"I've told you several times, don't wear perfume. If you've already applied perfume, don't layer other scents on top. It just attracts more attention. You," Hua Laotou said earnestly, sitting on the sofa in the shop, his hand reaching under the cushion next to him.
"Don't worry, Teacher. No one is following me. The police even said the case is closed. Ping'an is already settling accounts, and you've also escaped by creating a diversion, tricking Gao Liang and his gang into going to another city." The cyclist pushed the hair out of her eyes, revealing her entire face. Although it was covered in dirt, a closer look would reveal that this was none other than Xu Li from An's International.
"Alas, I'm getting old. I shouldn't be out on missions anymore, but I just can't accept it," Hua Laotou said, withdrawing his hand. In it, he held a gun.
"Here, this is the authorization letter signed by Ping'an. With this, we can openly transport the excavated items and even frame Ping'an," Xu Li excitedly handed the document to Grandpa Hua.
"Just now you were acting so pitiful, flirting with me, and now you're planning to frame me. Women, I really don't understand what you're thinking! Ouch! Ugh! Get lost!" Ping'an's voice suddenly sounded from outside the shop. He must have tripped over something by the door, muttering curses.
"Ping'an!" Hua Laotou and Xu Li looked at Ping'an in surprise as he walked in, pinching his nose.
"Hey, Hua Laotou, how's your recovery? Has Mr. Ke's organization reimbursed you? If not, you can have my secretary reimburse you!" Ping'an playfully pointed at Xu Li.
"Despicable! You betrayed me!" Hua Laotou suddenly pointed his gun at Xu Li.
"No, I didn't!" Xu Li instinctively flinched, then suddenly looked at Ping'an and said fiercely, "Were you following me?"
"I wouldn't bother tracking you. I knew Hua Laotou was suspicious for a long time, but I didn't expect him to be such a big fish," Ping'an said. "Hua Laotou, you overestimate yourself. You've been showing weaknesses everywhere these past few months. If I hadn't been busy with other things, would you have gotten away with it?"
"How did I get exposed?" Hua Laotou still refused to believe it, staring intently at Ping'an.
"You provided me with the walkie-talkie. Shui Gang and Shui Ping were using a diversionary tactic, and you, as the only one who could see through them, were clueless? You collect all sorts of manhole covers every day, which means you're intimately familiar with the underground network of the wind power community. The night I planned to capture Shui Gang, you were the one who attacked those two rookie police officers," Ping'an said. "Do you want to hear more? Fine. When Gao Da discovered new intelligence, it was you who kept bothering him, preventing him from transferring in time under everyone's eyes. After Shui Gang captured him, he was tortured to the brink of death, yet you only suffered a minor injury with no blood? You colluded with the old butler, reached an agreement, and then arranged for Qiao Yiyan to help Yang Jiao. In the intelligence Qiao Yiyan left me, she mentioned you always wore a raincoat in broad daylight and had a moldy smell, yes, that smell. Finally, tsk tsk, I said I wouldn't say more, but the blood vessels on your arm are showing. Gunshot wounds are difficult to treat, aren't they?"
"How could you be so sharp, deducing it was me from such small clues?" Hua Laotou still couldn't believe it.
"Initially, I thought you were one of Liao Yuanchao's men, responsible for supervising Yang Jiao along with Shui Gang and Wang Huai'an. Later, I realized that besides the wind power company, even An's International was involved in this case. I thought to myself, with this cooperation, An's International would essentially buy out the wind power company. If that land remained in An's hands, what would you do? You wouldn't overlook this, so you must have someone in An's," Ping'an said. "Before Qiao Yiyan died, she left me three pieces of information: one was the glass path on Luoye Mountain, another was the external characteristics of the high-level organization members who awakened her, and the last was that you knew Qiao Yiyan was a mole in An's and used it to threaten her into working for you. But how did you know Qiao Yiyan was An's mole?"
At this point, Ping'an's gaze fixed on Xu Li.
"It was you, one of my mother's eight secretaries, her most favored confidential secretary for six years, my only representative at An's!" Ping'an said. "Thanks to you, I just recently took the initiative to review all of An's International's acquisitions in recent years. I discovered that the acquisition of the wind power company was handled by you. And I was investigating the wind power case. How could it be such a coincidence?"
"Did you suspect me from the beginning?" Xu Li asked.
"No, until you were hit on the head, I thought you were just an ordinary good person." Ping'an looked at Xu Li and then said with a hint of embarrassment, "They say you can recognize a woman by her scent. I was so close to you then, and the unique medicinal perfume you wore was unforgettable. And I've definitely smelled this scent before! For instance, when I first came to see Hua Laotou, you were the one who brushed past me, weren't you?"
"Just because of perfume?" Xu Li still couldn't believe it.
