Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The cosy living room was full of laughter.

“My mother and sister-in-law are inside,” Seeing the young women hesitating to go inside, He Zhujun said with a smile.

As they walked in, Yu Hongdou saw several wealthy ladies wearing jewels and precious stones lounging on the sofa.

The woman in the centre was plump and fair, and it was evident that she had been pampered for many years. She wore a smoky cheongsam, and her neck was decorated with some emerald green gold jewellery. Despite her noble appearance, she didn’t come off as superior, and that was an interesting thing.

She smiled while talking, and her eyes radiated gentleness and calmness.

This lady resembled He Zhujun in both looks and mannerisms, so Yu Hongdou realised that the lady must be the birthday girl tonight, Mrs. He.

He Zhujun smiled at them and introduced them to each other. “This is my mother.” She then turned to Mrs. He, saying, “These are some of my senior classmates from St John’s: Yu Hongdou, Gu Yun, and Mei Lizhen. They are a year older than me and are studying in the Department of Education.”

“We wish Aunt a long and healthy life.” Yu Hongdou and the others handed over the gifts they had brought to the servants and said together.

Mrs. He was delighted by the sweet, clear voices of the young girls. She looked up, and her gaze naturally fell on Yu Hongdou.

There was a reason she sent out invitations to all the students of St John’s this time. His son was still single, so she thought of taking advantage of her birthday party to gather young women in one place. Long before the banquet, she had specifically told her daughter to bring every female student who attended the banquet to her for evaluation. She had seen quite a few of these girls tonight, and the one in front of her stood out the most. Not only was she beautiful, but her bright and cheerful demeanour shone through in everything she did. As soon as she entered, she outshone all the other young women in the living room.

She raised her hand with a smile and asked her daughter, “Is this Miss Yu?”

He Zhujun bit her lip and replied, “Yes.”

Mrs. He subtly pointed at Gu Yun and Mei Lizhen. “Ms. Gu, Miss Mei? My memory seems to be in good shape. I remember them all. Miss Yu seems very familiar. Have we met before?”

Hearing Mrs. He’s words, Yu Hongdou was surprised. She had a good memory, but still, she couldn’t remember when she had met Mrs. He. It was obvious that Mrs. He had mixed things up. Being older, it felt awkward to correct her, so all she could do was smile and say, “I think I saw my aunt at the gate of St. John’s.”

He Zhujun added. “Senior Yu is a remarkable student in the Department of Education. Even Master Yan, who usually loves to scold students, often praises her.

Mrs. He was set on finding a top student for her son. After hearing this, she felt even more pleased. She looked up and scanned the area, asking the servants, “Where is the second young master?”

He Zhujun replied, “I was also searching for my second brother. He was right in front of me, but he vanished in an instant.”

Yu Hongdou couldn’t help but glance up, but He Yunqin had disappeared and hadn’t shown up since.

Mrs. He frowned slightly. Her son had been hesitant to fall in love after returning to China, and he had stirred up such news with Duan Mingyi. To find a girlfriend for her son, she had made countless arrangements over the past few months, but her son just wouldn’t take it seriously. She had finally invited so many good girls to the birthday party, hoping he would socialise on his own, but he simply didn’t want to be around women. If this kept up, even if a few more beautiful female students came, her plans for tonight would still flop.

Feeling frustrated, Mrs. He glanced at the living room and spotted Duan Mingyi gracefully playing the piano at the corner of the living room. Not too far behind her, there was a group of lovely ladies from Shanghai. All were smiling as they listened to her music.

Mrs. He observed her daughter-in-law for a moment before calmly looking away. She couldn’t shake off the doubts swirling in her mind. ‘My son is so careless; could it be that he actually has feelings for this woman?’

Shaking off her thoughts, Mrs. He invited Yu Hongdou and her friends to sit down and have some tea. She couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the ladies’ conversation.

‘Miss Yu is straightforward yet tactful, and her humour and open-mindedness shine through. It seems she is discussing something from school, and it is quite engaging.’

Before long, a crowd of boys and girls had gathered around to listen to Yu Hongdou.

