Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 8.2

Chapter 8.2

For a few seconds, Yu Hongdou couldn’t believe her eyes, and she didn’t know whether she or Chen Baidie were lucky.

Qin Xuekai took the lead in applauding, strode up to Yu Hongdou, and said excitedly, “Hongdou, you are amazing.”

Yu Hongdou looked at the audience with a gentle smile while accepting all the compliments calmly.

Wang Peter had to keep his promise, so he took out a business card from his pocket, walked towards Yu Hongdou, and handed her the business card with a smile. “Ms. Yu, you really impressed me. Since you won this game, here is my business card. You can come any day this month to meet me. Pass this business card to the concierge, and he will inform me, but I have to remind Ms. Yu that your request cannot involve large amounts of money. Otherwise, I have the right to refuse to fulfil my promise.”

“That’s natural,” Yu Hongdou said after taking the business card. She examined the card curiously while Gu Yan and the others surrounded her with envy.

That episode was over, and the next part of the programme started.

After Yu Hongdou returned to her seat, she remembered the superior and leisurely posture of He Yunqin and couldn’t help but look at the floor-to-ceiling windows, intending to appreciate his expression at the moment. But unexpectedly, he disappeared.

Wang Peter walked to the tea room at the back, opened the door, looked inside, and saw He Yunqin inside.

“I never thought you would come up with such a bad idea in order to find a right-hand man,” He Yunqin said, seeing Wang Peter coming inside.

Wang  Peter sat down on the other corner of the sofa, shook his head, and sighed. “I can’t hire a big man like Dr. He, and I don’t want to just find a fool, so I can only make a bad plan. You also know that I have a vast amount of information in my hands. It is a waste of time to sort it out. I need an assistant right now. This Ms. Yu seems like an intelligent person who can help me with my work.”

For some reason, He Yunqin’s expression was not as relaxed as before, and he sneered. “How do you know that she is willing to be your assistant? Maybe she was just a whim just now, and she will leave this matter behind in two days.”

Wang Peter added, “This Ms. Yu knows that the game is not simple, but she is willing to stand up to the challenge in front of everyone, which demonstrates that she is incredibly talented.” He pulled out a tiny wine bottle from his suit pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. “She was curious, so she is suitable for such work. Secondly, it also shows that she has indeed encountered a difficult problem that cannot be solved recently, and she desperately needs outside help. When she comes to my apartment to find me, I will use helping her as bait to tempt her to be my assistant, but any smart person will definitely not refuse this request. After all, she only needs to spare two days a week to help me sort out the materials, and the pay is quite generous. I can also solve the difficulties she encounters, by the way, so why not do it?”

He glanced at He Yunqin and smiled strangely. “You have always been ahead of me in thinking, and you can’t think of things that I can think of? Why? Seeing that your record has been broken, you feel that your intellect has been challenged; are you upset?”

He Yunqin said in a contemptuous tone, “Joke, I never thought this game was so great, so why is it so difficult to break the record?”

Wang Peter leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. “When Ms. Yu talked about the last card just now, she obviously couldn’t make up her mind. Being able to guess the answer correctly is a bit of luck. However, in life, who can say that luck is not important? This Ms. Yu is not only smart and cunning; she is also lucky. Our detective agency needs such people. Even if she doesn’t come to me, I will go to her,” he said in a serious tone.

He Yunqin raised his eyebrows, stood up, and said, “Then congratulations to Detective Wang in advance for finding a satisfactory one. I have something else to do, so I won’t accompany you any more.”

Wang Peter said in surprise, “You are leaving now? You must have been upset by what I said, so you are making excuses.”

He Yunqin stood at the door, turning around. He pointed to the Western clock on the wall, smiled, and said, “My lecture is about to start.”

***

Even though the second tea talk’s subject was less emotional than the previous one, it still had a lot to say. The professor who discussed his investigation into missing Guqin music was from a typical university. When oral history proved insufficient, the lecturer would also bring a Guqin set. He performed the restored qin music on the spot before the court, proudly singing and stroking the instrument as he did so in imitation of the ancient musicians.

