The words exchanged outside the car had reached Hongdou’s ears without missing a syllable. It was as though she’d drunk a large cup of rich, fragrant wine—an intoxicating sweetness spread all the way to her heart.

The car had already driven a fair distance before she worked up the nerve to look at him directly. Once her wildly pounding heart had settled somewhat, she finally turned her face slightly and said, “Thank you for earlier, Mr. He.”

He Yunqin glanced at her in the mirror. Her face was bright and lovely, calm as usual at first glance—yet the corner of her mouth was tilted up ever so slightly, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. From the look of it, she wasn’t merely unbothered by what he’d said out there—she seemed rather pleased by it. He had felt both awkward and uneasy getting into the car earlier, but now he relaxed completely.

There was no one else in the car but the two of them, barely half an arm’s length apart. Outside, the sun shone brightly in a clear sky, and a light breeze drifted in through the window now and then, brushing against his face. By rights it should have felt refreshing, yet the longer he drove, the drier his throat felt. Usually when driving, all he cared about was speed—but today he found himself unconsciously wishing to drive slower. Could what his mother had said last night really be true—that he truly had feelings for Miss Yu? What exactly did being in love feel like? It was truly baffling.

Remembering he had important matters to discuss with her, he hastily brushed the thought from his mind and said seriously, “Because of the case I’ve been investigating these past few days, Bai Haili used evidence to coerce your brother. After I drop you off at school, I’ll need to go deal with this matter.”

Hongdou froze in shock—no wonder that man had been so brazen in front of her brother, rushing to Tongfu Lane to make trouble so early in the morning.

“What did he coerce my brother into?”

He Yunqin fell silent. The matter of the second wife was simply too sordid to speak of—why burden her, and himself, with it? He only said flatly, “Bai Haili was nothing but a street hoodlum in his early years. The reason he rose to prominence is that he’s engaged in no small amount of dirty business. Now that his position is secure, dealing with him properly will be somewhat tricky—it can’t be rushed, and needs careful planning. Because of his lowly origins, in recent years, in order to curry favor with the powerful, he has repeatedly, shamelessly, paid respects to my father as a junior would to an elder. After the warning I just gave him, he certainly won’t dare openly oppose the He family, but there’s no telling what other schemes he might use to strike at you in secret.”

Hongdou had rarely heard He Yunqin speak of others with such disdain and contempt. Yet with just a few casual words, he had thoroughly stripped away the outwardly glorious facade of Bai Haili, revealing the wretched scoundrel underneath.

Her mood improved somewhat. After thinking it over, she sat up straight and said, “Whatever scheme Bai Haili has in mind, my brother had already decided long ago that he didn’t want to be a policeman anymore. As long as that evidence is properly dealt with, my brother will simply restart the family business, and from now on I’ll have my brother himself take me to and from school. I refuse to believe Bai Haili would dare do evil in broad daylight.”

He Yunqin said, in a righteously earnest tone, “Your brother is alone and without much power, and honest by nature besides—how could he guard against a man like that? For now, the only solution is for me to take you to and from school.”

Hongdou’s face turned bright red. So He Yunqin hadn’t just said those things for Bai Haili’s benefit—he truly meant to escort her, in earnest. Unable to help herself, the corners of her mouth, which she had pressed firmly straight, curved upward again. Afraid he might see, she quickly turned to look out the car window. Though the car moved at a crawl, it eventually arrived at the gates of St. John’s.

Once the car came to a stop, she opened the door without looking at him and only said, “I have a lot of classes today, morning and afternoon both. School lets out around four thirty.”

The implication was clear—she was telling him what time to come pick her up. Something stirred in He Yunqin’s heart. Not until her retreating figure had walked far away did he rub the bridge of his nose and start the car again.

Just then, he heard his sister calling him outside. He opened the car door to look—it was Old Yu bringing his sister and Duan Mingyi to school, and the two cars happened to cross paths. His sister-in-law’s expression seemed a little more subdued than usual; before he could catch her eye, she had already turned toward the school gate. His sister, however, wore a wide smile and walked toward him unhurriedly.

