After returning home, Lu Guang Ming hugged his pillow and pondered for a long time. He truly could not understand how He Chu San could, with such an innocent and pure expression, say something as shameless as: “I’m not pretending—I’ve always been well-behaved.”
If it were him wearing that same expression and trying to act cute in front of Xie Jia Hua, he would definitely be beaten senseless, bundled up, and buried somewhere in the mountains—never to be seen again.
Even now, he had not seen Xie Jia Hua for many days. He wondered whether Xie Jia Hua had thought of him at all.
Inspector Xie, that upright gentleman of pure heart and few desires, surely had not “played ball” with anyone else during this time. He wondered whether, when Inspector Xie handled things alone at night, he might recall the way Lu Guang Ming had once “soared upon the plane”.
……
Their reunion came soon enough. One evening, He Chu San’s personal assistant Kevin called him, informing him to “proceed as planned.” The next morning, he reported to the ICAC as usual, then left under the pretense of investigating a case. Through the black market, he anonymously rented a car and drove toward the villa where Hao Cheng Qing had once lived.
On the way, he encountered a traffic accident that caused heavy congestion, delaying him for quite some time. Checking his watch repeatedly in agitation, he finally broke free of the traffic and turned onto the mountain road. It was nearly noon when, as he sped forward, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted!
He slammed on the brakes, pulling over at the roadside. The ground trembled faintly, and the thunderous roar echoed without end. He hurried out of the car, climbed onto its roof, and looked toward the distant villa—
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky. The three-story building had been reduced to rubble.
He was too late.
Jumping back down, he rushed into the driver’s seat and sped up the mountain. Taking a side path to avoid the front entrance—where officers had already descended into chaos, stretchers carrying the wounded—he cast a hurried glance from the hillside before driving toward the rear.
Parking the car, he plunged into the forest, locating the marked spot. He exerted all his strength to move aside layers of disguised brush and rocks covering the hidden tunnel entrance, then used every ounce of effort to pry open the iron hatch beneath with a shovel. Switching on a flashlight and entering the tunnel, he smelled the acrid stench of gunpowder.
Putting on a mask, he moved forward quickly, hunched over. After only a few steps, he heard Cui Dong Dong shouting hoarsely from the far end, “Is anyone there?! Someone, help!”
“I’m coming!” he shouted back.
Panting as he reached the end, he saw that the tunnel entrance on the other side had been completely destroyed by the explosion. Dirt and debris blocked half the passage. Cui Dong Dong, the chief steward of Xiao Qi Hall, was covered in blood, her legs pinned beneath a large rock, struggling on the ground. Beside her lay a petite young woman, motionless, half her clothing soaked in blood.
Lu Guang Ming rushed forward and began moving the rock.
“Don’t worry about me! Save her! Save her!!” Cui Dong Dong screamed, pushing at him.
Ignoring the blows, he forced the rock aside. Turning, he knelt and lifted the other girl. A glance revealed a gunshot wound to her chest—her lungs likely injured. Blood continued to flow as her breathing grew labored. He quickly stripped off his shirt to press against the wound, then lifted her in his arms and ran out of the tunnel. Cui Dong Dong limped behind him.
After placing them in the back seat, he turned the car downhill while dialing his brick phone.
Kevin answered, his voice low and cautious, as if speaking from a corner. “Mr. Lu? How is it? Did you get them?”
He Chu San’s voice could be faintly heard in the background: “The company seal is with me! Until the Bosses return, no one is to cause trouble! Otherwise, this will be your fate—understood?!”
“We got them—but someone’s been shot!” Lu Guang Ming said, breathing heavily. “Tell Mr. He this—under these circumstances, we can’t go to a safe house. They must go to a hospital immediately!”
“Mr. Lu, please don’t worry. Give me a moment,” Kevin said hurriedly.
After some rustling, He Chu San’s voice came through. “A’Ming, I understand the situation. Take them to Kowloon XX Private Hospital at the foot of the mountain. I’ll arrange for people to meet you there…”
“You bastard, He Chu San! This was all your idea! If anything happens to Xiao Luo, I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces!” Cui Dong Dong roared from the back seat.
