He Chu San felt that this was nothing short of a miracle of life—riding in the car of a drunken Xia Liu Yi, he had actually made it back to Gaau Lung Walled City alive. Alive! Still! Alive!
—In the end, it all came down to the late hour: few people, few cars. That was the only reason he had survived such incredible luck.
Xia Liu Yi slammed on the brakes by the roadside, then smacked the steering wheel, waiting for He Chu San to get out.
He Chu San released his tight grip on the overhead handle, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened the door with trembling legs. Then, thinking it over, he felt uneasy again. “Brother Liu Yi, how are you getting back?”
“None of your business. Get lost,” Xia Liu Yi said.
The moment He Chu San recalled the terrifying sight of him spinning the steering wheel wildly at intersections and circling in place, his vision went dark. After a moment’s hesitation, he braced himself and climbed back into the car. “Brother Liu Yi, I’ll go with you. I’m not comfortable letting you drive alone.”
“I’m not going home!” Xia Liu Yi squinted, shoved him out haphazardly, then tossed his schoolbag after him. “Get lost!”
“Not going home? Then where are you going?” He Chu San asked, puzzled, hugging his bag as he staggered upright. Xia Liu Yi had already leaned over and slammed the door shut.
He Chu San tugged at the door a couple of times without success, only to realize that Xia Liu Yi had locked it from the inside. A bad feeling rose in his chest. “Brother Liu Yi? Open the door! Where are you going alone?”
From inside, Xia Liu Yi sneered and raised his middle finger at him—clear proof that this usually pretentious underworld boss was thoroughly drunk this time. His lips formed four words: “None of your damn business!”
He Chu San pounded on the window twice, to no effect. Seeing Xia Liu Yi shift gears and prepare to hit the accelerator, panic surged—he spun around and threw himself directly in front of the car!
He landed awkwardly on the ground before the vehicle, tossed his bag onto the hood, then straightened up and raised both arms—a perfect imitation of a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Xia Liu Yi failed to notice this “little mantis” in time. Instinctively pressing the accelerator—
Bang!
He Chu San’s figure vanished!
Xia Liu yi’s mind exploded with a boom. He slammed on the brakes and hastily rolled down the window to look—
He Chu San lay sprawled several steps ahead, covered in dust, scrambling to get up. Fortunately, he didn’t seem seriously hurt.
Xia Liu Yi stuck his head out and cursed, “You damn bastard! Got a death wish?! What the hell are you doing blocking the car?!”
He Chu San staggered back to his feet, not even bothering to pick up his bag, stubbornly standing in front of the car again. “Brother Liu Yi, you can’t drive like this!”
“None of your damn business! Get lost!”
“How is it not my business?! I don’t want to see you get hurt! Stop messing around, Brother Liu Yi—get out!” This reckless brat actually shouted at him with a stern expression.
Blood rushed to Xia Liu Yi’s head. He slammed the horn—BEEEEEP!
He Chu San responded in kind, smacking the hood with both hands—PA! Then he lifted his head and glared back fiercely—without giving an inch.
This damned brat has eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard! Xia Liu Yi ground his teeth, determined to press the accelerator again…
—but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Irritated, he slammed the horn once more, frowning. “Why are you making trouble with me? I’ve got something to do—stop blocking me!”
“What do you have to do that can’t wait until now? It’s this late already! And you’re drunk like this—what exactly are you trying to do?!”
Xia Liu Yi glared at him for a long while. The alcohol surged with his blood, and his head began to grow heavy and muddled. He leaned back against the car seat and said irritably, “Don’t worry about me. You’re really annoying—I get a headache every time I see you…”
He Chu San softened his voice. “Brother Liu Yi, I really can’t feel at ease leaving you alone. Where exactly are you going? Let me go with you, okay?”
Xia Liu Yi lifted an arm to cover his face, muttering irritably as if to himself, “None of you fucking come. All of you, get lost…”
He Chu San stepped to the driver’s side, bent down, and grasped his limp right arm, speaking gently, “I won’t bother you. Just let me keep you company while you drive, okay? I don’t feel safe letting you drive alone. Once we get there, you can go wherever you want, do whatever you want—I’ll stay in the car and won’t get out. Alright?”
Xia Liu Yi said nothing, still covering his face as if he had fallen asleep.
He Chu San could only shake his arm lightly and continue pleading in a soft voice, “Brother Liuyi…”
“……”
In the end, He Chu San climbed back into the passenger seat, clutching his equally dust-covered schoolbag. Xia Liu Yi pressed the accelerator expressionlessly.
Silence filled the car. One drove, the other stared wide-eyed at the road. Occasionally, He Chu San would speak up to remind him:
“There’s a railing on the left.”
“……”
“You’re heading up the mountain? Turn right here.”
“……”
“Slow down on the curve—you’ll fly off the cliff.”
