He Zhuyun suddenly remembered that a few days ago, at the school gates, she had run into Hongdou and her brother together several times. At the time she’d thought it was just coincidence, but given the scene just now, could it be that her brother and Senior Yu were seriously dating?

He Lanzhi had been busy arranging things with the opera troupe in the garden earlier and hadn’t shown her face in the small parlor, so naturally she didn’t recognize Hongdou. Seeing her second younger brother with a beautiful girl just now, she froze on the spot. But since she’d been through this herself before, seeing the situation, she guessed the two of them probably didn’t want to be caught—so she grabbed the still-dazed He Zhuyun by the arm, and the two sisters quietly retreated back the way they’d come, from the small parlor back to the garden.

The moment He Zhuyun reached the garden, she went to find her mother. Her mother had long been hoping her brother would find a girlfriend, and today of all days was her own birthday—since Second Brother now seemed to have a prospect, it was only right to tell her and make her happy.

Still, she felt a bit dazed. She’d always admired Senior Yu—witty, good at her studies—but admiring her was one thing; the idea of her actually becoming Second Brother’s girlfriend was something she hadn’t quite adjusted to yet.

He Lanzhi, reading her expression, asked He Zhuyun: “Does Fourth Sister know that girl student from just now?”

He Zhuyun nodded: “I know her, she’s a senior at my school.”

As they talked, the two of them had already reached the pavilion at the back of the garden. He Zhuyun went in and sat beside her mother, whispering the news of what had just happened into her ear.

Madam He’s face lit up with joy—she no longer cared about playing mahjong. She quickly had someone take her place for a few rounds, pulled her daughter outside to sit, and said seriously: “Was that the schoolmate from St. John’s I saw in the small parlor just now?”

He Lanzhi, peeling an orange for herself unhurriedly, chimed in from the side: “She looked quite unfamiliar—I wonder whose daughter she is.”

Though He Zhuyun was innocent by nature, she had after all grown up amid wealth and privilege, and understood at once that her eldest sister was inquiring about Hongdou’s family background. She smiled and said, “I only know that Senior Yu’s brother works at the police station, and her father passed away long ago. I don’t know what the family does for a living now, but last time I went to the Yu household to deliver the invitation, I met Senior Yu’s mother—Mrs. Yu is very kind and gracious, and the household looked quite well-off.”

Madam He replied absently: “That’s all secondary.”

He Lanzhi smiled: “Since Mother is so set on having Little Brother marry soon, as long as Second Brother himself is fond of her, there’s no room to be picky about matching families. Second Brother’s standards are so high—say nothing else about Miss Yu, but she’s certainly beautiful. On that point alone, it’s no surprise Second Brother took a liking to her. It’s just that we don’t know what her temperament is like—if she’s too petty and narrow-minded, after living together day after day once she marries in, not only would Father and Mother be displeased, but the sisters-in-law and cousins by marriage would find her difficult to get along with too.”

He Zhuyun shook her head: “Senior Yu is never awkward or self-conscious. Once, Sister-in-law and I passed by a classroom at school, and Senior Yu was inside reviewing her lessons—she must have thought of something amusing, because she was laughing to herself alone over her book.”

Remembering the scene, she couldn’t help covering her mouth and laughing. Once the words were out, that sense of unease in her heart seemed to lessen somewhat. Senior Yu was so much fun—if she really did become her future sister-in-law, at least she wouldn’t be so lonely at home anymore.

He Lanzhi, wary of arousing her stepmother’s suspicions, had no intention of meddling in her brother and sister’s affair to begin with—she’d only asked out of curiosity. Seeing that Zhuyun’s every word defended Miss Yu, she smiled, lowered her head, and went back to eating her orange without saying more.

Madam He, recalling the scene with Hongdou in the small parlor just now, let a smile slowly spread across her face, and nodded slowly: “Her temperament seems good enough, and she looks clever too. I just wonder when it started between her and Second Brother—there’s been no sign of it at all these past days. Earlier when Miss Yu arrived, Second Brother, I don’t know what he was thinking, wouldn’t come to the back at all. When I finally dragged him over and he went to greet her, his expression looked so indifferent—hardly like someone who knew Miss Yu at all.”

