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

In the Peninsula Hotel's conference room, spotlights illuminated the room as if it were daytime.

Media reporters, having received word of the situation, filled the venue early, their cameras and microphones ready for action.

ATV, TVB, Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong Island Commercial Daily... almost all the prominent media outlets in Hong Kong sent their strongest lineups.

This press conference has attracted much attention due to Lin Yaodong's recent high profile.

In a corner of the venue, several plainclothes O-Division agents maintained order with expressionless faces. They were there on orders, partly to monitor the situation, and partly out of a sense of resentment, wanting to see what tricks Lin Yaodong was up to.

Their appearance naturally caught the attention of many reporters.

Lin Yaodong appeared on stage on time, wearing a well-tailored dark suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he had a calm and composed smile on his face.

This is far removed from the "fierce gangster" image previously portrayed by the media.

After a brief commotion and a flurry of camera shutters, the press conference moved into the Q&A session.

"Mr. Lin, what is the main purpose of your sudden press conference?" The first reporter to stand up asked the question on everyone's mind.

Lin Yaodong spoke into the microphone, his voice clear and steady: "Thank you to all the media friends for coming. I hereby formally announce that, effective today, I, Lin Yaodong, will temporarily withdraw from the stock market and cease all stock trading activities."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence, followed by an even louder roar.

The reporters could hardly believe their ears.

"Mr. Lin, why? You're at the height of your career right now!"

"Were you under pressure from the police or other sources?"

"Mr. Lin, please explain the real reason!"

"Officer! Did you force Mr. Lin to withdraw from the stock market?" A reporter even threw the question directly at the O-Division detectives in the corner, leaving the officers embarrassed and in a dilemma.

Lin Yaodong raised his hands and pressed them down lightly, signaling everyone to be quiet.

He maintained his smile: "Please be patient. My decision has nothing to do with the police or any external pressure; it is purely my personal choice."

The room fell silent again, all eyes focused on him, awaiting his explanation.

"I've made some profits in the stock market over the past two months."

Lin Yaodong spoke modestly, "But in my opinion, while financial speculation may bring quick profits, it is like a rootless duckweed, too illusory."

A society's prosperity ultimately depends on real industries and manufacturing... Finance should serve the real economy, not the other way around.

He paused for a moment, then dropped another bombshell: "Therefore, I have decided to shift some of my energy and funds to real business investments."

There are some preliminary plans in place, but specific details cannot be disclosed at this time.

At the same time, I will donate a portion of my profits from the stock market to charities to help vulnerable groups in Hong Kong, especially impoverished children and the elderly.

The promise of charitable donations has once again sparked exclamations and discussions.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been built up enough, Lin Yaodong changed the subject, his tone becoming slightly sentimental: "Actually, making this decision is also related to my personal experience."

To be honest, my biggest wish when I was a child was to have a warm and complete family... Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on me; I lost my family at a very young age and ended up on the streets.

He began to tell a carefully crafted story, but one that was true at its core:

A lonely and helpless boy longs to uphold justice like a policeman, but is forced to drop out of school early due to the pressures of life and struggle to survive on the streets. In order to avoid being bullied, he has no choice but to join a gang...

His narrative is plain and restrained, without excessive sentimentality, yet it sketches the image of a small, powerless individual caught in the currents and circumstances.

Many reporters in the audience, who came from humble backgrounds and worked their way up through hard work, showed expressions of understanding and sympathy.

They were well aware of the hardships faced by the underprivileged in Hong Kong and knew that what Lam Yiu-tung said was true: many young people turned to the underworld not because they were inherently evil, but because they were forced by reality.

In the ten-minute press conference, Lin Yaodong spent nine minutes telling his "story".

Instead of directly refuting the accusations made by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB), he spoke positively about them.

He did not try to whitewash his past, but instead cleverly guided public opinion in another direction—focusing on the fate of individuals and social responsibility.

Prejudice in people's hearts is as deep as a mountain.

He only needs to plant a seed, and the narrative about Lin Yaodong—"from humble beginnings, forced by circumstances, a prodigal son who turned over a new leaf, and a philanthropist"—will naturally be unearthed and enriched by these media outlets.

This will greatly soften the negative image brought about by his gangster background, paving the way for his next step of transforming into a real business, and even a more far-reaching plan, winning him more social tolerance and even support.

Doing bad things should be done discreetly, but doing good things should, of course, be done in a way that makes as many people as possible aware of it.

Putting everything else aside, just hearing a few words of praise from others can brighten my mood for the whole day.

......

Lin Yaodong's departure is nothing short of a major earthquake for the stock market.

He withdrew not only the funds from Hung Hing Society, but also the funds from Yao Dong Capital.

After Lin Yaodong announced his withdrawal from the stock market, the major shareholders who held shares in the stock market naturally stopped their attacks on him.

Following Lin Yaodong's press conference.

They also held a meeting among the "big shots".

According to the financial audit and statistics.

They discovered that the losses amounted to more than two billion Hong Kong dollars.

However, the funds that Lin Yaodong was openly besieging, despite their continuous increase, were only around 200 million.

So here's the question.

Where did the remaining two billion go?

They remembered the mysterious fund that had started at the beginning.

Only then did they realize that while they were besieging Lin Yaodong, their funds, which were essentially those of the mysterious fund, had also been the prey of that fund.

However, the other party's methods were too sophisticated and scattered, and they were too caught up in Lin Yaodong's manipulation to pay attention.

Looking back now, those bigwigs all had extremely ugly expressions on their faces.

...

At the police station.

Police Commissioner Johnson also watched Lam Yiu-tung's press conference.

He was a little taken aback when he saw that Lam Yiu-tung did not take the opportunity to attack the police force, but instead said that his childhood dream was to join the police force, indirectly praising the police force.

"A gangster wanting to do charity? Invest in real businesses?"

Johnson asked the three people standing in front of his desk, "Do you believe me?"

The three people standing are Situ Jie, Zhang Wenyao, and Huang Zhicheng.

Situ Jie said, "Based on my investigation over this period of time, I have found that Lin Yaodong has a very good reputation in the Wan Chai area."

"Although it's public knowledge that Lam Yiu-tung is a gangster, some neighbors have a high opinion of him, especially the older Mrs. Lam..."

There was something he didn't say.

That is, those elderly people wished they could treat Lin Yaodong like their own son.

Zhang Wenyao also said, "We've checked with the bank, the tax bureau... we've confirmed that Lin Yaodong's funds are indeed fine..."

Huang Zhicheng glanced at the two men and said, "A gangster is a gangster."

He recounted his previous thoughts that Lin Yaodong was evil beneath his hypocritical facade.

"I think Lin Yaodong is the kind of person who is the most difficult to deal with."

"He also mentioned at the press conference that he wanted to invest in real businesses and donate to charity... This may be his next step in order to cover up his crimes."

"Hmm..." Johnson had a slight smile on his face after hearing Situ Jie and Zhang Wenyao's remarks.

Because that means that, apart from his gangster identity, Lam Yiu-tung doesn't have any major problems.

Moreover, the public now has a high degree of approval for Lin Yaodong.

He might also bump into Lin Yaodong on some occasion, and then they could become friends.

This way... everyone benefits a lot...

But upon hearing Huang Zhicheng's words, Johnson's expression immediately darkened.

"What's your opinion on what to do?"

Huang Zhicheng: "I think..."

Ultimately, it was decided that the anti-triad unit led by Huang Zhicheng would continue its secret investigation of Lin Yaodong.

As for those scandals, all media exposure of them has stopped.