Red Makeup in the Foggy City [Republican Era]

London, 1926.

The fog over the Thames carried a damp chill, drifting past the spires of Victorian buildings and lending the cobbled streets an eerie glow. Southampton Docks bustled with people. Steamship horns pierced the thick mist, mingling with conversations in languages from all over the world and the rumble of suitcases rolling across the ground, weaving a web of sounds that belonged to a foreign land.

Shen Qingci stood amid the crowd at the docks, carrying a dark brown leather suitcase. The breeze lifted the hem of her pale yellow qipao, accentuating the delicate fairness of her cheeks. Her dark hair was loosely pinned up, with a plain silver plum-blossom hairpin tucked at an angle. Tiny pearls dangled from its tip, swaying gently as she walked. She had the gentle elegance unique to an Eastern woman, standing out from the passersby in their wool coats, with their high noses and deep-set eyes.

"Miss Shen Qingci, by any chance?" A deep, warm male voice sounded beside her. He spoke with a faint British accent, but articulated each word clearly.

Shen Qingci turned and met a pair of deep amber eyes. The man wore a long black trench coat over a white shirt and dark tie. He was tall and handsome, his fringe tousled by the wind. His features were cool and distant, yet his manner was just the right degree of polite. He held a black umbrella, its edge still beaded with fine droplets, as if he had been waiting in the fog for quite some time.

Her journey across the oceans in search of family was the beginning of a detective adventure entwined with conspiracy and deep affection.

The fog of London would eventually reveal the secrets hidden behind all its splendor. And this young woman from the East, dressed in red, would bloom with a radiance all her own in this unfamiliar land.

Completed works: From the Start, Married into a Hong Kong Tycoon's Family [1950s]; The Hong Kong Female Detective [1990s]

Theme: A Republic-era beauty's fateful encounter in London