When they got the break, Yu Hongdou went to the bathroom. When she came back and sat down, she felt her chair was being kicked by someone. Surprised, she immediately turned around to see a young man in his twenties with expensive clothes sitting back. She felt annoyed.

She remembered that there was a foreigner sitting in the back just now, and she thought he had just come in.

Seeing the other party’s rude deeds, she looked him over from head to toe and said with a half smile, “Who are you? Why did you kick my chair?” Without giving him time to reply, she turned her head coldly.

The man kicked again. “Hey, this lady is quite tempered. I am the young owner of Nanbao Foreign Firm. Don’t you know me?”

‘Nanbao Foreign Firm, isn’t it the one where my uncle works?’ Yu Hongdou remembered, ‘So what? Does this man of Nanbao Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. have to be recognised by everyone?’

She raised her head and sneered, “Ha!” She ignored the rude man while patiently waiting for the tea party to start.

After some time, Qin Xuekai started talking about the third session’s subject. He Yunqin was the lecturer, and the topic was “Report on Mysterious Architectural Events in Shanghai”.

“As early as a week ago, I received an invitation letter from several fellowships of St. John’s University, which stated that this tea party would be held here.” He Yunqin replied with a bright smile after Qin Xuekai ended his introduction. “The goal is to discuss enigmatic occurrences, so you should have some fun and engaging conversation starters ready. However, because I’m an engineering student, I frequently encounter dry and serious engineering designs. I’m not sure how to make the issues engaging. The topic of today matches several architectural materials I have on hand, some of which have a very ancient history and some intriguing rumours, so let’s use that as a starting point for discussion.”

He was different from other professors when he was lecturing. Not only was he not serious at all, but he also had a suave attitude and articulate and humorous words, just like talking with peers.

While listening to the discussion, Yu Hongdou felt someone sit beside her. Then she turned her head and met with the rude man from Nanbao Foreign Trade Co., Ltd.

“Well, let me talk with a gentlemanly demeanour. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Lu Jingheng. As I said just now, I own a foreign firm. Now it’s your turn. What’s your name, and where do you live? Are you Zhen Dan’s student or St. John’s?”

As he spoke, he simply moved closer, staring at Yu Hongdou’s face carefully, and put his left hand on the back of Yu Hongdou’s chair, making the gesture of encircling her in his arms.

Yu Hongdou was furious. ‘This man is so shameless.’

“Mr., please show some respect.” She wanted to scold him badly, but considering the situation she was in, she said it between her teeth.

Gu Yun and others also said, “Where are the hooligans?”

When Qin Xuekai noticed this, he quickly approached and said, “Sir, this is a serious academic tea party; you have disturbed the meeting. If you want to bother this female student, this is not your place. Please go to a different seat, or get up and leave.”

Then Lu Jingheng held an invitation letter between his fingers and said lazily, “Look clearly; this is from the manager of Xinya Tea House. Who are you? What right do you have to push people away from the Xinya Tea House?”

Then he looked at Yu Hongduo flirtatiously and said, “I just went to Zhendan a few days ago and didn’t see such a beautiful girl there. So I guess you must belong to St. John’s.”

He Yunqin’s session was interrupted by a lot of noise, and when he looked up, he instantly recognised the guy who was bothering Yu Hongdou. and acting surprised: “Young Master Lu from the Nanbao Foreign Firm turns out to be here. Why did Young Master Lu come to the Western Tea Room after finishing his shopping at Paramount?” he asked in a surprised tone.

Before, Lu Jingheng didn’t even turn to gaze at the stage since all of his focus was on Yu Hongdou. He Yunqin was now visible to him as he turned his head. He was a little envious, even though they were almost the same age, and he asked, “Can’t I come?”

End of chapter 8

Have a nice day!