007

In 1987, during Christmas, Lude returned to Hong Kong to celebrate the holiday with his family. 

It was his first time spending the Christmas holiday with his family since he went to study in the UK at the age of 16. In previous years, he would either go to Finland's deep forests to see the Northern Lights with a few close friends or go skiing in Sweden with some aristocratic playmates. At that time, Lude was not only a junior finance major at a top university but had also successfully entered PwC headquarters as a management trainee.

The Christmas dinner was rather dull, filled with men and women mingling over business interests, raising toasts with glasses clinking. Lude stood at the balcony, swaying the champagne in his glass as he gazed down below at Victoria Harbour, where hundreds of cargo ships, most of which belonged to the Xing family, were brightly lit. 

Leaving the annoying and hypocritical world of fame and fortune behind, Lude aimlessly walked around and stopped at a modest independent bookstore on a street corner. The shop owner seemed particularly fond of French charm, as the bookstore's decor and furnishings exuded a lazy yet romantic vibe. Pushing the door open, the bell on the door frame jingled, harmonising with the music from the record player. A French green pendant light adorned the wooden table by the French window, with a book spread out on it. The reader was someone Lude hadn't seen in two years, someone he occasionally remembered, Liang Pu. Lude pulled out a chair next to Liang Pu, his voice sounding familiar like that of an old friend, "Why are you here alone?" 

Liang Pu glanced at him, then returned his gaze to the few remaining pages of the book, paying no attention to Lude. 

Unperturbed, Lude leaned his head to the side, quietly waiting and looking at Liang Pu.

After enduring staring of Lude, Lian Pu closed the book and turned back to answer his earlier question, "Why are you alone here again?" 

The encounter from two years ago remained vivid in both their memories. Lude chuckled softly, recalling how Lian Pu had similarly deflected questions back then. 

"The banquet was too dull, so I came out for some fresh air and ended up here," his gaze settled on the cover of the book, realizing that Lian Pu had been reading Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women'. Arched eyebrows revealed his surprise, "You are the first guy I've met who reads 'Little Women'."

As a female-oriented literature, 'Little Women' has seen numerous editions since its initial release in 1868. Even after a century, whether in England or on Hong Kong Island, Lude had observed female friends engrossed in reading 'Little Women'. However, Lian Pu stood out as the only male acquaintance who had delved into the book. 

Holding the cover of 'Little Women', Lian Pu remarked, "The audience for a good book should not be confined by demographics."

In a patriarchal society, women's responsibilities extend beyond marriage and childbirth. They possess souls, thoughts, emotions, ambitions, talents, and beauty. Their joys, struggles, dreams, disappointments, duties, realities, and the pursuit of identity transcend the confines of mere 'femininity' to explore a broader sense of female identity.

"Indeed," Lude nodded, adding, "Yet, society categorizes people into different classes, doesn't it?" 

Lian Pu could not deny this truth, as it resonated deeply with his upbringing.

"We are born into a fragmented and contradictory era. From the Qing government's inability to protect Hong Kong Island to the unequal treaties such as the 'Treaty of Nanking' and 'Convention of Peking', the cessions of Hong Kong Island and the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, the forced 'New Territories Lease' for over 99 years, the Japanese occupation on December 25, 1941, followed by British control, and the current Sino-British negotiations on Hong Kong's future, culminating in the handover to China on July 1, 1997, under the 'one country, two systems' policy."

"In the backdrop of such history," Lian Pu turned to Lude with a puzzled expression in his bright eyes under the warm light, questioning, "What is our identity? Are you Hong Kongese or Chinese, am I from the mainland or Hong Kong? Do we share a singular identity, or do we need to clarify amidst the chaos who we are? Why do we exist, and to whom do our existence hold value?"

The conflicts, lights, aspirations, and integrity of the past have illuminated these lands, yet today they appear desolate and lost. It seems we lack the faith and passion of our ancestors, wandering aimlessly without a sense of identity or direction, blindly following the crowd under the guise of societal progress. 

"A century ago, Hong Kong was a county under China; ten years from now, Hong Kong will still be part of China." In response to Lian Pu's questioning, Lude pondered before stating, "Regardless of its history of occupation and leasing, Hong Kong will eventually return to where it belongs, following a certain social structure. Therefore, we are all Chinese. Only then can we truly find our individual identity, perhaps from those four young ladies or within this unique era we live in." 

Lian Pu shook his head with a bitter smile, "Lude, you overlook one thing." 

"What is it?" 

"The vast social and economic disparities between Hong Kong and the mainland have led to uncontrollable rejection between the people on both sides." 

"So what?" Lude chuckled, "When each individual finds their true self, their collective energy will ignite a bright flame, potentially ending all wastefulness." 

The power of an individual may be minute, but when combined, it becomes formidable. Does Lian Pu have any thoughts on this juxtaposition of insignificance and grandeur?

Lude's words struck a chord with Lian Pu, leaving him eager to know more about Lude's plans or an invitation to join him in a common cause. 

"What is your true self?" Lian Pu inquired. 

"My true self," Lude gazed into Lian Pu's dark eyes, pausing before continuing, "I am not the young master of the Xing family in Hong Kong, nor am I Hsu Chih-mo's schoolmate. I am simply Lude Xing, a man who loves men, a person who craves and deserves freedom." "That is my true self." 

Giving Lian Pu time to contemplate his own "true self," Lude pulled out a letter from his suit pocket, took a sip of the now cold cappuccino on the table, and then left through the door.

Not long after, rumours about Lude's scandal started circulating within Hong Kong Island. There are three rumours in question. Firstly, the young master of the Xing family rejected a childhood friend's confession. Secondly, Mrs. Xing continued to arrange blind dates for Lude. Lastly, many witnessed the young master of the Xing family kissing a man at Victoria Harbor, the man hidden under Lude's coat, his identity obscured. 

On the day these rumours surfaced, Lude promptly returned to England, leaving all speculations and gossip to the imaginations of those involved, treating them as mere dessert after a meal.