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"Fascinating?" Shi Pingzhi recalled the afternoon's perplexing events, "Not particularly amusing, but certainly bizarre. Before they caught the drug dealers, he went to get his fortune told. The fortune teller predicted that he was dealing drugs and that we were waiting to arrest him."

"That sounds exaggerated," Shi Boren couldn't help but associate it with the previous suicide case involving coffin nails. He turned to look at Zhou Fengxu, "Didn't Uncle Jian also mention going for a fortune-telling session last time?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The phone in the corner of the office rang. Gan Yizu, who was nearby, answered it and then looked towards the detective, "Inspector Lin says there's an emergency call in Kowloon Park that might be related to the Sham Shui Po case. He wants us to head over."

A worrying case had finally gained some leads.

By the time the four officers arrived at the scene.

Su Yinyin, in a daze, was being anxiously watched over by her worried grandparents.

"What's the situation here?" Zhou Fengxu asked first.

Inspector Lin held the police helmet in his arms and recounted the near-miss incident, pointing at the bruise on Su Yinyin's neck, "There's also a mark here."

Seeing the familiar bruise, Zhou Fengxu's eyes flickered. He raised his ID card towards the distraught Su Yinyin, "Could you please come back to the police station with us and give a detailed account of what happened?"

Finishing his statement.

Zhou Fengxu turned to Shi Boren, "Boren."

"Brother Xu," Shi Boren acknowledged.

"Get in touch with the forensics team and ask them to examine the bruises."

"No problem." Shi Boren promptly pulled out his pager.

In the dead of night, the heavy breathing of a man echoed in the hallway as he reached the third floor and knocked on a door.

Opening the door was Auntie Li, wearing a shawl and half-awake. She looked at the man and asked, "Arong? Why are you back today?"

The tall and robust middle-aged man had a beard covering his face. "I haven't visited Mom in a while, and I forgot my keys, so I had to trouble Mom to let me in."

With that, Li Zhirong entered the house, helping Auntie Li adjust her shawl. He showed concern. "How are you? Did you sleep better today? Were there any more nightmares?"

Reassured by her adoptive son's filial piety, Auntie Li patted his shoulder. "None. I went to bed at eight o'clock and haven't had a dream since."

In the past, whenever her condition worsened, nightmares would begin as soon as it got dark, around seven or eight in the evening.

Ever since Ning Ning helped her break the ghost peach blossom curse, she hadn't had any nightmares. Shanpo, seeing that everything was fine, took a taxi back to Kowloon Tong.

"Already gone?" Li Zhirong frowned but quickly regained his composure, pretending to be relieved. "Good, it's gone just as I said. No need for superstition, once the psychological effect wears off, the nightmares will stop."

His adopted son disliked anything superstitious, and Madam Li knew this well, so she didn't offer any explanations.

Li Zhirong helped her into the bedroom, and his eyes immediately went to the peach blossom on the windowsill. Seeing only the pot remaining, he spoke in a low, stern voice, "Where's the peach blossom?!"

It was like a sudden thunderclap in a calm field.

Madam Li was startled by his harsh tone.

"The peach blossom withered."

"That's impossible," Li Zhirong denied outright.

"It really did wither. It's not the season for peach blossoms, maybe it just couldn't adapt to Hong Kong's soil and water," Madam Li tried to cover it up.

Indeed, Li Zhirong remained silent.

Just as Li Shiniang thought the matter had passed and was preparing to go to bed, Li Zhirong returned with another potted plant in his arms – this time, one adorned with peach blossoms. He placed it forcefully on the balcony with a thud, then picked up the empty pot and turned to look at Li Shiniang, smiling.

"It looks better with a peach blossom here."

Li Shiniang, taken aback by Li Zhirong's sudden change in demeanor, trembled all over.

Does Arong really know nothing?

Li Zhirong closed the bedroom door, and his smiling face instantly darkened. A pair of black leather gloves were tossed onto the table.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

He panted heavily.

His black hoodie was thrown to the ground.

He carelessly pushed aside the closet doors, grabbed a piece of clothing, and fell onto the bed with a heavy weight.

A sharp click.

The lights extinguished, and the night embraced everything once more, restoring silence.

Chapter 13

"Student, would you like a bowl of syrup? It's icy cold and refreshing – it'll invigorate you, awesome stuff!"

Outside Chongzhong School.

The students looked on with great curiosity at the sugar water stall by the entrance, where a glass cabinet displayed mangoes, watermelons, and... a single blossom of peach in a pot.

The boss was exceptionally good-looking, skillfully crafting bowl after bowl of sweet soup with his pristine hands.

The boys whispered among themselves, and as they lifted their heads, they were met with Chu Yuening's brightly curved smile. They exchanged glances, nudging one another playfully until, finally, a tall boy in a white shirt stepped forward from the group.

The male student lowered his gaze and approached the dessert stall. He glanced at the menu posted on the glass cabinet, his fingers nervously gripping the fabric of his trousers as he requested, "I'd like one serving of coconut milk sago mango, along with sugar cane pearl and sago silver ear soup, please."

"Very well." Chu Yuening tied on an apron and offered a gentle smile to the male student. "Just a moment more, it'll be ready soon."

The male classmate's ears turned red. Hearing the teasing from his friends behind him, he quickly turned around to put on a fierce expression before swiftly turning back and standing straight.

"Alright," Chu Yuening separated the three sweetened ice waters into separate bags and handed them to the male classmate, carefully reminding him, "Drink it while it's cold; it won't taste as good at room temperature."

The male classmate took the iced sugar water and nodded repeatedly. He pulled out a hundred Hong Kong dollar bill from his western trousers' pocket and stuffed it into Chu Yuening's hand before hastily turning to run away.

"Ai," Chu Yuening looked at the hundred dollars, blinked, and then glanced back at the male classmate. The boy had already distributed the other two servings of sugar water to his friends, and the trio playfully entered the school gate together.

"The three cups of sugar water don't even cost 30 dollars. Why did he give so much?" Chu Yuening tucked the money into her pocket, unfastened her apron, and bent down to pick up the potted peach blossom on the counter.

"I guess I'll have to deliver it personally."

The three classmates walked rather quickly. They climbed the stairs, turned into a corridor, and then entered Class 7 (5).

The two classmates threw the empty sugar water bowls into the trash can before teasing, "Brother Star, that girl at the sugar water stall is really pretty. Why don't you ask her out after school?"