hongdou touched her face and asked, “Am I really upset?”

Gu Yun nodded. “Yep, you are.”

After a moment of thought, Yu Hongdou stretched and said, “Sorry, I overslept last night. I’m not feeling great, and my mood is off. Just let me be for a bit.”

Gu Yun then asked, “So, if He Zhuyun invited you out, and you’re not going, I won’t go either.”

Hongdou glanced at her watch and said, “I’ve got something really important at home. I’m waiting for my brother to update me at noon. Once that’s sorted, then I can think about going out.”

End of chapter 20

Have a nice day!