The shout made Lu Guang Ming’s ears ring. He pulled the phone away from his ear, grimacing. He Chu San’s voice came again, heavy yet steady, filling the car.
“Sister Dong Dong, if anything happens to Sister Luo, I’ll pay with my life. For now, calm down and take care of her. I’ll have the doctors prepare for surgery immediately.”
Lu Guang Ming hung up. While driving, he switched on a police scanner, trying to catch updates from the scene. Instead, he was met with chaos:
“Call an ambulance! Officer down!”
“Move aside! Move aside! Fire extinguisher coming through!”
“Quick—Inspector Xie is still inside—buried—hurry and rescue him!”
Lu Guang Ming slammed on the brakes!
In the back seat, Cui Dong Dong clutched Xiao Luo tightly as they were thrown forward.
“What’s wrong?!” she demanded.
Lu Guang Ming’s hands trembled on the steering wheel. He glanced urgently outside, then back at Xiao Luo, whose body was soaked in blood. After two seconds of hesitation, he released the brake and continued driving downhill…
……
An hour later, after settling Cui Dong Dong and Xiao Luo, he drove off in haste, parking at the underground garage of the nearest public hospital. Without waiting for the elevator, he sprinted up the emergency stairwell into the lobby.
The moment he entered, he saw several uniformed officers gathered around a blood-soaked stretcher. The body upon it was covered head to toe with a bloodied white sheet, only a pair of mud-stained shoes visible.
Lu Guang Ming’s legs nearly gave out. He stumbled forward.
“Is he dead?! Is he dead?!”
A handsome man in plain clothes blocked him, wary. “What are you doing? Who are you?”
“Let go of me! Xie Jia Hua! You damned big sweet potato! You’re not allowed to die!” Lu Guang Ming shouted, eyes red, struggling violently as he tried to pull back the sheet. But the man’s strength rivaled Xie Jia Hua’s—he twisted Lu Guang Ming’s arms behind his back and pinned him against the wall.
“What are you doing?! Calm down!”
Another uniformed officer ran over—his features somewhat resembling Xie Jia Hua’s, though far more naive. He helped restrain him. “Hey, hey—don’t panic, the dead one isn’t my cousin! Who are you? My cousin’s in a hospital room inside.”
Pressed against the wall, face smeared with dust, Lu Guang Ming stared blankly. “Not… Xie Jia Hua?”
“No,” the cousin replied.
“Then who is it? Why are you all surrounding him? Did someone else die in the explosion?”
“What explosion?” the cousin said. “This is a victim from another traffic accident just brought in. We thought it might be Cui Dong Dong’s injured girlfriend, so we came to check.”
The plainclothes man released Lu Guang Ming but held back the cousin from revealing more. “Sir, who are you? What is your relationship with Inspector Xie Jia Hua?”
Lu Guang Ming wiped the dust from his face blankly. His heart, which had just dropped to his throat, was still pounding violently.
“I—I…”
Finally remembering himself, he fumbled for his ID. “I’m an ICAC investigator, Lu Guang Ming… I’m… his… friend. How is he? Is he alright? Is he awake? Can I see him?”
The plainclothes officer—later revealed to be Qin Hao, the undercover agent Xie Jia Hua had planted within Xiao Qi Hall—brought him to the ward.
Xie Jia Hua had been at the very front during the explosion, buried under a collapsing wall. Yet through sheer luck and his strong constitution, he had sustained only minor external injuries. After numerous examinations, he had been returned to the ward, unconscious due to head trauma.
Lu Guang Ming sank weakly beside the bed. After everything that had happened that morning, he was both exhausted and terrified.
Resting his forehead against the edge of the bed, he murmured softly, barely audible even to himself:
“You damned bastard, you big sweet potato… at your age, why rush to the front? If something happened to you… I could only repay it with my life.”
Then, bitterly, he thought to himself:
“What kind of ridiculous plan did that brat A’San come up with? Just look at the kind of boyfriend he chose—you can tell he’s unreliable!”
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment