Chapter 53: Gently, gently, it hurts!
Old Wan let out a hearty laugh, flipping the wok with one hand to dish out the food. "Your uncle taught himself accounting back in the early days. You didn't know that, did you?"
Seeing Uncle Wan's confident look, the young punk's worries vanished instantly, his eyes sparkling with admiration. "Uncle, are you for real? Are you this awesome?"
Old Wan raised an eyebrow. "You bet I am. I've been in this godforsaken place for nearly a month, watching your every move. Is it really that hard to figure out this little mess?"
"Oh, absolutely, absolutely!" Liu Haizhu felt like he had struck gold, over-the-moon thrilled. "Uncle, everything you say is right!"
...
The evening breeze brushed gently against the skin.
Hong Kong, Causeway Bay, a place of extravagant and decadent dreams.
...
The streets were bustling with heavy traffic, and the endless roar of the bustling crowds filled the air.
... The city's neon lights flashed throughout the night.
Like an earthly paradise beneath the veil of night, it plunged everyone deep into a profound intoxication!
...
Having just finished shopping at Sogo Department Store, Ying Si felt a sudden tug at her heart and couldn't help but look back.
Then, she froze in her tracks.
Stumpy, missing a finger, hurried up to her side and frowned as he looked around. "Eldest Miss, what's wrong with you?"
A trace of faint melancholy clouded Ying Si's mood. When she lifted her gaze again, the figure had already vanished.
"Let's go."
Stumpy looked around anxiously, feeling uneasy. "Eldest Miss, should we head back?"
Hearing this, Ying Si's originally charming and lively eyes dimmed slightly, growing somewhat hollow, as if she had once lost something precious.
Stumpy: "Eldest Miss?"
Coming back to her senses, Ying Si pressed her lips together and looked down a certain street. "It's nothing. Just walk with me a while longer."
"Yes, Eldest Miss!"
Stumpy clutched the shopping bags, following closely behind Ying Si while wondering to himself... Should he give Brother Gang a call about this situation???
...
Walking past street after street,
weaving through the crowds like an elf, Ying Si never passed up any delicious street food she encountered.
She thoroughly enjoyed these moments.
And not far behind her, a lonely and reluctant figure followed at a distance.
Never leaving, all along.
...
Passing by a flight of steps once more, she turned around, looked at him, and said, "You came after all."
Stumpy was utterly shocked. When he turned and saw the man, he almost burst into tears.
This was him... the very last person in the world he wanted to run into! Stumpy lowered his head evasively, glancing down at the man's legs... and his heart pounded even more violently.
That's right,
the person who had arrived was none other than Ah Nan, hailed as the top fighter of the Hung Lok gang and the boss of Causeway Bay!
"Whoosh!"
Two short iron rods slipped from the cuffs of Stumpy's sleeves, gripped tightly in his hands. A mixture of various emotions coursed through him, causing his body to tremble slightly.
Hearing the sound,
Lok Ying Si and Ah Nan turned their heads to look at him simultaneously.
Handsome Nan's stern and handsome face remained completely expressionless, as if the person before him was merely a weak ant, unworthy of even a flicker of interest.
...
"Eldest Miss!"
Feeling the utter disdain of the Hung Lok boss, Stumpy felt such grief and indignation that he wanted to smash his head against the street corner.
Damn it, screw it!
... If he couldn't beat him, couldn't he at least take a bite out of him???
...
Just as the veins on Stumpy's arms bulged and he was about to lose control of himself...!
Lok Ying Si reached out and gently pressed down on his hand, shaking her head slightly. "Don't. He means no harm."
This...
This was just like the Black Bear Spirit enlightened by Guanyin Bodhisattva—
With just a single sentence, a single smile... it cured the raging, grief-stricken demon inside Stumpy's heart.
...
Ying Si turned to look at Ah Nan. "Walk with me."
"Okay!"
The lifeless eyes of Ah Nan suddenly flickered with a trace of vitality. He stepped forward with a lonely stride, falling into step beside her.
...
Far off in the distance,
Stumpy followed the pair like a walking corpse.