"Of course not. The moment I saw you, I felt like I had met you before. It wasn't until I was about to leave that I suddenly remembered. Liao Yuan was once forced to join Mr. Ke in Singapore. According to her, everything was fine at first, until she hired a local university student as a copywriter, and then things gradually went wrong. She happened to provide your photo, although it was only half a face, but..." Ping'an said with some regret, "Singapore University, what a bright future, but to become a thief!"
"So that's why you finally asked me what university I graduated from?" With her cover blown, Xu Li seemed to have lost her soul and slumped to the ground.
"For six years, you never asked me to sign. This time, signing must have had a purpose." Ping'an finally revealed the ultimate reason why he suspected Xu Li. "You shouldn't have assigned me, the nominal vice president, tasks that were supposed to be handled by you. I'm not as foolish as you think."
The dust settled, and all was resolved.
Several red laser beams, from who knows when, shot in from outside the window and the door, all pointed at Hua Laotou, who was trembling all over.
Hua Laotou finally stopped resisting, slowly put down his gun, then slowly squatted down, hugging his head.
"Xiao Fei, collect the goods!" Ping'an shouted outside, and seven or eight heavily armed special police officers rushed in. Using several exaggerated maneuvers, they subdued Hua Laotou and Xu Li, then tied them up like mummies and took them away.
Outside the wind power community, a large number of police cars had appeared. Police officers stood at their designated positions, waiting for instructions with rapt attention. Even more dramatically, a police helicopter hovered in the air, its piercing roar echoing.
Amidst the stern and imposing police force, Ping'an calmly held a cigarette and walked towards Xiang Wanfeng, Gao Xiaofei, Qiao Yidan, and others, who hadn't had time to change out of their dress uniforms.
"It's over?" Xiang Wanfeng asked with a smile.
"It's over! Clean and efficient!" Ping'an let out a long sigh of relief.
"Another major case!" Xiang Wanfeng said. "After the wind power company case was concluded, I told your mother that many clues pointed to An's International being involved. Knowing your nature, Ping'an, you would quickly investigate. Your mother also looked helpless and said that the core members were all long-serving employees of five or six years, and it was hard to tell who the traitor was. I didn't expect you to uncover the culprit after just one spree."
"The main reason is that in this case, I am the biggest victim. Everyone wants to use me, so I thought, maybe Mr. Ke also wants to use me this time. So I decided to stir up trouble and see who would come looking for me. "Ping'an said. "I just didn't expect that this time, Mr. Ke wasn't targeting me, but using me. As you just heard, Mr. Ke's organization has factions, and Hua Laotou activating Qiao Yiyan wasn't even the intention of the higher-ups."
"Don't blame your mother, really. She's doing it for your own good. Think about Liao Yuan, hmm?" Xiang Wanfeng patted Ping'an's shoulder and said emotionally.
"Pfft, knowing her son is upset, she doesn't even say a word of comfort. I'm just venting and blowing off steam, I'm not going to act out, am I?" Ping'an said with some disappointment. "I knew she'd just run away. Next time I'm unhappy, I'll just smash things! By the way, tell her I don't care about being some damn vice president. I'm a Ping family member, I have nothing to do with the An family!"
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that. Director Xiang, you know, I'm getting married in about ten days, and I'm not yet familiar with the work in the river district. Could you grant me some family visit leave so I can rest properly?" Gao Xiaofei said with a fawning expression.
"Then you'll have to go to Secretary Yuan of the River District Committee. You're under local jurisdiction now, not mine," Xiang Wanfeng said, shifting responsibility with practiced ease.
"Ping'an, my elder sister is back at the municipal bureau after all this running around. She's now a standing committee member and the head of the criminal investigation detachment. We'll have to cooperate well in the future," Qiao Yidan said, patting Ping'an on the shoulder.
"No way. I want to live a peaceful life these past few years. Gao Xiaofei is already married, and I'm still single!" Ping'an was getting anxious. He wanted to move forward too, didn't he?
The afternoon sun, bright and tinged with heat, brought a touch of warmth to the crisp autumn air.
A week later.
Ping'an, carrying a backpack and a rather large "water bottle," was taking pictures everywhere at the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade Garden in Hong Kong.
It was winter back home, but here it was still warm like spring.
"Yiyan, look at that child. He was lectured by his mother for half the day just for throwing away an ice cream wrapper." Ping'an patted the "water bottle" beside him and sighed, "Indeed, being a parent means starting with the small things."
Walking around the garden, Ping'an stepped onto the famous Avenue of Stars, playfully counting the plaques and handprints of movie stars embedded in the ground. Feeling inspired, he even lay down on the ground for a selfie.
Time flew by, and as dusk approached, night fell.
The dazzling night scenery was always captivating. Ping'an wandered to an open-air café. Across the street, several young people were performing live acoustic music.
