Futile Devices Scans

O Division interrogated Xia Liu Yi through the night. Several officers took turns questioning him, with the air-conditioning turned down as low as it would go, cold coffee, and stale bread. Yet Xia Liu Yi refused to utter a word before his lawyer arrived. Once the lawyer was present, he became completely untouchable. He had an alibi and a report showing that his car had been stolen. Yawning, he calmly deflected every question the officers threw at him, appearing entirely relaxed and at ease.

After two days of round-the-clock interrogation, they had gained nothing.

Xie Jia Hua’s subordinate, the young policewoman, watched the surveillance footage from the neighboring room and said furiously, “This is outrageous! We finally managed to arrest him. Are we really supposed to stand here and watch him walk free the moment the forty-eight hours are up?!”

“Isn’t that Hong Kong now? The triads can blot out the sky with one hand,” said the male officer standing nearby with his arms folded, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “He’s only here for a sightseeing tour of the police station! Since all our work will be wasted anyway, we may as well go home early, wash up, and sleep.”

Xie Jia Hua, who had been watching the footage, raised his eyes. His gaze turned glacial, and the male officer immediately fell silent.

“If seeking justice were easy, what would we need the police for?” Xie Jia Hua said coldly.

“Understood, Sir!”

After lecturing his subordinates, Xie Jia Hua personally opened the door and entered the interrogation room. Xia Liu Yi reclined in his chair with his fingers interlaced. A trace of stubble had appeared across his chin, and although he looked slightly tired, he remained relaxed and comfortable. The lawyer beside him had also gone two nights without sleep and was now covered in greasy sweat, with dark circles beneath his eyes.

Immaculately dressed as always, Xie Jia Hua sat down opposite them.

“Xia Liu Yi,” he said without emotion.

“Inspector Xie,” Xia Liu Yi replied lazily.

“Those who play with fire eventually burn themselves. Watch yourself.”

The corner of Xia Liu Yi’s mouth lifted. “Thank you for your concern, Inspector Xie.”

Someone knocked on the door from outside and poked his head in. “Sir, telephone.”

Xie Jia Hua glanced at Xia Liu Yi, rose, and left. In the outer room, he accepted the brick phone his subordinate handed him. “Hello.”

“Inspector Xie, I’ve already been waiting for you at Honolulu Cafe for an hour and a half. I’ve refilled my milk tea twice. Are you ever coming?”

Xie Jia Hua checked his watch and replied coldly, “Wait another fifteen minutes.” Then he ended the call.

After giving his subordinates several instructions and ordering them to keep a close watch on Xia Liu Yi, he left the station and walked to Honolulu Cafe two streets away. Lu Guang Ming was doing a crossword puzzle in the newspaper, with two deliberately empty milk-tea glasses left on the table.

“Boss, another milk tea,” he called when he noticed Xie Jia Hua entering. “What would you like, Inspector Xie?”

“A glass of hot water,” Xie Jia Hua told the waiter.

“Only water?” Lu Guang Ming asked with a smile. “Would you like something to eat?”

“Speak,” Xie Jia Hua said.

Lu Guang Ming smiled with narrowed eyes and tactfully dispensed with the pleasantries. He removed a folder from his briefcase and pushed it toward Xie Jia Hua. “A list of the police ‘inspectors’ who had dealings with Xia Liu Yi and Fat Seven, together with some related materials.”

Xie Jia Hua opened the folder, flipped through it, then closed it. “What do you want to know?”

“What I mentioned last time—about ‘that person.’”

Xie Jia Hua remained expressionless. “What makes you think I would help you investigate one of my own relatives?”

Lu Guang Ming smiled. “Because you didn’t punch me, and you were willing to come have milk tea with me. Inspector Xie, you’ve suspected him yourself, haven’t you? Has anyone above you been warning you recently to stop meddling in matters that don’t concern you?”

Xie Jia Hua fell silent for a moment. “You don’t suspect that I’m involved as well?”

Lu Guang Ming shrugged. “No.”

At that moment, the waiter brought over the milk tea and hot water. Lu Guang Ming leaned back against the booth, took a sip of milk tea through narrowed eyes, and smacked his lips. “I trust you because someone once told me about you.”

“Tang Jia Qi,” he said, naming the person. “An Investigator with the ICAC who died in the line of duty eight years ago. He was my senior… and also my cousin.”

An almost imperceptible ripple spread through the hot water in Xie Jia Hua’s glass.

…

It was exactly eight in the evening. Half of the employees remained inside the brightly lit office, their heads lowered as they worked. He Chu San sat among them, leafing through a stack of documents.

