Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Qin Xuekai shared information about the event. The place was Xinya Tea House, and the time was three o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday.

The purpose of the event aroused Yu Hongdou’s interest, and she agreed without any hesitation. “As long as there is nothing to do at home, I will come to the party.”

Qin Xuekai blushed a little with joy and replied, “Then it’s settled; see you on Saturday afternoon.

After settling that matter, Yu Hongdou and Gu Yun said goodbye to the other party and continued to walk to the lecture hall.

On the way, Gu Yun couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Hongdou, what do you think of Qin Xuekai? Don’t you know that he has a crush on you?”

Yu Hongdou lowered her head and sorted out the textbooks in her hands before replying to her friend. “My thoughts about him have not changed. I don’t have such thoughts about him.”

Gu Yan and Yu Hongdou walked slowly toward the lecture hall because they had enough time. The fallen leaves danced along with the autumn wind.

Gu Yun nodded and said, “Actually, Qin Xuekai is pretty good. He is good at studying and has outstanding abilities. In order to attract your attention, he always tries to organize events and invite you. Have you seen the new poem he published in the school magazine? It is very romantic. If he likes another one, she might have accepted him long ago.”

“Gu Yan, what’s the matter with you? Didn’t you encourage free love before? Even though Qin Xuekai is perfect, if I don’t like him, it’s not free love.”

Gu Yun sighed helplessly, saying, “Okay, I’ll not bring this matter up anymore. Actually, do you know Hongdou? You are so tricky and weird. I don’t know what kind of person can get into your eyes in the future.”

Yu Hongdou gave a suspicious glance to Gu Yan while saying,  “Gu Yan, you are really strange today. You are not like this usually. Tell me honestly, did Qin Xuekai ask you to speak on behalf of him?”

Gu Yan finally admitted. “Yes, he asked me. At first, I refused, but he came to me so many times. He had heard that I was doing Ming and Qing cultural research with my father. I don’t know where he got it. There is a small painting of Zhu Da’s “Plum Blossom”. Although I knew it was an imitation, it was hundreds of years old, so it can be seen that, in order to pursue you, he even found such a rare treasure. So I thought to help him a little.”

Yu Hongdou leaned back angrily. “You almost sold me out for a fake painting.”

Gu Yun hugged the book in her arms tightly and muttered, “I didn’t accept that painting; I know that the basis of love is freedom, so how could I disrespect your wishes? I just agreed to help Qin Xuekai find out what you think, but I didn’t agree to anything else. “Then she bowed respectfully. “Student Hongdou, next time I will never be like this again. ”

Yu Hongdou raised her voice. “Next time? Do you want to have one next time?

“My dear friend, please forgive me, please… No matter which male classmate asks about you, I will never say a word.”

Yu Hongdou gave her friend a fierce look and walked forward. “If you don’t invite me to watch Xiao Youtian’s new movie ten times, I’ll never forgive you.”

Gu Yan felt relieved after hearing her friend’s words and clapped her hands happily. “Ok, that’s nothing. How about a set of Shakespeare’s original collection?”

Yu Hongdou stopped her steps and turned around with a slight smile before saying, “Then it’s settled.”

At the school gate after school, a few friends said goodbye. Yu Hongdou looked around at the school gate but didn’t see her brother. She assumed he was probably busy with his job and didn’t have time to pick her up, so she bid farewell to her classmates, intending to go home by tram.

Gu Yun’s family had sent a car to pick her up, while Xiao Xichun and Mei Lizhen each rode their bicycles.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a woman with a broken Shanghai dialect called her. “Miss Yu, here, this is your bicycle. It was brought by your brother at noon.”

Yu Hongdou ran over to have a look and saw her bicycle packed outside with a card hanging on the front of the bicycle that said, “Please hand it over to Ms. Yu Hongdou from the Department of Education, Grade 2.”

Actually, the bicycle was not hers alone. Bicycles were not cheap, so the Yu family only bought one bicycle, and Yu Hongdou’s brother always used it before. Later, when Yu Hongdou was admitted to the university, her brother gave the bicycle to her while he took the tram to go to work.

