Chapter Thirty-Three: What Can I Do for You?

The banquet hall of the Four Seasons Hotel is magnificent.

Cheng Yin stood beside the champagne tower, her moon-white gown shimmering like pearls under the lights. Holding a glass of orange juice, she was as serene as an oil painting, completely out of place among the surrounding socialites clinking glasses.

"Miss Cheng," a jeweler approached, "I heard you're in charge of Golden Night City's accounts? That cross-border fund..."

Cheng Yin took a half step back: "Sorry, it's a trade secret."

The jeweler walked away sheepishly.

Not far away, Li Yaodong was talking with several gambling license holders. His black suit accentuated his tall and straight shoulders, and the bandage on his right arm was faintly visible at the cuff. He glanced at Cheng Yin every now and then, as if to confirm her presence.

The band began to play a waltz, and the crystal chandelier dimmed.

Li Yaodong walked through the crowd, extending his left hand to Cheng Yin: "Dance."

Cheng Yin shook her head: "Your injury..."

"Your left hand is fine." Li Yaodong pulled her up without further ado. "It's simple, just spin around."

Cheng Yin was pulled onto the dance floor by him: "I don't know how..."

"Just follow me." Li Yaodong's left hand rested on her waist, the warmth of his palm seeping through the thin fabric. "One, two, three..."

Cheng Yin stiffly followed his steps, her high heels almost stepping on his leather shoes.

Li Yaodong chuckled softly: "Relax."

"That's how it's always portrayed on TV," Cheng Yin said, staring at the two men's feet. "The female lead always steps on the male lead."

Li Yaodong spun her around: "In TV dramas, the male and female leads usually fall in love at first dance."

Cheng Yin looked up and met his smiling eyes.

"I...I am Cinderella."

Li Yaodong raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

"It's all magic," she said softly, looking at the luxurious surroundings. "Once the magic wears off, I'll turn back into that dirty girl living in the attic."

Li Yaodong's hand tightened around her waist: "Who said that?"

"It's a fact," Cheng Yin said, looking at the elegantly dressed guests around her, "I don't belong here."

As the music reached its climax, Li Yaodong spun her around several times, and Cheng Yin's skirt blossomed like flower petals.

In her dizziness, she felt Li Yaodong's breath close to her ear: "I cast the spell, and I say when it will expire."

When the song ended, the men around them kissed their female companions' hands or gave them cheek kisses.

Li Yaodong simply reached out and hugged Cheng Yin, restrained like a gentleman, but Cheng Yin could feel the intense heartbeat in his chest, transmitted through his clothes to her body, burning her with an alarming heat.

"Let's go." He took her hand. "The Lin family has a dinner party."

The Lin residence was more solemn than it had been at the last tea party.

The Chinese courtyard was filled with the scent of sandalwood, and white lanterns swayed gently in the breeze, like a ritual. The butler led them to a side hall, where Old Master Lin and Lin Shirong were already waiting.

"Miss Cheng, please take a stroll in the garden," Old Master Lin said firmly. "We have family matters to discuss."

Cheng Yin wisely withdrew.

The osmanthus flowers in the garden are in bloom, and their fragrance is so strong it's almost pungent.

Cheng Yin sat on a stone bench, watching the koi carp swim in the pond. The sunlight reflected off the water, casting dappled patterns of light on her face, like tear stains.

"Take off your clothes." Old Master Lin pointed the tip of his sword at Li Yaodong.

Lai Yiu-tung frowned, but still took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing only his collarbone.

Lin Shirong stood to the side, holding a copper basin in his hands, the bottom of which was covered with coarse salt and mugwort.

"Kneel down." Old Master Lin pointed the tip of his sword at the futon on the ground.

Lai Yiu-tung sneered: "A man in his thirties still has to kneel?"

"Do you think you're still a young man?" Old Master Lin suddenly raised his voice, his tone becoming increasingly harsh, "Still trying to emulate young men risking their lives for a woman?" The peach wood sword slammed onto the altar, making the teacups clatter.

Lin Shirong coughed lightly and handed over a lighter: "Father, the time has come."

Old Master Lin lit the talisman, and the ashes fell into a bowl of water. He dipped the talisman in the water and drew a crooked edict on Li Yaodong's forehead: "May bloodshed be quelled, and all taboos be lifted."

Water droplets slid down Li Yaodong's nose. His eyes were closed, and his jawline was taut: "Superstition."

"Superstition?" Old Master Lin's hand trembled, splashing the talismanic water onto Li Yaodong's wound. "Look at Shirong's arm!" He ripped open Lin Shirong's suit sleeve, revealing a knife wound with stitches still in place. "For an accountant girl, you'd risk your life for both of them?"

Li Yaodong opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife: "When did it become anyone else's business to interfere in my affairs?"

"A stranger?" Old Master Lin's beard trembled with anger. "I treated you like my own son!"

A deathly silence fell over the room. Li Yaodong's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and the veins in his neck bulged. Lin Shirong silently added a handful of pomelo leaves to the copper basin, the steam from the hot water blurring his gold-rimmed glasses.

Old Master Lin dipped his brush in the talisman water and drew a talisman on Lin Shirong's forehead: "The Lin family wants to have an heir, not to go to their deaths with you."

Lai Yiu-tung suddenly stood up, kicking the prayer mat aside: "When did I ever hinder his marriage?"

"You'll really kill him if you keep working him to death!" Old Master Lin slammed his hand on the table, causing the sacrificial animals on the altar to tilt precariously. "This time it's a knife wound, what will it be next time?"

Lin Shirong suddenly slammed the copper basin down: "Enough!" Water splashed onto the Persian carpet. "I'm in charge of my own destiny."

Old Master Lin's hand holding the peach wood sword trembled slightly. He turned to Li Yaodong, the tip of the sword almost piercing the other's chest: "There's a saying in the martial arts world that you're infatuated with a northern girl to the point of madness! If you keep going like this, you'll be lying dead in the street sooner or later!"

Li Yaodong grabbed the peach wood sword and snapped it in two with a "crack": "I don't know if I'm crazy or not," he sneered, "but you're senile."

"You unfilial son!" Old Master Lin grabbed a teacup and smashed it on the ground, shards flying everywhere. "If I hadn't been watching over you back then, you would have died ten times over!"

Lin Shirong stepped between the two: "Father, Dong-ge's injuries haven't healed yet..."

Old Master Lin sat back in his armchair and pulled a red cloth bag from his sleeve: "Wear this." He tossed it to Li Yaodong, "These five-emperor coins were obtained from the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Shau Kei Wan and have been soaked in incense ash for seven years. It's for warding off evil spirits."

Li Yaodong didn't take it; the copper coin rolled to the ground. Lin Shirong bent down, picked it up, and stuffed it into his suit pocket: "Consider it as a gift."

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and the butler quietly announced that dinner was ready.

Grandpa Lin then sprinkled water from pomelo leaves on the ground, thus hastily completing the ceremony.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was heavy. Old Master Lin sat in the main seat with a gloomy face; Lin Shirong's gold-rimmed glasses reflected a cold light, obscuring his eyes; Li Yaodong, on the other hand, was like a taut leopard, ready to pounce at any moment.

"Miss Cheng," Old Master Lin suddenly spoke, "Could you please provide her birth date and time?"

Cheng Yin was taken aback: "What?"

"His birth date and time," Lin Shirong explained. "The old man wants someone to calculate it."

Cheng Yin gave the date. Old Master Lin beckoned, and an elderly man in a Taoist robe entered through a side door, carrying a compass and a Bazi chart, and began to calculate incantations.

"Water element," the old man finally announced. "Ren water sitting on Shen, with metal and water mutually generating each other, indicates intelligence and introversion." He glanced at Lin Shirong, "and is compatible with wood element, bringing prosperity to her husband and children."

Old Master Lin's expression subtly changed: "And what about those with a fire destiny?"

"Water and fire are incompatible." The old man shook his head. "At best, it will cause arguments; at worst..."

Li Yaodong jumped to his feet, the chair scraping loudly on the floor: "Enough!"

Old Master Lin slammed his hand on the table: "Sit down!" He turned to Cheng Yin, his eyes sharp. "Miss Cheng, Shi Rong is thirty-two this year, successful in his career, only lacking a suitable partner."

Cheng Yin's chopsticks froze in mid-air. She looked at Li Yaodong, whose face was ashen and whose fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Father!" Lin Shirong interrupted, "That's enough."

Old Master Lin sneered, "I'm doing this for your own good!" He pointed at Li Yaodong, "Taking a bullet for you, risking your life, and what was the result? Your horoscopes clash!"

Li Yaodong slammed down his chopsticks: "Bullshit!" He grabbed Cheng Yin and said, "Let's go." Lin Shirong got up to stop him, but was nailed to the spot by a look from Li Yaodong.

Cheng Yin was dragged through the corridor, behind her Old Master Lin's roar: "You unfilial son! You'll get her killed!"

The black sports car sped through the night. Li Yaodong's speed was frightening; the speedometer needles kept climbing.

Cheng Yin gripped the seatbelt tightly, her knuckles turning white, but she remained silent.

"Aren't you afraid?" Li Yaodong suddenly asked.

Cheng Yin shook her head: "You will protect me."

These words, like needles, pierced Li Yaodong's anger. He slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the road. The car came to a stop in the middle of the cross-sea bridge, the sound of waves crashing against the bridge piers deafening.

Li Yaodong slammed his fist on the steering wheel, his wound reopening and blood seeping through his shirt. Cheng Yin tried to check on him, but he pulled her into his arms. His heart was pounding frighteningly fast, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.

"I don't believe in fate," Li Yaodong's voice was hoarse. "I don't believe in the Eight Characters (of birth), I don't believe in incompatible horoscopes..."

Cheng Yin was held quietly in his arms, the sea breeze blowing in through the car window and ruffling her hair.

"What can I do for you?" she asked softly.

Lai Yiu-tung released her, his eyes reddening. "Kiss me," he said in Cantonese, "Can you kiss me?"

Cheng Yin looked into his moist eyes and nodded. She leaned closer and gently pressed her lips to his.

The kiss was as awkward as the first snow, so light it was almost weightless, yet it made Li Yaodong tremble all over. He dared not move, dared not deepen it, dared not even breathe, for fear of startling this alighting butterfly.

Until a drop of salty liquid slid into my lips.

Li Yaodong cried. A tear rolled down his resolute face and fell onto their lips, which were pressed together, like a melting star.

Li Yaodong turned his face away, roughly wiping away his tears: "Go home."

The return journey was much faster. Cheng Yin looked at the flashing neon lights outside the window, recalling the old man's words about "water and fire clashing," remembering Grandpa Lin's angry face, and recalling Li Yaodong's tear...

Lai Yiu-tung's mansion was brightly lit.

Upon entering, he went straight to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and downed it in one gulp. She wanted to ask him more questions, but Li Yaodong had already turned and gone upstairs, his back straight as a pine tree, only his right hand trembling slightly, revealing his emotional turmoil.

My phone vibrated; it was a text from Cici: "Did you see the news? Your photos of dancing are on the front page." The attached link featured a Hong Kong media headline with an exaggerated claim: "Exclusive Coverage! Mr. and Mrs. Lai Get Wet and Entangled on the Dance Floor, Their Eyes Sparkling with Love."

In the photo, Lai Yiu-tung looks down at her with incredibly tender eyes; while she looks up at him like a believer gazing at a deity.

Cheng Yin turned off her phone.

Outside the window, the night view of Haojiang was still dazzling. She walked onto the balcony, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, rushed towards her.

The sound of shattering glass came from upstairs, followed by Li Yaodong's cursing. She wanted to go up and see what was happening, but she didn't know how to comfort him...