Unexpectedly, Li Ye hauled the drunk man back. "Hold on. The formalities aren't finished. We have an obligation to warn tourists about misconduct. I'm formally warning you: Miss An is a respected, free, and professional tourism employee. You've insulted the face of Thailand's proudest industry. You will apologize to her."
The man glared at Ada, resentment burning in his eyes. But Li Ye's grip tightened like a vice on his wrist. Grudgingly, he spat out, "Sorry, Miss An."
Ada's expression was complex. She quickly murmured acceptance and urged him to leave, then turned to Li Ye with sincere gratitude. "Thank you."
They walked along the beach, the sea breeze feeling like a reprieve after a storm.
"What's wrong? You don't look very happy. I publicly lectured that guy, and you work here. Is it going to make things difficult for you later?" Li Ye asked.
"It's part of the job in hospitality. You meet all sorts," Ada replied, forcing lightness. "You didn't do anything wrong. You rescued me."
"Why did you sub for the singer when you had the night off?" Li Ye inquired.
"Just for fun. The main singer took leave – oh, that's David, the guy you saw in the footage. It's fine, the band knows me well, and there are hardly any guests. Manager doesn't mind. Everyone needs to unwind." She paused, looking at him. "I bet your job is intense. Life or death, all the time?" She gestured subtly towards his back.
Li Ye felt a chill down his spine, but he laughed. "Once, I was undercover in a telecom scam syndicate. I couldn't complete the mission, so they beat me all day. Luckily, I was clever and managed to get backup before they broke my legs."
She gasped. "Why do you push yourself so hard? Does your name, 'Ye' (业), mean 'performance' (业绩)? 'Work'?"
"No, it's the 'ye' from 'karma' (业力)."
She walked on thoughtfully. The Four-Faced Buddha on the beach looked solemn and mysterious in the night. She put her hands together and bowed deeply, then turned to him and said, "Do you think, with the Four-Faced Buddha here, the four deceased will go to heaven?"
Li Ye was amused by her question. "Do you know what the Four-Faced Buddha is?"
She shook her head.
"You're living in Thailand now. Might as well learn a bit about its culture. The Four-Faced Buddha isn't actually a Buddha. He's Brahma, a deity from Hinduism. In strict Buddhist terms, a Buddha is an enlightened being—a human. Brahma, on the other hand, is a god."
"Ah?" She looked confused. "But all Chinese tourists pray to him like a god ,like Guan Gong and Mazu! Does he bless people who don't even understand him?"
"Faith… if you believe, it exists. Even if you pray to Brahma asking for God's help, as long as you're a good person, both God and Brahma will hear you. So, just be a good person." Li Ye also pressed his palms together briefly. "That's why I rarely go to temples burning incense and praying."
"I've always wondered," she said, meeting his gaze. "This country is full of gods and devout people, even police stations have stupas. But is the crime rate lower? What role do faith, good, and evil really play in your heart?"
He seemed to be stumped by the question for a moment, but he quickly found his footing. "There are so many countries in the world with universal faith. Look at our neighbor, Myanmar; isn't it also embroiled in war? I believe that Buddhas do not interfere in human affairs. They are only responsible for setting the rules for heaven and hell, or for providing a way to escape the cycle of life and death, so that people can be responsible for themselves. As for gods, according to Buddhism, they are still within the three realms, so they will still interfere in human affairs. If you pray to the Four-Faced Buddha, it might actually work."
"Ohhh—" Ada drew the sound out. "That's a relief."
"However," Li Ye cleared his throat, "if you think Thailand is just a Buddhist country, you're only seeing the surface."
"What do you mean? Isn't Thailand Buddhist?"
"Thailand isn't just a Theravāda Buddhist country. It's a complex, even contradictory, yet surprisingly balanced religious blend. Hinduism and Buddhism arrived around the same time. Theravāda Buddhism provided the orthodox monastic system, but it wasn't the most politically influential. That role went to Hinduism—Brahma's cosmology gave divine legitimacy to royal power. And if you're into Thai horror films, you'll notice something else: a lot of ghost stories and urban legends have nothing to do with Buddhism or Hinduism. That's because Thailand also has a strong animist tradition. Every mountain has a mountain spirit, every river a river god. These local deities are the ones people rely on in their daily lives. That's why in Thai temples, you'll see Buddha statues alongside nāgas, Brahma, and even magical amulets and charms."
"You're incredible," she said, amazed. "How do you know all this?"
A complex smile touched Li Ye's lips. "After leaving the army, while studying for the civil service exam, I plowed through several thick volumes on Thai culture and history."
Ada looked at him with admiration—and something else she couldn't quite name. "But don't you think, if you treat faith as pure knowledge, you might lose that sense of reverence?"
"Revere what?" he asked. "I only believe in fairness and justice."
"But isn't death the only truly equal thing in the world?"
"If you think death is the end, then maybe it's equal. But if you have faith, you'll see it's not equal either. The rich can hire whole temples to chant sutras, guiding them to Amitabha's Pure Land or Maitreya's paradise to await Buddhahood. The poor? Without the means for good deeds, they might descend to hell or be reborn as animals."
"That sounds cruel. So even karma is unequal?"
He paused, gazing into the distance. "Perhaps on a longer chain of cause and effect, everyone finds equality eventually."
She pondered this, then suddenly grinned. "Karma is a bitch? Should I sing that?"
He laughed. "Discovering my name isn't so simple, huh?"
She joined his laughter, the tension dissolving.
She suddenly remembered something. "From your accent, you're a Thai-Chinese from the north?"
Li Ye nodded. "Chiang Rai."
Understanding dawned on her face. "Your grandfather came from Yunnan, right? There's a great Yunnan restaurant on Patong Beach. Highly recommended."
He was slightly taken aback—she knew that story too?（Northern Thailand is home to remnants of the Kuomintang (KMT) troops who retreated to the country in the 1950s after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Some of these remnants have taken root there, and their descendants are now part of the ethnic Chinese community in Thailand. However, for a long time, they struggled to integrate into mainstream society.）
Li Ye felt touched. He casually took out his phone, about to say, "Do you want to go sometime?" just as she got a call from her manager. She waved goodbye to him and walked away. His hand, holding his phone with the QR code for adding friends, was left awkwardly in the air.
Well.
Maybe she wasn't interested in hanging out after hours.
Or maybe his whole "karma isn't fair" speech had scared her off.
But her silhouette on that stage—and her back as she turned to leave—lingered in his mind the entire night.
Back at the Na-Khi station,he walked along Patong Beach and saw many singers, but he couldn't find the feeling he had when he saw Ada.
Eventually, he realized it wasn't her singing he missed—it was how, in a single glance, she'd seen through him.
He pulled out his phone and made a long-overdue call to his family in Chiang Rai. His mother asked how work was. Told him the whole village was proud.
He gave the usual answer: "Everything's fine. Take care of Grandpa."
And, as always, she reminded him,
"Don't come back to Chiang Rai."
He was starting to feel like a man with no home to return to.
——
Over the next two days, forensic experts from Bangkok confirmed the cause of death for all four victims. Their families signed off and agreed to local cremation before bringing the ashes home.
Only Mr. Wu's son insisted on staying to get compensation from the hotel and contact a local lawyer. He caused a scene at the police station for a whole day.
Songkhun, exhausted, sent Li Ye to mediate.
Arriving at the station, Li Ye was stunned. The situation was worse than he'd imagined.
Young Chairman Wu was alternately hitting his child and his wife, yelling, "It's over! All over! Get out!"
Li Ye swiftly restrained him. "Keep this up, and I'll issue a restraining order."
Wu struggled. "This is my family! None of your business!"
Li Ye asked calmly, "Are you a diplomat?"
Junior Wu was confused. "No, I'm not. So what?"
Li Ye flashed his handcuffs again. "Then you don't have diplomatic immunity! Assaulting family on police premises is my business. Didn't you know Thailand has strict domestic violence laws? They apply to foreigners too. Do it again, and I'll arrest you."
Wu quickly begged off. Released, he stormed out.
His wife, Bai Mei, stayed behind, hugging the terrified child and crying.
"Please don't blame him," she said softly. "He was fine on the island… His parents' death… it broke him.. He's not a bad person. He's usually gentle with me. His parents didn't treat me well, but he never yelled."
Li Ye couldn't stand her defending her man-child husband. "You have a good relationship with him? Are you sure?"
She quickly pulled out a bottle of pills.
"It's really not his fault. He has epilepsy and has been taking medication for it. The emotional outbursts are a side effect of the medicine. Look—"
Li Ye looked at the long list of English on the bottle, feeling a headache coming on. He said helplessly, "I can't read this. How long has he had epilepsy?"
Bai Mei wiped away tears. "He had it before we got married. He has frequent seizures. Maybe that's why his parents were so lenient with him. They didn't want him to worry about the company. They just wanted him to live a healthy and happy life."
Li Ye nodded slowly.No wonder this family seemed so strange. It all makes sense now.
Maybe all of this—was just a series of mundane family dramas.
Nothing more.Why was he overcomplicating it?
He tried to convince himself.
After his shift, Li Ye wandered along Patong Beach as usual. Something felt off—an itch he couldn't scratch.
Passing a famous gay bar, he glanced habitually at the crowd of curious tourists. Sometimes, if he felt like it, he could nab a user or two to boost his stats. But since Thailand's cannabis legalization two years prior, they'd gotten bolder. He'd lost the appetite for that kind of "justice."
Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his eye.
My God. Young Chairman Wu!
Wu was emerging from the gay bar, his arm intimately draped around a young male bartender. His demeanor – gentle, mature – was a world away from the raging beast he'd been at the station that afternoon.
Li Ye stood frozen.
Snapping out of it, he tailed them as they wound through side streets and slipped into a discreet hotel.
Li Ye waited outside. As he'd suspected, Wu emerged shortly after, adjusting his clothes. He scanned the area nervously before slipping away. Minutes later, the bartender followed.
Li Ye intercepted him.
After some questioning, the bartender confessed: "Alright, he's no first-timer. Said he was sick of putting on a show with his parents, pretending to be the loving husband. Exhausting."
Li Ye was stunned. "He's been here before?"
"Yeah, a few days ago, before the typhoon. Guy's got a temper and talks too much. Said his old man finally croaked, he's free, ecstatic." The bartender rolled his eyes, massaging his temples. "Who cares about his family drama? Listening to him talk so much is just bad karma for me."
Li Ye stood frozen, like he'd just been struck by lightning.
Seeing him frozen, the bartender leaned in coquettishly. "What's up, Officer Lim? Interested in him? Or me?"
Li Ye pushed him away.
"If he comes back, let me know."
On the way home, Li Ye called Kevin.
"What's Ada's status?" he asked.
Kevin replied, "Still not back. Said her mom's shop is super busy."
"Her family has a shop?" Li Ye asked, surprised. "When's she coming back?"
Kevin said confidently, "Don't worry. She'll be back. She always comes back."