He just followed blindly, like a fool,
not even knowing why he was following them.
It wasn't that he didn't want to call his boss, Brother Gang,
but what good would a phone call do???
... Boss, even his damn boss couldn't take down Handsome Nan?!
Or should he call the brothers over???
Heh,
what kind of place was this???
... Causeway Bay, famously known as the impregnable fortress of Hung Lok!
... And it was Handsome Nan's turf, for crying out loud!
Wasn't that just walking straight into the jaws of death???
What should he do??? Stumpy felt utterly heartbroken and lost at this moment...
...
Gradually,
the street grew quieter and more desolate...
A song drifted out from a roadside shop.
It was none other than the hit song by popular Hong Kong singer Ekin Cheng: [Grateful to Replace You].
...
As for Ekin Cheng, Handsome Nan was well aware of him.
He also knew that in the movies, this breathtakingly handsome actor played none other than himself.
...
He had watched every single one of Ekin Cheng's films.
And for him, watching them often felt less like entertainment and more like reliving memories.
... With no story, ... no lover, only the rivers and lakes of flashing blades and flying swords.
...
The music drifted away on the wind...
...
No matter if the wind at the edge of the sky has risen,
I only wish to gaze at you lingeringly.
In the dead of night, can we still dare to hope?
...
The music kept playing, and Ah Nan plunged once more into the painful memories of his wife.
Having walked this path alone for so long, he had grown used to the solitude—until the day he laid eyes on Lok Ying Si.
...
The figure on the long street traversed the wind and rain with pride,
We once fled together, unafraid of stepping into the abyss.
...
It was as if heaven and earth were choosing between you and me,
As though I were meeting life and death all over again.
...
Suddenly,
the eyes of Ah Nan, following behind her, instantly turned red... He lunged forward and pulled her into his arms.
"Thud!"
Ying Si crashed into his embrace like a startled little bird, offering not the slightest bit of struggle.
The two embraced tightly, gazing into each other's eyes,
Ah Nan staring at her intently, terrified of missing even a single fraction of a second, his eyes brimming with profound affection.
...
Ah Nan: "... Yes, I had a son with her, but that is in the past. She has been gone for years now. Xiao Ying, you must understand—you are not her!"
...
Slowly,
Ah Nan leaned down and kissed Ying Si's lips, and the latter slowly closed her eyes.
...
Stumpy was jumping up and down in the background, howling in frustration yet utterly helpless.
"Ah!!!"
He let out a roar of frustration.
"Bang!"
With a heavy kick, he sent a roadside trash can flying, howling madly as he unleashed a frantic barrage of blows upon the iron cylinder!
...
Over here,
Ying Si's eyes had grown hazy, as if she were sinking into a deep dream.
... The sudden noise snapped her back to reality.
She cried... and shoved him away hard.
Turning around, she ran off!
...
Watching Ying Si as she fled into the distance, Handsome Nan's face twisted in agony!
... Clutching his chest, he wanted to give chase,
but his heart felt as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer—it hurt so, so much!
Slowly turning around,
Ah Nan looked at the dumbfounded Stumpy and spat out a few words through his teeth: "... I'm... going... to... beat... you!"
"Plop!"
Scared out of his wits, Stumpy landed flat on his backside, snot and tears streaming down his face as he scrambled backward frantically with both hands.
Terrified, he stammered: "... Look here, hero... please don't hit me... My injuries just healed... you can't touch me!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Ah, ah, ah!"
"... Daddy, go easy, go easy, it hurts so much!!!"
...
In the safe house in Wan Chai.
On the table sat a table full of fragrant dishes personally prepared by Liu Haizhu.
There was garlic stem stir-fried with cured meat, twice-cooked beef, crystal tofu, green pepper and ham potato slices, mao xue wang, kung pao chicken, spareribs and lotus root soup, and soft-shell turtle stewed with small chicken.
It could be described as lavish to the extreme.
Liu Haizhu, tucking his tail between his legs, very obediently served dishes to the two superior officers, eagerly pouring wine and beverages, and serving the authorities with a face full of ingratiating smiles.