Misty Nights in Hong Kong - Chapter 11

Don’t You Know to Dodge?

“You’d better pray you never fall into my hands.”

With that, he abruptly stood up and strode away.

Only after settling into the backseat of the taxi did Gu Xiangsi dare to let out a long breath.

A delayed surge of fear washed over her, she had just been plucking hairs from a tiger’s lip, recklessly testing the boundaries of Fu Sinian’s patience.

She had no idea how much more that impulsive remark had deepened his disdain for her.

But the thought of his sarcastic words, and the fact that she was now at his beck and call because of that incident, essentially turning her into his personal servant, made her blood boil.

Even a clay figurine has its limits.

The next day, Gu Xiangsi woke up from a nightmare.

The image of Fu Sinian gripping her throat with a vicious glare in her dream left her shaken.

She went straight to Chen Hui’s office.

“Manager Gu, what’s this?” Chen Hui glanced at the document on the desk, his brow furrowing slightly.

“Resignation letter.”

Gu Xiangsi kept it brief.

Chen Hui sighed knowingly the words that had provoked Fu Sinian at yesterday’s banquet were still fresh in his mind.

“Xiao Gu, you really should rein in that temper of yours. If you ever need help in the future, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Gu Xiangsi nodded in thanks. Once Chen Hui signed the form, she returned to her desk to pack her things.

A few close colleagues gathered around, their eyes filled with reluctance.

“It’s not like I’m leaving Hong Kong. Let’s grab a meal sometime.”

At a crosswalk on Central Avenue in Hong Kong, Assistant Li suddenly exclaimed in Cantonese:

“Ah, isn’t that Miss Gu?”

The man in the backseat had been resting with his eyes half-closed, but at the sound, he lifted his gaze and slowly turned toward the window.

Gu Xiangsi placed a cardboard box on the edge of a trash bin.

The assistant muttered under his breath, “Did Miss Gu resign or was she fi-” Before he could finish the word “fired,” he sensed the sudden drop in pressure inside the car and hastily shut his mouth.

The man’s gaze returned to the window just in time to see Gu Xiangsi answering a call, her expression anxious, as she hurried toward the intersection to hail a cab.

“Xiao Li, your face is practically screaming with curiosity.”

Assistant Li: “…”

Was it? Clearly, it was the young master who,

Stealing a glance through the rearview mirror, he heard only the faint rustle of fabric.

The young master had closed his eyes again.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, when would the young master’s insomnia ever be cured?

As always, he instantly understood his boss’s unspoken intentions. It was just a strange coincidence that they happened to be heading to the same destination as Miss Gu.

Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a hospital.

As Gu Xiangsi turned the corner of the inpatient ward hallway, she spotted Song Ping and Chen Fang blocking the doorway of a room.

The two stood facing her direction, their stares fixed, clearly, they had been waiting for her.

She tightened her grip on her bag and stepped forward. “Uncle, Aunt, what are you doing?”

“Where’s the money?” Chen Fang held out her hand.

“Let me see Grandma first.”

The three stood in a tense standoff before Song Ping and Chen Fang reluctantly moved aside just enough to let her pass.

Gu Xiangsi took a deep breath and pushed open the hospital room door, this was her first time stepping inside this nursing home’s ward.

If not for Song Ping’s son getting into trouble and demanding money, she would never have been given the address to see her grandmother.

Lin Xiu lay curled under a blue-and-white striped blanket, her frail wrist wrapped in pale green bandages, her face as white as thin paper.

“Grandma.”

Gu Xiangsi’s throat tightened, her voice trembling.

Lin Xiu’s clouded eyes slowly turned toward the figure by the bed. Recognizing the person, she murmured, “Sisi, is that you?”

“Grandma, you remember me now?”

Gu Xiangsi’s eyes welled up with tears.

Lin Xiu gave a faint nod and shakily extended her hand.

Gu Xiangsi quickly grasped it, pressing it against her cheek. “Grandma, I’ll find a way to get you better. I promise I’ll bring you home.”

A faint smile touched Lin Xiu’s lips. “Child, are they using me to pressure you for money again?”

“It’s nothing, Grandma. I can handle it.”

Gu Xiangsi tightened her grip on Lin Xiu’s hand. “Just focus on getting better. You have to wait for me.”

Lin Xiu nodded slowly, her withered fingers gently brushing against Gu Xiangsi’s face.

Gu Xiangsi stayed until Lin Xiu had fallen into a deep sleep, tucking the blankets around her before quietly slipping out of the ward.

The moment the door closed, Song Ping and Chen Fang blocked her path, both thrusting their hands out at the same time.

Afraid her grandmother might hear, Gu Xiangsi led them to the balcony.

“Where’s the money? Hand it over,” Song Ping demanded gruffly.

“I didn’t get it.”

