All three of them froze for a moment.
He Yunqin’s gaze shifted away from Hongdou’s face, turning instead to Mrs. Yu, and he said with a smile: “This junior happens to need to go out with your son shortly after, and time is pressing, so it wouldn’t be convenient to go home for dinner. Since Mrs. Yu is so graciously inviting, this junior will impose on your hospitality for a meal.” Though his tone was humble, his words came out as though it were only natural.
Hongdou’s smile stiffened slightly.
Mrs. Yu also seemed to freeze for a moment, but being well versed in social niceties, she quickly smiled again: “It’s wonderful that Mr. He will stay for dinner. It’s just that we weren’t expecting a guest and haven’t prepared anything in advance — I hope Mr. He won’t mind if the food is plain and simple. It’ll be ready to serve soon — once you’ve finished discussing matters, come on out and we can eat right away.”
After her mother closed the door again, Hongdou glanced sideways at He Yunqin: “Mr. He, I heard your eloquent discourse just now when I came in — did you go all the way to the International Settlement police station on your way here, just to persuade my brother?”
He Yunqin pretended not to notice the sarcasm in her words, and took a sip of tea, answering easily: “Having agreed to help find this person, in order to sort out the ins and outs of these several cases as quickly as possible, some homework beforehand was only natural.”
Hongdou stepped closer, nodding with a smile: “So it seems Mr. He came fully prepared this time — one might even say determined to succeed. That leaves me all the more confused — what is Mr. He after, deliberately inviting this trouble upon himself? At Wang Bide’s request? I noticed he loses heart just at the mention of the words ‘police department’ — he’d never voluntarily ask someone to help solve a case.”
Yu Chongyi hadn’t known the specifics of how his sister’s negotiations with Wang Bide had gone. Hearing this, he realized his sister and Wang Bide hadn’t come to an agreement, and looking at He Yunqin again, his gaze carried more suspicion: “Mr. He.”
He Yunqin glanced at Hongdou over the rim of his teacup, then quickly set the cup back on the tray: “Miss Yu, this afternoon when you went to see Wang Bide, you mentioned that your cousin Pan Yuqi went missing around three o’clock on Saturday afternoon while attending a tea gathering. In other words, as of now, Pan Yuqi has been missing for over fifty hours. If whoever kidnapped her is truly the same group behind Wang Meiping’s case, then Pan Yuqi’s current situation is likely extremely dire. This matter is urgent — since we’ve already decided to cooperate, our top priority shouldn’t be testing each other out, but finding your cousin’s whereabouts as quickly as possible.”
In just a few words, he’d shifted the focus entirely, all but pinning on Hongdou the label of “unable to prioritize, making unreasonable trouble.”
Hearing this, anxiety indeed rose again on Yu Chongyi’s face, but given He Yunqin’s unclear intentions, he took no action for the moment.
Fortunately, Hongdou had already experienced He Yunqin’s formidable skill and wasn’t angered to death by this. She raised her eyebrows at once and shot back: “Yuan Ruoli of Gujin Bank is the key figure in my cousin’s disappearance case — questioning him is the focus of finding my cousin’s whereabouts. The French Concession hasn’t even finished questioning Yuan Ruoli yet — how can we discuss the next step? Spending a little time asking about Mr. He’s purpose in coming here won’t delay anything. But as for Mr. He, why is it that every time I ask why you’re getting involved in this, you keep dodging the question? If your conscience is clear, why keep being so evasive?”
He Yunqin parried this thrust with ease, smiling calmly: “Miss Yu, this afternoon when you went to see Wang Bide, I originally thought this was simply a straightforward kidnapping case, and at first indeed had no interest in getting involved. But afterward, I learned from Miss Yu’s own words that not only your cousin Pan Yuqi, but Chen Baidie and Wang Meiping’s kidnapping cases are also suspected to be the work of the same group, and that Wang Meiping, after three months missing, has already tragically met her end. These are all innocent lives, and your cousin is also my colleague. Hearing of this case, how could I not feel compassion? In order to save a life, why should I not be able to participate?”