She paused, then eyed He Zhuyun suspiciously: “Did you see clearly just now? Maybe they were just chatting casually, and you two got the wrong idea for nothing.”

He Zhuyun’s face flushed red—she’d never had any romantic experience before and was at a loss for words. He Lanzhi came to her rescue: “Fourth Sister is young, of course she wouldn’t understand these things clearly, but from what I saw, Second Brother does have some feelings there. At the time, it was just the two of them in the corridor, standing there silently without a word. Mother, you know Second Brother’s nature better than anyone—he’s never liked getting entangled with women. If he weren’t willing himself, who could have tied his feet down like that?”

Hongdou put away her hair clip and stood there for a moment. He Yunqin said nothing. Just now, without thinking much of it, she had reached into his pocket to retrieve the clip, and even now her fingertips still held the sensation of the fabric of his clothes. Seeing him say nothing, not seeming to mind, the air suddenly grew thick and heavy—even her throat felt somewhat dry.

This feeling was too strange. Staying where she was felt terribly awkward, yet leaving felt somehow reluctant too. After a good moment, she turned slightly to the side: “Um, Gu Yun and the others might be looking for me.”

He Yunqin slowly shifted his gaze away: “Then I’ll walk you to the garden.”

Hongdou’s ears grew faintly warm. Without responding to him, she brushed past him and went into the small parlor behind them. He always seemed so thoughtful—she wondered if he was like this in front of other women too. After what had just happened in the bridge room, she at least now knew that He Yunqin wasn’t Chen Baidie’s sugar daddy, and that scandal with Duan Mingyi was purely baseless. Thinking of this, her heart felt subtly more at ease.

He Yunqin deliberately kept three or four steps of distance from her, yet his gaze kept falling uncontrollably to her waist. That fabric, smooth and lustrous, wrapped her figure in a way that made her look especially delicate and lovely. Though she had no such intention, with her slender waist and rounded hips, every step she took carried a thousand shades of charm.

He had to exert great effort to keep his eyes from sliding down along her waist. To distract himself, he casually looked up at the clock, then at the cedar tree in the corner of the parlor, and finally past the top of her head, at the two French windows with their glass panes—only then did his expression settle back into composure.

After walking a stretch, he said, “The party won’t end early, and the roads might not be safe. Will Miss Yu be going home with classmates later, or will Mr. Yu come to pick you up?”

Hongdou’s steps slowed slightly. She turned her face to the side and said in a measured tone, “My brother will come pick me up.” Perhaps it was mentioning her own brother, but her usual youthful, delicate demeanor slipped out unconsciously.

He Yunqin didn’t let himself stare at her, only looking out at the garden scenery beyond the French windows, nodding: “Then I can rest easy.”

Once these words left his mouth, the air grew stifling again. He Yunqin was just about to find something to say to smooth things over when Hongdou, feigning composure, had already pushed open the French doors.

The wind blew past her, and only then did she remember she’d forgotten to ask about Duan Mingyi. But before she could turn back to ask him, she heard Gu Yun calling to her not far off: “Hongdou, where did you go just now?”

Afraid Gu Yun might get the wrong idea, Hongdou had no time to say more and hurried over to meet her.

He Yunqin closed the door behind him and stood on the steps for a while, feeling somewhat dazed. It was only when he remembered that servant still needed dealing with that he came down the steps and headed in another direction.

The He family’s lawn was maintained as lush and pristine as brocade. Not far off, on the stage, the opera performance was already more than halfway through. Gu Yun took Hongdou’s hand and said, “I feel like Bai Fengfei’s voice isn’t full enough tonight, not as good as before. Lucky you weren’t here just now, or you’d have felt unsatisfied too.”

Hongdou glanced absently at the stage and smiled: “We’re lucky to get to hear him at all, no room to be picky. When else would we have the chance to hear Bai Fengfei sing?”