Chen Fang suddenly screeched, “That heartless father of yours! He took all the money from the supermarket and ran! Everything’s gone!”

The absurdity of the accusation made Gu Xiangsi laugh bitterly.

If it hadn’t been for her father investing in their business out of respect for her mother, where would they have gotten the supermarket in the first place? And now they were pinning all the blame on him.

“Gu Xiangsi, don’t you dare act ungrateful! You think I won’t make a scene at your company?” Song Ping threatened, eyes bulging.

“Go ahead. I’ve already quit.”

“And one more thing, Uncle, Aunt, if you can’t take care of Grandma, then give me her guardianship.”

Chen Fang spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground, which Gu Xiangsi sidestepped.

“Mom! Dad! Help me!”

Song Hefan stumbled up the stairs, his hoodie askew, fresh finger marks on his face. “Sis, save me!”

Behind him, four or five tattooed men swaggered into view.

The leader, Wu Liang, eyed Gu Xiangsi up and down with a cigarette dangling from his lips, his gaze turning appreciative. “So, this is your sister? If I’d known she was this pretty, we could’ve skipped the small talk.”

He reached out to tilt her chin, but she jerked her head away. “Entertain us for a bit, and your brother’s 100,000 debt is wiped clean.”

Song Hefan suddenly threw himself at her, pleading, “Sis! Just… just help me this once!”

Gu Xiangsi staggered as he yanked her, her lower back slamming into a fire hydrant. She hissed in pain but bit back a cry.

The thugs behind Wu Liang whistled in amusement.

“Sis! You can’t just leave me to die! “Song Hefan’s face was streaked with snot and tears as he clung desperately to her arm. “I’m the only son of the Song family!”

A vein throbbed at Gu Xiangsi’s temple. She dug her nails into her palm to stop herself from shaking him off.

“If he owes you money, collect it from him.”

She turned to leave, but Wu Liang blocked her path, leering.

“Leaving so soon, little beauty?”

His smoke-stained hand reached for her face.

A dark figure suddenly loomed over them.

Gu Xiangsi’s wrist was seized not gently and in the next moment, the world spun as she was yanked into a chest that radiated a cold, woody scent.

Her back pressed against firm muscle, and when she looked up, she met a pair of icy eyes, dark with an intensity she couldn’t decipher.

“His filthy hands were about to touch your face, and you didn’t even move?”

His voice was venomous. “Or do you actually think trash like him is worth letting near you?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the arm around her waist abruptly loosened, pulling her back with an irresistible force. A dull thud followed as Fu Sinian’s right hook landed squarely on Wu Liang’s face.

The crisp sound of bone meeting bone echoed through the air, and Wu Liang staggered like a ragged sack before crashing into a pile of garbage bins. Rancid water and trash splattered across the ground in a messy heap.

Gu Xiangsi heard a pained scream, but her view was completely blocked by the tall figure standing before her.

He stood slightly turned, his shirt undone at two buttons from the movement, revealing the sharp lines of his collarbone. The hand that had just held her still bore faint red marks from the force.

Just like years ago, when she had been cornered by thugs in an alley, this same figure had shielded her with the same ruthless intensity. Yet, when he turned back, his calloused fingers had clumsily wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

Gu Xiangxi’s breath hitched, her heart seized by an invisible grip, sending a tingling numbness all the way to her fingertips.

The thugs had already paled in terror, stumbling back three steps until they hit the wall, staring at Fu Sinian as if he were a ghost.

Another scream reached Gu Xiangsi’s ears, but the man’s tall frame remained firmly in front of her.

Just like years ago, when she had been harassed and bullied by other troublemakers, he had stepped forward without hesitation.

For a fleeting moment, Gu Xiangsi’s thoughts blurred.

The thugs’ expressions twisted in fear as they scrambled backward, slamming into the wall.

“Who the hell dares to hit me?” Wu Liang wiped the blood from his lips and cursed, but his pupils shrank the moment his assistant whispered a certain name. His accomplices dragged him away, though not before Wu Liang snarled at Song Hefan, “Three days! If the money isn’t paid by then, you’ll regret it!”

Fu Sinian cast a cold glance at Song Hefan and the others cowering in the corner, his brow arching sharply. “Your relatives?”

Disgust flickered in his eyes as he turned away, a derisive scoff escaping his throat, as though even looking at them was beneath him.

Before Gu Xiangsi could speak, Chen Fang suddenly shoved forward, jabbing a finger right at her face.

“Oh, so you’ve got money to keep a pretty boy but none to help your own family? Aren’t you afraid your mother will claw her way out of the grave to curse you? And your grandmother’s lying in a hospital bed, yet here you are, fooling around with this trash!”

“Pretty boy?”

Fu Sinian’s peach-blossom eyes narrowed dangerously.