Hongdou hurriedly broke free from He Yunqin and walked quickly to the outer room, opening the door to ask the servant: “Is the call still connected?”
The servant said: “It’s Mrs. Gu calling. She’s asking to speak to Second Young Mistress personally.”
He Yunqin came out of the room at this point too, but since the call was for Hongdou, it wasn’t his place to go over, so he could only watch helplessly as Hongdou hurried away. Returning to their room alone was unbearable to him, so he waited in the corridor instead. After waiting a while without Hongdou returning, and recalling how angry she’d been earlier, he tugged restlessly at his collar and paced back and forth by the door.
He Zhuyun and Duan Mingyi came out from a room inside, and happened to pass by. Seeing He Yunqin standing there with a dark expression, lost in thought at the doorway, they found it quite strange and stopped in their tracks.
He Zhuyun came over: “Second Brother.”
She glanced past her brother toward the bedroom behind him—the door was open, but Second Sister-in-law was nowhere to be seen. Looking more closely at her brother’s expression, she wondered if he was upset, and lowered her voice: “Where’s Second Sister-in-law? Second Brother, did you and Second Sister-in-law have a fight?”
He Yunqin’s expression eased somewhat. Without so much as glancing at Duan Mingyi off to the side, he smiled: “Nothing of the sort. Your Second Sister-in-law and I are doing just fine.”
He Zhuyun let out a breath of relief, curious: “Then why aren’t you going inside?”
“Your Second Sister-in-law went to take a call. I’m waiting here for her.”
Just then Hongdou came back, her face full of anxiety, muttering to herself as she walked. She looked up and saw Duan Mingyi, and her heart clenched, but out of courtesy, she couldn’t help but exchange a cool greeting with her as they passed each other.
Reaching the doorway, she turned and smiled at He Zhuyun: “Fourth Sister.”
He Yunqin stared at Hongdou and asked: “What happened?”
Hongdou, unable to bring up Gu Yun’s disappearance in front of others, could only pretend nothing was wrong and said gently to He Yunqin: “I need to go out for a bit.”
He Zhuyun, born of the same mother as He Yunqin, had always paid close attention to her second brother. Whenever something was troubling him emotionally, she could spot it at a glance. Although both her brother and Hongdou were putting on an air of calm indifference, she still sensed a hint of a coming storm. She’d been about to leave, but paused again.
He Yunqin tilted his chin at her: “I’ll go talk with your Second Sister-in-law in our room. You go rest early too.”
Off to the side, Duan Mingyi said softly to He Zhuyun: “Fourth Sister, do you still want to borrow that book from me? I’m heading back to my room now.” She turned and left.
He Zhuyun hesitated a moment, then shot her brother a look, signaling him to be sure to make things right with Hongdou—don’t go starting fights so early in the marriage—before finally walking off.
He Yunqin pulled Hongdou into their room and asked: “What happened?”
Hongdou had no time to keep arguing with him, and hurried to change her shoes: “Gu Yun is missing. I just had my aunt call Inspector Wang—Gu Yun never went to Inspector Wang’s house at all. This afternoon Gu Yun said she was going to Chunying Lane after school to ask the old housekeeper there. I don’t know if she went after school let out or not, but it’s already six o’clock now—there and back, she should have returned by now no matter what.”
The more she spoke, the more uneasy she felt. The murderer had been so meticulous and cold-blooded in the killings, and Gu Yun had been poking around everywhere these past few days—now she was missing, and who knew if it had anything to do with the two hanging murders.
“I’m going home for a bit, to have my brother go with me to Chunying Lane to look for Gu Yun. And I have something to ask my mother too, as it happens.”
He Yunqin put on his coat: “I’ll go with you.”
Hongdou, still full of pent-up anger, was about to say “I don’t need you to come,” but thinking that with He Yunqin’s help, finding Gu Yun would surely be easier, she held her tongue.
It had rained a bit in the evening—one autumn rain, one layer of cold. Compared to daytime, the air had taken on a chill. Hongdou went back to the room to fetch a newly made coat to drape over her arm, and happened to catch sight of the bouquet of flowers in the crystal glass vase on the dressing table. That piercing feeling struck her again—to think she’d faced this flower every single day, never realizing it had been given by Duan Mingyi all along.
She’d already started walking out, but suddenly stopped, turned back, and looked at him: “He Yunqin, why did you marry me in the first place?”
He Yunqin froze—this question was far too complicated. He’d asked himself more than once before, but after these past few days of married life together, even if he’d once had doubts, he now had an extremely clear answer. Yet hearing the tone of her voice, clearly meant to provoke, and recalling that she’d even said moments ago that she regretted marrying him, it was clear that when it came to his character, she’d never fully trusted him at all. Thinking it over, he too couldn’t help feeling stifled, and raised an eyebrow slightly: “What do you think?” Could he possibly have just married any random woman? It was naturally because he liked her.
