'Till Death Do Us Apart 長相守(bxb)

Chapter 20

XX

Ch'in Ching had come looking for Shen Liangsheng on a life-or-death matter, but it was for Hsiao -Liu rather than himself.

Hsiao -Liu had not actually done anything outrageous. The man was always grinning like Maitreya, but there was a side to him that was bold and loyal. It was only because of his mother's old age and three unmarried sisters that he had to stay a "good citizen" and shoulder the weight of the family. Ch'in Ching never shared anything about what he had been doing with his friend and even stopped visiting the Lius so frequently out of fear that he would drag them into any trouble he might get into.

Word still managed to make its way into the occupied areas despite Japanese controls on the news and speech. The crimes of the Japanese army in Nanking were enough to make each and every one of them suffer a painful death a thousand times over. However,
Hsiao -Liu couldn't actually do anything, and he only kept the resentment inside. Later, he and several colleagues in the business decided to write a play to satirize the Japanese sinners and Chinese traitors. Both the performers and the audience knew what the "fictional story set in ancient times" really portrayed, but they kept it unsaid and instead cursed profanely out of anger.

Then, the "police" came to the teahouse the previous October and took Hsiao -Liu back to the station for questioning without any solid proof, obviously looking for a ransom. Frightened, Hsiao -Liu's sisters asked Ch'in Ching for help, and Ch'in Ching rushed over with the money and got his friend out with a bunch of sweet talk and fake smiles. Hsiao -Liu was careful not to perform those dangerous plays, but unexpectedly, he was arrested again after two peaceful months.

This time the matter was more serious, and Hsiao -Liu was not the only one who was in trouble for no reason. The Japanese had detected the underground routes for supplies and medicine run by the Communist Party in the Peip'ing and Tientsin region, and demanded that the culprits' hideout be found. In attempt to please their Japanese masters, the "police" began arresting people left and right, and the teahouse eventually came under their radar. Not even money was enough to buy his way out this time. After asking around, Ch'in Ching found that those arrested were all transported to the Japanese police headquarters. As soon as he ensured that his godmother was safe with the sisters, he came looking for Shen Liangsheng for ideas.

Ch'in Ching went to Cambridge Road early on the twenty-second, but when he saw the familiar metal gates, he stopped at the street corner feeling a bit guilty for doing this. He was the one who had drawn the line with Shen Liangsheng, not even paying the man a visit when his father passed away. He was only here now because he needed the man's help. He didn't know what Shen Liangsheng would think of him.

If it were Ch'in Ching's own problem, he would never bother Shen Liangsheng about it, but it was his friend's life on the line here. After moments of consideration, Ch'in Ching was just about to continue walking when the gates opened and a vehicle drove out. He did not know if Shen Liangsheng was inside or not, and was still thinking of what to do when the car slid to a sudden stop. The man got out of the car and looked over at him from his spot by the vehicle.

The streets were quiet. Ch'in Ching couldn't see the other man's face well from over a hundred yards away, but he traced every single detail of it in his mind.

There were no take-backs once choices were made. He never regretted it, but he knew very clearly that he still had feelings for the man. He shouldn't but he did nonetheless.

The feelings did not seem like much because he never saw him. The busy routine of everyday life kept him from thinking about the man very much. On those rare occasions when he felt down, he would remind himself that he had personally chosen this and would feel all right again.