Hongdou woke at only six o’clock. Having caused such a commotion so late the night before, she’d actually slept restlessly instead.
Dawn hadn’t broken yet. A dim ray of light filtered in through the window, and it was hard to tell whether it was moonlight or the first hint of dawn. The parasol tree in the courtyard rustled in the wind, and the weather had turned even colder than the day before.
She rubbed her eyes, remembering there was much to do today, and her drowsiness faded somewhat. She looked up at He Yunqin—his eyelids were closed, and he seemed to be sleeping soundly. Since it was still early, she might as well sleep a little more.
She relaxed, resting her forehead against his chest, and closed her eyes again.
He suddenly caught her hand.
“Huh?” She startled. “You’re awake?”
He laughed with his eyes still closed. “I’ve been awake for a while.”
As he spoke, he brought her hand to his mouth and bit down, not too hard, not too light.
“Why are you biting me again.” She was indignant, giving him a light shove.
He rolled over with the force of her push, ending up spread-eagled facing the ceiling, deliberately hissing “ssss” as he did.
She remembered how in her fury the night before she’d struck him several times, and was slightly startled. “Does it still hurt?”
He raised his arm and switched on the bedside lamp, opening his sleep robe, pointing to the several shallow marks on his shoulder, arm, and chest, looking at her. “See what you turn into when you get fierce.”
Hongdou hurried to crawl closer to examine them carefully. Fortunately there weren’t many marks, and most were only slightly red, none of them broken skin.
She gently stroked them with tender concern, though her mouth still said, “Well, whose fault is it for making me so angry. Next time you bully me like that again, I’ll bite you again.”
“Bite again?” He raised an eyebrow. “A gentleman uses words, not fists—don’t you know that principle?”
She snorted. “I don’t know it. I’m not a gentleman anyway.”
“Right, you’re not a gentleman.” He nodded, grabbing her hand and biting down on it without ceremony. “You’re a fat cat. Here, let me bite off these clawing fat paws of yours first.”
She gave a startled laugh, trying to pull her hand back. “You’re the fat one. If you dare bully me I’ll scratch you. Don’t say I’m fat, I’m not fat at all.”
He rolled over, pinning her down, burying his head at her chest, biting first one side, then the other. “This isn’t fat? Or this isn’t fat? I think there’s plenty of flesh here.”
Pale and full like tofu—the biting gradually turned into something else entirely.
She was both ticklish and unable to bear it, laughing as she struggled. “If you bite me again I’ll bite you back.”
He welcomed it. “Go ahead and bite.”
The two of them tussled on the bed for a long while, and in the end he still managed to bite her a few times on her pale, full chest and her bottom. Seeing it was nearly seven o’clock, any more dawdling and they’d be late, so they had no choice but to get dressed and leave the room.
At breakfast, Hongdou read the newspaper’s news—it was covered wall to wall with discussions of Bai Haili’s death.
Overnight, the papers’ tone had shifted again from the day before. They no longer insisted solely that Bai Haili had been assassinated by an enemy, but offered all sorts of varied speculation instead.
He Yunqin glanced indifferently at the newspaper, offering no opinion on these discussions. After finishing breakfast, he headed straight out the door, saying to Hongdou, “It’s still early. Let’s go back to the He mansion first, and arrange for your mother and elder brother’s move tonight.”
They’d already discussed this matter in the second half of the previous night. Hongdou hesitated. “That house still needs time to be cleaned—moving today isn’t possible. Besides, if we rush too much, my mother and brother will grow suspicious.”
He Yunqin said, “The furniture over there is all ready as it is anyway. I’ll have people go clean it now—the sooner they move, the better, to avoid complications down the road.”
Hongdou recalled the state of Bai Haili’s body. “Is there really something wrong with that Western-style house?”
He Yunqin rubbed his chin, his face showing puzzlement. “Nothing wrong with the layout that we could see—it’s just an ordinary Western-style house. What’s strange is that this house is supposedly built by a White Russian aristocrat, but no matter how much we investigated, we couldn’t trace this White Russian’s background.”
Hongdou was startled—that was indeed true. She’d only ever heard that the house was built by a White Russian aristocrat, yet no one could name this person, nor could anyone say where he’d gone afterward.
He Yunqin opened the car door for her, and once she was seated, got in from the other side. “If you’re worried you can’t convince your mother, I’ll speak with the elder lady myself.”
Hongdou glanced at him. “That’s not what I’m worried about. The problem is that the Yu family’s servants have all scattered before—the new house is much larger than the residence at Tongfu Lane. If we really move, Sister Zhou alone as a servant won’t be able to manage, and we’d need to hire more help. With all this talk of war going around, servants aren’t easy to find right now either. Even though our household possessions aren’t many, moving is still troublesome—even if we’re efficient, it would take at least three or four days to finish moving.”
She counted things off on her fingers one by one, her voice crisp and sweet. He listened for a while, unconsciously rubbing his ear, still feeling it tickle, and simply said, “Leave all these matters to me. As long as your mother and brother don’t object, we’ll finish moving within two days.”
Hongdou could only say, “Alright then.”
When they arrived at the He mansion, the family had just finished breakfast.
Seeing He Yunqin had finally returned, He Mengmei said to him with a solemn expression, “I was just looking for you. Come to my study with your elder brother—I have important matters to discuss with the two of you.”
He Yunqin fell silent for a moment, then answered, “Alright.”
He said gently to Hongdou, “Go wait for me in our room.”
Hongdou nodded. There was no class during the first period that morning anyway; the reason she needed to go to school was that the play had switched leading men, and as the female lead, she needed to rehearse scenes anew with him. There was no set time, so being a little late wouldn’t matter.
So she went upstairs, but just as she was about to enter the room, a servant attending Mrs. He came over and said, “Second Young Madam, Madam would like you to come over.”
Hongdou had no choice but to give up her plan to go to her room.
He Zhuyun was there too. Her mother-in-law sat on the sofa while He Zhuyun leaned against the armrest—mother and daughter seemed to be discussing something.
Seeing her arrive, Mrs. He beckoned. “Good child, come look at this.”
Hongdou came over and sat down, smiling as she looked at what her mother-in-law held. She was startled to see it was entirely in English—looking again, it turned out to be introductions to American universities.
Mrs. He had studied English while at a women’s university, and with her level, she could just about make out English newspapers. Seeing Hongdou looking at the paper, she patted the back of her hand. “The world is unsettled these days. Between the two of you youngest in the family, you and Zhuyun, if war breaks out, there’ll be no chance to continue your studies. Your father-in-law and I feel we mustn’t let your education be delayed—these are a few renowned American universities, each with its own strengths. Take a look and see which one appeals to you. This second son of ours is quite stubborn—given the current troubles at home and abroad, his view, like his father’s and elder brother’s, is bound to be that industry must save the nation. As for how to decide, you two young ones should discuss it between yourselves.”
Hongdou had never imagined her mother-in-law would want to discuss this matter with her.
He Zhuyun laughed. “Second Sister-in-law’s grades are so good, it’d be such a waste not to apply to a top university. As for me, choosing a school is secondary—I originally studied foreign languages, but once in America I’ll have to switch majors, and I still haven’t decided what to study. Second Sister-in-law, do you have any good suggestions?”
Hongdou did have plans to apply to study abroad, but only on the condition she wouldn’t be separated from He Yunqin. She smiled. “It still depends on your own interests. Your second brother knows many American professors—you should discuss it with him.”
Mrs. He smiled. “Last month, Mrs. Pan and her family just came back from America, saying everything there is very convenient—even living there a few years and coming back once things at home improve wouldn’t be too late. I often tell the second son, as long as the family is safe and sound, saving the nation can happen anywhere—does one have to sacrifice flesh and blood to be called a great hero? Building railways, transporting goods—those count as saving the nation too. Of course, nothing is decided yet—we’ll see how things develop first.”
He Zhuyun affectionately hugged Hongdou close, lowering her voice. “Anyway, I know that wherever Second Sister-in-law is, that’s where Second Brother will be.”
Then she raised her voice again. “Besides, there’s me and Mother too—Second Brother would never bear to be apart from us.”
Mrs. He said, “This morning’s paper said that, all things considered, there won’t be war this year, so this matter isn’t so urgent it’s burning down the house. Go discuss it thoroughly with the second son later. Tonight I’ve invited some ladies over to play mahjong—I’ll ask around whose daughters are studying in America. Oh right, your elder sister-in-law mentioned your school is putting on a play recently, and you’re the female lead? Hongdou, what play are you rehearsing?”
Hongdou paused for a few seconds, then smiled. “The Education Department and the Chinese Literature Department are jointly performing a play called The Painted Skin. Would you like to bring a few of the aunties to watch, Mother? I’ll have my classmates save you a seat in the front row.”
Mrs. He’s face broke into a smile—this child’s temperament was so endearing, never coy or affected, and she spoke so candidly and gracefully. She laughed. “You young people’s plays—we old women won’t crowd in on the fun. Oh right, the new Sassoon trading company sent over a few pairs of high-heeled shoes made of little lambskin. The styles are quite nice, but the colors are too bright and youthful—I can’t wear a single pair. Go pick through them with Zhuyun later and split them up.”
At this point a servant brought in tea. He Zhuyun sipped it leisurely, then, remembering something, asked Hongdou, “Second Sister-in-law, I heard the original leading man isn’t performing anymore?”
Hongdou nodded. “Something came up at home, so they switched in a student from Shanghai University at the last minute. He’s already memorized his lines—we’re rehearsing together today, and the show goes on tonight.”
“How’s he doing?” He Zhuyun popped a preserved plum into her mouth.
Hongdou found the preserved plums delicious, popping one after another, unable to stop. She shook her head. “I don’t know. I hear he’s the eldest grandson of President Yu of Shanghai University, always performing in plays at school. Whether he’s good or not, we’ll find out once we rehearse at school later.”
Author’s note: sorry, too busy today, still no second update. Sending everyone a red packet to make up for it.