At that moment, a few young people strolled past the door, laughing and chatting, heading towards the bridge room.

Mrs. He spotted her son and told a servant, “Go, bring that stinky boy back to me.”

Upon hearing Mrs. He’s words, the other wives chuckled, saying, “Mrs. He, what you just said is hilarious. Your Second Young Master is already in his twenties and is quite responsible. Why does it sound like you’re talking about a child when you mention him?”

“He’s so out of touch; how can he act like an adult at all?” Mrs. He replied playfully.

The servant who got the order from the mistress of the house grinned and dashed over to He Yunqin.

Upon hearing the servant’s words, He Yunqin turned around and spotted his mom sitting on the sofa in the cosy living room.

He met his mother’s angry gaze, and he found it a bit amusing.

He apologised to his friends before approaching his mother. He greeted the elders in the living room and asked his mother, “Mom, what do you need from your son?”

Mrs. He expressed her dissatisfaction with her son, but deep down, she wasn’t really mad. “You were so caught up entertaining guests in the front that you forgot about those in the back? Mrs. Zhuang and I are heading to the garden to play cards. There are about ten kids over there, all seniors from Zhujun’s school. Since you’re Zhujun’s brother, you should go over and keep them company for me.”

He Yunqin glanced over and immediately spotted Yu Hongdou. It was the first time he saw her in a cheongsam. The colour resembled a soft moon with wisps of clouds, making her look like a delicate cherry blossom in full bloom.

As he scanned the area, he felt like he was surrounded by countless beautiful sights. His gaze lingered for a moment, and just as he was about to look away, he saw He Zhujun was already waving at him. “Second brother, we’re playing word puzzles here; come help us out.”

 He Yunqin had no choice but to go along with it.

The two hadn’t seen each other for several days since they found Yu Hongdou’s cousin Yuqi.

Yu Hongdou noticed He Yunqin as soon as he entered the room, but she didn’t make a move to approach him.

He Yunqin greeted everyone and finally looked at her, smiled and said, “Miss Yu.”

Yu Hongdou smiled faintly before greeting back. “Mr He.” 

The man was wearing a simple Western-style shirt, but he looked more dashing than others. With that thought, Yu Hongdou couldn’t look at the man anymore, so he picked up a card from the small round table and said with a smile, “I haven’t figured out this puzzle myself; who among you can guess it?”

He Zhujun said excitedly, “My second brother is the best at guessing riddles. As long as he is around, I am not afraid of any riddles.”

“Really?” Yu Hongdou looked at He Yunqin with interest.

 Upon hearing the girl’s voice, He Yunqin glanced back at her and was about to walk away, but it felt like his feet were glued to the ground and he couldn’t budge.

  At that moment, He Zhujun chimed in, “By the way, second brother, did you happen to see Chen Baidie earlier? I heard from the servants that she’s here too. Didn’t she just get out of the hospital? I wonder if she’s feeling better now.”

 Hearing that, Yu Hongdou was taken aback. ‘Chen Baidie was discharged from the hospital so quickly. It seemed that what Cousin Yuqi said that day was true. The big bloodstains on Chen Baidie’s body were indeed from someone else. But now, everyone in Shanghai knows that Chen Baidie was rescued not long ago. She could have easily made an excuse to skip it. Why would she be in such a hurry to attend Mrs. He’s birthday party?’

Yu Hongdou remembered how He Yunqin played a significant role in saving the glamorous star. ‘Considering the connection between these two, if Chen Baidie came to celebrate Mrs. He’s birthday, could it be that she came for He Yunqin?’

 Meanwhile, He Yunqin distractedly solved a puzzle and glanced at the western clock in the corner. “You all take your time. I’m going to check out the bridge room.”

At this moment, a servant came in with a tray full of Western goblets filled with drinks and approached He Yunqin. “Second Young Master, would you like a drink?”

He Yunqin looked at the servant with indifference, picked up one of the cups, took a sip, and then placed the empty cup back on the tray.

The servant was about to serve the drinks to Yu Hongdou and the others when he stumbled, causing a lot of drinks to spill. Luckily, everything landed on the tray, and no cups were broken, so Yu Hongdou and the others remained undisturbed.

However, since the tray was now a mess, it was too inconvenient to serve everyone, so the servant had to quietly back away and fetch another tray of drinks.

Yu Hongdou watched the servant. ‘The He family must have plenty of staff, so why send such a clumsy one?’

When the servant brought the drinks to her, Yu Hongdou accidentally glanced at the man’s feet and noticed he moved quite nimbly, definitely not someone who would trip over himself.

Just as she was pondering about the man, she saw the servant heading back. Yu Hongdou’s brother once stated that seeing someone’s walking and hands may reveal whether or not they were training in martial arts.

‘This guy is not only walking with purpose, but his hand joints are surprisingly large as well.’

The servant approached Duan Mingyi, bowed, and said with a smile, “Please enjoy your drinks, young ladies.”

Duan Mingyi turned around, ready to grab a glass for a drink.

Suddenly, the servant lost his balance, and the orange juice splashed all over Duan Mingyi’s cheongsam.

It happened so quickly that Duan Mingyi couldn’t react in time. Shocked, she frowned and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

The servant was so scared that he couldn’t bring himself to look up.

Nearby, several young ladies rushed to help, using their handkerchiefs to wipe the orange juice off Duan Mingyi. They exclaimed, “This is ruined! You need to change right away.”

With an apologetic expression, Duan Mingyi stood up and said, “I’ll head back to my room to change. Please excuse me for a moment.”

However, Duan Mingyi took longer than expected to return.

The young ladies grew impatient, exchanging glances of surprise as one remarked, “Why is Mingyi taking so long to change? How can she still play cards?”

Another chimed in, “Mingyi wouldn’t leave us hanging without a good reason. Do you think she got caught up in something else?”

Someone chuckled and suggested, “Maybe she ran into He Ningzheng, and they’re off having a private chat.”

Just then, a man who looked like a wealthy young man happened to walk by. He overheard their conversation and said smilingly, “Bai Fengfei is here to perform. Aren’t you ladies going to join the fun?”

After hearing this, the young ladies left the table smiling.

Gu Yun and the others couldn’t sit still any longer and suggested, “How about we head to the garden and check it out?”

However, Yu Hongdou didn’t have the mind to watch the fun. She recalled the odd servant from earlier. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. She remembered that He Yunqin was heading to the bridge room to play cards. She wanted to give him a heads-up, but she was concerned about him being alone. So, she said to Gu Yun, “Just wait for me a bit. I’ll go to the bathroom and be right back.”

As soon as she stepped outside, she noticed that the bathroom was located at the same end as the bridge room. That was where she wanted to go, so she casually walked down the hallway.

It was super quiet all around, probably because all the guests had headed to the back garden.

She made her way to the end and saw two rooms right next to each other. She stopped and listened. Both rooms were silent. She couldn’t tell which one was the bathroom and which was the bridge room. She wanted to remind He Yunqin, but it looked like no one was playing cards there.

She walked back empty-handed, not sure where He Yunqin had gone. Spotting that the door to the inner room was slightly ajar, she figured it might be the bathroom, so she decided to go in before searching for He Yunqin and the others.

After waiting for a little while and not seeing any servants from the He family, she had to go in by herself. When she stepped into the room, she realised it was a fancy reception room, with another room inside for changing clothes.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the inner room. To her surprise, there was no light in this room. She fumbled around for the light cord on the wall for a bit but couldn’t find it. She started to wonder. ‘Could it be that these two rooms aren’t bathrooms at all? Is the bathroom actually at the other end of the hallway?’

She was just about to head out, but as she started to move, she heard someone entering the room from outside. One of them was a woman, and her voice was filled with sobs. Yu Hongdou couldn’t quite figure out if it was moaning or crying. She froze, unsure whether to leave or stay put.

Suddenly, someone from the shadows behind her wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Don’t say a word.”

At first, Yu Hongdou felt a chill run down her spine, but when she recognised the man’s voice, it felt oddly familiar; it was He Yunqin.

End of chapter 31

Have a nice day!