Filming: The End

Mo Hua could not figure out why Lu Yan had come. If he was leaving the country, he could just go. He could have sent anyone to bring Mo Hua here. Why come himself?

"I'm sorry about the past few days," Lu Yan said. "You'll be able to go home soon."

"Have you sent your shipment out?"

"No. You can go home once it's out. Sorry to put you through this."

This time, they were handing the shipment over to another group. Only after the handoff could Mo Hua leave safely.

"Oh," Mo Hua said, and fell silent.

"Mo Hua," Lu Yan said suddenly. "We met because I planned it, but I really did want to be your friend. Spending time with you was the only time I felt happy."

"If... if we get the chance, could we see each other again?"

Mo Hua looked at Lu Yan as though he were an idiot. "Are you serious? I'm on the police's side now, and you're... How could we possibly meet again?"

"The next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

"And I don't want to get kidnapped again."

Lu Yan had no answer to that.

When the exchange site came into view, Mo Hua changed the subject. "Still, thank you for everything you taught me."

"And I really was happy during those days with you."

"So was I."

After getting out of the car, Mo Hua spotted Mo Feng and called out, "Brother!"

"Mo Hua! Are you all right?"

Mo Hua smiled. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

Mo Feng turned to Lu Yan. "I'm warning you. If my brother is hurt, I'll never let you off."

"Well, that depends on whether Officer Mo has what it takes." Lu Yan lowered his head and leaned toward Mo Hua. "Be good. You can't go over yet. Wait."

"Lu Yan," Mo Hua said. "Do you have a split personality?"

The man beside him now seemed nothing like the one who had been in the car.

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. I gave you a rare chance to express your feelings. What if you forget me afterward?"

Across from them, Mo Feng grew even angrier when he saw Lu Yan lean in. "Get away from my brother!"

Lu Yan ignored him and moved closer still.

Mo Hua paid him no mind. He kept talking to Mo Feng. "Brother, I'm sorry you had to come rescue me."

"It's fine. As long as you're safe."

Mo Hua smiled. "Don't worry so much, Brother. What would you do if something happened to me later?"

"Come on, I'm only saying that. Nothing's going to happen."

"Being kidnapped just got me thinking, that's all."

Lu Yan offered a sincere suggestion. "Why don't you two talk when you get home? This isn't exactly convenient."

"What's wrong with it?" Mo Hua shot back. "I haven't seen my brother in ages. Can't we talk? Can't I be scared?"

"Of course, of course. Go right ahead."

And so everyone witnessed something new: a hostage chatting during an exchange. They were so far apart that they had to shout to hear each other. How had they ended up having a conversation?

"You know, Brother, I've always thought you were amazing. You've caught so many criminals. You're my hero. I've wanted to be someone like you, too."

Lu Yan cut in. "What, so you can arrest me?"

"Shut up."

"It's a shame you still had to come rescue me." Mo Hua glanced at his watch. After all that talking, only a few minutes have passed?

Everyone else had already been listening for what felt like ages.

Even a colleague beside Mo Feng laughed. "Your brother sure talks a lot."

"Anyway, Brother, keep up the good work. Catch lots more bad guys. I'll be cheering you on."

Mo Feng had a vague sense that something was wrong. His brother had never talked this much before.

Uneasy, he called out, "Mo Hua."

Mo Hua tightened his grip on the object in his hand and smiled. "It's okay, Brother. I'll be with you soon."

He did not know whether Lu Yan trusted him too much, but Lu Yan had never tied him up or searched him. Everything had gone almost too smoothly.

After that, Mo Hua fell quiet. He turned to Lu Yan instead. "Lu Yan, if there's a next life, I think we'll be good friends. It's a shame we can't be friends in this one."

"And those days with you were some of my happiest."

Then, without warning, Mo Hua shouted, "Brother! They're making the exchange at an abandoned factory north of the city!"

He pulled out a small knife and drove it straight into his heart without hesitation. He plunged it in deep. Blood poured out at once.

Some of it even sprayed onto Lu Yan's face. Mo Hua collapsed, his words coming in broken gasps. "Lu... Lu Yan, if you really think of me as a friend, send... send me back. I... I miss my brother."

He admitted it: he was gambling on Lu Yan's feelings for him. He did not want them using his body to threaten anyone after he died.

Mo Feng watched, his eyes wide with horror. "Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua's action threw both sides into confusion. Then gunshots rang out, sending birds bursting from the trees.

Lu Yan stared blankly. Mo Hua's warm blood had splashed across his face, and more kept spilling from Mo Hua's mouth. For the first time, the sight of blood hurt his eyes. How could one person lose so much of it?

He dropped to his knees and gathered Mo Hua into his arms. "What are you doing? What are you doing? You could have gone home! I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you!"

Mo Hua managed a smile. "I couldn't let you get that shipment out because of me."

"One person in exchange for many. It's worth it." It was the only choice he had.

The gunfire was too heavy, and Lu Yan had too few people. They had no choice but to take Lu Yan and retreat.

Mo Hua watched Lu Yan leave. What a shame. If the knife hadn't been so small, I could've helped Brother catch him.

With the last of his strength, he turned toward his brother, who was running to him, and gave a faint smile.

I'm sorry, Brother, for coming back to you like this. But I know you'll be all right someday.

It's just... I won't get to see it.

Mo Hua struggled to keep his eyes open. He wanted to see his brother clearly, but his eyes closed all the same.

In an instant, fierce winds swept across the once-clear sky. Before long, a light rain began to fall.

"Mo Hua! Mo Hua!" Trembling, Mo Feng gathered Mo Hua into his arms. Rain carried the blood across the ground until it soaked into the soil.

"You fool. If you'd waited for me, you could have gone home."

"Didn't you say you were proud of me? I'm useless. I couldn't even protect you."

"I couldn't even protect you!" He had solved so many cases and saved so many people, yet... he could not save his own brother.

"Does it hurt?" Mo Feng touched Mo Hua's face with a trembling hand. The knife still lodged in his brother's chest made his heart bleed, as though someone were carving away his flesh bit by bit.

Of course it hurt. How could a knife through the heart not hurt? Mo Hua had always been afraid of pain. He had always been afraid of pain!

The little boy who had followed him everywhere, sweetly calling him Brother, would never wake up again.

From that day on, he had no family left.