Rather than squeezing in the tram, Yu Hongdou would naturally prefer to ride a bicycle home, so she thanked happily, stepped on the pedals a few times, and easily caught up with Xiao Xichun and the others.

At this moment, a shiny black western car drove past them, and He Zhuyun in the back seat accidentally looked out and hurriedly pushed the man beside her. “Brother, look, that one is the one who gave the sweet-scented osmanthus candy today.”

He Yunqin was reading the newspaper when his sister gently reminded him to glance up. He did so just in time to catch a glimpse of a slender girl riding a bicycle very quickly. She was wearing a goose-yellow sweater and was talking and laughing all the way.

He just nodded and started to read the newspaper again without giving further attention to the girl, who was riding the bicycle.

He Zhuyun still smiled and looked at the back, which was fading away. She was obviously just riding a bicycle, but judging from Yu Hongdou’s free and easy demeanour and smiling face, it seemed like a kite flying high in the blue sky. She felt envious. She had been weak since she was a child, and she had to pay great attention to everything around her.

“I believe it was the right decision for me to accept my sister-in-law’s recommendation and attend St. John’s University.” He Zhuyun said while looking outside the window. “It’s only begun, and I’ve already met a lot of interesting people at school, including this Yu Hongdou. Although I only met her once, I felt she was a kind and cheerful person. It’s sad that she is not in the same department, and she is a seniour.”

After saying so much, she looked at her brother to see that he was reading the newspaper without listening to her. “Brother, so you didn’t listen to me?”

Hearing his little sister’s angry words, He Yunqin put away the newspaper, looked at her, and asked with a smile. “Yes, why didn’t I listen? This classmate is not from the same department as you, surnamed Yu, named Yu Hongdou, very humorous.” He then pretended to be serious and asked, “Is she more humorous than your second brother?”

He Zhuyun covered her mouth and laughed. “No. No one can compare to the second brother.”

He Yunqin smiled , showing his white teeth. “You don’t rush to make friends. When you go to college, there are many opportunities to meet new classmates. In addition to classes, there are also many activities. If you are interested, just go and participate. For example, this weekend there is an event at the New Asia Tea Society, and I was invited. Are you interested? Do you want to go with your brother?”

“Brother, there are so many vacancies at other universities; why did you choose Aurora University in the end? Today I heard from my sister-in-law that Aurora’s engineering is not top-notch among these schools.”

He Yunqin slowly restrained his smile and stared at He Zhuyun.

He Zhuyun didn’t know which sentence she said wrongly offended her brother, but she had never seen her brother get angry in front of her. She simply cast a bewildered glance in He Yunqin’s direction because she was not afraid of him watching her so quietly. “Brother, what’s wrong?”

“It’s okay,” He Yunqin said with a smile as he reached out to pat her head. “I fell in love with Aurora University’s engineering program, which doesn’t have the best reputation, but it’s not terrible either. Additionally, there are typically few class schedules, and I have spare time.”

He Zhuyun blushed. “Brother, can you be a little serious? If you are really in love, why don’t you even have a girlfriend?”

He Yunqin put his hands in his trouser pockets and replied perfunctorily. “Maybe someday I can get one back.”

He Zhuyun with a bright smile, leaned over to pull up her second brother’s shirt sleeve and looked down at her watch. It was only five o’clock. “Brother, we’ll be home in a while. Please help me choose some gifts carefully. I want to take them to the school and give them to the classmates in the department.”

He Yunqin replied with a surprised smile. “Those things at home are nothing more than gold, silver, and jade. They are not suitable.”

He Zhuyun had no idea what gifts were suitable. “Then what should I give?”

He Yunqin said, “I have some German fountain pens and some enamel bookmarks bought from Ceylon. You can take them to school.”

After giving it some thought, she concluded that this kind of gift was appropriate. “My brother is more careful.”

He Yunqin squeezed his sister’s cheek while saying, “Make more new friends outside in the future; don’t just hang out at home.”

He Zhuyun  felt that her brother’s words seemed to mean something. She still nodded and said, “That’s natural.”

End of chapter 5

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