Hong Kong variety show: Hung Hing, are you contributing to society?

When Lin Yaodong carried Ma Ling up the last step and onto the mountaintop platform, the view suddenly opened up.

This is a viewing platform roughly the size of four or five basketball courts, with stone slabs paving the ground and railings around it.

In the center of the platform, a tall white marble statue stands under the moonlight—that must be the statue of Mazu, with a kind face and flowing robes, radiating a warm glow in the night.

There were several couples on the platform who seemed to be there for a "date." They were sitting or standing at a distance from each other, talking in hushed tones.

When Lin Yaodong carried Ma Ling up, some people cast glances at him, but quickly looked away—in this kind of place, everyone tacitly agreed not to disturb each other.

With so many people... how are we supposed to get things done...?

Lin Yaodong paused at the edge of the platform, lost in thought.

He tried to put Ma Ling down, but Ma Ling immediately hugged his neck tightly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice close to his ear.

"Let me put you down," Lin Yaodong said. "We're here."

"I don't want to~~" Ma Ling drawled out, as if she were pleading.

She pointed towards the statue of Mazu, "Carry me a little longer... carry me there."

She was referring to the open space in front of the base of the Mazu statue, where it was darker and there was no one.

Lin Yaodong did as she said, carrying her on his back as they walked in that direction.

But the little flame that had just ignited in my heart was extinguished by seeing so many people.

In a place like this, with so many people, even in the dark, there's no way they could do anything.

Unless Ma Ling is truly so open-minded as to not care about being watched—but given her status, that's impossible.

Even if Ma Ling could accept it, he couldn't.

Lin Yaodong suddenly felt a bit bored.

After all that fuss tonight, going up and down mountains and down to the sea, all I got was to be standing on a mountaintop in the cold wind?

He walked to the statue of Mazu, bent down, and put Ma Ling down.

The movements were hardly gentle, even somewhat perfunctory.

A woman who can't be controlled is nothing...

Ma Ling landed on both feet, and because she was wearing high heels, she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance.

She looked at Lin Yaodong, as if she wanted to say something, but Lin Yaodong had already turned around and walked to the railing, his back to her, seemingly already admiring the night view of New Australia.

Looking down from this height, the lights of New Australia stretch out like a galaxy, with the neon lights of casinos flashing in the distance, and further away, the dark sea, with the occasional ship lights moving like fireflies.

It was beautiful, but Lin Yaodong wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.

"When I was little, my mom often brought me here on weekends..."

Ma Ling's voice suddenly came from behind, very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

Lin Yaodong turned his head and saw her walk to the base of the Mazu statue and reach out to touch the white marble base.

Her profile appeared slender in the moonlight, her long hair was blown by the night breeze, and her skirt swayed slightly.

"Every time I come, I have to rely on her to carry me up the mountain," Ma Ling continued, her voice carrying a smile, but the smile was shallow and only on the surface.

"Back then, I felt that my mother's back was so broad and warm, and I felt very safe lying on it. She always said I was lazy, but she would always squat down and say, 'Come on up, you little lazybones.'"

Lin Yaodong didn't say anything, but turned around and leaned against the railing, looking at her.

"Later, when I grew up, I didn't let her carry me anymore, so she took my hand and slowly walked up to me step by step."

Ma Ling's fingers glided gently across the white marble, as if caressing something precious.

"We'll bring some snacks, sit here, and watch the people come and go below. My mother will tell me stories about Mazu, how she protected the fishermen, and how she saved people from danger..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

Lin Yaodong remained silent.

He looked at Ma Ling, at this woman who exuded an aura of dominance in the casino and controlled everything in the car, now revealing a rare softness under the moonlight, before the statue.

When a very rational and strong woman suddenly opens up to you or talks about her past, she is most likely unguarded with you at that moment.

Lin Yaodong understood this principle.

But he wasn't sure if Ma Ling had truly let her guard down, or if she was playing some kind of game again.

"When I was ten years old..."

Ma Ling spoke again, her voice even softer, as if it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"Dad brought a woman home from outside."

She paused for a long time, so long that Lin Yaodong thought she wouldn't continue.

The night wind howled, and the faint sound of cars could be heard in the distance. The whispers of other couples on the platform also drifted in the wind.

"That woman was young and beautiful, spoke softly, played the piano, and arranged flowers," Ma Ling said, her tone unusually calm. "Dad told me to call her Auntie. Mom didn't say anything, just smiled and nodded, saying 'Welcome.'"

She turned to look at Lin Yaodong. The moonlight shone on her face, and Lin Yaodong saw something flickering in her eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.

"Not long after, my mother said she was going abroad," Ma Ling continued, a slight smile even appearing on her lips, but it was a cold and bitter one.

"She said she found a good job and that there were better schools there for me to attend. I said I didn't want to go... Mom left by herself... She said, 'Ling'er, be good, Mom will be back soon.'"

"Heh..." She laughed, a short, dry laugh. "Back then, I hated her, hated that she abandoned me. I felt she didn't want me anymore, which is why she left so decisively, without even looking back."

She turned back and looked at the statue of Mazu again; her silhouette appeared particularly lonely in the moonlight.

"It wasn't until I grew up that I learned my mother was suffering from depression and was exhausted," Ma Ling said softly, but she enunciated each word clearly.

"She knew she couldn't hold on much longer, so she chose to leave. She didn't want to be in front of me... she didn't want me to see her in her final moments."

She didn't finish her last sentence, but Lin Yaodong understood.

She didn't want to die in front of me.

The air seemed to freeze.

The sounds of the wind, distant cars, and other people's whispers all became indistinct background noise.

As Lin Yaodong watched Ma Ling's retreating figure and her shoulders trembling slightly in the night wind, he suddenly felt a gentle poke in his chest.

He walked over and hugged her from behind.

Ma Ling's body visibly trembled, stiffened for a moment, and then slowly relaxed, leaning into his arms.

Lin Yaodong didn't say anything, he just hugged her, his arms around her waist, and his chin gently resting on the top of her head.

He could smell the fragrance in her hair and feel the warmth of her body and her slight trembling.

Ma Ling didn't say anything, letting him hold her.

Her hand covered the back of his hand, her fingertips were icy cold.

The two of them stood silently in front of the statue of Mazu, under the moonlight, in the night breeze on the mountaintop.

Time seemed to stretch out.

One minute, two minutes...

Until—"Tap, tap, tap."

The sound of high heels tapping on the stone floor came from behind, approaching gradually, with a steady, unhurried rhythm.

Lin Yaodong heard the sound first, and he turned his head to look.