The two of them chatted as they walked forward, and just then several people emerged from the other end of the garden, one of whom was Bai Haili.

He had been chatting idly with a few wealthy gentlemen, and happened to glance up just in time to see a young girl walking past ahead of them. This girl wore a qipao that left nothing of her fine figure to the imagination, and as the night breeze blew past, ripples like flowing water rose faintly across the fabric, lending her an even more alluring charm. As she walked, a glimpse of round, pale white leg would show through the slit of her dress now and then—looking closely, there wasn’t a single part of her that wasn’t lovely. He looked again, more closely—wasn’t this Yu Chongyi’s younger sister? The last time he’d seen this girl, though he’d found her attractive, she hadn’t been quite this stunning. In just these few days, she’d grown even more ravishing.

Thinking back on the women he’d toyed with in the year or two since his wife died, countless fleeting images flashed before his eyes like galloping horses—yet in this instant, they all seemed to pale into bland, common flesh compared to this girl.

Bai Haili stared straight ahead. The person beside him, puzzled, looked in the same direction, but only caught a glimpse of a slender retreating figure. Savoring it for a moment, he laughed and said, “Commissioner Bai, I’ve heard from many people lately that you’re planning to remarry—how’s that coming along? Do you have anyone in mind? Should we help make introductions?”

Bai Haili perked up and strode forward, thinking for a moment before saying with a smile, “Still in the works. I do have someone in mind—a little hot pepper, spicy though she may be, but the flavor lingers all the more for it. As you all know, I’ve wasted these past years, and only recently have I broken free of my shackles. Since I’m to remarry, this time I ought to pick someone who suits me in every way. If I succeed, I’ll certainly treat you all to a good drink.”

The party broke up around eleven o’clock. He Zhuyun personally saw Hongdou and the others out, walking alongside them the whole way, speaking gently and earnestly like a true friend.

Hongdou and Gu Yun, knowing she had hypoglycemia, coaxed and persuaded her at length before finally getting her to stop, or else He Zhuyun might well have walked them all the way to the street.

At the front gate, Yu Chongyi had indeed arranged a rickshaw waiting across the street ahead of time. Hongdou said her goodbyes to Gu Yun and the others and went over to find her brother.

Before getting into the rickshaw, she glanced back once more at the He family’s grand Western-style mansion. She hadn’t seen He Yunqin since going to the garden, and neither Duan Mingyi nor Madam He had made another appearance afterward.

She looked again toward the men seeing off guests, and spotted a man in his mid-twenties standing at the door. He wore an extremely dignified Western suit, slightly shorter than He Yunqin, his features not quite as striking as He Yunqin and his sister’s, but his bearing was upright, carrying an air distinct from those around him. Judging by how frequently the He family servants sought his instructions, he must undoubtedly be the He family’s eldest son.

She only wondered where Madam He and He Yunqin had gone. She thought of that strange servant who’d drugged the drink earlier—perhaps he’d gone to deal with that household traitor.

Bai Haili came out from inside just in time to see Hongdou get into the rickshaw. He looked around but didn’t see He Yunqin, and felt all the more assured. Though He Yunqin often took Yu Hongdou out and about, at his own mother’s birthday banquet he hadn’t so much as mentioned this Yu Hongdou to the He family, and hadn’t even arranged a car to send her home—clearly He Yunqin thought little of Yu Hongdou at all, one might even call it neglect. What a shame the Yu siblings would go to such lengths, sacrificing their dignity, just to climb the social ladder.

With this thought, his mood brightened considerably. He got into the car with his two subordinates, sprawling comfortably in the back seat: “Let’s go see Yu Chongyi in a bit. I hear his family lives in Tongfu Lane, living with his widowed mother and younger sister. He’s worked under me for years now, and I’ve never once been to his home. Since he’s cracked such a major case, as his superior, it’s about time I paid him a proper visit.”

Author’s Note: Had something come up this afternoon and went out, sorry the first update is late, second update at 10:30, mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah.