Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 258 Choice, Price

The sunlight was just right in the VIP ward of Princess Margaret Hospital.

Lin Guozheng's gunshot wound is healing well; his complexion is much rosier, and the bandage on his left shoulder has been replaced with a lighter dressing.

He Yushui spent almost every day here, feeding the animals, peeling fruit, and the worry in her eyes was gradually replaced by peace of mind and tenderness.

She was enthusiastically describing how gratifying the operation outside was, and Lin Guozheng listened with a gentle smile.

“Guozheng, look,” He Yushui picked up a newspaper and pointed to the headline, “That ‘Wo Shing Wo’ gang, which had been entrenched in Yau Ma Tei for over a decade, has also been busted! Aunt Ping said the operation was clean and efficient, and many citizens volunteered to provide clues! Now that’s great, your work will be much easier and safer!”

“Yes, Madam Wang is a great commander.” Lin Guozheng nodded.

The image of the dejected, handcuffed Boss Ho of Wo Shing Wo in the newspaper gave him a deeper understanding of the Ho family's power.

But he knew that the "purification of the nine dragons" only swept away the duckweed on the surface of the water. The malignant tumors that were truly entrenched deep in the silt, whose roots had long since rotted but were still entangled with certain glamorous things, were still writhing in the darkness.

A few days later, Lin Guozheng was allowed to be discharged from the hospital and go home to recuperate.

He Yushui wanted him to stay at the He family villa so that it would be easier to take care of him, but Lin Guozheng declined and insisted on returning to his rented old tenement building in West Kowloon.

The reasons were quite valid: his mother, Li Xiuzhen, was used to the environment of the old neighborhood, and he didn't want the elderly woman to go through the hassle; moreover, the police station might need to contact him at any time, and living nearby would be convenient. He Yushui couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she had no choice but to come over every day.

The old Tanglou building had narrow corridors and dim lighting.

Lin Guozheng took out his key and opened the door. A faint, familiar musty smell mixed with the smell of Chinese medicine wafted out.

The living room was small, simply furnished but tidy. Hearing the noise, Li Xiuzhen, the mother, walked out shakily from the inner room. When she saw her son, her wrinkled face immediately lit up with a smile, but that smile always carried a lingering sorrow and illness.

"Ah Zheng is back! Sit down quickly, does your wound still hurt? Mom made you some pork bone soup to help you recover..." Li Xiuzhen chattered as she hurried to the kitchen.

"Mom, I can do it myself, you rest." Lin Guozheng quickly helped his mother sit down on the old sofa.

Looking at his mother's gray hair and hunched back, he felt a pang of sadness.

Lin Haisheng, the father, passed away six years ago, leaving behind a family in dire straits and a considerable medical debt.

My mother's rheumatism was caused when she worked in a spinning mill when she was young, and it has been tormenting her for many years.

Lin Xiaohui, the younger sister, works hard in a garment factory in Kwun Tong to supplement the family income, and her hands are always marked with marks from being pricked by sewing machine needles.

He was the one who carried this family on his shoulders; he was the sanctuary he was willing to risk his life to protect.

Bai Yifeng's findings were correct.

Lin Guozheng's family background is as simple and clean as a blank sheet of paper. The old neighbors all know that the Lin family's son is promising. He was admitted to the police academy and became a police officer. He is the pride of the neighborhood.

The assessments by Orian, Wang Cuiping, and Yu Zecheng are by no means unfounded.

He was indeed hardworking and ruthless in handling cases, but he also had a bottom line. After several rounds of screening by the ICAC, his account was found to be completely clean, containing only his salary and a little overtime pay.

He hates corrupt police officers and those who trample on the law; this belief has sustained him to this day.

However, on the back of his blank sheet of paper, there is an indelible ink stain that occurred before he entered police academy, when he was a teenager struggling to pay for his father's medical expenses and his mother's medicine.

Some people didn't want him to wash off the ink stain, so on the third day after he was discharged from the hospital, on an ordinary afternoon.

He Yushui had just left when her mother took her medicine and went to sleep.

Lin Guozheng was leaning against a small table by the window, flipping through a newspaper, when the old-fashioned telephone on the table suddenly rang, the ringing sounding particularly jarring in the quiet room.

Lin Guozheng frowned and picked up the phone: "Hello?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then a deep, hoarse voice, like sandpaper rubbing against wood, came through, carrying a long-lost familiarity: "Ah Zheng, is your injury...healed?"

Upon hearing that voice, Lin Guozheng felt as if his blood had instantly frozen!

His knuckles turned white from gripping the microphone so tightly. This voice... it had been over a decade, a voice he thought was buried deep in his memory. But now, it was like a demon from hell, easily tearing open the seal of time and crawling out with a putrid aura.

“Uncle Kun…” Lin Guozheng’s voice was so dry it almost didn’t sound like his own.

This title, carrying humiliation and fear, was a synonym for his childhood nightmares.

He wasn't some "Water Brother" or "Rotten Tooth Koi" type, but rather one of the true underground controllers of Sham Shui Po back then, a man who had long since laundered his money and was now quite "reputable" in the business world, Wu Zhenkun.

"Hehe, it's good that you still remember me." Wu Zhenkun's voice was unreadable. "I heard you were lucky this time and didn't die. You even climbed the social ladder and became the son-in-law of the He family? Ah Zheng, you've made something of yourself."

Lin Guozheng's heart sank to the bottom. Wu Zhenkun's visit at this time was definitely not to reminisce.

The purge in West Kowloon swept away many of his peripheral henchmen and sources of income. Although it did not directly affect Wu Zhenkun's core, it made him feel afraid and found potential opportunities.

"Uncle Kun, just say what's on your mind." Lin Guozheng forced himself to calm down, lowering his voice to a whisper, afraid of waking his mother in the inner room.

"Can't you even bother to check on my good nephew?" Wu Zhenkun gave a fake laugh, then his tone turned cold and commanding. "Try to get to know your brother-in-law for me sometime. We're all in business, and if we team up, we can grow our business even bigger. Especially since you took the bullet for the He family and got injured, you should be easy to talk to."

"Uncle Kun!" Lin Guozheng's heart skipped a beat. "This isn't appropriate, is it? He's running a legitimate business..."

"Suitable?" Wu Zhenkun interrupted him rudely, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Ah Zheng, have you been wearing this coattails for too long and forgotten who you are? Forgot who gave you money back then, allowing your father to breathe a little longer? Forgot who helped your mother deal with those thugs who came to collect debts? Without me, your Lin family would have fallen apart long ago! Would you even be where you are today?"

Every word was like a poisoned needle, piercing Lin Guozheng's heart.

That unbearable past—his father was critically ill, the exorbitant medical bills were like a bottomless pit, his mother cried until her tears ran dry, his sister looked terrified, and the creditors came to his door looking fierce… The desperate boy had nowhere to turn, but was “kindly” helped by Wu Zhenkun, a so-called “neighborhood elder.”

The price he paid was that he became one of Wu Zhenkun's informants planted among the street youths, delivering trivial messages and running errands.

He thought it was only temporary, a temporary measure.

But some quagmires, once stepped into, can never be pulled out.

Wu Zhenkun knew about his disgraceful past. Although he later worked hard to get into police academy and tried to completely sever ties, Wu Zhenkun was like a cold, venomous snake that never truly let him go.

However, as Wu Zhenkun "went ashore" and he became more cautious in the police force, contact became extremely rare and secretive.

The reason why Bai Yifeng's investigation did not find this part is because it happened too long ago, before Lin Guozheng's police academy career, and Wu Zhenkun had already cleaned up his act and was on the surface a successful businessman and philanthropist, completely different from the image of the triad boss in Sham Shui Po back then.

Those insignificant "stains" on his youth were perfectly concealed by time.

“That…that’s all in the past! I paid back the money long ago!” Lin Guozheng’s voice was filled with suppressed anger and humiliation.

He had saved every penny over the years and had already paid back the money that saved his life, including interest, thinking that they were even.

"Pay it back?" Wu Zhenkun scoffed. "Ah Zheng, debts of gratitude can never be repaid. Especially... your current status and position are even more useful to me. Think about your mother, think about your sister. Who is it that gives them their peaceful lives now? The He family is powerful, but do you think Mr. He would think if he knew that the good policeman his sister had his eye on was once a small-time hoodlum running errands for the triads? If the entire police force, the entire Hong Kong, knew that the rising star of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, Inspector Lin Guozheng, had such a 'glorious history,' what do you think would happen?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was like icy venom, flowing into Lin Guozheng's ears through the receiver and freezing his limbs.

Wu Zhenkun's threat struck at his most fatal weakness—his family, the career and reputation he had worked so hard to build, and... the love he had just gained from He Yushui and the approval of the He family.

He Yuzhu's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, appeared in his mind.

He had personally witnessed the methods of his brother-in-law; he was the kind of person who could wipe out a century-old giant like Jardine Matheson.

If he knew... Lin Guozheng dared not think any further.

“Uncle Kun…” Lin Guozheng’s voice trembled slightly, a tremor that was an instinctive reaction to anger, fear and immense pressure.

