Couple of Mirrors – Chapter 38: Beating Him at His Own Game
‘I will investigate this to the best of my ability,’ Jiang Bin promises.
‘Wait, Detective Jiang.’ Xu Youyi stands up as well. ‘Where Chu Huizi’s case is concerned, I think your top priority should be tracking down Agent Bai and taking him into custody.’
‘I know,’ says Jiang Bin. ‘But after what happened last time, Agent Bai has probably gone to ground. Even if we searched his house, I don’t think we could find him.’
‘I know how to lure him out,’ Xu Youyi tells him.
Outside the cafe, Xu Youyi gets onto a rickshaw. ‘Take me to Maria Hospital, please!’ she says to the rickshaw-puller.
The Zhou family’s housekeeper watches her from some distance away.
The housekeeper climbs onto a rickshaw herself. ‘Please follow the rickshaw in front!’
Xu Youyi observes all this out of the corner of her eye.
At Maria Hospital, Xie Yifan looks up with a big smile when Xu Youyi enters his room. ‘Youyi? You’re finally here to see me!’
‘The doctors said you were out of danger, and I had other things to take care of, so I wasn’t able to visit before,’ says Xu Youyi. ‘How are you feeling now?’
‘All the better for seeing you!’ says Xie Yifan happily.
Xu Youyi sits down at his bedside. ‘That’s good to know. I actually came here today to tell you something important.’
‘What is it?’ asks Xie Yifan.
Xu Youyi beckons for him to lean closer…
…which he does, blushing slightly.
‘You have to be extra careful here at the hospital,’ Xu Youyi whispers in his ear. ‘Especially tonight.’
The housekeeper arrives at the entrance to Xie Yifan’s room just in time to witness this seemingly intimate moment.
She quickly ducks out of sight as Xu Youyi walks towards the door…
…and slams it shut with a ‘bang’.
I need to report this to the young master, quickly, the housekeeper thinks, rushing off.
Xu Youyi turns back to Xie Yifan. ‘I’ve learned that Zhou Heng has hired someone to kill you, and they may make their move tonight. I’ve already told the police everything I know about this, but you should take safety precautions as well.’
‘What about you?’ asks Xie Yifan. ‘Are you in danger too?’
‘I’m pregnant, so he won’t do anything to me,’ says Xu Youyi. ‘You don’t need to worry. That’s all I came to tell you,’ she adds. ‘Please take good care of yourself.’
As she turns to leave, Xie Yifan calls after her. ‘Youyi!’
Xu Youyi pauses at the door.
‘Youyi, you still care about me, don’t you?’ asks Xie Yifan. ‘Can you stay with me for a little while longer?’
Xu Youyi looks back at him for a moment, hesitating. Then she looks away again. ‘I’m sorry.’
I’m sorry, Yifan, she thinks again, as she marches away from his room. I’m just hoping to get one more piece of evidence for the trial.
Elsewhere, Zhou Heng presides over a table groaning with rich and elaborate dishes. ‘It’s our anniversary today, Youyi,’ he says. ‘I’ve cooked all your favourite dishes for you.’ He holds up a glass. ‘I know you can’t drink wine right now, so I’ve prepared some grape juice for you specially.’
‘Do you still remember, Youyi?’ he asks, rising. ‘When we first started seeing each other, every time I left after walking you’d home, you’d gaze lovingly after me. Would you still do that now?’
Zhou Heng sinks to one knee. ‘I believe you will, because you still love me. Let’s forget all the unhappiness we’ve had. Let’s start all over again, as if we were falling in love for the first time.’
He produces a small box and opens it with a flourish, revealing a diamond ring.
‘Youyi, let’s be together again, shall we?’ he asks.
‘Young Master…’ the housekeeper’s voice breaks into his thoughts.
Zhou Heng looks up in some consternation, and we can see that Xu Youyi isn’t in the room at all — he was simply rehearsing his proposal to her.
A sudden awkwardness descends over the two of them.
Zhou Heng stands and up clears his throat. ‘Ahem… did you see where madam went?’
‘Madam did go and meet Detective Jiang at a cafe,’ the housekeeper reports. ‘But after they’d chatted for a while, she slipped off to Maria Hospital. I saw her and Xie Yifan talking and laughing together. They seemed very close. Then madam shut the door to his room.’
Zhou Heng’s expression turns grim as he listens to the housekeeper’s account.
‘I see,’ he says. ‘You may go now.’
‘Yes, Young Master,’ says the housekeeper nervously, and leaves.
Alone once again, Zhou Heng stares at the ring. Youyi…
He drops the ring into his wine glass. It looks like there’s no way back for us, then.
Suddenly enraged, he yanks the tablecloth off the table, sending the dishes flying. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’
‘I’m going to kill Xie Yifan!’ he declares, as the dishes crash onto the floor. ‘What I can’t have, no one else can!’
Back at the studio, Xu Youyi has taken shelter in the darkroom. Weiwei, you said I should hide in the basement if you were away. You said that would keep me safe. I’m doing just as you said.
She looks at the shopping bags in the erstwhile secret compartment. You bought me such a big load of cosmetics, you silly thing, but I still haven’t really used any of them.
She takes a lipstick out of one of the bags. I’ve done everything I can. Now it all depends on what happens tonight.
She applies the lipstick to her mouth, with the help of a little hand-mirror.
The trial starts tomorrow. We both need to be on our toes. She studies her reflection in the mirror. Trust me. Whatever the outcome is, we’ll face it together.
***
Please view the original manhua here.
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