“……”
“Don’t go so fast! Brother Liu Yi!”
“The hell are you yelling for?! Are you the boss or am I the boss?!”
“……”
You’re exactly the kind who needs a boss to discipline you—reckless, willful gangster! He Chu San fumed inwardly, not daring to say it aloud.
The winding mountain road stretched on endlessly, empty of all life—no one ahead, no one behind. The Mercedes swerved and staggered along, stopping and starting, until at last it came to a halt before a seaside villa shrouded in eerie winds.
Xia Liu Yi shifted the gear, pulled out the key, and instantly even the headlights went dark. Darkness engulfed everything.
The moon was dim, the stars sparse. The sea wind howled against the windows. Tattered yellow paper remnants fluttered along the iron gate of the villa, as if beckoning them closer.
“Don’t get out,” Xia Liu Yi said, opening the door and stumbling out.
He Chu San climbed up and leaned against the window, watching as Xia Liu Yi staggered toward the villa’s ominous gate, then leaned against the iron bars and sat down.
After sitting there blankly for a while, he lowered his head, took out a lighter, and lit a cigarette, placing it between the bars of the gate. Then he lit another and held it in his own mouth.
It was too dark, and Xia Liu Yi had parked far away. He Chu San couldn’t clearly make out his expression—only the flickering glow of cigarette tips in the dark. Against the looming, sinister backdrop of the villa, Xia Liu Yi’s figure appeared thin and indistinct, sitting there in silence, as though he might be swallowed whole by the cold, monstrous darkness behind him.
He Chu San had never been here before, but with his sharp mind, it didn’t take much to guess. Considering that Xia Liu Yi would come here drunk on his “birthday,” and seeing both the luxury and desolation of the villa—
he could more or less figure out what this place was.
No wonder Xia Liu Yi had insisted on personally driving him back. It was really just an excuse to come here along the way.
He Chu San sighed silently to himself, leaned his head against the seat, and stared at Xia Liu Yi in a daze.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before drowsiness overtook him. His head dropped sharply, hitting the car window and jolting him awake. Startled, he quickly looked outside—the glow of cigarettes was gone. Xia Liu Yi remained a dark silhouette sitting in the same spot, utterly motionless.
After a moment’s hesitation, He Chu San quietly pushed open the car door and stepped out, moving softly toward him.
Facing the howling sea wind, he walked up to the iron gate. Xia Liu Yi leaned there with his head lowered, as if asleep. His suit jacket hung open, revealing the thin shirt underneath.
He Chu San crouched down gently and tentatively patted his arm.
Xia Liu Yi didn’t react at all—only steady, long breaths could be heard.
He Chu San tried to pull him up, but couldn’t move him. Afraid of waking him, he had no choice but to stop.
He Chu San sat down close beside Xia Liu Yi, tucking his coat in around him. Only then did he notice that in Xia Liu Yi’s hand, besides the extinguished cigarette butt, there was also a crumpled object.
Carefully prying open his fingers, He Chu San retrieved the greeting card he had given him.
In the dim light, he could vaguely see that the words “Happy Liuyi” on the crooked, ugly birthday cake drawing had been blurred by some kind of moisture.
—That day was June 1st. It was the first time in my life I ate cake. I felt that was my first real birthday. I told him I would follow him for the rest of my life—because with him, there was cake to eat.
He Chu San’s heart trembled violently! His hand loosened, and the sea wind whooshed, snatching the card away. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.
There was no way to chase after it. Uneasy, he turned his head back—just in time to see Xia Liu Yi’s lowered face. His profile was cold and gaunt, the corners of his lips slightly drooping in a trace of loneliness.
This man—this underworld boss who, in front of others, loved to act aloof, ruthless, and cold-blooded—before him was always irritable, willful, domineering, reckless, endlessly tolerant of him, seemingly fierce yet actually caring… and now, like this, inadvertently fragile.
The birthday party, the excuse of rewarding his subordinates, the singing and dancing, the indulgence in wine and flesh, the laughter and chaos—those were all just a façade he put on for his brothers. The real him would only, in the dead of night, drive up the mountain alone, sit before an abandoned villa, silently smoke a cigarette, shed tears over a greeting card… and then fall asleep without a sound.
He Chu San didn’t know what he counted as in Xia Liu Yi’s heart. But this lawless gangster had barged into his life, rampaging wildly through his heart, staking territory, conquering ground—until he had seized an entire kingdom. Otherwise, why would simply seeing him like this make his chest tighten with unbearable panic and pain?
Unable to stop himself, he raised his hand and gently brushed his knuckles against the cool, slightly damp corner of Xia Liu Yi’s eye.
This man said he wanted to build the Xiao Qi Hall into the number one gang in the underworld. He was making up for another underworld boss’s life, and at the same time searching for an outlet for his own guilt and pain. But expanding territory, scheming against rivals, fighting and killing—was that truly the life this man wanted? This man who liked spearing fish balls while watching movies, drinking beer with chicken casserole, dragging a university student along to play billiards?
If not for that… then what exactly was he living for?
He Chu San let out a long sigh. Spreading his arms, he pulled Xia Liu Yi entirely into his embrace, letting his lowered head rest against his chest.
Then he lowered his own head and gently pressed his face against Xia Liu Yi’s messy, alcohol-scented hair.
……
At dawn, Xia Liu Yi was roused by the faint cries of seagulls. Frowning irritably, he struggled for quite some time before managing to pry open his stuck-together eyelids.
What met his eyes was a stretch of azure sea beyond a row of palm trees. The first trembling rays of sunrise spread faintly across the horizon, while several silver-white seagulls circled lazily in the warm red glow as they soared skyward.
Such a dreamlike waking scene left his hungover mind completely muddled. He stared blankly for a long while before realizing something felt off—
Not only did his head throb and his whole body ache, but more importantly, somewhere on his chest felt itchy and numb—distinctly uncomfortable.
Lowering his head, Boss Xia saw his wrinkled suit jacket hanging open, revealing the thin shirt beneath. A certain dog paw was pressed there—this time using two fingers, the middle and ring finger—pinching precisely at a certain point through the fabric.
Xia Liu Yi flew into a rage and flung his hand, forcefully knocking away He Chu San’s paw once again!
Meanwhile, He Chu San had his other arm wrapped around Xia Liu Yi’s waist, half his face squished against his shoulder. At that moment, he murmured groggily, instinctively nuzzled against his shoulder, and continued breathing evenly.
After being tormented all night by a gangster hooligan, the university student was exhausted, sleepy, depressed, and aching inside—he didn’t even have the strength to deal with the fury of his “human pillow.”
Xia Liu Yi shook him twice without waking him. He half-considered slapping him awake—his palm hovering right beside his face—but ultimately didn’t bring it down.
The brat’s got eye gunk all over his face—filthy, it’ll dirty my hand!
He pushed He Chu San away and used the iron railing to steady himself as he stood. By now, the morning sunlight had reached the villa rooftop, the snow-white surface reflecting a dazzling golden glow.
Squinting up at that light, Xia Liu Yi stared for a long time. A faint heat gathered in his eyes…
But when he lowered his head again, he had already returned to that expressionless, calm, and composed boss.
Bending down, he grabbed He Chu San by one arm and hauled the brat—sleeping like a dead pig—up onto his shoulder. Dragging him along, he shoved him back into the car and dumped him into the rear seat. Then he got into the driver’s seat himself, rolled down the window, and lit a cigarette.
Casually exhaling smoke, he leaned back and watched He Chu San’s peaceful, innocent sleeping face through the rearview mirror.
Last night, he had truly been drunk out of his mind—that was the only reason he had brought the brat here. But every word He Chu San said, every thing he did, every look he gave him—
he remembered all of it.
Even that final, fleeting embrace left a vague impression in his mind.
It wasn’t that he was overly sensitive—He Chu San had indeed crossed the line, gone beyond the bounds of brotherhood.
Fatigued, Xia Liu Yi draped an arm over his forehead and slowly exhaled a long strand of pale, drifting smoke.
……
Boss Xia, aged twenty-five, had just lost the first love he had secretly cherished for over a decade. Now fully devoted to his career, he had no interest in romance. As for that green, milk-scented brat—he was nothing but trash among trash.
Feelings like this—dangerous ones—were best strangled in the cradle as early as possible.
But “strangling” didn’t mean avoiding him, fearing him, or disappearing from each other’s lives. In Xia Liu Yi’s view, the more one avoided something, the more it proved one cared. And as far as he was concerned, he absolutely did not care about a kid like this harboring a crush on him.
So he carried on as usual—eating with him when he pleased, playing billiards with him, continuing to try and force him into managing accounts… only now, he harbored an extra thought:
to properly “initiate” him.
He was convinced that this audacious brat had studied himself stupid, lacked social experience, and—after finally having a boss to “look after” him (even if the brat refused to acknowledge him as such)—had mistaken brotherly loyalty for attraction. Having never even tasted the pleasures of women, he had somehow wandered onto a path of being interested in men.
—Boss Xia, hold on a second. Are you sure you’re not describing yourself?
Well then, putting aside Boss Xia’s outrageous act of beating up the narrator, ever since forming this firm conclusion, he became increasingly concerned about He Chu San’s “development.” Whenever he had the chance, he schemed to arrange opportunities for his little A’San to experience the joys of flesh and desire.
Manager Ma eagerly called to report to his chairman, “Boss, that brat surnamed He has eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard—he says he’s not coming to play billiards with you this Sunday afternoon.”
“What, studying for exams again? Didn’t he start an internship at a bank?” Xia Liu Yi asked, spearing a sausage on the other end of the line.
“He says last week you arranged for a pretty girl to give him ‘hands-on instruction,’ and he accidentally sprained his hand—it still hasn’t healed! I say he’s definitely faking it, Boss! He’s making excuses to avoid you! Just give the word and I’ll drag him out and beat him up!”
“Beat what? If you damage him, can you afford to compensate? Drag him over to watch a movie with me.”
And so, that Sunday afternoon, He Chu San was pitifully “dragged” into the gang’s private luxury cinema. He was still wearing a faded old shirt, though his schoolbag had been replaced with a worn leather briefcase clearly picked up secondhand. A pair of glasses now perched on his nose.
“Finally read yourself blind, have you?” Xia Liu Yi asked from his Hawaiian recliner.
“The manager said I look too young and need glasses to bluff people,” He Chu San replied. “They’re just plain lenses.”
Xia Liu Yi snorted and pushed the bowl of fish balls toward him. He Chu San obediently speared one. “Brother Liu Yi, you enjoy the movie. I’ll read my research materials on the side—I won’t disturb you.”
Xia Liu Yi had long grown accustomed to his ability to read even while standing on a crowded bus with his arms raised, so he couldn’t be bothered to beat him anymore. He merely glanced at the bandaged index finger on his left hand. “Damn! You really know how to act—this is a ‘sprain’?”
“No. I cut it while working yesterday.”
“Cut it? Aren’t you just serving dishes at a tea restaurant?”
“I started learning to prep ingredients last month. Uncle Ah Hua’s shop moved outside the Walled City, business is good, and they’re short on staff.”
Xia Liu Yi snorted dismissively and turned back to the movie.
It was the winter of 1990. The relocation of Gaau Lung Walled City had entered its middle phase. Most residents had been assigned government-compensated housing and payments. Mr. He, once an undocumented drifter who had taken refuge in the Walled City decades ago, had finally obtained permanent residency after living in Hong Kong for over seven years, officially becoming part of this coastal city. Based on the size of their two shabby rooms, the family was allocated a unit in a tenement building near the Kowloon City pier.
However, Mr. He was still an unlicensed dentist and could not legally open a clinic, forcing him into early retirement. Fortunately, He Chu San had secured an internship, earning one to two thousand a month to support the household. Meanwhile, Uncle Ah Hua’s newly reopened Ah Hua’s Ice House was located right below their building, so aside from his four days a week at the bank, He Chu San continued working there during his spare time.
Originally, he should have been serving dishes despite his injury today. But just after noon, amid Uncle Ah Hua’s shouting, he grabbed his old briefcase and slipped away, voluntarily arriving at the billiards hall—only to be dragged off to accompany the boss.
Xia Liu Yi lounged in his chair, watching that year’s blockbuster A Moment of Romance, Andy Lau sped through a racetrack amid deafening screams—reckless, fearless, impossibly handsome. Boss Xia scoffed. “Hah, what’s so impressive about that? I got bored of that ages ago.”
“You’ve raced motorcycles?” He Chu San asked.
Xia Liu Yi sneered, showing off. “At sixteen, I was already king of Kowloon City—never lost a race!”
He Chu San frowned slightly, concern in his voice. “You never got into an accident?”
“……Of course not!”
—said Xia Liu Yi, who had later broken his leg, been locked up by Azure Dragon for two months, and banned from touching motorcycles ever since.
That damn little fox stared at him with an unreadable, almost uncanny gaze for a long while—so long that Xia Liu Yi was about to become embarrassed and angry—before sighing like an old man. “As long as nothing happened.”
Boss Xia slapped the armrest heavily. He Chu San immediately fell silent and lowered his head to continue reading.
By the light of the small lamp Xia Liu Yi had specially placed on the table for him, he quietly finished reviewing his materials, neatly folded two full pages of notes, and packed everything back into his briefcase. Looking up, he saw that Xia Liu Yi had already fallen asleep.
The night before, Xia Liu Yi had been drinking with several newly appointed inspectors, socializing until late. Halfway through the movie, he had begun to doze off. Fortunately—or unfortunately—he had only seen the romantic beginning between the protagonist and the wealthy young lady, and had missed the tragic ending where the hero, gravely wounded, perished together with his enemy.
The graceful girl ran barefoot in her wedding dress through the wind, while the gangster struggled in a pool of blood, giving his final convulsions. A young singer softly sang “Fleeting Tenderness”:
Sweet words can’t explain it—this is no happy ending.
The yearning of life is never clear… why must one stay awake…
He Chu San quietly straightened, leaned closer to Xia Liu Yi’s chair, and slowly bent down in the darkness…
—but only picked up the coat Xia Liu Yi had casually tossed aside, and gently draped it over him.
Futile Devices Scans 
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