Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The last class for today was over, so Yu Hongdou headed to the school gate to wait for her brother. There was no sign of him after waiting for some time, and she thought he might be busy. Therefore, without wasting any time, she decided to head home alone.

Before entering the house, she heard her mother’s voice trying to comfort her aunt. ‘Oh, uncle and aunt are also here.’

After entering the house, she saw her mother, uncle, and aunt sitting on the sofa while Mrs. Zhou was in the kitchen, busy cooking.

It had only been a few days since she last saw her aunt, but it felt like she had aged years, and her uncle looked like he had lost a lot of weight. 

They couldn’t even smile when they spotted Yu Hongdou. 

She felt the whole house was filled with sadness.

‘It seems they have heard about Yuan Ruoli and his wife being called to the police station, and they probably rushed over to get the latest news.’

Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhou came out of the kitchen and arranged the dining table with several dishes.

But her uncle and aunt just stared blankly at their bowls, completely lacking any appetite. 

“It’s already Wednesday, and Yuqi went missing last Saturday. It’s been five days,” her aunt whispered while tears streamed down her face. “Even if we find her, I’m scared she might be in serious danger.”

“Nonsense.” Yu Hongdou’s mother picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and said, “Have you forgotten that when you were a child, you asked Yuqi’s fortune and it said that she would be rich and powerful and that she would be able to turn bad things into good things? Now the case has not been solved yet, and you are saying negative things first. If you fell down first, what would happen to Yuqi and Yuyuan?”

Under the gloomy atmosphere inside the house, Yu Hongdou also lost her appetite. She managed to force down a few bites of rice before retreating to her room, saying she needed to study. Once she was in her room, she shut the door behind her. 

‘If my aunt and the others found out that Wang Meiping was killed with such a bizarre weapon, they’d probably faint right there.’

Although she took a book to read, she was unable to do that due to restless thoughts. 

After some time, she heard some noise coming from the living room, like someone had just walked in. 

Thinking it might be her brother, Yu Hongdou quickly slipped out of bed and rushed into the living room. To her surprise, she saw not just her brother, but also He Yunqin and Wang Peter. 

Yu Hongdou’s uncle recognised He Yunqin immediately. “Mr. He?” But he didn’t know who Wang Peter was. 

First, He Yunqin was taken a bit aback by the extra people in Yu Hongdou’s house, but he quickly composed himself. “Mr. Pan.” 

Yu Chongyi chimed in, “Uncle, aunt, you know Mr. He. This is the well-known detective Mr. Wang. I brought them in to help with the case. Thanks to them, we tracked down Yuan Ruoli and his wife pretty quickly.” 

Still shocked by Yuqi’s situation, their uncle and aunt had lost a lot of their usual composure. They stared at He Yunqin for a moment before suddenly asking, “Is Yuqi’s disappearance really linked to Yuan Ruoli? Where is Yuqi now?” 

“Uncle and aunt, just be patient,” Yu Chongyi said with a heavy heart.

Seeing his sister, He Yunqin said to her before taking the guests into the study room. “I’ll say hello to Mr. He and Inspector Wang first.” 

Yu Hongdou remembered how He Yunqin helped her get her bike back that day. She wanted to thank him personally, so she brewed some tea and brought the tray to the study.

As she walked in, she noticed Wang Peter sitting on the sofa while He Yunqin was standing by the window, leaning out as if he were inspecting the window frame. 

‘Hm… It seems like he is analysing the house’s structure.’ 

Confused, Yu Hongdou set the tray down on the table and said, “Mr. He, Inspector Wang, please enjoy some tea.” 

He Yunqin turned around casually and replied, “Miss Yu.” 

As he approached, Yu Hongdou recalled that when he visited Miss Qiu that night, he had also stood outside the tailor shop, gazing up for quite a while. Back then, she thought he was looking at Miss Qiu or someone inside. ‘Could it be that I was mistaken, and he is actually interested in this old house? But what could possibly be so fascinating about this old building?‘

After He Yunqin took a sip of his tea, he looked up and saw Yu Hongdou staring at him with a curious expression. 

He also looked at her for a moment before suddenly saying, “Your brother and his colleagues checked all the properties owned by the Yuan family this morning, but they didn’t find Chen Baidie or Pan Yuqi.”

With that, Yu Hongdou felt that things might be more complicated than they thought. “Then like you suspected, these disappearances are part of a bigger case? I heard what Mrs. Yuan said this morning. She kept insisting that Wang Meiping’s death had nothing to do with her.” 

“Based on what Mrs. Yuan said, ever since she and Yuan Ruoli started their divorce last year, she’s been struggling mentally. Yuan Ruoli mentioned that she’s been seeing a doctor at a British clinic,” He Yunqin replied.