After correcting two figures on the computer, he stared distractedly at the mobile phone on his desk.

He had barely eaten a grain of rice over the past two days, yet the place that felt empty was not his stomach but his chest.

He picked up the mobile phone and pressed several numbers. After hesitating for a moment, reason prevailed, and he set it down again.

He sat blankly for a while, then forced his eyes back toward the computer screen. Just as his fingers found the keyboard, the mobile phone suddenly began vibrating and playing a tune.

He snatched it up. “Hello?”

“Sammy Boy?” Cui Dong Dong said from the other end. “He’s back at home. Come over in two hours. There are still other people there.”

He Chu San lowered the phone and froze for an instant. Then he sprang up, grabbed his briefcase, and ran. “Ricky! Shut down my computer for me!”

“Sam, why are you in such a hurry? Racing off to get married?” his colleague teased from behind him.

He Chu San rushed back to the rented apartment at the speed of light and did not even need to take out his key. The police had kicked the door open two days earlier, and it still had not been repaired; a gentle push was enough to open it. Fortunately, the apartment was in a secluded area and had not attracted any burglars.

He cooked a pot of lean-pork congee, poured it into an insulated container, then hurried to Kowloon Tong. He waited near Xia Liu Yi’s house for almost an hour, until he saw Xiao Ma and several other men who looked like minor bosses emerge and leave in separate cars. Only then did he pick up the container and rush inside.

The bodyguards at the entrance all knew him and let him pass without asking any questions. He Chu San hurried into the sitting room. Xia Liu Yi sat on the sofa wrapped in a thin blanket, speaking quietly with Cui Dong Dong.

He Chu San burst in, breathing heavily. Xia Liu Yi turned, caught sight of him without warning, and immediately widened his eyes.

Boss Xia turned to glare at Cui Dong Dong. Sister Dong Dong shrugged. “Why are you glaring at me? Wasn’t the first thing you asked after getting out whether he was all right? He’s perfectly fine, with all his arms and legs intact, so I called him over for you to see!”

Xia Liu Yi choked. He turned back toward the little bum He—and after hearing Cui Dong Dong’s words, the brat’s blood rushed to his face, and he actually blushed.

His face red, He Chu San eagerly stepped forward. “Brother Liu Yi…”

“Don’t fucking come any closer! Kneel over there!” Boss Xia was still angry. He would deal with the brat later.

He Chu San paused, lowered his eyes, hugged the insulated container, and obediently began bending his knees.

Xia Liu Yi abruptly remembered that his knees were still injured and hurriedly cursed, “Stop, stop! Go stand by the door! Looking at you annoys me!”

He Chu San straightened and obediently retreated to the doorway, where he stood pressed against the wall with a hesitant, miserable expression. Boss Xia and Cui Dong Dong continued plotting in low voices. When they finished, Cui Dong Dong rose stylishly to leave. As she passed He Chu San, she gave his shoulder a meaningful pat. “I’m leaving him to you, Sammy Boy.”

“Why are you wasting words on him?” Xia Liu Yi cursed from inside. “Take him with you and get out!”

Cui Dong Dong winked at He Chu San, placed her right index finger lightly against her lips in a shushing gesture, then pointed toward the room. Like a mouse, He Chu San followed her instruction and slipped along the wall into the sitting room.

He moved swiftly toward the sofa, set the insulated container on the coffee table, and asked with feigned casualness, “Brother Liu Yi, have you eaten?”

After being tormented for two full days without sleep or rest, Xia Liu Yi was still mentally alert, but his physical strength had been considerably depleted. Wrapped in the blanket, he glared at He Chu San. He simply could not be bothered to expend the effort required to beat him, so he snorted coldly, turned away, picked up the remote control, and began watching television.

He Chu San familiarly entered the kitchen, fetched a bowl and spoon, then returned and filled the bowl with congee. “Have some congee.”

Xia Liu Yi ignored him.

He Chu San placed the bowl back on the coffee table and quietly sat beside him.

A vein jumped on Xia Liu Yi’s forehead, but he continued staring straight at the television.

He Chu San silently studied his profile, the dense stubble across his chin, and the bloodshot veins filling his eyes. This inexperienced young white-collar worker had grown up listening to countless stories about torture inside the Walled City. Unaware of Boss Xia’s extraordinary ability to twist black into white and shield himself from the law, He Chu San imagined all manner of suffering Xia Liu Yi must have endured during the past two days.