"Hey, young man, can you sing 'Every Road'?" Ping'an ordered a coffee and sat down, waving at the young people across the street.
"It's such an old song. I can play it, but I can't really sing it," the young man replied enthusiastically, but politely declined.
"I'll sing!" Ping'an said. "How about it!"
"We're live streaming, it would be embarrassing if I sang poorly!" the young man said sheepishly.
"What are you afraid of? Being an influencer is all about interaction!" Ping'an insisted.
Finally, the young men relented, clearing the lead singer's spot and even introducing him.
"Now, we have a mainland guy who wants to interact with us. Please welcome the song 'Every Road'!" After the introduction, one of the young men handed the microphone to Ping'an.
Ping'an calmly walked to the front, carefully placed the "water cup" on the table, and then walked onto the stage without preamble.
At this moment, scattered applause came from the café, but also a wave of whistling. Due to Ping'an's sudden "disruption," the number of viewers for the young men's live stream increased significantly. Seeing their live stream gaining followers, the accompanying musicians became excited.
"Forget the dejection and regret of that day,
Resolutely face every road ahead.
Unforgettable is the failed advice of that day,
Un discouraged, dreams continue to be built.
Today, I race against time, quickening my pace,
With the cheers around as my guide.
Running in the wind, I don't care how high the sky is,
How high the sky is,
With my hands, I can reach.
If I fall,
I dare to challenge and compete again.
How strong the wind is,
But I am willing to be the grass,
Growing in the distance on every road.
How deep the sea is,
But it cannot drown this solitary island.
There are mountains beyond mountains,
One should know it always depends on one's own hands.
How many days are there in life,
But I wish to wake up early,
To walk every road of my life.
Forget the dejection and regret of that day,
Resolutely face every road ahead.
Unforgettable is the failed advice of that day,
Un discouraged, dreams continue to be built.
Today, I race against time, quickening my pace,
With the cheers around as my guide.
Running in the wind, I don't care how high the sky is,
How high the sky is,
With my hands, I can reach.
If I fall,
I dare to challenge and compete again.
How strong the wind is,
But I am willing to be the grass,
Growing in the distance on every road.
How deep the sea is,
But it cannot drown this solitary island.
There are mountains beyond mountains,
One should know it always depends on one's own hands.
How many days are there in life,
But I wish to wake up early,
To walk every road of my life."
Ping'an swore he didn't know a single word of Cantonese, but the audience listening heard a genuine Cantonese song. Ping'an sang with gusto, and the café's audience began to interact, applauding continuously, eventually turning into a mass sing-along.
When the song ended, someone on the live streaming platform sent a "big airplane," which greatly excited the young men. They pulled Ping'an, insisting he sing another song...
After finally pacifying the young men, Ping'an, carrying the "water bottle," returned to the café amidst applause.
"You're not from Hong Kong? From Guangdong?" an uncle sitting with his back to Ping'an suddenly struck up a conversation.
"I'm from the mainland, from the north," Ping'an said sheepishly.
"You like Cantonese songs?" the uncle continued to ask.
"To be honest, I didn't like them before, but I can't say for sure now," Ping'an replied truthfully.
"Then why did you sing 'Every Road' with such emotion?" the uncle commented.
"A friend of mine likes it. Oh, she's from Hong Kong and loves this song the most," Ping'an said with a hint of sadness. "When she was at her most difficult, she got through it with this song."
"Young man, you seem to be in trouble now. Can't you get through it with this song too?" the uncle said.
"I hope so. I'm easy to please." As soon as he finished speaking, Ping'an, unable to hold back any longer, shed tears.
"Hey, don't you know it's inappropriate to place ashes at someone else's business? If you can't make it through, find a place yourself and sing to yourself. It'll be alright! It'll get better!" The uncle, seeing Ping'an cry, comforted him. "I'm worse off than you. I finally hear someone singing my song, and it's because of unhappiness, with ashes nearby. Ugh, how miserable!"
"You? Who are you?" Ping'an, unable to stop crying, slowly looked up and looked at the uncle carefully, suddenly exclaiming, "Brother Fang!"
On the third day of his arrival in Hong Kong, Ping'an finally received the call he had been expecting.
"Boss, I've found the person you were looking for. I've sent the address to your phone," a voice said in broken Mandarin from the other end of the line.
Finally found? It was that simple?
Mr. Du Meisheng, 54 years old this year, had been doing one thing for the past ten years.
Last century, his father, with high hopes, had brought his family to Hong Kong illegally. They made a living by making handmade slippers. At that time, the Du family was full of anticipation for their future life. However, their hopes slowly turned into despair decades later.
In the late 1990s, Du Meisheng had just lost his factory job and was unable to borrow money. He returned home dejected. At home, his three elder sons were playing with their four-year-old youngest daughter.
Unlike other fathers returning from work, Du Meisheng had no money to buy good snacks for his children. In his eyes, his four children were not treasures, but demons demanding payment.