"I'll give you three days to make the connection for me," Wu Zhenkun repeated firmly. "Ah Zheng, you're a smart man, you know what to choose. Think about your future, think about Miss He... and your mother and your sister, don't do anything foolish." With that, the phone was abruptly hung up, leaving only the monotonous dial tone echoing in the room.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Lin Guozheng seemed to have all his strength drained away. He slowly put down the microphone and stood stiffly in place.

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, but he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. A chill ran down his spine and straight to the top of his head, making him shiver involuntarily.

He held onto the edge of the table, slowly sat down, and dug his hands deep into his hair, pulling hard.

"How to do?"

"Compromise? To submit to Wu Zhenkun's manipulation and become a pawn he planted deep within the police force, possibly even close to the He family? That would mean betraying the police badge, betraying the beliefs he upheld, betraying the trust of Wang Cuiping and Yu Zecheng, and it would mean that he would live forever in lies and fear."

Once this happens, not only will he be utterly disgraced and ruined, but he will also implicate Yu Shui, bring shame to the He family, and may even endanger Yu Shui! He Yu Zhu will never let anyone who harms his family get away with it, no matter who they are.

The He family had already found out about it even before the incident occurred. The reason they can't find out now is because so much time has passed and Wu Zhenkun has hidden himself too well.

Now that 'Uncle Kun' wants to get in touch with the He family, it's like handing the clues over to He Yuzhu. Lin Guozheng doesn't think he can get away with it a second time.

Lin Guozheng felt he had only seen the tip of the iceberg of He Yuzhu's power, but even this tip dealt a fatal blow to the underworld of West Kowloon. The "brother-in-law" he had only met once made him feel suffocated by the pressure.

"Confess to He Yushui's brother?"

The moment the thought arose, it brought with it a deeper fear. What would confession mean? It would mean that he would personally destroy the image of integrity he had painstakingly built in Yu Shui's heart and in the hearts of the He family.

How would He Yuzhu view him? A swindler? An opportunist who got close to his sister with a tainted past?
Given He Yuzhu's personality and methods, he might spare him from being destroyed out of consideration for the rain, but this relationship and this recognition would surely be completely destroyed.

How heartbroken and disappointed would Rain be when she learned the truth? He couldn't imagine.

Moreover, would confessing really be useful? Would He Yuzhu believe he was forced? Would he believe he had already severed ties with Wu Zhenkun?

That brother-in-law is very intolerant of any nonsense.

What's even more terrifying is that Wu Zhenkun is lurking in the shadows. If he discovers his betrayal, given Wu Zhenkun's ruthlessness and cunning, how will he retaliate against his mother and sister? He can't afford to gamble!

A dilemma!

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes gazing painfully out the window.

Pigeons on the opposite rooftop circled freely in the sunlight, cooing softly. But he felt like an insect stuck in a spiderweb, the more he struggled, the tighter the web became.

To his left was the silver badge on his police cap, reflecting a cold light in the sunlight. This badge bore witness to his ideals, his sweat, and... the adoring gaze of the rain.

To the right was the black phone that had just been hung up, connected to the abyss of hell, showing the mother's frail figure, the sister's tired face, and Wu Zhenkun's cold and cunning face.

On one side lies faith, love, and the possibility of utter destruction;
On one side is compromise, betrayal, and endless darkness and depravity.

Cold sweat trickled down Lin Guozheng's forehead, dripping onto the table and leaving water stains.

Only his heavy, suppressed breathing and the silent cries and struggles in his heart remained in the room.

He Yushui's innocent and dependent smile, He Yuzhu's deep and sharp gaze, his mother's cloudy and worried eyes, the fine scars on his sister's hands, Wu Zhenkun's sinister threats... countless images flashed and collided wildly in his mind.

What should he do?
Lin Guozheng suffered from insomnia that night, and He Yushui arrived the next day.

He Yushui seemed to notice his unusual mood and asked with concern, "Guozheng? Is your wound hurting again? Shall we go to the hospital to get it checked out?"

"No need." Lin Guozheng, who was in a daze, suddenly came back to his senses, forced a gentler smile, and gently took her hand. "It doesn't hurt, I'm just a little tired. Rain... thank you."

This "thank you" contains so many complex and indescribable emotions.

Thank you for her care, thank you for her love, and thank you for the light she brought. But there is also a silent sense of guilt—he may not deserve this light.

He Yushui thought he was touched, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said reproachfully, "Silly boy, why are you thanking me?"

Lin Guozheng looked at her smiling face, but his heart was ice-cold.

"The deadline is the day after tomorrow, and there's a venomous snake waiting for his reply. What should he do?"