Looking at the gangster who had filled him with anxiety and torment for two full days, He Chu San’s chest overflowed with lingering fear, joy, and heartache. He released a soft sigh, leaned forward, and embraced Xia Liu Yi through the thin blanket.

He felt Xia Liu Yi’s body instantly stiffen and sensed the murderous aura that abruptly surged from him. Yet, courting death, He Chu San lowered his head, buried his face against Xia Liu Yi’s shoulder, and tightened his arms.

“Brother Liu Yi, as long as you’re safe. I was very worried about you.”

Expressionless, Xia Liu Yi stared at the television. The bright colors on the screen gradually blurred into a confused mass. His heart began aching in countless tiny places, as though insects were slowly eating through it.

He did not know what he was struggling against or what he was trying to endure. He did not know why he now felt such torment and pain, such guilt and remorse—or for whose sake.

No. He knew. In truth, he had always known. A large portion of his heart still belonged to that person. He had never dared confront the bloody wound left behind when his heart had been abruptly torn apart. He had never been able to fill the grotesque, blood-soaked void within his soul. He feared forgetting. He hated himself for changing and betraying what had once been. He had no right. He did not dare, could not, and should not begin another relationship.

Least of all with this brat.

He carried such a heavy past and faced such a narrow future that he could not see where the two of them could possibly end.

But He Chu San’s embrace was far too warm. That focused gaze, warm breath, worried words, and those bold, resolute arms surrounding him were all far too warm. Xia Liu Yi did not possess the strength to push him away.

He could not deny that he spoiled the brat. He could not deny that he cared about him—this shameless boy who looked honest while hiding a stomach full of schemes, this stubborn, determined, intelligent, quick-witted bastard. He could not deny the longing and loss he had felt throughout the past half year of deliberate distance.

During those forty-eight hours in the interrogation room, what repeatedly echoed through his mind was not how to clear himself, how to deal with Xie Jia Hua, or how to operate once he was released. It was the expression in He Chu San’s eyes when they parted—wronged and furious, worried and reluctant to let him go. That one cry of Brother Liu Yi had made his heart ache.

Xia Liu Yi sat rigidly, staring at the bowl of congee on the coffee table until the last strands of warm white steam dispersed.

Finally, with exhaustion and a trace of pain, he closed his eyes and released a long sigh before opening them again.

“How are the injuries on your legs?” he asked hoarsely.

He Chu San’s arms trembled almost imperceptibly. He rubbed his head against Xia Liu Yi’s shoulder. “They’re fine.”

“Let me see.”

He Chu San released him and lowered his head to raise both trouser legs. Several narrow cuts extended below his knees, all of them already scabbed over. Although the wounds were long and thin, they did not appear deep and had caused no injury to the tendons or bones.

Xia Liu Yi examined them carefully, then extended one hand from beneath the blanket and pressed down on He Chu San’s kneecap.

He Chu San hissed sharply in pain and frowned as he endured it.

“Does it hurt?”

“Mm.”

“Serves you right,” Xia Liu Yi said quietly. “Try doing something reckless again, and I’ll break both your legs.”

He Chu San obediently shook his head, displaying an extremely proper attitude of repentance. “I’ll never dare again, Brother Liu Yi.”

“Next time, I’ll make sure to tell you before I kiss you,” he promised with earnest sincerity.

“Like this.”

He leaned forward and covered Xia Liu Yi’s lips again.

“…”

Unexpectedly, Xia Liu Yi did not push him away.

The man being kissed closed his eyes, indulging He Chu San’s outrageous boldness for what felt like the thousandth time. After a long while, two hands emerged from beneath the blanket and encircled He Chu San’s shoulders and back, fingers gently sinking into his hair.

As their lips and tongues touched softly and lingeringly, He Chu San remembered the conversation he and Xia Liu Yi had shared on that late-night rooftop two years earlier, beneath darkness as deep as a dry well. He had asked why Xia Liu Yi could not acknowledge that relationship and why he did not dare face it. He had not understood why two people who loved each other had to avoid one another, why they could only walk farther apart while continuing to miss each other. Xia Liu Yi had rubbed his head and told him that he did not understand—that there were too many things in life beyond a person’s control.

Now he understood those things that lay beyond one’s control.

Because love, too, was something beyond one’s control.