Hongdou had only wanted to hear the simplest possible declaration, and after waiting so long, this was the answer she got. If they kept talking, they’d surely start fighting again, and finding Gu Yun was more urgent right now, so she shot him a stifled glare and didn’t bother responding.
The two of them went out, walking the whole way without a word, the air between them stifling and hard to bear. Fortunately, before they’d even reached the stairs, a servant came up: “Second Young Master, there’s a call for you.”
Hongdou waited where she was. Before long He Yunqin finished the call and came out, saying: “I just called Wang Bide. His residence is close to Tongfu Alley, so by the time you get back, he should be arriving there around the same time. If Gu Yun still hasn’t turned up by then, he’ll go with you and your brother to look for her. I have urgent business I need to attend to—I’ll come find you once I’m done.”
Hongdou said flatly: “The places Gu Yun could have gone missing are really just these few: Chunying Lane, the school, or the road home from school. I’ll go to Chunying Lane first to look. If she’s not there, we’ll go with Inspector Wang to look around near the school.”
He Yunqin said: “Then I’ll call Tongfu Alley in a bit. If you’re still not home, I’ll go to Chunying Lane to find you.”
The two of them went out, and He Yunqin said to Old Yu: “Take Second Young Mistress back to Tongfu Alley.”
He watched until Hongdou got into the car, then took a separate rickshaw and left.
The moment Hongdou got downstairs, she borrowed the Peng tailor’s telephone to call the Gu residence, and learned that the person who’d gone to Chunying Lane looking for the Gu family had already returned—Gu Yun had never gone to Chunying Lane that afternoon at all. She grew even more anxious, and immediately changed her plan—rather than going to Chunying Lane, she’d go search around the school instead. With this thought, she went upstairs.
Her mother and brother were indeed home. The two of them had just finished eating and were discussing renting a shop when they saw Hongdou come back, both startled: “Why are you back so soon? Where’s Mr. He?”
Hongdou said: “Gu Yun never came home after school. The Gu family called me, and I’m worried something happened to her—I want Brother to go help me look for her. Mother, I remember when Auntie’s incident happened, Grandmother’s family lived in Chunying Lane, right?”
Mrs. Yu was startled: “Yes. Why are you asking about this out of nowhere, child?”
Just then, the sound of a rickshaw horn drifted up faintly from the alley entrance downstairs. Hongdou went to the window to look, then came back to the parlor: “Mother, I’ll ask you about Auntie later. Brother, Inspector Wang is here—will you come with me?”
Yu Chongyi knew Gu Yun was his sister’s best friend, and naturally had no reason to refuse. He grabbed his coat and came out with his sister: “Mother, we’re off then.”
Outside, a light drizzle was still falling, night had fallen, and everything was pitch black. The siblings made their way by streetlight to the mouth of the alley, and from a good distance they could already see Wang Bide’s slightly worn car, headlights on, under the dim yellow lamp.
Partly because Yu Chongyi was no longer under Bai Haili’s command, and partly because Hongdou had married He Yunqin, Wang Bide’s attitude toward Yu Chongyi had changed considerably. Seeing the siblings approach, he got out of the car and greeted them first: “Mr. Yu.”
Yu Chongyi, never one to hold a grudge, smiled: “Inspector Wang.”
Inspector Wang asked Hongdou: “Your little schoolmate is missing?”
Hongdou pulled her brother into the car: “She never came home after school. I have no idea where she went. I thought she might have gone to apply at your detective agency, but she never showed up there either. I’m worried something’s happened to her, so I want to look around near the school. Oh, by the way, Inspector Wang, I heard you arranged to meet Bai Fengfei—how did it go, did she finally agree to tell the truth?”
Wang Bide started the car: “Don’t even bring that up. He Yunqin found me a few people last night to watch Bai Fengfei—the whole night passed without incident. But these friends of his have their own business to attend to during the day, so this afternoon I sent my own people to watch her residence, only to find it empty. I asked the doorman and learned that Bai Fengfei moved out first thing this morning—nobody knows her new address. I hurried over to the Keyu Theater to ask around, and the troupe members just said Bai Fengfei was unwell and had canceled nearly a month’s worth of performances. No one’s going to find her this month. Seems our earlier guess was right—she’s clearly hiding from something.”
Hongdou found it all very strange. What exactly was Bai Fengfei hiding from? Just to avoid Wang Bide, would she really go so far as to move house entirely?
“Could she really know who the murderer is? But if someone’s actively trying to help solve the case, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Why would she rather hide?”
Wang Bide said: “Who knows? I’m asking around everywhere now trying to find out where Bai Fengfei’s moved to. She can’t keep hiding like this forever—hopefully once she figures things out for herself, she’ll come find me on her own.”
