The next day, since the He family had prepared many gifts for the post-wedding visit to the Yu family, they had Old Yu waiting downstairs early in the morning, and to show how seriously the He family regarded this occasion, they specifically arranged for a few household managers versed in old customs to accompany the couple on the visit.
The car arrived at Tongfu Alley, and He Yunqin and Hongdou got out and headed inside. Still downstairs, they happened to run into the Peng tailor couple coming out—the tailor shop’s door was closed, and each of them carried a child, apparently about to go out.
“Hongdou’s back,” Mrs. Peng looked Hongdou up and down, clicking her tongue admiringly. “Being married really does make a difference—you get prettier by the day. Mr. He must be treating you very well.”
Hongdou, not wishing to respond directly, only smiled and changed the subject: “Mr. and Mrs. Peng are heading out to enjoy yourselves?”
Peng the tailor, worried his wife might say something offensive, secretly tugged at her clothes from behind, and said with a smile: “Taking the kids to their grandmother’s for a family visit.”
Then he turned to He Yunqin: “Good day, Mr. He.”
The child he was holding was the older one, called Dabao. This child remembered that He Yunqin had given him candy last time, and seeing his father talking to this man, he spread his arms and leaned toward He Yunqin: “Candy.”
Because his fourth younger sister had low blood sugar, He Yunqin did indeed have the habit of carrying candy with him. Seeing the child pestering him for candy, he didn’t take offense, and reached casually into his trouser pocket. But having spent every day these past few days with Hongdou since the wedding, he’d forgotten to stock up on candy. He said with a smile: “Uncle doesn’t have any candy today.”
Peng the tailor was too embarrassed to speak, and gave Dabao several sharp smacks; Mrs. Peng, furious, pinched Dabao’s bottom hard, gritting her teeth.
Dabao, unable to bear the pain, twisted his chubby little body and burst into loud crying.
Peng the tailor said to He Yunqin, full of apology: “The child doesn’t know his manners, Mr. He, please don’t take offense.”
Someone upstairs heard the commotion, pushed open the window and looked down, then immediately laughed: “Auntie, Hongdou and Mr. He are here!”
Hongdou and He Yunqin looked up to see it was the two sisters, Yuqi and Yuyuan. Today wasn’t Sunday, so it seemed the two sisters had specifically taken time off for her visit home.
Footsteps thumped down the stairs inside—Yu Chongyi had already come down to greet them.
Seeing his younger sister, he paused first, looking her over carefully. Perhaps because she’d just gotten married, even though it had only been two days since they’d last seen each other, it felt as though the siblings hadn’t seen one another in a long while.
Seeing his sister’s face rosy and radiant, clearly in excellent spirits, he guessed these past two days had gone very smoothly for her, and his heart eased considerably. He said to his sister and brother-in-law with a smile: “Come in quickly.”
He then greeted the several household managers behind them carrying the gifts.
The house was bustling with excitement—not just Mrs. Yu, but the uncle’s family had come too. Because of Hongdou’s post-wedding visit today, Mrs. Yu had barely slept the night before.
Before her daughter married, she’d wished she could pass on every bit of wisdom she’d accumulated in her lifetime, but the preparation time before the wedding had been too short, and she had no idea how much Hongdou had actually taken in. These past few days her heart had been in her throat, worried that Hongdou might be picked on by others in the He household.
The moment she heard Hongdou and He Yunqin had arrived, she nearly leapt up from the sofa. As soon as the young couple entered, she smiled, but her eyes kept circling over her daughter.
Whether her daughter was happy or not could be told in a single glance, and seeing how attentive He Yunqin was to her daughter, and how well-mannered the He family members were too, she finally set her heart at ease considerably.
After briefly greeting He Yunqin and the He family managers, she found an excuse to head into the inner rooms, pulling Hongdou along for a thorough round of questioning, not stopping until Hongdou’s whole face was flushed red.
Hongdou came out of the room, worried her mother might think of something else and drag her back in, and happened to run into her cousin Yuqi in the hallway. As if granted a reprieve, she hurried to pull Yuqi back into a room to talk. These past days, busy with her own wedding, she’d never had the chance to ask about Yuqi’s plans, so she went into a room with Yuqi and the two cousins sat down to talk.
Yuqi had always been an exceptionally perceptive person, and she knew Hongdou avoiding the parlor was partly out of shyness, and partly because she wanted to ask about her and Yuan Ruoli. Ever since she’d been kidnapped, she’d relied entirely on Hongdou and He Yunqin’s rescue, and had always felt grateful to Hongdou. After a few words, she said quite openly: “I’ve already gotten Father and Mother’s consent. Yuan Ruoli and I plan to marry by the end of the year, and in a while we’ll be sending out invitations to friends and relatives in the city.”
Hongdou was stunned. So her cousin had still decided to marry Yuan Ruoli. She hesitated a moment, then couldn’t help asking: “What about his ex-wife? What does Mr. Yuan plan to do about her?”
Mrs. Yuan had broken the law by kidnapping Wang Meiping, and although Yuan Ruoli had managed to get her out on bail through various means, her reputation was completely ruined. After this blow, her condition reportedly worsened; she stayed shut in all day, and several shops under her name nearly had to close. If Yuqi really did marry Yuan Ruoli, given Mrs. Yuan’s temperament, there would surely be trouble ahead.
Yuqi was perfectly calm: “I love Yuan Ruoli. None of this is his fault, and it’s certainly not mine either. Since the difficulty can’t be avoided, we’ll just find ways to deal with it.”
Hongdou never expected her cousin to be so composed about it.
Seeing Hongdou looking stunned, Yuqi burst out laughing: “You’re married yourself, don’t you understand what I mean? Just think about you and Mr. He, and you’ll understand the reasoning behind it. ‘Love is like Zen—it cannot be spoken.’ In any case, I know very well how much I love Yuan Ruoli, and I know he loves me too. Besides, by the time he and I met, he’d already divorced his first wife. My falling in love with him was entirely reasonable and legal—we’ve wronged no one. As for his wife, we’ll see her properly settled, and if there’s trouble down the road, we’ll face it together.”
Hongdou listened quietly. What seemed like such plain words, upon closer reflection, actually carried a stirring depth of feeling.
By comparison, although she and He Yunqin had ended up married through a twist of fate, they’d never really properly fallen in love beforehand. Compared to Yuqi and Yuan Ruoli, something still seemed to be missing in how she and He Yunqin got along day to day. Take last night, for instance—at the very least, on the matter of simple honesty, He Yunqin couldn’t manage to be completely without secrets in front of her. Seeing how clearly Yuqi understood her own heart, Hongdou found herself faintly envious.
Coming out, she saw her uncle talking with He Yunqin.
He Yunqin had originally planned to discuss buying a house with his mother-in-law and eldest brother-in-law. From what his mother-in-law implied, the family had rented this house partly for Hongdou’s convenience in attending school; now that Hongdou had married him, her mother no longer planned to keep renting this Western-style house.
However, besides Hongdou’s family, Mr. and Mrs. Pan were also present. Mr. Pan was fine, but Mrs. Pan seemed extremely interested in the He family. If he, as the son-in-law, took the initiative to discuss his in-laws’ property matters, and word got twisted somehow, it would ultimately be bad for Hongdou. So he only made small talk, never mentioning a word about helping the Yu family look for a house.
After the post-wedding-visit meal, He Yunqin and Hongdou got into the car, while the several household managers rode separately in rickshaws.
On the way, Hongdou remained silently lost in thought. He Yunqin glanced at her in the mirror, thinking back over his own behavior at the Yu household that day—he really hadn’t done anything to offend her. So he took the initiative to break the silence: “After I get back from school, I’m planning to go find Wang Bide. Will you come with me?”
Hongdou shook her head: “I’m going to the school to find Gu Yun. She’s a distant relative of Xu Yishan’s, and it was she who called Wang Bide when the incident happened. I think she probably knows something about Xu Yishan’s life before he made his name. Even if she doesn’t, the Gu family should know. Since she’s determined to help solve the case, I’m going to find her and ask about Xu Yishan.”
This was the first time since their marriage that the two of them would be going their separate ways. He Yunqin felt an unexpected pang of reluctance in his heart, and he furrowed his brow slightly: “Then I’ll drop you off at St. John’s. About what time will you be done? I’ll come pick you up.”
Hongdou nodded: “The first class this afternoon should end around two-thirty. I’ll need to wait until after class to talk to her, so why don’t you come get me at four.”
He Yunqin checked his wristwatch: “Alright.”
Hongdou fell silent for a while, thinking of what happened last night, still feeling a bit gloomy about it. She rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly called out to him: “He Yunqin.”
Her tone carried a subtle difference from usual. He Yunqin responded softly: “What is it?”
Hongdou said softly: “How do you say ‘love’ in German?”
He Yunqin paused: “Liebe.“
Hongdou’s face flushed slightly, her voice growing even softer: “Then how about ‘I love you’?”
He Yunqin had by now caught her meaning—Hongdou wanted him to declare his love to her face. He hesitated for a moment—did he love Hongdou? After thinking it over carefully for a few seconds, he said in a low voice: “Ich hab’ dich sehr lieb.“
After asking that question, Hongdou’s heart pounded relentlessly, and she waited almost breathlessly. Yet although He Yunqin had understood her meaning immediately, he’d taken a while before answering. Had it not been for the matter of the bicycle and Duan Mingyi, she wouldn’t have felt so uneasy about it, but with these several matters piling up one after another, even the smallest discomfort had been magnified many times over.
She’d always been honest enough with He Yunqin—whenever she came across something she didn’t understand, she always asked him directly. But what good did asking do, when He Yunqin simply refused to tell her, no matter what?
These past few days she’d already done a little rudimentary study of German, and without pausing to think why he’d just recited “I love you” using more than three words, the moment it occurred to her how much longer He Yunqin might need before he’d say those words to her on his own—even though they were already married—she couldn’t help feeling somewhat dejected.
Seeing that they’d arrived at St. John’s, she pushed open the door and said: “I’m off.”
He Yunqin watched her retreating figure, thinking of her going off alone to investigate the murderer’s case. Though the school itself should be quite safe, for some reason an intense sense of unease welled up in him. His instincts had always been reliable, so he hurriedly got out of the car after her: “Stay at school and don’t go anywhere else. I’ll come get you at three-thirty.”
Hongdou didn’t look back, just nodded and walked into the school.
Author’s note: That line Second He said—ich hab’ dich sehr lieb—means “I love you so much.”