Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Yu Hongdou was shocked and hurriedly broke away from He Yunqin. “Is the call still connected?”  she asked, opening the door.

“It was Mrs. Gu who called and asked the Second Young Madam to answer the phone in person,” the servant replied.

He Yunqin also came out of the room, but he didn’t follow his wife. However, he was reluctant to go back to his room, so he simply waited in the corridor. After waiting for a while, he still didn’t see Yu Hongdou. Thinking how she was angry just a few minutes ago, he tugged at his collar in anxiety and paced back and forth at the door.

At this time, He Zhujun and Duan Mingyi came out of the inner room and they saw He Yunqin standing at the door with a gloomy face and in a daze. They felt strange. 

He Zhujun came over and called out, “Second brother.”

Then she peeked from the open door and didn’t see her second sister-in-law inside the room. Feeling strange, she looked at her brother’s dark face. ‘Is he angry?‘ Pondering for a few seconds, she lowered her voice and asked, “Where is my second sister-in-law? Second brother, you didn’t quarrel with her, did you?”

He Yunqin’s expression eased a little, and without even looking at Duan Mingyi over there, he smiled and said, “No, I’m fine with your second sister-in-law.”

“Then why don’t you go into the room?” With a relieved heart, He Zhujun asked again.

“Your second sister-in-law is on the phone. I’ll wait for her here.”

At this time Yu Hongdou came back, looking anxious. When she raised her eyes and saw Duan Mingyi, her heart was blocked. Due to etiquette, she had to greet the other party lightly when passing by her.

When they reached the door, he smiled at He Zhujun and said, “Second sister-in-law!”

He Yunqin stared at Yu Hongdou’s pale face and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Hongdou couldn’t mention Gu Yun’s disappearance in front of outsiders, so she had to pretend nothing happened and said to He Yunqin in a gentle voice, “I have to go out for a while.”

He Zhujun and He Yunqin had the same mother and the sister was very familiar with her second brother. Therefore, at a glance, she could understand that her second brother was in an upset mood. Although the second brother and Yu Hongdou pretended to be calm, she still caught a glimpse of the impending storm. When she was about to talk, He Yunqin cut her off. 

“I’m going to go back to the room to talk with your second sister-in-law. You should also go back to your room and have a rest early.”

Upon hearing that, Duan Mingyi said to He Zhujun softly, “Fourth sister, do you still want to borrow a book from me? I’m going back to my room.” Then she turned and left.

He Zhujun winked at her second brother, indicating that he must get along well with Yu Hongdou and not have a quarrel just after their wedding, and then she walked away.

He Yunqin asked while following Yu Hongdou.

At this critical moment, she didn’t have the energy to argue with the man. While she was changing her shoes, she replied, “Gu Yun is missing. I asked my aunt to call Inspector Wang. Gu Yun didn’t go to Inspector Wang’s house at all. In the afternoon, Gu Yun said she was going to Chunyingli to meet the old lady of the Gu family. I don’t know if she went to Chunyingli after school. But it’s already six o’clock now. She should be back after going back and forth.”

Yu Hongdou felt very scared, as she talked. The murderer was so careful and calm when he killed people. Gu Yun had been looking for things everywhere these days, and now she was missing. Who knew if it had anything to do with these two strangulation cases?

“I’m going home and asking my brother to accompany me to Chunyingli to look for Gu Yun. I also have something to ask my mother.”

He Yunqin put on his coat and said, “I’ll go back with you.”

Yu Hongdou wanted to say, “I don’t want you to accompany me”, but when she thought about her friend, she knew it would be easy to find her with He Yunqin’s help.

The air had gotten chilly due to the evening autumn rain, and it was much colder than the daytime.

As Yu Hongdou was wearing her newly made coat, she accidentally saw the bouquet of flowers in the crystal ball glass bottle on the dressing table. The stabbing feeling in her heart came back. She had been looking at these flowers every day, and it turned out that they were given by Duan Mingyi.

“He Yunqin, why did you marry me in the first place?” feeling down, she asked him as she passed the man. 

Hearing such an unexpected question, he was taken aback. He didn’t know how to answer that. He had even asked that question from himself more than once. However, after spending a few days together after marriage, even if he still had some doubts before, he now had a very clear answer. 

After listening to Yu Hongdou’s words saying she regretted marrying him, he knew she was furious for some reason. Moreover, it was obvious that she had never trusted his character wholeheartedly. Thinking about it carefully, he couldn’t help feeling upset. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said, “What do you think?” Could he just find a woman to marry casually? Of course, he married her because he liked her.

After a long wait, she still didn’t get a reply. She thought if she kept pushing, it would lead to another argument, so it would be best to remain silent. Giving him a downcast look, she exited the room. 

They both stepped outside in silence. 

The mood was so heavy it felt suffocating. 

Luckily, just before they reached the stairs, a servant approached and said, “Second Young Master, there’s a phone call.”

Yu Hongdou stood there waiting. 

After a bit, He Yunqin came out after taking the call. “I just spoke with Wang Peter. His place is really close to Tongfu Lane. He should arrive by the time you get back. If Gu Yun hasn’t returned by then, he’ll help you and your brother look for her. I have something urgent to take care of, but I’ll come pick you up once I’m done.”

Yu Hongdou replied calmly, “Gu Yun has only gone missing in a few spots: Chunyingli, school, and on her way home from school. I plan to check Chunyingli first. If she’s not there, we’ll search around the school with Inspector Wang.”

He Yunqin responded, “Then I’ll call Tongfu Lane first. If you’re not back yet, I’ll head to Chunyingli to find you.”

As they stepped out, He Yunqin told Lao Yu, “Take the second young lady back to Tongfu Lane.”

After watching Yu Hongdou hop into the car, he took another one and left.

When Yu Hongdou arrived in her community, she borrowed a phone from tailor Peng downstairs and called the Gu Mansion. She found out that the Gu family members who went to Chunyingli had come back, and Gu Yun hadn’t even gone to Chunyingli that afternoon. This made her feel even more anxious, and she quickly changed her mind. ‘It seems better to avoid Chunyingli for a bit. Let’s just check around the school instead.’With that thought in mind, she headed back upstairs.

Just as she expected, her mother and brother were home. They had just finished eating and were talking about selling the shop. When they noticed Hongdou had returned, they both looked surprised. “Why are you back at this hour? Where’s Mr. He?”

Yu Hongdou replied, “Gu Yun hasn’t come home since school, and the Gu family called me. I was worried something might have happened to her, so I was planning to go out with my brother to help look for her. Mom, I remember that when my aunt had her accident, my grandmother was living in Chunyingli, right?”

Mrs. Yu looked taken aback and said, “Yes. Sweetheart, why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”

At that moment, a faint car horn could be heard from the alley downstairs. Yu Hongdou peeked out the window, then returned to the living room and said, “Mom, I’ll ask you about my aunt when I get back. Brother, Inspector Wang is here. Can you come with me?”

Yu Chongyi knew that Gu Yun was his sister’s best friend, so he had no reason to say no. He put on his coat and went out with his sister, saying, “Mom, we’re heading out.”

It was still drizzling outside, and as night fell, everything turned pitch black. The brother and sister relied on the street lamps to find their way to the alley entrance. In the distance, they spotted Wang Peter’s half-used car with its headlights shining under the dim light.

Now Yu Chongyi was no longer Bai Haili’s subordinate, and secondly, since Yu Hongdou married He Yunqin, Wang Peter’s attitude towards Yu Chongyi had shifted significantly. When he noticed the brother and sister approaching, he stepped out of the car and greeted them first. “Mr. Yu.”

 Yu Chongyi was not one to hold grudges, and he replied with a smile, “Inspector Wang.”

Inspector Wang then asked Yu Hongdou, “Is your little classmate missing?”

“She didn’t come home after school, and I have no idea where she went. I thought she might have gone to your detective agency to look for a job, but it seemed she didn’t. I’m worried something might have happened to her, so I wanted to check around the school. By the way, Inspector Wang, I heard you set up a meeting with Bai Fengfei. How’s that going? Is she finally ready to spill the truth?”

“No problem at all. He Yunqin got a few folks to watch over Bai Fengfei for me last night. Everything went smoothly overnight, but those friends had their own stuff to handle during the day. But when I went in the afternoon, it was too late. She had already fled. I asked the doorman and learned that Bai Fengfei had moved out early in the morning, and no one knew where her new place was. I rushed over to Keyu Theater to ask around, but the troupe members only mentioned that Bai Fengfei wasn’t feeling well and had postponed her performance for almost a month. It looks like no one will be able to track her down this month. Seems like our earlier suspicion was correct. She’s definitely hiding from something.”

Upon hearing those words, Yu Hongdou found it all quite odd. ‘What could Bai Fengfei possibly be hiding from? Why would she even move just to avoid Wang Peter?’”Does she actually know who the murderer is? But wouldn’t it be better if someone stepped up to help her crack the case? Why would she choose to hide instead?”

Wang Peter replied, “Who knows? I’m trying to gather info on where Bai Fengfei is staying. Hiding like this isn’t a sustainable plan. If she figures things out one day, it would be great if she could come to me on her own.”

Soon they were gotten to St. John’s. Due to the rain, there were only a few students at the school gate. 

Wang Peter parked the car on the roadside and headed to the bookstores and restaurants behind the university with Yu siblings to find some information. Unfortunately, they had no luck, so they decided to go back inside the university to look for Gu Yun again.

On their way, they bumped into a few classmates from the Education Department. Yu Hongdou didn’t mention that Gu Yun was missing; she just said she had something to return to Gu Yun. When they inquired if Gu Yun was still around, several classmates mentioned that she had two classes in the afternoon, and they weren’t sure if she left after school. Searching for her in such a large place would take over an hour, so Wang Peter told the siblings, “I think it’s unlikely that Miss Gu is still here. If she wasn’t kidnapped, she should have left school a while ago.”

Yu Hongdou also couldn’t believe that her friend would vanish at the university. But since they were already at school, she felt uneasy not checking on her. After pondering for a bit, she said, “Gu Yun did mention this afternoon that she would head to Chunyingli after school, but the Gu family just asked the old lady and found out she hasn’t gone there.”

Wang Peter replied, “That’s strange. How about we finish searching the school first, and then we can follow the route she usually takes home to look for her more thoroughly.”

The three of them were divided into two groups, aiming to quickly explore the school and then search for the person elsewhere.

Wang Peter headed east towards the chapel and the medical building, while Yu Hongdou and Yu Chongyi took charge of several teaching buildings in the west. They searched thoroughly including the library and the girls’ school building, and even checked the woods, pavilions, and chapels along the roadside.

The brother and sister made their way to the back door of the school. Across a drill field, on the left, there was a so-called science museum built by foreigners, and on the right, there was a line of abandoned classrooms. There was a path beneath the classrooms that led to the back door of the school. It was seldom used during the week, and the back door was usually locked, only opened occasionally.

Yu Chongyi said, “I’ll check the inner room of that building.”

Yu Hongdou sighed as she looked at the path. She recalled that Gu Yun once took a shortcut from here to grab wontons at the back door. She wondered if the owner had seen Gu Yun that day. Since she was already there, she decided to head to the back alley to take a look. “There’s a wonton restaurant in the back alley. Gu Yun goes there often. I’ll go ask the owner.”

Yu Chongyi noticed that the two sides were close enough to look out for one another. Plus, since it was a back alley, it should be pretty lively, so there shouldn’t be any issues. He said, “Just take a look and come back.” 

Yu Hongdou nodded, left her brother behind, and headed straight for the small path that led to the back door of the old classroom. A row of classrooms was shut, and the streetlights cast a dim glow on the cement path through the rain and fog. It was eerily quiet all around.

After walking for a bit, she was about to reach the two large iron doors painted reddish-brown. Suddenly, with a creak, the door of a utility room on the right side opened slowly and unexpectedly.

In the stillness of the night, the sound of the door creaking open was especially unsettling. Yu Hongdou felt safe at school, but for some reason, she was suddenly scared. She quickly abandoned the idea of heading to the back alley and turned to leave. But at that moment, from the utility room with the door half ajar, a faint hissing sound emerged, like someone was choking and struggling for breath.

Yu Hongdou was extremely startled and ran away, calling for her brother. Out of nowhere, a man stepped out from the dark doorway at the back, striding quickly and catching up to her in an instant. Her hair stood on end, and she didn’t have time to look back to see who it was. Suddenly, something reached out from behind, cutting off her call for her brother and covering her mouth tightly.

***

It was almost eight o’clock when He Yunqin wrapped up his work. He figured that Yu Hongdou had come back from Chunying, so he headed straight to Tongfu Lane. Reflecting on the day’s events, he remembered that Yu Hongdou seemed fine when she got home, but she became downcast after asking him that German question on the way. Later, she kept bothering him about Duan Mingyi. Now, he was starting to think more clearly. Since she was so adamant about this, why should he push her? He thought to himself with a bit of regret: when he sees her again, he’ll just say “I love you” or “I like you” as many times as she wants to hear it.

After heading upstairs, his mother-in-law mentioned that Yu Hongdou and her brother hadn’t returned yet. When she said that they went to school to look for Gu Yun, he went back downstairs and decided to head to St. John’s.

Just as he got into the car, he noticed a vehicle speeding towards him from a distance. As it got closer, he recognised it was Wang Peter. 

Wang Peter leaned out of the window from afar, recognised He Yunqin, and asked with a worried expression, “When you went upstairs just now, did you see Yu Hongdou at home?”

He Yunqin was taken aback by that. “Isn’t Hongdou with you?”

Wang Peter slammed on the brakes and said urgently, “Gu Yun has come back home, but Yu Hongdou is missing. He Yunqin, have we been tricked by the murderer?”

End of chapter 55

Have a nice day!