St. John’s wasn’t far, and they arrived before long. Because of the rain, there were hardly any students at the school gate. Wang Bide parked the car by the roadside, and the three of them searched through the bookshops and restaurants behind the school—no luck—then went into the school itself to search.
Along the way they ran into a few students from the education department. Hongdou didn’t mention Gu Yun was missing, only said she had something to return to her, and asked whether Gu Yun was still at school. The students all said Gu Yun had attended both her afternoon classes, but they didn’t know whether she’d left the school after that. It was a huge campus, and searching it place by place would take over an hour. Wang Bide said to the siblings: “In my view, it’s unlikely Miss Gu is still on campus. If she hadn’t been abducted by someone, she should have left the school long ago.”
Hongdou didn’t really believe Gu Yun could have gone missing on campus either, but having come this far, she wouldn’t feel at ease without checking. She thought it over: “This afternoon Gu Yun did say she was going to Chunying Lane after school, but the Gu family just confirmed the old housekeeper said Gu Yun never went there.”
Wang Bide said: “That is strange. Once we finish searching the school, let’s retrace her route home carefully.”
The three of them split into two groups, planning to make a quick sweep of the campus first before searching more thoroughly elsewhere.
Wang Bide headed east toward the small chapel and the medical building; Hongdou and Yu Chongyi took charge of the teaching buildings to the west, searching their way inward. They checked the library, the women’s dormitory, even the roadside groves, pavilions, and the small chapel—nothing was overlooked.
The siblings made their way to the back gate of the school, across from a drill field—on the left stood a so-called science building built by foreigners, and on the right, a row of disused classrooms. Beneath the classrooms ran a small path leading to the school’s back gate, rarely traveled on ordinary days, the back gate usually kept locked, only occasionally opened.
Yu Chongyi said: “I’ll go search that building over there.”
Hongdou gave an acknowledging sound, then caught sight of that narrow path and remembered Gu Yun had once taken this shortcut to a wonton shop near the back gate. She wondered if the shop owner had seen Gu Yun today. Since she was already there, she decided to check the back alley, and said to Yu Chongyi: “There’s a wonton shop in the back alley that Gu Yun often visits. I’ll go ask the owner.”
Yu Chongyi, seeing the two spots weren’t far apart and they could look out for each other easily, and figuring the back alley, being an alley after all, should be reasonably lively too, thought it no trouble and said: “Just take a look and come right back.” Hongdou nodded, and leaving her brother, walked straight onto the narrow path leading to the back gate past the old classrooms. The row of classrooms all had their doors shut, streetlight filtering dim and dreary through the misty rain onto the cement path, an eerie stillness hanging over everything.
She’d walked a short distance, and could already see the two large iron gates painted reddish-brown up ahead, when suddenly, with a creak, the door of a storage room on the right side swung slowly open without warning.
In the silence of the night, that creaking door sound was especially unnerving. Even though the school should have been perfectly safe, Hongdou felt an inexplicable surge of fear, and immediately abandoned the idea of going to the back alley, turning to leave. But just then, from the storage room whose door hung ajar, came a muffled, hoarse, gasping sound, like someone being strangled and struggling in their final death throes.
Hongdou was struck with terror and hurried to run, shouting for her brother as she ran. But suddenly, a figure emerged from the black doorway behind her, taking huge strides, and in the blink of an eye caught up to her. Her hair stood on end; before she could even turn to see who it was, something suddenly reached out from behind her, cutting off her half-shouted cry for her brother, clamping down hard over her mouth.
He Yunqin didn’t finish his business until nearly eight o’clock, figuring Hongdou would already be back from Chunying Lane by then, and headed straight for Tongfu Alley. Thinking back over the day’s events, Hongdou had still been fine during the post-wedding visit—it was only after asking him that German phrase on the way back that she’d turned despondent, and afterward, over the matter of Duan Mingyi, she’d only grown more and more difficult with him. Only now did he finally start to understand a little—since this mattered so much to her, why should he keep resisting? He thought regretfully to himself: when he saw her later, whether it was “I love you” or “I like you,” however many times she wanted to hear it, he’d say it as many times as she wanted.
He went upstairs, and his mother-in-law said Hongdou and her brother still hadn’t returned. Hearing that Hongdou had gone out to find Gu Yun at the school, he went back downstairs, intending to head to St. John’s.
Just as he got into the car, a car came speeding down the street from a distance. Drawing closer, it turned out to be Wang Bide. Wang Bide leaned his head out the window from far off, recognized He Yunqin, and asked, his face pale: “You just came from upstairs—did you see Yu Hongdou at home?”
He Yunqin, not having seen Hongdou in Wang Bide’s car, was already deeply alarmed. Hearing this, his heart sank sharply: “Isn’t Hongdou with you?”
Wang Bide slammed on the brakes and said urgently: “Gu Yun made it home. Yu Hongdou is missing. He Yunqin—have we been played by the murderer?”
Author’s note: No second update today, please don’t wait.