Formidable indeed. Hongdou secretly gritted her teeth, faltered for a moment, then rallied again: “Mr. He, as the saying goes, a short rope cannot draw water from a deep well. Mr. He isn’t a police officer — to get involved in an unsolved case that even the police can’t crack, you must surely possess some extraordinary skill to match. I’ve heard Wang Bide underwent systematic training, but Mr. He studied engineering — I wonder, what does Mr. He rely on in coming forward so rashly to help? How do we even know that Mr. He isn’t using the guise of assistance while actually harboring some other agenda?”
Her brother’s position wasn’t high, but the files in his hands were no small matter. If He Yunqin tricked him into leaking something he shouldn’t, he might not even need to resign — he’d be finished in the police world regardless.
Hearing this, Yu Chongyi looked deeply at He Yunqin, wariness rising at once.
Seeing the earlier negotiations about to fall apart, He Yunqin didn’t answer for a moment, only gazing meaningfully at Hongdou.
Her words were sharp, yet the corner of her mouth carried a faint smile, her face, illuminated beneath the colorful Western glass lamp overhead, as pure and clear as a lotus petal in deep summer.
He gazed straight at her for a while, then straightened his expression: “Miss Yu, we’re all frank people here. Since I sincerely wish to cooperate with you both, there’s no need to keep hiding certain things. Wang Bide and I met in Germany — his set of skills was learned from a renowned forensic-trace professor there. About two years ago, Wang Bide’s health took a turn for the worse due to alcoholism, and he was treated at a local hospital in Germany. Worried that his newspaper column would be discontinued, he entrusted me to write it under his name for nearly a year. Later, being too busy with other matters, I no longer had time to keep writing, and the Peter Column was officially discontinued. Wang Bide has never tried to conceal this — Miss Yu need only ask him to find out.”
Both Hongdou and Yu Chongyi were stunned.
Hongdou at first refused to believe it, but calming down and thinking it over, she recalled that day at the tea gathering, when Wang Bide had done nothing but rehash old stories from start to finish, barely able to recount a single fresh case — probably because of his illness, having long since stopped thinking hard about such things.
And she had to admit, there’d been a period when the Peter Column’s narrative style had clearly changed a great deal from before — the cases more vivid and engaging, better than at any other time.
So that had actually been He Yunqin writing as a ghostwriter?
Seeing the two of them long forgetting to answer in their surprise, He Yunqin gave a faint smile, gazing at Hongdou’s still-puzzled dark eyes: “Miss Yu, I can solemnly promise you both — my coming here this time is both to sincerely help you find Pan Yuqi, and to sincerely investigate the disappearance cases of Wang Meiping and Chen Baidie. My abilities can be verified slowly, but time won’t wait for anyone. Right now, saving lives is what matters most. Both of you are intelligent people — can you set aside your reservations for the moment and consider accepting my cooperation?”
Hongdou came out of the study and followed her brother and He Yunqin into the dining room without a word.
Having just gone through this exchange, though she’d fortunately managed to clear up the connection between He Yunqin and Wang Bide, in the end, having been outmaneuvered by He Yunqin, she still hadn’t managed to figure out his true purpose in taking part in this case. This man was slippery as an eel — trying to pry information out of him was harder than reaching the heavens. Thinking back on this afternoon’s events now, Wang Bide seemed almost more forthright and endearing than He Yunqin, by comparison.
Still, finding Cousin Yuqi was what mattered right now. Since Wang Bide had once entrusted He Yunqin to write his column, this person’s ability was no lie. Better to wait until he’d successfully found her, then have her brother kick him out.
With this thought, her mood improved greatly, and she sat down at the table with enthusiasm, resting her chin on her hand, waiting for Sister Zhou to bring the rice.
He Yunqin sat across from her, with her mother on the left and her brother on the right. Her brother, perhaps still wary, remained cautious even amid the polite small talk. Her mother, never forgetting her duties as hostess, had already begun eagerly urging dishes on him: “Mr. He, Yuqi’s matter — we’re troubling you and Detective Wang for this.”
Hongdou, remembering that this man had torn her trousers just that afternoon and was now about to feast on her family’s food, felt a sudden tightness in her chest, unwilling to face him directly. She simply tilted her face up, frowning as she studied the dark green glass lamp shade hanging overhead.
He Yunqin exchanged a few pleasantries calmly with Mrs. Yu, and, glancing up unobtrusively, noticed that in the blink of an eye, Hongdou had already run through three or four different expressions — even more expressive than his little sister had been at that age, he thought, secretly marveling.
The next morning when Hongdou got up, without even bothering to wash up, she went straight to her brother’s room to ask about last night’s findings, only to find her brother had already left early.
At breakfast, Mrs. Yu said: “When your brother left, he said the French Concession had reported back — that Yuan Ruoli of Gujin Bank had gone from the New Asia Tea Room on Saturday to some club to play bridge. People at the club vouched for him, and Yuan Ruoli himself insisted he hadn’t seen your cousin afterward. But then, checking around the train station, they discovered a Western clothing shop nearby that’s under the Yuan family’s name.”
Hongdou paused. Such a coincidence?
“What else did Brother say?”
“Nothing else, just that he might come to your school at noon — if you still have classes this afternoon, he’ll take you to a nearby restaurant for lunch.”
“That would be perfect.” She’d also been planning to ask her brother about the results of the investigation.
Time was pressing, so Hongdou didn’t linger to discuss it further with Mrs. Yu, and hurriedly finished breakfast before going back to her room to change clothes.
As she was leaving, she glanced at the coat hanging on the bed frame. She’d originally thought of having He Zhuyun pass it along to her second brother at school, but on further thought, worried it might cause some misunderstanding, she gave up the idea.
Just as she’d run downstairs, Mrs. Yu came chasing after her with the coat wrapped up: “Weren’t you going to return this to Gu Yun? I ironed it again last night — such an expensive garment, even if Gu Yun’s second sister doesn’t press the matter, she might remember she wants to wear it any time. Better to return it to her sooner rather than later.”
Hongdou felt deeply that her luck had been running poorly lately — she seemed to dread exactly what kept happening to her. Seeing her mother had already tucked the coat into the back seat for her, she gritted her teeth and said dully: “Got it.”
At school, she carried the coat to her mailbox and compared the size — sure enough, it wouldn’t fit, so she had to carry it into the classroom.
There were two classes in the morning. The first was the drowsy Ming-Qing historical documents research class. Gu Yun sat beside her, and seeing the coat, exclaimed in admiration: “Which Western dress shop made this? It’s really lovely.”
Hongdou, remembering the story she’d made up yesterday, and looking at Gu Yun herself, then thinking of Gu Yun’s second sister, lost even the mood to tease: “It’s not my coat — I need to return it to someone shortly.”
The second class was the newly opened music theory course this term.
Walking to the classroom, Gu Yun was discussing with Mei Lizhen and the others: “I hear Duan Mingyi studied at Wellesley College for Women in America — her scholarship must be quite good. I wonder how she’ll be at teaching.”
Hongdou was startled: “So it really is her teaching us?” These past two days, so preoccupied with finding Cousin Yuqi, she’d completely forgotten about the new music theory teacher.
Gu Yun seemed somewhat displeased by Hongdou’s doubt: “We’ll know in a moment when class starts.”
Hongdou carried the coat into the classroom, and had just sat down when a girl beside her greeted her cheerfully: “Senior Sister Yu, Senior Sister Gu, Senior Sister Mei.”
It was He Zhuyun. After greeting them, she picked up the books on her desk and came over to sit beside them.
Before she’d even sat down, He Zhuyun looked down and saw the coat resting on the stool beside Hongdou, and asked in surprise: “Senior Sister Yu, why did you bring a coat to school?”
Hongdou looked closely at He Zhuyun’s face and saw she had no idea about it — clearly this coat wasn’t hers. She casually moved the coat aside and smiled: “I need to return it to someone shortly.”
At this moment a slight stir passed through the classroom. Hongdou looked toward the door and saw someone walking in gracefully — fair-skinned, with a lovely figure — it was indeed Duan Mingyi.