The moment she reached him, she deliberately put on a stern face and said, “No wonder Second Brother didn’t even finish breakfast properly before rushing out—turns out he was thinking about coming to walk Sister Yu to school. Caught you red-handed! Second Brother, are you still going to deny you’re pursuing Miss Yu? When are you going to bring her home for dinner?”

That morning, she had heard from their mother that the night before, their father, over that scandal from a few months ago, had pressed her brother to seriously consider finding someone to date, lest people keep using the incident to stir up trouble, which might eventually hurt the relationship between the brothers. Their mother had also said that if there was a suitable candidate, it would be best to settle things within three months.

When her brother heard “within three months,” he’d laughed in disbelief and said it was simply impossible—marriage required finding someone you truly liked, and a hasty engagement was out of the question entirely.

Yet when their mother suddenly brought up Sister Yu, her brother had gone still, and for a moment said nothing at all. Later, when their father asked about Sister Yu’s background, her brother, uncharacteristically, hadn’t avoided the topic, and had briefly described the Yu family’s situation.

This had delighted their mother greatly, and she’d gone on to suggest inviting Sister Yu over for dinner. Though nothing had been settled yet, since Miss Yu’s own feelings weren’t yet certain, it seemed that sometime later that night, her brother had come to some conclusion of his own—otherwise, why would he be here so early to pick her up?

He Yunqin neither denied nor confirmed it, only opened the car door and said, “Miss Yu said your first class is Chinese Literature. What are you dawdling for? Go on in.”

Besides, he still had to go from Aurora University to find Wang Bide afterward—he mustn’t be late picking up Hongdou in the evening.

He Zhuyun said teasingly, “Fine then, I’ll go sit next to Sister Yu for class.”

She took a few quick steps toward her own family’s car, hooked her arm through Duan Mingyi’s, and the two women, sister-in-law and sister-in-law, walked in side by side.

Duan Mingyi gently tucked back a few loose strands of hair for He Zhuyun and asked softly, “What did you say to your second brother just now that made you so happy?”

He Zhuyun said, “Nothing much, really—just teased him about pursuing Sister Yu, asked him when he’d bring her home. Never thought someone as glib as Second Brother could get so bashful. He just brushed me off with a few words and left.”

Duan Mingyi said gently, “Your second brother has always been steady and composed. There are so many elegant young ladies in Shanghai, and he’s usually out socializing. Even though he seems to have some feelings for Miss Yu now, who knows if he might meet someone even better down the road? It’s not strange that he wouldn’t want to mention it at home yet.”

He Zhuyun tilted her head, thinking this over, and was about to speak when she noticed two people not far off—one was Qin Xuekai, the other her sister Yu’s good friend, Sister Gu Yun.

Qin Xuekai was holding a large package of pastries, trying to give it to Gu Yun, who kept refusing: “No, no, no, I really can’t accept anything more from you, Senior. Weren’t you just trying to find out what classes Hongdou has today? Her first class is Chinese Literature, second is a foreign language, and then there’s one more—Agriculture.”

Caught out, Qin Xuekai’s face flushed red, and he scratched his head, embarrassed. “It’s just a small token, really. I’ve troubled you plenty—please don’t refuse, Junior Gu.”

Gu Yun, hugging her books to her chest, said coolly, “Senior Qin, I appreciate the thought, but unless Hongdou agrees, I really dare not accept anything.” With that, she took three unhurried steps backward and walked off in a different direction.

Qin Xuekai stood there a moment. Carrying this pile of pastries into class hardly seemed proper, so he thought he’d better put them back in his own car, which was parked just outside the school gate, and headed that way.

Duan Mingyi said, “Isn’t that Qin Xuekai from the political science department? I don’t really know that student, but I remember once seeing Miss Yu go find him at the fellowship for something, and the two of them talked for a long while over at the little chapel—that’s how I came to have an impression of him.”

He Zhuyun thought about it and recalled indeed having seen Qin Xuekai visit Sister Yu before. As for Miss Yu, she seemed quite courteous toward Senior Qin as well. She nodded. “Senior Qin and Sister Yu are both top students at the school. They naturally have some interaction because of fellowship activities.”

Duan Mingyi heard the note of defensiveness in her words and smiled gently. “That’s exactly why I often encourage you to socialize more with these diligent students—first, to broaden your horizons, and second, to spark your own interest in studying. Once knowledge has settled into your bones bit by bit, it’ll do you a great deal of good in the long run.”

He Zhuyun smiled and pursed her lips. “Sister-in-law is quite right. I’ll remember that. From now on I’ll take part in the school’s fellowship activities more often.”

The moment He Yunqin’s car pulled away from the gates of St. John’s, another car slowly emerged from beneath the shade of the trees and came to a stop by the roadside. Several people got out and stood there, watching the He family’s car disappear into the distance.

One of them spoke. “Looks like the He family’s Second Young Master has made up his mind to protect Yu Chongyi’s sister—actually walked her right to the school gate.”

Bai Haili said coldly, “It’s still early days yet. Young people love a challenge—no doubt seeing me get involved just fired up his competitive streak. He’ll keep at it for a month or two at most before losing interest. The He family’s two sons were born of different mothers—the eldest married a daughter of the Duan family. Would Madame He really let her son marry into some small, insignificant family? No matter what, she’ll pick a young lady of proper standing for her son. This Yu Hongdou may hold her head too high, but she’d better ask herself whether she’s even fated to set foot through the He family’s door. These next few days, have your men quietly follow Yu Hongdou. The day He Yunqin grows tired of her, bring her to me.”

The men smiled unpleasantly. “This Miss Yu is as stubborn as her brother, it seems. But once the rice is cooked, won’t she have no choice but to obediently become the Commissioner’s second wife?”

Bai Haili sneered. “That depends on whether she’s still untouched. If He Yunqin’s already had his fun with her, then being the proper wife is out of the question—at best, she’ll be a concubine.”

Since there were few people around, the group spoke without any restraint at all. As it happened, Qin Xuekai, carrying his package of pastries, was passing by, and his face went pale on the spot.

At first he thought he’d misheard, but on closer reflection—even if he could mistake the three characters “He Yunqin,” surely he couldn’t mishear the name Yu Hongdou.

He looked again at the group, their brows knitted and eyes fierce; from their attire, they were undoubtedly policemen from the police bureau. The one leading them had a distinctly hawkish, wolfish look about him, and seemed rather familiar. After a moment’s thought, he recognized him as that Commissioner Bai, known for his lechery.

Qin Xuekai was an enthusiast of extracurricular activities, often collaborating with several local universities on joint events, and through this he’d heard plenty of news from other schools. Some days back, he’d heard that a student at the Women’s Normal University had abruptly dropped out for no clear reason, and later learned she’d been forced by this very Commissioner Bai into becoming his concubine.

From the way these policemen were talking just now, could this Commissioner Bai have set his sights on Hongdou too? But why was He Yunqin’s name tangled up in this?

His mind, always quick, worked things over as he walked slowly with his head down. Suddenly he remembered the visit to see Senior Deng a few days ago with He Yunqin and the others, and everything became clear in an instant. His earlier suspicions had been correct after all—He Yunqin had indeed taken a fancy to Hongdou. But judging by what Commissioner Bai had said, though He Yunqin was pursuing Hongdou, the difference in their social standing surely meant he could never marry her.

And now, with Commissioner Bai eyeing Hongdou like a predator, how long could He Yunqin’s patience for protecting her last? The thought made his chest tighten with anger, and stirred in him some indescribable, restless urge to act.

However arrogant Commissioner Bai might be, he surely wouldn’t dare forcibly seize another man’s wife. Hongdou would have to marry someone eventually, and now that the situation had reached a critical point, what was he still hesitating for? He couldn’t just stand by and watch Hongdou fall into the hands of a man like that.

He raised his wrist to check his watch. There was still time. Worst case, he’d simply skip his first class—he’d go straight home now to discuss this with his father and mother.