Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 28.2
Chapter 28.2
As soon as Wang Peter finished his sour plum soup, Yu Chongyi rushed over. “In Chengjiayuan, Chen Jinsheng had rented a house earlier, planning for his wife to start a business. When we just went there, he was stuffing Chen Baidie and my cousin into sacks. It looked like he was planning to take them away tonight,” he said with a smile and a face full of emotion.
Yu Hongdou held her breath and asked, “Is my cousin still alive?”
Yu Chongyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, “She’s alive, but she has some injuries. She’s already been taken to the hospital.”
Yu Hongdou covered her mouth and let out a soft cry, feeling so overjoyed that she couldn’t find the words to express it.
Wang Peter seemed to relax a bit and looked at He Yunqin with a smug grin. “I can say that Chen Jinsheng is a clever guy, but he is just unlucky to run into us.”
Yu Hongdou shot the middle-aged man a confused glance. It was clearly she and He Yunqin who figured out where Chen Jinsheng was hiding, so why was Wang Peter taking all the credit? Luckily, she was in a good mood since she found her cousin, so she didn’t feel like arguing with him.
Yu Chongyi said sincerely, “Thank you so much, Mr He. If it weren’t for Mr He, we would not have been able to find the two victims alive.”
He Yunqin smiled very impartially and said, “Your sister also helped a lot.”
Yu Chongyi couldn’t really praise his sister in front of others, so he just smiled and said, “She’s always had a knack for memorising things since she was a kid. When Yuqi got into trouble this time, I thought she might be able to help us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let her tag along with me.” Worried that the conversation might drift too far, he quickly added in a serious tone, “Chen Baidie is the second sacrifice for Chen Jinsheng. The ritual needs the sacrifice to be at West Mountain, so Chen Jinsheng kept her hidden at the Lu family villa in Mingquan Mountain. He was supposed to make a move tonight, but yesterday, two groups went to Mingquan Mountain looking for people. He got worried about accidentally revealing Chen Baidie, so he immediately decided to use a car to get her down the mountain. In his rush, he accidentally left behind a bloody shirt belonging to Chen Baidie.”
He Yunqin turned to Yu Hongdou and said, “So the person who was hidden in the trunk of the car last night must be Chen Baidie.”
She recalled that the two female students said that they caught a fishy smell coming from the trunk. “Which hospital is Chen Baidie in now? Is she badly hurt?”
Yu Chongyi replied, “Both of them have been taken to the Red Cross, but I suspect that when the film company folks arrive, they’ll probably help move Chen Baidie to a private hospital.”
He Yunqin nodded in agreement. “We should head to the Red Cross. Now that the murderer is in custody and the two victims have been found, the rest will be handled by Mr Yu.”
Yu Chongyi glanced at Yu Hongdou and said bashfully, “I’m really busy at the moment, so I’ll need to ask Mr He to take my sister home.”
He Yunqin responded with a slight smile, “Mr Yu, you’re being too formal. It’s just on my way. It’s no trouble at all!”
They drove the car out of the alley.
During the drive, Yu Hongdou secretly observed He Yunqin’s profile.
She had already suspected He Yunqin’s purpose for participating in this case, and now seeing that he was very concerned about Chen Baidie’s safety, she felt even more suspicious.
‘Hm… if it is true that the two of them have no private relationship, as Wang Peter said, why would he care so much about Chen Baidie’s life and death?’
Arriving at Tongfu Lane, He Yunqin parked the car and saw Hongdou was in a daze, so he reminded her, “Miss Yu, we’re home.”
He Yunqin’s voice brought Yu Hongdou back to reality.
Yu Hongdou looked at He Yunqin and then at Wang Peter. The missing person had been found, and she might not have the chance to deal with these two people in the future. She didn’t feel it at first when she was dealing with He Yunqin, but when the case was really closed, she felt a little disappointed in her heart.
She sat in the car silent for a few seconds, and seeing that neither of them spoke, she said goodbye. “Thank you, Mr He.” She smiled and nodded to him, then turned around and went into the alley.
He Yunqin looked at her through the car window.
The little girl walked very slowly at first, but after a while, she seemed to remember something happy and immediately became excited and walked inside happily.
He didn’t understand why she was unhappy before, nor did he understand why she was happy afterwards. He just seldom saw someone who was so good at changing her emotions in the blink of an eye, and he was secretly amazed for a moment.
Seeing He Yunqin staring at Yu Hongdou’s back in a trance, Wang Peter coughed loudly and said, “Have you seen enough? Don’t we still have to go to the Red Cross to ask about Chen Baidie?”
He Yunqin thought he had been pretty open with Yu Hongdou, but when he heard Wang Peter’s words, it felt like he had some hidden agenda. He glanced at the other man with indifference and wanted to clarify things, but the more he thought about it, the more complicated it seemed. Therefore, just brushed off that for now.
“Oh, Miss Yu was acting a bit cheeky around you, and you didn’t say a word. But when I say a few things, you find me bothersome. Hmph!” Wang Peter said as he grinned slyly.
He Yunqin didn’t respond, so Wang Peter shrugged and continued. “When you were in Germany, you were focused on your studies and didn’t really care for foreign girls, so it makes sense you didn’t fall in love. Now that you’re back home, your family is probably pushing you to get married, even if you’re not rushing into a relationship. Otherwise, why would your mom invite all the St John’s students to the party? I recall you mentioning that you’re not into naive girls and wouldn’t date someone as old as your sister. So how about a smart one? It seems like you really like her.”
He Yunqin cut him off with a scoff, “Inspector Wang has been quite chatty lately.”
***
As soon as Yu Hongdou entered the house, Mrs Yu rushed out from the inner room holding a pink invitation adorned with gold.
“This was sent by a girl named He from your school. She mentioned there’s a birthday party at her place and wants to invite you. I think she’s quite pretty and resembles Mr He a little. I wonder if they’re siblings. I know you don’t like socialising with your classmates lately because of your cousin’s situation. But since she personally came to deliver the invite, it’s best if you go. I’ll leave the invitation here for you. By the way, have you heard anything about your cousin?” She handed the invitation and said.
In the last few days, Mrs Yu had felt hopeful many times only to be let down repeatedly. She was scared that her hopes would be crushed again. Even though she was desperate to learn about Yuqi’s whereabouts, she felt too scared to ask.
Yu Hongdou tried to act composed as she approached her mother. After giving her mom a hug, she looked up and smiled. “I didn’t want to go out and have fun a few days ago, but now I seem to have all sorts of ideas. Mom, we found my cousin Yuqi!”
End of chapter 28
Have a nice day!