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"Certainly not," Tong Mao replied, his face reddening. "While on patrol, I can ask my master to pay the temple street more visits."

"Tch." The auntie turned away, her voice trailing off. "Blabbering is useless, huh?"

Tong Mao's head sank even lower, feeling the weight of the vendors' stares burning his cheeks. He wished he could dig a hole under the floor tiles and hide.

"Try not to take it to heart," Chu Yuening comforted him, noticing Tong Mao's young age. "I believe that with hard work, those gangsters won't dare act so arrogantly in the future."

Tong Mao nodded.

"You can't be much older, right? And you're already a police officer?" Chu Yuening asked out of curiosity. She didn't understand the recruitment criteria for Hong Kong police, as Tong Mao clearly looked quite young.

"Yes, you can apply to join the police force after completing Form 3," Tong Mao answered earnestly.

Form 3?

That would mean he had just finished junior high school, right?

The low barrier to entry was not what Chu Yuening had expected.

She was slightly surprised. After confirming that the dessert stall was unharmed, Tong Mao was about to leave when he suddenly noticed the fortune-telling sign on the stall and inquired further.

"You can also tell fortunes?"

Chu Yuening didn't deny it.

"Selling desserts and telling fortunes?" Tong Mao recalled his master's encounter at the police station yesterday, when a pretty vegetable seller had come to report an incident.

It was said that their daughter had gone missing, and they sought the guidance of a fortune teller. To their astonishment, the fortune teller explicitly provided them with a location, urging them to contact the authorities.

Upon receiving the distress call, my master followed the given directions. Initially, he suspected it might be a trick by the fortuneteller. However, upon arriving at the scene, he encountered the major crimes unit, and there were the severed heads of two victims, already deceased.

Had she not been a fortuneteller, the missing girl would have likely been the next victim of the skinning predator.

Even fellow uniformed officers, in search of the individual, couldn't help but marvel at the world's endless surprises. Upon inquiring with the amiable vegetable vendor, they learned that the fortune-teller was none other than the very same person who sold sweetened beverages and offered fortune-telling services.

Tong Mao was utterly astonished.

A fortune teller and a sugarcane drink vendor rolled into one - there's only one such person in all of Hong Kong.

Tong Mao looked at Chu Yuening again. The girl had almond-shaped eyes that sparkled as she offered him a gentle smile. While other stall owners grumbled about the uniformed police, she seemed to comprehend their situation.

She was talented yet unassuming.

He couldn't help but feel admiration: "Don't worry, we'll definitely visit Mong Kok Temple Street often."

"Great, I'll leave the safety of the stall owners in your hands," Chu Yuening waved at Tong Mao. He occasionally glanced back as he followed his fellow officers in retreat.

Chu Yuening gazed at the empty stall, feeling a sudden sense of unfamiliarity. Lin Jiahua placed the low stool back by the small wooden table. Having arrived early and not seeing Chu Yuening, he had already proactively set up the table for her.

"Don't look anymore. The customers were chased away by that gang of Mountain Cats."

"Well, that's fine too," Chu Yuening sat on the stool, resting her chin in her hand as she watched the bustling tourists on the street. "If there's no business today, we can just consider it a day off."

Lin Jiahua opened the oven, donned heat-resistant gloves, and retrieved four custard tarts, placing them on a tray before bringing it over to the table. He then removed his gloves.

"Since there's no business, why not try my custard tarts? This batch of milk is exceptionally good; I guarantee you'll want a second one after tasting the first."

Chu Yuening also got up to serve two bowls of sweet soup. They sat down together. She picked up the custard tart and took a bite. "Have you been back home lately?"

"I've already moved out," Lin Jiahua smiled. "I haven't been involved in family matters for a long time. My foster parents treat me like I don't exist, only speaking to me when they need money."

After his foster mother lost her child, she had forcibly taken him away. Knowing the truth, he couldn't help but feel resentment. Although he wanted to find his biological parents, Ning Ning said there was no rush. It meant that the time wasn't right yet.

In the past, he had always been the one supporting the family.

Now, taking care of himself wasn't so bad either.

"I have to thank you for giving me a few days' reprieve. Otherwise, the loan sharks would have been hounding me every day."

Upon mentioning loan sharks, Chu Yuening recalled her appointment with Fei Yu to have Brother Qiu's fortune told at the market. She glanced towards the alleyway.

Just then, she saw Fei Yu and his group approaching.

Quickly, she put away the sweet soup and handed it to Lin Jiahua. "Can you clear this for me?"

"Sure thing." Lin Jiahua promptly tidied up the area.

A formidable group of over a dozen people gathered around a small dessert stall after their belongings were taken away. The customers who had initially intended to buy desserts hastily retreated and sought refuge at other stalls.

The leader, a man dressed in a jacket with a tight black T-shirt underneath, sported tattoos of a green dragon on his left arm and a white tiger on his right. He wore sunglasses and a buzz cut. Upon arriving at the stall, he removed his shades, revealing a scar that ran from his eyebrow to his nose, exuding a menacing aura.

Qiu Hao gave a subtle signal, and Fly Fish, understanding the cue, led his minions away from the dessert stall, forming a line at the entrance to guard it.

Despite the grand display, the girl remained unfazed, seated calmly and gesturing for him to sit across from her.

"I've heard you predicted a major crisis for me," Qiu Hao said as he sat down, tossing his sunglasses onto the table and crossing his legs.

"It's not a prediction; I saw it," Chu Yuening replied, pointing at her fortune-telling booth. "If you're interested, I can give you a reading. It would be more detailed."

"However," she added, gradually revealing her intentions, "there's a condition."

Qiu Hao's sharp gaze shifted to the egg tart stall. Fly Fish had already informed him about Lin Jiahua's situation when he forewarned of the impending calamity.

He sneered, "Young lady, the Lin family didn't borrow a trivial amount; it was hundreds of thousands, and the Fourteen Gang has thousands of brothers relying on that money. Do you want your brother to survive on thin air?"

Chu Yuening raised an eyebrow. "As the saying goes, it's only fair to repay debts. It wasn't Lin Jiahua who borrowed from you, but the Lin family. Naturally, you can't hold him accountable."

She wasn't trying to absolve the Lin family of their debt.

Currently, Lin Jiahua was the only one in the family capable of repaying the debt. The Fourteen Gang wasn't foolish.

She was solely advocating for Lin Jiahua, seeking an opportunity for him.