“So she has mental issues?” Yu Hongdou couldn’t believe it.

He Yunqin confirmed, “Yeah, about four months ago, when Mrs. Yuan found out that Yuan Ruoli was seriously pursuing your cousin, she went to Aurora University. Seeing how beautiful your cousin was really hit her hard. Previously she believed her infertility was the reason for her marriage falling apart. So, she approached Yuan Ruoli, saying that if he came back to her, she wouldn’t mind sharing him with another woman. She thought that having a concubine would solve their issues with having kids. But by then, Yuan Ruoli was already with your cousin, and he rejected her offer.”

“Mrs. Yuan had given up on the idea of remarrying another man, so she came up with this wild plan to find a surrogate mother. One day, she went to the dress shop owned by the Yuan family at the station. Coincidentally, at that time Wang Meiping got off the train. Since her uncle and aunt were running late, she wandered into the dress shop out of curiosity. Mrs. Yuan struck up a conversation with the young girl, and, noticing how innocent and shy she was, she decided Wang Meiping would be perfect for her surrogate scheme. So, she sent the staff away and lured Wang Meiping to the backyard, hoping to use some cash to convince her to have a baby for her and Yuan Ruoli.” Wang Peter jumped into the conversation.

“Wang Meiping initially thought about asking her uncle for help, but after hearing Mrs. Yuan’s intentions, she changed her mind. To sway her, Mrs. Yuan wouldn’t let her leave and made sure she was well-fed and comfortable, trying to persuade her daily. Little did they know, Wang Meiping’s uncle decided to alert the police at that moment.” 

Yu Hongdou nodded, getting the picture. “Since the police couldn’t locate Wang Meiping right away, Zhou Tongqiang started publishing articles in the newspapers criticising the Police Department. That’s when Mrs. Yuan realised she had really messed up, as the person she was holding captive was none other than the niece of ‘Shanghai’s Best Pen’.”

Wang Peter’s expression was filled with disdain. “That woman is out of her mind. She had no idea how to cover it up. If Wang Meiping gets out, everyone in Shanghai will find out about her reckless decision. Once that news gets out, she won’t just be in legal trouble; it could also hurt the Yuan family’s business. After thinking it over and over, she has no choice but to keep Wang Meiping locked up for now.”

Yu Hongdou looked confused. “But Wang Meiping ended up dead later. If it was just house arrest, how could that lead to her death?” she asked with a doubt.

He Yunqin explained. “According to Mrs. Yuan, a week ago, Yuan Ruoli stumbled upon this situation and was taken aback. He yelled at Mrs. Yuan, calling her insane, and demanded that she let Wang Meiping go right away. Anyway, Mrs. Yuan couldn’t bear to keep Wang Meiping imprisoned forever, so she offered a large sum as compensation, sincerely apologised to Wang Meiping, and released her that very night. That was on August 26th, last Wednesday.”

“Last Wednesday?” Yu Hongdou exclaimed, “But Wang Meiping’s body was discovered last Saturday. If Mrs. Yuan and Yuan Ruoli are telling the truth, does that mean Wang Meiping was killed just three days after she vanished?”

He Yunqin paused for a moment before saying, “The weirdest part isn’t just that. If the same person is behind Chen Baidie’s case, she’s been missing for eleven days. So, we really need to rethink all our previous theories. Wang Meiping isn’t the first victim here; it’s actually Chen Baidie.”

Upon listening to such words, Yu Hongdou was so taken aback. She couldn’t find suitable words to keep up with the conversation for a moment. “So, you’re saying Chen Baidie went missing on August 22nd, Wang Meiping actually disappeared on August 26th, and my cousin went missing on August 29th. So the real timeline of disappearances is: Chen Baidie, Wang Meiping, then Pan Yuqi?”

“Exactly. That means we have to scrap everything and start fresh.” He Yunqin replied. 

He took a moment before continuing. “Last night, Inspector Wang and I washed the photos. What Chen Baidie wrote on the mirror was indeed a series of numbers. We’ve figured out that the first number is 7, but we can’t figure the rest. If she’s the first victim, we need to find the common links between the three victims and also track down someone who can confirm Chen Baidie’s whereabouts around August 22.”

Out of nowhere, a strange expression flashed on his face. After a moment of thought, He Yunqin suddenly looked at Yu Hongdou and said, “I’m heading home. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Yu Hongdou was momentarily shocked, then hurried after him and asked, “Who are you going to ask for confirmation, Mr. He?”

But He Yunqin didn’t respond; he just opened the door and walked out.

Wang Peter took a sip from the wine bottle and said, “Chen Baidie’s sponsor.”

End of chapter 21

Have a nice day!