Chapter 692: Night in Mong Kok

The night in Mong Kok is the place with the most vibrant atmosphere in Hong Kong.

Both sides of the street are packed with small shops—tea restaurants, roasted meat shops, gold shops, pawnshops, mahjong parlors... signs are stacked upon signs, each one extending further than the last, and neon lights bathe the entire street in red and green.

People walk pressed against one another, shoulders brushing against shoulders. He Yuzhu follows the address through the crowd and turns into a small alley.

Before walking far, he sees the sign for "Yongfa Tea Restaurant."

He pushes the door open and enters.

The wind chime gives a "ding-ling" sound, as if sending a message to someone.

The restaurant is not small, with over thirty tables set up.

The ceiling fan overhead turns slowly, "creak—creak—" one sound after another, and the breeze it blows down is tepid, unable to relieve any of the summer heat.

A person is sitting at a table by the window.

She wears a white shirt with a thin cardigan over it, her hair draped loosely over her shoulders. She is just looking up.

Their eyes meet.

Having not seen her for many years, the moment He Yuzhu sees her, tears fall instantly.

Liu Rusi stands up, remaining there without moving, a teardrop also sliding down her cheek.

She hasn't changed much—really, she hasn't changed much. She is a bit thinner, her chin is sharper, and her cheekbones are slightly higher, but her skin is still fair and delicate. What has changed is her gaze; it is much more peaceful than before.

She is actually forty-four, but she still looks like someone in her thirties.

He Yuzhu walks forward and pulls her into his embrace.

"Are you doing well?"

Liu Rusi's body stiffens for an instant, just an instant, then she lets him hold her, saying nothing.

After a long while, she laughs self-deprecatingly: "Can I be doing well? How many years has it been since you came over, don't you have any idea? And you swore to me that you'd come see me every year..." She pauses, "Didn't you see? I've become an old woman."

He Yuzhu laughs, laughing like a child: "You still look quite young, younger than many thirty-year-olds."

Liu Rusi rolls her eyes at him: "Stop the flattery." She pushes him away, sits back down in the chair, and tilts her chin toward the opposite side, "Sit down and talk."

He Yuzhu sits down obediently.

Liu Rusi pours him a cup of tea, pushes it over, and her tone softens: "Shen Yan has told me everything about your situation. These years, it hasn't been easy for you either."

He Yuzhu has no heart for this talk of parting; he sets the teacup aside and asks directly: "What is the big matter that made you so anxious to have me come over this time?"

Liu Rusi glances toward the door.

Two people at the entrance gesture to her.

Only then does she speak slowly: "Recently, overseas forces have colluded with reactionaries on the island and set up a secret sabotage Training Camp on an island. The goal is clear—to target our important objectives and personnel, to carry out assassinations and sabotage."

He Yuzhu asks: "Is there a Garrison on the island?"

Liu Rusi nods: "Yes. This time they've gotten smarter; while training, they are sending sabotage teams to the mainland. The goal is individual assassination, which is impossible to guard against. You didn't know, did you? Your little Apprentice, Liu Siman, is the first assassination target; her bounty is even higher than yours."

He Yuzhu laughs, "These bastards are truly shameless. Since they can't do it themselves, they have to use underhanded methods. Since I've come this time, these people won't live! By the way, tell me their training location," says He Yuzhu.

Liu Rusi takes a map out of her bag, spreads it on the table, and points her finger at a location: "This island is not far from Guangdong Province, and it's close to Hong Kong; the geographical location is very special. There is a reactionary Garrison on the island, the number of people is not small, and there are patrol boats on the sea..."

She quickly folds the map and stuffs it back into her bag, "I've thought it over and over, you are the only one who can get into this place."

He Yuzhu is silent for a few seconds, then says: "Let's finish our meal and talk about it when we get home."

Liu Rusi nods and says nothing more.

The two finish their meal in silence; she takes a few banknotes from her bag, presses them under the teacup, stands up, and walks out.

The two leave the tea restaurant one after the other.

The two people at the entrance also pay their bill and follow.

Liu Rusi drives a blue Jaguar; it is low-key, but not cheap at all.

He Yuzhu gets into the passenger seat.

A faint scent of jasmine drifts through the car, emanating from the sachet hanging on the rearview mirror.