His wife was cooking at the stove, and the pot contained ordinary sweet potato porridge.
At dinner, Du Meisheng watched his sons greedily drink the porridge. Suddenly, he threw down his chopsticks and, gritting his teeth, picked up his daughter, who could already talk. The little daughter, drinking porridge, suddenly said with anticipation, "Dad, you've worked hard!"
The cute childish words did not move Du Meisheng's heart.
Or perhaps, in the face of poverty, Du Meisheng was not qualified to enjoy his daughter's cuteness.
The elder brothers sitting at the dinner table began to cry silently, looking at their mother silently, firmly, and hopefully.
Du Meisheng's wife, a strong housewife, chose to ignore it at this moment, although tears were also streaming down her face.
Until Du Meisheng's footsteps receding could be heard, the silent weeping at the dinner table finally erupted uncontrollably.
The pitiful mother, hugging the other three children, gritted her teeth, allowing the pain to run rampant in her heart.
A four-year-old child is already sensible!
For example, Yang Jiao already knew the comfort of a prosperous life.
But Du Juan, at four years old, simply wanted to stay by her family's side.
However, Du Meisheng was not Chang Suo after all. He didn't have the courage to keep his child and eventually sold her to an intermediary for four thousand yuan. The intermediary originally intended to sell the poor child to Europe, but was rescued by Thai police at sea and eventually became an adopted daughter of An's through various channels.
After selling his daughter, Du Meisheng used the money to survive his most difficult time. Later, he found a new job and continuously improved his family's living conditions over the next twenty years. The eldest became a doctor, the second a teacher, and even the third, who had the worst grades, became the owner of a mini-bus company with dozens of vehicles.
Ten years ago, Du Meisheng withdrew his savings and bought a large house in the city. By then, he was already a partner in a factory. On the day of the move, his sons, who had already established themselves, silently admired their father's three-bedroom apartment and suddenly sighed that if their sister were still here, she could have a bedroom...
The sons' subtle complaints finally pierced the pain hidden in Du Meisheng's heart for decades. He would never forget that when he handed his daughter over to the intermediary, she was still clumsily saying she wanted to go home, wanted Mommy, wanted her brothers...
Du Meisheng, he was not worthy of being a father.
But he wanted to find his daughter with the rest of his life.
And so.
Ten years.
On this day, when Ping'an appeared at Du Meisheng's house, he looked at the "water bottle" Ping'an brought all the way and was overwhelmed with grief, kneeling on the ground for a long time, unable to let go.
"This room is for Ajuan. You are her boyfriend, so make yourself at home and rest here tonight." After talking with Ping'an for most of the night, Du Meisheng opened the best bedroom in the three-bedroom apartment and arranged for Ping'an to rest.
On one wall of the bedroom, an old black suitcase was placed, and a faded poster hung on the wall.
"Is this, Lu Fang?" Ping'an asked, pointing to the poster.
"Yes, I like to sing Lu Fang's songs. I used to sing to Ajuan every night when I held her to sleep!" Du Meisheng suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Wait a moment!"
In a flash, Du Meisheng took out a magnetic tape and put it into an old tape recorder.
After a burst of static, a young voice rang out.
"Does it sound good? This is Ajuan singing when she was three and a half. I never properly taught her, she just learned it by listening..." Du Meisheng said, then started to hum along, and as he sang, he slowly began to sob.
Ping'an's arrival was a rare lively event for the Du family in recent years.
After burying Qiao Yiyan, the entire Du family held a banquet at a large restaurant in the neighborhood.
Du's three elder brothers toasted Ping'an one by one, affectionately calling him brother-in-law. Du Meisheng and his wife insisted on hanging a gold medal around Ping'an's neck.
"Mr. Ping'an is Ajuan's boyfriend. If Ajuan hadn't had an accident, they would be getting married." At the banquet, Du Meisheng, drunk, finally found an outlet for his grievances and pain. "Do you know? This Mr. Ping'an is the young master of a large company, and his mother is the one who adopted Ajuan. Ajuan didn't suffer, she went to a good university, has a master's degree. Look, these are the photos and videos Mr. Ping'an gave me. Wow, look at our Ajuan, isn't she beautiful when she grew up! Look at the car she drives! And her necklace, the jewels, right? Our Ajuan lived a good life..."
The banquet, which felt more like a wedding, left Ping'an somewhat bewildered. He understood the intentions of the Du parents; they wanted to wash away their guilt in this way and prove that their daughter had lived well, very well.
Yes, Ping'an had lied. He had said that their Ajuan had died in a car accident, a death they could more easily accept.
The person was already dead. Ping'an was unsure if Qiao Yiyan had forgiven her biological parents. He had taken the liberty to give this family, and Qiao Yiyan, a happy ending.