…

Xia Liu Yi emerged from the police station completely unharmed. Several days later, he summoned the major underworld bosses to a meeting. At the gathering, he produced one of Fat Seven’s closest subordinates in restraints and also invited Fat Seven’s flamboyantly dressed girlfriend, Third Sister Lai. The moment Third Sister Lai saw photographs of the dance hostess Fat Seven had secretly kept behind her back—especially the enormous sparkling diamond ring on the woman’s hand—she immediately switched sides. She admitted that Fat Seven had harbored malicious intentions first and produced a recording of a transaction between Fat Seven and the Hua household’s butler, which Fat Seven had originally intended to use for blackmail. Fat Seven’s trusted subordinate could only nod and confess the entire plan. The He faction, which had previously demanded that justice be served, was left with nothing to say and could only let the matter drop.

Xia Liu Yi naturally seized Fat Seven’s docks and absorbed the territory belonging to Boss Sha’s Sha Family Gang, which Fat Seven had previously occupied, declaring it compensation for his own losses. Meanwhile, He Yi Society, another branch of the He faction, absorbed the now-leaderless He Sheng Society and took control of Fat Seven’s remaining territory.

When the meeting ended, Master Qiao, the Dragon Head of He Yi Society, gave Xia Liu Yi a meaningful smile. Although Xia Liu Yi remained vigilant, he did not worry excessively. Xiao Qi Hall was no longer a minor gang brawling within Kau Lung Walled City. Under Xia Liu Yi’s leadership for just over two years, it had expanded across more than half of Kowloon. It commanded hundreds of men and dozens of businesses, large and small, with interests in nightclubs, discos, restaurants, private clubs, billiard halls, roller-skating rinks, gambling dens, brothels, and many other industries. Following the collapse of Boss Sha and Fat Seven, Xiao Qi Hall had also become one of the few major heroin suppliers in the Kau Lung area. Entertainment establishments from every side had to obtain their goods from it, allowing Xiao Qi Hall to raise prices as it pleased and wield its power with confidence. He Yi Society might be an old, deeply rooted organization, but if it wanted to swallow Xia Liu Yi whole, it would first need to consider whether its teeth were strong enough. Besides, He Yi Society’s main sphere of influence lay on Hong Kong Island, separated from Kowloon by the harbour. Even gathering men for a fight in Kowloon required worrying about rush-hour traffic in the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. Its reach simply did not extend far enough.

Afterward, Xia Liu Yi used the excuse of investigating undercover agents and reorganizing the Society to remove the White Paper Fans and Straw Sandals the elders had planted among his ranks. The only man he retained was Big Scarhead, the Red Pole recommended by Elder Ge, mainly because he found him convenient to use. Big Scarhead was so overwhelmed with gratitude for Xia Liu Yi’s recognition that he would gladly have given his life for him. Since Xia Liu Yi had rarely shown Elder Ge such consideration, the elder found it difficult to continue causing trouble. The others grumbled, but there was nothing they could do.

Having swept away his external obstacles and purged the internal ranks, Xia Liu Yi surrounded himself entirely with clever, obedient men of his own. Whenever someone needed to be beaten or killed, there was never any need for Boss Xia himself to worry about it. He saved all that time and energy and devoted himself wholeheartedly to playing cat and mouse with Inspector Xie. The two sides exchanged several moves, but neither gained any advantage.

After kissing him for the second time that day, He Chu San boldly attempted to let his hands wander further, only to be slapped away. The little bum left feeling aggrieved, then took leave from work the following day and eagerly returned. He cooked three meals for Xia Liu Yi and spent the day watching films with him. On the third day, an urgent situation at the office summoned him back. One period of overtime stretched into an entire month during which they could not meet, leaving him to whisper sweet nothings over the telephone while typing at his keyboard: “Brother Liu Yi, I miss you. Brother Liu Yi, did you brush your teeth today?”

“Bullshit! Get lost!” Xia Liu Yi cursed.

He Chu San laughed softly from the other end. “You sound as though you miss me too.”

“…” Xia Liu Yi had no reply.

Xia Liu Yi threw his brick phone once a day, clawed at the bed twice, wore out three toothbrushes in a single month, and finally went secretly and indignantly to a dental clinic for professional whitening.

He Chu San endured sleeping in the wreckage of his rented apartment for more than ten days before finally finding time to tidy the room, replace the lock, and clean everything thoroughly. Afterward, he searched beneath the sofa for the objects he had hidden there on the day Xia Liu Yi was arrested.

He found only the camera Boss Xia had smashed into two pieces. The photographs and roll of film were gone.

Suspicious, he searched the entire apartment but found nothing. He could only assume that rats had dragged them away and comfort himself with the thought that the man was his now, so he could secretly photograph him whenever he pleased. He would simply need to buy another pair of knee pads.