He Yuzhu leans against the back of the seat, watching the neon lights outside the window flash by one after another, and asks: "Sister, driving this car, you can't still be living in the slums, right?"

"No, I listened to you and bought a villa on the mountaintop. The security measures there are good, ordinary people can't get in, it's safer."

The car passes through the busy downtown area and drives all the way up the mountain.

After driving for a while, it turns into a private road; on both sides are neatly trimmed bushes, and at the end of the road is an iron gate. Liu Rusi presses the Remote Control, and the iron gate slides open slowly.

The car drives in and stops in front of a small two-story building.

He Yuzhu gets out of the car and looks around.

The villa is not large, but it is very exquisite.

There is an old banyan tree in the courtyard, with lush branches and leaves that cover half the sky.

"You chose a good place," He Yuzhu says sincerely.

"The environment in Hong Kong is a little better now, so even those foreign spies don't dare to act recklessly," Liu Rusi says, "So I live here."

The living room is large and decorated simply and elegantly.

Several ancient paintings hang on the wall, and a few photo frames are placed on the TV cabinet.

He Yuzhu glances over and sees a photo of Liu Rusi and He Mu.

At this moment, the sound of "thump, thump, thump" footsteps comes from the stairs.

A young boy runs down from upstairs, wearing a school uniform, his hair messy. His brows and eyes resemble Liu Rusi's, but in the contours of his mouth and nose, there is a faint shadow of He Yuzhu.

He stands at the foot of the stairs, sees He Yuzhu, and his footsteps pause.

Father and son look at each other.

He Yuzhu smiles.

Liu Rusi walks over and gently pats her son's shoulder: "Call him Dad."

He Mu purses his lips, grins, and obediently calls out: "Dad."

That "Dad" call made He Yuzhu's heart ache.

"How is school?" He Yuzhu didn't know why, but the words just popped out of his mouth.

He Mu smiled: "It's alright, top five in the class."

Liu Rusi added from the side: "Their school is very good; being able to rank this high, getting into the best university in Hong Kong Island won't be a problem. Mu Mu originally wanted to study abroad in the United States, but I didn't let him go."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Better to study locally. It's best to study business, so in the future, he can do business together with Aunt Zhao Ying."

He Mu looked at He Yuzhu, then looked at Liu Rusi, and nodded sensibly.

Liu Rusi poured a cup of tea for He Yuzhu and sighed: "Over these years, Zhao Ying has suffered quite a bit. She has shouldered many things all by herself, and I haven't been able to help much..."

He Yuzhu said: "We really should thank her."

Not long after, the two entered Liu Rusi's study.

Liu Rusi pulled open a drawer and took out a thick file folder from inside.

"These are all the materials—the sea charts near the deserted island, the patrol boat route maps, as well as the Garrison numbers and weapons situation."

He Yuzhu sat down at the desk and flipped through it page by page.

Liu Rusi did not disturb him, sitting quietly on the chair to the side, watching him.

He Yuzhu read very quickly; after finishing, he said: "To take out that bunch of people at the Training Camp on the island, we must use High Explosive."

Liu Rusi looked at him: "We can't get our hands on a lot of High Explosive."

He Yuzhu thought of a place—the Hong Kong British Government's armory at Shoushan.

He had been to that armory before; back then, he had managed to get several tons of High Explosive out of it. He still remembered the location of the warehouse and the terrain clearly to this day.

"I have a way. In about a week, I can take them all out." He Yuzhu said confidently.

Liu Rusi glanced at him and didn't press for details.

He Yuzhu stretched and walked toward the bedroom: "I can still sleep here, right?"

"If you don't want to sleep, then get lost."

When not talking about work, Liu Rusi seemed like a different person, still very fierce toward him.

He Yuzhu chuckled.

Liu Rusi took a quilt out of the wardrobe and placed it on the other side of the bed.

"Sleep."

The light was turned off, and the room was pitch black.

He Yuzhu suddenly reached out to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace.

At first, the two were still a bit distant—after all, they hadn't seen each other for several years.

But very quickly, that distance and reserve receded like the ebbing tide, "whoosh," fading away completely, revealing the familiar, scorching beach underneath.

It was as if they had returned to many years ago, returned to those nights in Si Jiu Cheng.