After class, Hongdou waited at the school gate for her older brother, but after waiting a while to no avail, she realized in her heart that he had no time to come find her, so she had no choice but to go home by herself.

Only when she got home did she discover that her uncle and aunt had also come over. Sister Zhou was busy cooking in the kitchen, while her mother sat beside her aunt on the sofa, comforting her.

Having not seen them for a few days, her aunt looked as if she had aged five years, and her uncle had also grown much thinner.

Seeing Hongdou, neither of them could even muster a smile — the whole room was filled with gloom and misery.

Hongdou thought it over — her uncle and aunt were probably worried they’d heard that the Yuan Ruoli couple had been called to the police station, and assuming there must have been some breakthrough, had rushed over impatiently to inquire about news.

Sister Zhou came out of the kitchen carrying dishes, setting a table full of food.

Yet the couple stared blankly at their rice bowls, neither one in any mood to eat.

“Today’s already Wednesday. Yuqi went missing last Saturday — it’s been five days now.” Her aunt murmured, tears falling. “Even if she’s found in the end, I’m afraid it won’t be good news.”

“Nonsense.” Her mother placed a piece of food in her aunt’s bowl with her chopsticks. “Have you forgotten, when she was little you had her fortune told, and it said she’d have great wealth and status, that she’d always turn misfortune into fortune when trouble came. The case hasn’t even been solved yet, and here you two are already saying such discouraging things. If you two collapse first, what will happen to Yuqi and Yuyuan?”

Affected by this atmosphere, Hongdou also lost her appetite along with them. She forced down a few mouthfuls of rice, then made the excuse of going to read, returning to her room to continue studying that pile of things Wang Bide had obtained. When she entered, she also closed the door behind her.

If her aunt and uncle knew that Wang Meiping had been killed by that bizarre murder weapon, they would probably faint on the spot.

She read for a while, then suddenly heard a commotion rising in the living room, as if someone had returned.

Hongdou hurriedly got off the bed, slipped into her slippers and went out of the room, then froze — not only had her older brother come back, but He Yunqin and Wang Bide had come too.

Hongdou’s uncle often moved in social circles, and recognized He Yunqin at a glance: “Mr. He?” He just didn’t recognize Wang Bide.

He Yunqin seemed not to have expected there to be so many people at home; a flash of surprise crossed his face, but he quickly recovered his composure: “Mr. Pan.”

Yu Chongyi explained from the side: “Uncle, Auntie, you already know Mr. He. This gentleman here is the famous Detective Wang — I invited both of them to help solve the case. It’s thanks to the two of them that we were able to trace things to the Yuan Ruoli couple so quickly.”

Struck by the blow of Yuqi’s disappearance, most of her uncle and aunt’s usual worldly polish had already worn away. Hearing this, they stared blankly at He Yunqin for a long moment, then suddenly opened their mouths wide: “Yuqi’s disappearance is really connected to Yuan Ruoli? Where is Yuqi now?”

Yu Chongyi hurriedly tried to calm them: “Uncle, Auntie, please don’t be anxious.”

He invited He Yunqin and Wang Bide into the study, and said to Hongdou: “You go entertain Mr. He and Detective Wang for a bit.”

Hongdou remembered that He Yunqin had helped her retrieve her bicycle that morning, and was just planning to thank him properly in person, so she personally brewed tea and carried the tea tray to the study.

Entering the room, she saw Wang Bide sitting on the sofa, while He Yunqin stood by the window.

Not only that, but he had strangely leaned half his body out the window, as if measuring the length of the window frame.

He looked as if he were studying the structure of the house.

Puzzled, Hongdou set the tea down on the table: “Mr. He, Detective Wang, please have some tea.”

He Yunqin turned around and said casually, as if nothing were amiss: “Miss Yu.”

Hongdou watched him walk closer, and suddenly recalled that night when he had come looking for Miss Qiu — he had also stood in front of the tailor shop door, looking up for a long time. At the time she had thought he was looking at Miss Qiu or someone else in the building. Could she have guessed wrong — had he actually been studying this old house all along?

But what was there about this old Western-style house worth studying?

He Yunqin held his teacup and drank, then glanced up and saw Hongdou looking at him with a probing gaze.

He gazed at her quietly for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject: “Your brother went with his colleagues from the Public Concession this morning and thoroughly searched all the properties under the Yuan family’s name. They found neither Chen Baidie nor Pan Yuqi.”

Although Hongdou had already suspected things weren’t simple, hearing this news still left her greatly disappointed, and she had no more thought to pursue the earlier matter: “Could it really be as you guessed before — that this series of disappearances is a case within a case? This morning when I saw Mrs. Yuan, she kept insisting that Wang Meiping’s death had nothing to do with her.”

He Yunqin gave a soft “mm”: “According to Mrs. Yuan’s confession, ever since she went through divorce proceedings with Yuan Ruoli last year, her mental state has had problems. Yuan Ruoli also said his ex-wife has been seeing a Western doctor at a British clinic.”

Hongdou was stunned: “Mental problems.”

He Yunqin nodded: “Four months ago, Mrs. Yuan heard that Yuan Ruoli had begun formally courting your cousin. She specially went to Aurora University to see your cousin, and seeing that your cousin was outstanding in every respect, she was greatly shaken. She came to believe that the reason she’d lost her marriage was entirely because she couldn’t bear children, so she went to find Yuan Ruoli and said that as long as he would return to her, she would no longer insist on monogamy — once Yuan Ruoli took a concubine, the matter of an heir could naturally be resolved. But by then Yuan Ruoli already had your cousin, and flatly rejected this proposal.”

Wang Bide sighed repeatedly, unable to help interjecting: “With no hope of remarriage, Mrs. Yuan conceived the absurd idea of borrowing another woman’s womb to bear a child. Once, she went to collect payment at the Western clothing shop under the Yuan family’s name near the train station, and it happened that Wang Meiping had just gotten off the train. Since her uncle and aunt hadn’t yet appeared, out of curiosity Wang Meiping wandered into that clothing shop. Mrs. Yuan chatted with Wang Meiping for a bit, and seeing that she was simple-minded and timid, yet physically very robust, decided she was a suitable candidate to bear a child for her. She sent away the servants and lured her to the back courtyard, planning to use money as bait to coax Wang Meiping into bearing a child for her and Yuan Ruoli.”

“Wang Meiping had originally come to seek refuge with her uncle, and naturally wouldn’t agree to this once she heard it. To make her change her mind, Mrs. Yuan wouldn’t let her leave no matter what, and could only keep her well-fed and well-supplied, trying to persuade her once every day.”

“Who would have known that at this point Wang Meiping’s uncle reported it to the police.” Hongdou nodded in understanding. “Because the police couldn’t find Wang Meiping immediately, Zhou Tongqiang published article after article in the newspapers scolding the police, and that was how Mrs. Yuan realized she had unwittingly caused a huge disaster — the person she’d confined was none other than the niece of ‘Shanghai’s Sharpest Pen.'”

Wang Bide’s face was full of contempt: “This woman had lost her mind and didn’t know how to extricate herself. If she released Wang Meiping then, the whole Shanghai Bund would know she’d committed such a foolish act just to have a child. Once word got out, not only would she risk violating the law, it might even implicate the Yuan family’s business. She thought it over and over, and had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue confining Wang Meiping.”

Hongdou didn’t understand: “But Wang Meiping ended up dead. If it was only confinement, how could that lead to her death?”

He Yunqin took up the thread: “According to Mrs. Yuan’s account, a week ago Yuan Ruoli accidentally found out about this. Greatly shocked, he scolded Mrs. Yuan severely, saying she was simply insane, and forced her to release Wang Meiping immediately. Seeing that Yuan Ruoli would not participate in her plan, and unwilling to imprison Wang Meiping for life, Mrs. Yuan exchanged for a generous sum of money as compensation, solemnly apologized to Wang Meiping, and released her that night — the date was August 26th, which is last Wednesday.”

“Last Wednesday?” Hongdou said in surprise. “But Wang Meiping’s corpse was discovered last Saturday. If Mrs. Yuan and Yuan Ruoli aren’t lying, does that mean Wang Meiping was only missing for three days before being murdered?”

He Yunqin pondered for a moment, then looked at her: “The strangest part isn’t there. If Chen Baidie’s case was done by the same person, she’s already been missing for eleven days — the exact date was August 22nd. That means everything we assumed earlier has to be overturned. Wang Meiping wasn’t the first victim in this case — Chen Baidie was.”

Hongdou was so astonished she couldn’t speak. She was stunned for a good while, trying to untangle the chaotic thoughts in her mind: “You mean, Chen Baidie went missing on August 22nd, Wang Meiping’s actual disappearance date was August 26th (last Wednesday), and my cousin went missing on August 29th (last Saturday) — so the true order of disappearance is: Chen Baidie, Wang Meiping, Pan Yuqi?”

He Yunqin raised his eyebrows: “That’s right. So everything has to be overturned and started fresh.”

He paused: “Last night, Wang Bide and I developed the film. What Chen Baidie wrote on the mirror was indeed a string of numbers. After analysis, we could only determine that the first digit was 7 — the digits after that can no longer be recovered. If we set her as the first victim, first we need to relocate the common thread among the three victims, and second, we need someone to confirm Chen Baidie’s specific whereabouts around August 22nd immediately.”

A strange look crossed his face. He thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Hongdou: “I’m going home for a bit. I’ll probably be back in about an hour.”

Hongdou was startled, and followed a few steps: “Who is Mr. He planning to confirm this with?”

But He Yunqin didn’t answer. He pulled open the door and left.

Wang Bide pulled out his flask and took a swig: “Chen Baidie’s benefactor.”