…

The weather was warm that weekend. Taking advantage of the late-autumn days before the cold arrived, Xia Liu Yi personally drove to He Chu San’s office, dragged Elite He away from his overtime work, and took him to the seaside for a barbecue. The bodyguards overbearingly cleared an entire stretch of beach. Xiao Ma and Big Scarhead set up the barbecue grills and charcoal, while Cui Dong Dong and her round-faced young singer reclined on sun loungers and watched the entertainment.

“Boss, turn the chicken wings in the middle! They’re burning! Do you even know how to barbecue?” Cui Dong Dong called while drinking lemonade and issuing instructions.

“Keep shouting and you can do it yourself!” Xia Liu Yi cursed, his face blackened by smoke. “A’San, where did you put the oil?”

He Chu San, crouching near his feet while reading study materials, straightened and handed him the oil bottle beside the grill before silently crouching again.

Xia Liu Yi kicked him. “We came out to have fun! Why are you reading? Keep going and I’ll burn the book!”

“I have a professional qualification exam next month. I’ll join you after I finish this page,” He Chu San soothed him.

Xia Liu Yi grabbed the book with his barbecue tongs and held it directly over the fire. He Chu San hurriedly jumped up to rescue it. “All right, all right! I’m coming.”

“You bastard. Your skin starts itching whenever I go one day without beating you. Turn those chicken wings!”

“Yes, yes. I’ll turn them immediately.”

Xiao Ma sat at a nearby table threading sausages onto skewers. At that moment, he muttered to Big Scarhead, who was cleaning a fish, “Why do I feel that brat He is acting stranger and stranger? Look at that idiotic smile he gives the Boss! Fuck, look at him! What is he doing now?!”

He Chu San was holding open Xia Liu Yi’s eyelid and gently blowing away a speck of charcoal dust from its corner when he heard Xiao Ma shout from behind, “You, He! Come over and skewer sausages!”

Before He Chu San could answer, Xia Liu Yi roared with his eyes still closed, “I haven’t finished ordering him around yet! What are you trying to steal him for?!”

“Boss, I’m not! Heh, I only thought he looked idle.”

“Get lost! Finish skewering those sausages and bring them over!”

“Yes!”

Xiao Ma lowered his head and muttered through gritted teeth, “Fuck. One day I’m going to chop him up behind the Boss’s back!”

Big Scarhead silently continued scraping fish scales and did not dare respond.

Boss Xia’s skill at brushing oil was truly terrible. Within moments, he nearly set his own clothes on fire. He Chu San hurriedly invited the distinguished Boss to stand aside and observe, rolled up his sleeves, and took over. As he brushed oil across the food, he chatted with Xia Liu Yi. “Brother Liu Yi, have you been busy recently?”

“Who could possibly be busier than you, Elite He? You vanished for an entire month and made me come personally to fetch you!”

He Chu San chuckled softly. “Sorry. There was too much work at the company.”

Xia Liu Yi snorted. “What, have you been promoted to general manager now, Elite He?”

He Chu San continued smiling with his usual honest expression. “No. But I really have been too busy lately. I don’t even want the job anymore… How about I work for your company instead? Give me two months of holiday every year.”

Xia Liu Yi’s hand paused as he reached for a cigarette.

Two years earlier, he had schemed tirelessly to recruit this gifted finance graduate, intending to use him for laundering money and keeping accounts. Yet after hearing this half-serious joke now, he hesitated.

He no longer wanted He Chu San, whose background was still clean, to wade into his muddy waters.

He placed the cigarette between his lips and tilted his head to light it. “Back then, you were afraid looking at one account book would blind you. Now you’re begging me? I don’t want you anymore. Get lost!”

He Chu San obediently “got lost” by taking one step closer and calling in a soft, clinging voice, “Brother Liu Yi…”

Xia Liu Yi impatiently shoved him aside with an elbow and changed the subject. “You say you’re too busy? You seem to enjoy it.”

“I’ve thought about it,” He Chu San said. “Being too busy isn’t good. At this rate, I won’t even have time to go home and visit Dad.”

Xia Liu Yi snorted again.

“Or time to be with you.”

“…”

Before Boss Xia, whose entire body had erupted in goosebumps from the shameless sweetness, could react, Cui Dong Dong covered her ears and stood. “This is terrible! Keep listening and we’ll be silenced! Xiao Luo, come on. Let’s take a walk over there.” Xiao Luo was the name of her young singer.

“Walk, my ass! Come brush on the oil! A’San, get over there and skewer sausages!”