In front of Sai Kung Police Station
It was afternoon in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden halo over the seaside district.
The street outside the police station bustled with people: uniformed officers, housewives carrying vegetable baskets, students with schoolbags, and foreigners with cameras slung over their shoulders who were clearly tourists. Together, they formed a vivid slice of everyday life.
Inside the American Burger King on the corner, Li Dan and Leon sat by the window.
The burger shop was small, decorated in the style of a Hong Kong fast-food restaurant from the nineties.
Red-and-white checkered tiles covered the floor. Posters of burgers and fries hung on the walls, while the sizzling of fried food came from behind the counter.
Leon wore a slightly wrinkled black trench coat today, with a white shirt underneath and the collar casually open.
A double cheeseburger and a large Coke sat in front of him, but he seemed uninterested in the food. Instead, he focused on the people entering and leaving the police station across the window.
Li Dan had only a glass of water before him. His fingers lightly tapped the tabletop in a steady rhythm.
"Have you never considered learning some more normal ways to catch ghosts?" Li Dan finally asked, his voice calm and even.
Leon turned his head, the corner of his mouth curving into an exaggerated grin as he raised his brows.
"You think my methods of catching ghosts aren't normal too?"
His tone was mostly teasing. Being questioned did not stir much emotion in him, as though he had long grown used to the strange looks of others.
Li Dan noticed that Leon's eyes widened slightly whenever he spoke. There was a glint in them that mixed innocence and