Futile Devices Scans

Three years later.

At St John’s Cathedral, a Sunday service was drawing to a close. The clear, melodious hymns of the choir echoed through the church. Among the congregation stood an elderly man leaning on a cane, his eyes half closed as he softly sang along.

After the service ended, the congregation gradually left their seats and filed out. The old man waited until the crowd had dispersed before slowly making his way outside with his cane. A young man rose from one of the pews and followed after him, greeting him respectfully. “Mr. Guo, hello.”

The old man stopped and turned to look at him. “Hello. And you are?”

“Sorry to disturb you. My name is He Chu San. I’m the general manager of Bing Sin Financial Information Company. I was hoping I could have a little of your time.”

“Let’s talk outside,” the old man said.

Outside the cathedral, lush green trees cast deep shade over the quiet paths. They were in Central, surrounded by skyscrapers soaring into the sky, yet amid the bustling city there remained this small, tranquil place for prayer.

The two walked one behind the other beneath the trees. He Chu San helped Elder Guo sit down on a bench. Elder Guo spoke first. “You came to see me about Xia Liu Yi, didn’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“I’ve heard that over the past few years, Mr. He has visited nearly every Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong. By my reckoning, I suppose it was about time you got around to me.”

Elio’s Notes: A Justice of the Peace, or JP, is an appointed public figure in Hong Kong whose duties include visiting prisons and other custodial institutions and hearing prisoners’ concerns. Here, He Chu San is seeking a JP willing to advocate on Xia Liu Yi’s behalf.

He Chu San hurriedly explained, “Xia Liu Yi voluntarily surrendered back then and made a major contribution to the Xie Ying Jie case. He’s also behaved well in prison these past few years…” Elder Guo merely smiled and shook his head. “There’s no need to say any more. I’ve looked into Xia Liu Yi’s case very carefully. Considering the crimes he committed in the past, his sentence was reasonable. You know that yourself. Why put yourself through all this?”

He Chu San refused to give up. “Elder Guo, you’re a man of faith. Christ teaches us to atone for our sins through repentance. Xia Liu Yi confessed fully to his crimes and sincerely regrets them. He genuinely wants to change for the better. Why can’t he be given an earlier chance to mend his ways?”

Elder Guo gently patted the back of the hand He Chu San had resting on his knee, signaling for him to relax. As He Chu San spoke, he had been digging his fingers anxiously into his knee so hard that the veins stood out across the back of his hand.

“Are you a believer?” the old man asked kindly.

He Chu San answered honestly, “No.”

“Do you follow another faith?”

“My father studies Buddhism. When I was growing up, he would sometimes teach me a little Buddhist philosophy.”

“Then go sit in your temples from time to time. Xia Liu Yi has already found his Inner Peace. What about you?”

…

He Chu San got into the passenger seat. Kevin, behind the wheel, took one look at his expression and guessed that he had been rejected yet again. He felt terrible for him. “Brother Chu San, it’s okay. We can still find someone else.”

He Chu San lowered his head and stroked the diamond ring on his ring finger. “Thank you, Kevin.”

“It’s nothing. Where do you want to go next?”

“Stanley Prison.”

Kevin sighed inwardly at the answer. He knew there was no point trying to persuade him otherwise, so he started the car.

After a long drive, the sedan stopped outside the prison gates. He Chu San got out alone while Kevin remained in the car, watching him hurry inside.

The mobile phone at Kevin’s waist rang. He answered it, and a young man’s voice came through.

“Mm. I’m with Brother Chu San,” Kevin replied.

“Mm, I’m going home for dinner tonight. You’re not on duty tonight? Then I want the pineapple rice you make.”

“Sure. Book tickets for around eight.”

He chatted with the other person for a while before spotting He Chu San coming out of the prison. “Got to go. Brother Chu San’s out. See you tonight.”

Kevin put down the phone and was about to start the car when he saw He Chu San suddenly sit down beside a utility pole at the roadside. Dressed immaculately in his suit and leather shoes, he simply sat on the ground and raised both arms to shield his face from the sunlight. Kevin hurriedly pushed open the car door and ran over to help him up, but He Chu San refused. “Don’t… It’s okay… Thank you. Just let me be alone for a while…”

Kevin sighed softly and retreated several steps toward the car, keeping watch from a distance. He couldn’t help turning a worried gaze toward the high prison walls.

On the other side of those walls was the prisoners’ exercise yard. Limping Sha, formerly the boss of the Sha Family Gang, sat beside the newly built basketball court rubbing his aching leg. He saw Xia Liu Yi slowly walking back from the visitation room.

Limping Sha pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips. As Xia Liu Yi sat down, he blew a mouthful of smoke straight into his face. “You damn fool! It’s been three years and you still refuse to see him?”

Xia Liu Yi lowered his head gloomily through the smoke and rubbed the jade Buddha at his chest. “He’s a determined person. Give him even the slightest bit of hope and he’ll keep going. I can’t give him that hope.”

“Ai!” Even Limping Sha couldn’t stand listening anymore. “Just treat him like your wife waiting outside for you another ten-plus years! My wife and kid are still waiting for me to get out!”

Xia Liu Yi shook his head. “He’s only twenty-eight this year. He has a brilliant future ahead of him. These are the best years of his youth. Why should he waste them on a sinner like me? He deserves a better life.”

“I think there’s something wrong with your damn brain too!” Limping Sha slapped his thigh and delivered his verdict, refusing to listen to any more of Xia Liu Yi’s nonsense.

Late that night, Xia Liu Yi lay on the cold, hard metal bunk listening to snores rising and falling from the lower bunk and all around him. He reached beneath his pillow and gently pulled out several thin birthday cards. In the darkness, he traced the elegant, upright handwriting with his fingers as though caressing He Chu San’s cheek. He could feel He Chu San’s profound longing in those strokes—and even a trace of grief-stricken resentment.

Back then, he had done everything he could to assist the police in arresting Xie Ying Jie and Qiao Chun An. He had confessed to every crime committed by Xiao Qi Hall and taken responsibility for all of it himself, on the condition that the other members of Xiao Qi Hall would no longer be pursued. Naturally, Xiao Qi Hall itself would also be dissolved and disappear from the underworld forever. During these three years, apart from the birthday card He Chu San sent every June 1, Xia Liu Yi refused every prison visit, never accepted a phone call from him, and even returned every letter unopened. All of it was so He Chu San would finally give up on him completely and begin a new life.

Tears silently soaked into his pillow. He didn’t want to be so heartless and cruel either. If he could hold He Chu San in his arms and warm him with his own hands through every cold night, how could he possibly bear to let go?

If only we had met in our youth, rewritten the course of fate itself, lived cleanly and peacefully, and stayed together for a lifetime without ever parting.