Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 39.2

Chapter 39.2

For the next few hours, Yu Hongdou felt too shy to step outside. When her mom came in to call her for dinner, she buried her head under the blanket and pretended to be fast asleep.

Qin Xuekai should have left by now, but He Yunqin was still around for dinner. From what she could hear in the living room, her mom, brother, and He Yunqin seemed to be having a pretty good chat.

 ‘Are they really starting to talk about marriage? Wouldn’t that be a bit sudden?’

Even though she didn’t have anything against him, getting engaged like this felt surreal.

She stayed inside the room but kept an ear out for what was happening in the living room. At eight o’clock, she thought she heard him getting ready to leave.

She gazed at the ceiling in a daze for a few moments, and when she couldn’t lie there any longer, she tossed off the quilt and got out of bed. She stepped onto the smooth black teak floor, quietly walked to the window, and pulled back the delicate white gauze curtains.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival drew near, a moon that looked like a silver plate hung low in the sky. She leaned against the windowsill, quietly observing what was happening below.

After a bit, the door swung open, and He Yunqin stepped out.

Just like the first time I saw him, he walked up the steps but didn’t leave right away. He paused for a moment, then turned back to glance upstairs. The moonlight bathed him like milk, clearly outlining his figure. His expression was calm, making it hard to tell if he was happy or upset, but from the way he looked up, it was clear he was gazing at the second-floor window.

Feeling shy, she instinctively stepped back without waiting for him to see her. But then she thought. ‘Why should I hide?’ She fully opened the curtains, exposing her upper body to the moonlight.

But in an instant, he had turned around, walked down the stairs, and headed towards the entrance of the alley.

Not only did they not speak, but they didn’t even make eye contact.

Yu Hongdou stamped her feet in regret, but he was already gone. Because of her shyness, she couldn’t call out to him. She felt helpless.

But suddenly she saw something unexpected. The man strolled along, and when he got under a fragrant osmanthus tree, he abruptly halted, leapt up, and stretched out his arms to pluck a handful of branches from the top.

‘He looks really happy.’

At first, she was puzzled, but after some thought, it seemed like she started to get it. A smile gradually spread from her heart to her face, and she didn’t even realise it.

***

He Yunqin was unsure why he felt the urge to pick the cassia twigs above him. It was simply because he was bursting with energy and needed to channel it through some physical activity.

When he proposed to her earlier, Yu Hongdou had turned him down right away, but he noticed that when Qin Xuekai asked her, she was surprised yet composed inside. However, when it was his turn to ask, she clearly became flustered and shy, losing her calm demeanour.

He was certain of that; she liked him.

So, thinking about this made his heart feel as if it was lifted by a gentle spring breeze, soaring lightly. He felt the need to jump up and grab a branch or touch a flower or something to capture that happiness.

He got into the car and headed to the He Mansion at his usual pace. He knew Bai Haili was always cunning, and he probably wouldn’t let himself be taken advantage of. The cunning man might be planning to throw Yu Chongyi in jail right now, and to avoid any further complications, it would be wise to announce his engagement to Yu Hongdou in the newspaper as soon as possible.

‘I have just convinced Mrs. Yu and Yu Chongyi, and now it’s my father and mother’s turn. It’s not too late, and this is a good time to discuss the engagement.’

As soon as he got to the He Mansion, he noticed a few cars waiting at the entrance. One of the drivers was from the Duan family, while the other was from the Lu family of Nanbao Foreign Company.

His expression darkened a bit. Just yesterday, his dad had shown Mr. Lu the proof that Lu Jingheng had bribed the He family’s servants to scheme against him and his eldest sister-in-law. Mr. Lu was so embarrassed that he ended up beating Lu Jingheng nearly to death right there, following family rules. He hit him so hard that Lu Jingheng had to be rushed to a private hospital for emergency care overnight.

‘I’m not sure why the Lu family is here. Their son did something so disgraceful. Does Mr. Lu think that just scolding him wasn’t enough and he needed to come and apologise? The Duan family’s visit is likely about Duan Mingyi.

He headed up to the second floor and bumped into Duan Mingyi just before turning the corner.

She seemed like she had just stepped out, with tear stains on her cheeks.

He Yunqin paused and said calmly, “Sister-in-law.”

Duan Mingyi looked at him quietly, and as they brushed past each other, a light fragrance wafted from her, only to vanish in an instant.

He Yunqin frowned slightly and suddenly recalled the scent of Hongdou’s hair. He wasn’t sure what kind of soapberry she used, but it didn’t smell like osmanthus or rose; it was particularly refreshing and pleasant.

That night, while they were in the bridge room, the girl asked him how he could recognise her in the dark. ‘Was it because of the scent on her body?’

Thinking about this made his expression soften a bit, and he headed towards his parents’ bedroom.

To his surprise, as soon as he reached the door, he heard a deep voice from a middle-aged man. “Your second son is still a man, after all. Mingyi has faced slander twice since marrying into the He family. The first was a romantic scandal in the papers, and the second involved her being drugged by a servant. The first incident can be completely denied, but if she was truly attacked at the birthday banquet, wouldn’t that ruin my daughter’s reputation?”

End of chapter 39

Have a nice day!