"Should we risk everything to seek help from He Yuzhu, begging for forgiveness and protection from this 'brother-in-law'? Or should we temporarily bow to the darkness?"

The room was brightly lit, and He Yushui's voice was gentle and soothing.

Lin Guozheng's inner world was bleak; he felt as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff, and whether he went forward or backward, he might be shattered to pieces.

This love from He Yushui has now become the sweetest yet most painful shackle.

He held He Yushui's hand tightly, as if it were the only piece of driftwood he could grab onto in the raging waves.

He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and when he opened them again, his eyes held a resolute determination to go all in.

He gently patted He Yushui's hand, his voice slightly hoarse: "Yushui, I want to... see your brother."

"My brother, aren't you quite afraid of seeing him?"

"I have something to talk to him about," Lin Guozheng said with a wry smile.

"Is it our business? Then I'll call you now and schedule a time for you," He Yushui said excitedly.

Lin Guozheng dared not answer.

That afternoon, in the study on the top floor of the Yellow River Industry headquarters.

Lin Guozheng sat in the chair opposite He Yuzhu's desk, his back still straight, but the coldness of his fingertips and the fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead betrayed his inner unease and tension.

"Guozheng, you were just discharged from the hospital and you're not resting at home. Why are you in such a hurry to see me? What do you want to talk to me about?" He Yuzhu's question still carried a sense of pressure.

"Mr. He, I've come here because there are some things I need to be honest with you."

"Confess to me? What do you, an O-Division inspector, have to confess to a businessman like me?"

"You'll understand when you hear it."

"Alright, then I'll hear what this promising young inspector from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau has to say." Actually, he had already guessed what Lin Guozheng had to say when he suddenly requested to see him. Now he just had to see what this kid had to say.

"This all started when Lin Guozheng recounted the secret that had been buried for over a decade, along with yesterday's threat from 'Uncle Kun,' word by word, clearly and with great difficulty."

There was no embellishment, no explanation, just a stark and naked presentation of that unbearable beginning.

He Yuzhu listened without saying a word, his face expressionless, which only increased Lin Guozheng's anxiety.

During the narration, he tried to catch subtle expressions on He Yuzhu's face so that he could know what the other person was thinking, but unfortunately he saw nothing.

His voice grew drier and drier, and his heartbeat slowed down, because he was becoming more and more desperate.

"...That's how it is, Mr. He," Lin Guozheng finally finished speaking.

This narration seemed to have exhausted all his strength; the back of his shirt was completely soaked with cold sweat, sticking stickily to his skin.

He hung his head, not daring to look at his silent brother-in-law across from him, awaiting the final verdict.

Time seemed to stretch out countless times, and every second was torture for him.

Finally, He Yuzhu spoke.

"Lin Guozheng, Lin Sir, you have disappointed me greatly." He Yuzhu's voice was not loud and was calm, but it hit Lin Guozheng's heart with the weight of a thousand pounds.

This simple assessment is more damaging than any angry outburst.

Lin Guozheng's body swayed almost imperceptibly, and his face instantly turned ashen.

He opened his mouth, but found that his throat was blocked and he could not make any sound.

Explanation? Faced with such facts, any explanation is weak and feeble, and would only be an insult to the other party's intelligence.

"Do you think you can use this 'confession' to wash away the mess of the past? Or do you think that after you finish speaking, you can rely on the little bit of affection Yu Shui has for you to be able to become the son-in-law of the He family with a clear conscience?" He Yuzhu stood up, propped his hands on the desk, and looked down at Lin Guozheng.

The invisible pressure made Lin Guozheng almost unable to breathe.

Lin Guozheng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins and pain: "Mr. He! I never thought of it that way! I confess because I don't want to be held hostage by the past anymore, and I don't want anything to threaten Yushui anymore! I would rather... I would rather lose everything than have this stain brought up and used as a weapon to hurt her one day!" His voice was hoarse and low.

"Huh? Hurt my sister? Besides your so-called feelings, what else could hurt her? Is it this 'Uncle Kun' you mentioned, or some other nonsense? Do you know that I could crush them more easily than crushing an ant?" He Yuzhu was extremely contemptuous of the kid's last words.

At first, his willingness to be honest showed that there was still hope. If he had said it was for his mother and sister, He Yuzhu would have believed him. But he actually said it was for He Yushui.
This is trying to have your cake and eat it too!
Lin Guozheng regretted his words as soon as he said them. He was just trying to grasp at the last straw to save his life, but He Yuzhu put too much pressure on him, and he slipped up!
"Mr. He, I..." Lin Guo, his face pale, still tried to explain.

"You should be glad that you chose to walk into this office before Wu Zhenkun forced you. This gives you a glimmer of hope, but that's all."

He Yuzhu sat back down in the large leather chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the smooth mahogany table. The rhythmic "tap-tap" sound was like the second hand of a countdown, striking Lin Guozheng's heart.

“Listen, Lin Guozheng, from this moment on, there is only one path you can take in your life.”

Lin Guozheng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with the relief of a drowning person grasping at the last straw.

“First,” He Yuzhu held up a finger, “keep being a policeman. You earned your position as an O-Division inspector through your own abilities, through years of hard work and dedication. As long as you are upright and honest, no one can bring you down because of this old story. Wu Zhenkun? He won’t be around for long.”

"Second," the second finger rose, "personally send Wu Zhenkun in. Didn't he want you to act as a go-between? Fine, we'll play along. Do what a policeman should do: gather evidence, cooperate with Madam Wang and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, and uproot this cancer, nailing it to the ground in prison! This is the only way you can completely wash away your past and prove you've broken with it. If you can't do it, or dare to tip it off..."

He Yuzhu didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: if you can't do it, then let's all perish together.

Lin Guozheng understood that this was his only pledge of loyalty, the final test of whether he could continue wearing this police uniform.

"As for the third one, you and Yushui, that's it. Remember, this is not a suggestion!" He Yuzhu's voice suddenly turned cold, severing the last glimmer of hope in Lin Guozheng's heart.

"Mr. He!" Lin Guozheng exclaimed.

"Shut up! What my sister needs is a single-minded, clean, and reliable man she can look up to and rely on, not a pathetic wretch haunted by the shadows of the past who needs to beg for forgiveness through 'confession'! Nor is he a potential threat who might be blackmailed by her in the future due to cowardice or past affections, putting her in danger again! Lin Guozheng, you are not good enough for her." He Yuzhu interrupted sharply.

“No… Mr. He, my feelings for Yu Shui are genuine! I…” Lin Guozheng tried to struggle.

"Sincerity?" He Yuzhu's lips curled into a cold smile. "Sincerity is fragile and vulnerable in the face of reality. Wu Zhenkun's phone call can throw you into disarray and make your mother and sister your Achilles' heel. What right do you have to say you can protect Yushui? Your 'sincerity' is worthless in the face of Yushui's safety."

He stood up, walked to the window, his back to Lin Guozheng, and gazed at the bustling Victoria Harbour outside. His voice was icy as he said, "From today onwards, you and Yushui are to sever all ties. I will tell her that you two are not suitable, that it is I who disagree. If you dare to contact her privately, or let her know any of the words you just said…"

He Yuzhu slowly turned around, his gaze sending a chill down Lin Guo's spine. "You can't afford the consequences. Remember, the opportunity I'm giving you is to continue being a policeman, nothing more."

"Get out." He Yuzhu's last three words shattered all of Lin Guozheng's illusions and hopes.

Lin Guozheng opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter a single word.

He staggered to his feet, not daring to look at He Yuzhu again, like a puppet with its spine removed, and dejectedly shuffled out of the study.

The door closed gently behind him, separating him from his love, the love he had destroyed with his own hands, and a powerful support system.

The light in the corridor was a bit dazzling. Lin Guo was leaning against the cold wall, panting heavily. Cold sweat soaked through his inner shirt, and sweat from his forehead flowed into his eyes, causing a stinging sensation and blurring his vision.

His mind flashed before his eyes: He Yushui's innocent and dependent smile, his mother's hunched back, the fine scars on his sister's hands. Finally, his gaze settled on Wu Zhenkun's sinister and cunning face, and He Yuzhu's cold, judgmental eyes that declared him "unworthy."

“This is the end…” Lin Guozheng closed his eyes in pain, his nails digging deep into his palms, leaving several bloody marks.

He lost her; he personally destroyed this hard-won light and warmth.

What awaits him ahead is only a thorny path of atonement that must be paved with Wu Zhenkun's destruction.

Lin Guozheng left the Yellow River Industrial Building in a daze, and returned to the old tenement building in Sham Shui Po, which was filled with the smell of medicine and the atmosphere of antiquity, like a walking corpse.

After arriving home, Lin Guozheng locked himself in his small room. His mother, Li Xiuzhen, called out to him anxiously from outside the door, but he only mumbled, "It's nothing, I just want some peace and quiet."

Meanwhile, inside the He family villa, He Yushui was humming a song and playing with her nephews and nieces.

She had no idea that just moments ago, the first genuine love in her life had been severed by her most revered brother in the coldest of ways.

(End of this chapter)