"Uh—so, what happened next? Did you ever actually go to see her?" Shawn Young asked curiously.
"Yeah. When I was six, I went to work at a construction site, earned my first paycheck, and the very first thing I wanted to do was go see May Chan and give her my first time! But... it never happened..." George 'Oxhead' Gu sighed deeply as he spoke.
"Uh—so, why not? Did she refuse to see you?" Shawn Young pressed, still curious.
"No, it wasn't that. That day, something happened that changed both my sister's and my fate!" George 'Oxhead' Gu replied.
"Huh? So what exactly happened that day?" As soon as Shawn Young heard it had to do with May Gu, he perked up—he basically knew nothing about her past.
"Sigh... You know, back then, my family didn’t live on Temple Street—we were in Yuen Long. We weren’t well-off. My dad died not long after I was born, and to survive, my mom remarried. My sister and I followed her to Temple Street. My stepdad worked odd jobs at a mahjong parlor and was a total drunk. Plus, he was a complete bastard. My sister, during her teens, was so pretty she was called the 'Princess of Temple Street.' But that brought trouble. That old bastard stepdad of mine actually tried to sell my sister’s virginity for cash! He secretly made a deal with Big Mike Ma, the local triad boss, took a ten-thousand-dollar deposit, and sold my sister’s first night to him—without her knowing!" George 'Oxhead' Gu recalled, his face still full of rage.
"Whoa—so, what happened after that? Did your sister... did she—" Shawn Young asked urgently, his heart racing at the thought of May Gu’s tragic past.
"Relax, she didn’t get defiled by Big Mike Ma—though it was a close call," George 'Oxhead' Gu shot Shawn Young a glance and continued, "That night, I’d just gotten my first paycheck and snuck over to May Chan’s place across the street, ready to lose my virginity. Meanwhile, my scumbag stepdad broke my sister’s door while she was sleeping and let Big Mike Ma in, hoping he’d force himself on her. But my sister woke up and fought back, screaming for help. I was about to get started with May Chan when I heard her cries, so I ran back, and May Chan followed. My stepdad and Big Mike Ma’s goons stopped me at the door, but May Chan slipped inside, grabbed a pair of scissors from the table, and stabbed Big Mike Ma in the back while he was pinning my sister down. He didn’t die right away—he went berserk, tried to kill both May Chan and my sister. May Chan wrestled with him, told my sister to run, and fought him like crazy. Both of them got stabbed, and eventually Big Mike Ma died, but May Chan was left bleeding out—barely alive…"
As he spoke, George 'Oxhead' Gu’s eyes glistened with tears. He quickly wiped them away and continued, "Before she died, May Chan took all the blame for killing Big Mike Ma. She saved my sister and me, too. The whole thing blew up—the cops showed up, and my stepdad and Big Mike Ma’s men tried to pin the murder on us. But May Chan took the fall, and since everyone knew how dirty the whole thing was, once she took responsibility, the matter just kind of faded away after a while."
"Uh—so, what happened to your sister after that?" Shawn Young kept asking, still feeling shaken by the story even after all these years.
"Big Mike Ma was the king of Temple Street back then, so his death caused a huge stir in the underworld. Even though May Chan took the blame, his guys still wanted revenge. To avoid trouble, my sister left Hong Kong and disappeared for years—only came back more than a decade later! I asked her where she'd been, but she wouldn't talk about it. Still, she came back tough as nails and ended up as an Elder in the Thirteen Enforcers! She must've been through hell and worked her ass off. Thanks to her help and training, I became a branch boss in the Thirteen Enforcers myself." George 'Oxhead' Gu explained.
"Yeah, I bet..." Shawn Young was suddenly even more curious about May Gu’s mysterious past. He just couldn’t picture how someone as gorgeous as her could survive all those years in the ruthless underworld—the hardships must’ve been unimaginable for a normal person.
"Sigh... Let's not talk about my sister for now. She's super strong-willed, and even I, her own brother, don’t know much about her past. Unless she wants to tell you, nobody’s getting the details! Honestly, I’m curious too—but Shawn, you might get lucky. I can tell she really likes you!" George 'Oxhead' Gu said to Shawn Young.
"Oh—well, if she ever wants to share, that’d be great. If not, no big deal. We’re all in the game—everyone’s got secrets, right?" Shawn Young chuckled, knowing he had plenty of secrets of his own.
"Haha, true that. You know, before May Chan died, she told me something I’ll never forget." George 'Oxhead' Gu smiled and glanced at Shawn Young.
"Oh? What did she say?" Shawn Young didn’t look down on May Chan for her line of work—instead, he felt sympathy and respect. He understood that many women ended up in the sex trade because they had no choice.
"She said she was sorry to me, because she knew I’d been peeking at her from across the street for ages. She’d tease me on purpose—hey, that’s how she made a living. More regulars meant more business, right? I totally get it. Guys grow up, they want women, it’s just how it is." George 'Oxhead' Gu laughed, then added, "So when I finally went to see her as a virgin, she didn’t take my money—instead, she gave me a Virginity Red Envelope! I’ve kept it with me all these years."
As he spoke, George 'Oxhead' Gu took off a gold chain from around his neck. Hanging from it was a delicate red jade pendant. He carefully unscrewed the lid, revealing a neat stack of crisp Hong Kong bills inside. "See? This is the Virginity Red Envelope May Chan gave me! Six bucks inside!" he said.
"Whoa—a Virginity Red Envelope! So that’s a real thing? May Chan was seriously professional!" Shawn Young was stunned. He’d heard Alex Easton joke about prostitutes giving out 'virgin red envelopes' before, but always thought it was just a funny story—never expected to actually see one for real.
"Yeah! Before she died, May Chan gave me this Virginity Red Envelope and told me, if I never got married, I should look out for her sisters working here on Temple Street whenever I could. So, to this day, I help them out whenever I have time!" George 'Oxhead' Gu explained.
"Oh—so you’re here today to help them out?" Shawn Young asked, not quite sure what 'help out' meant in this context.
"Exactly! Upstairs is Cherry Lee, May Chan’s best friend. We already agreed I’d come by today for some fun. Cherry’s got great skills, especially with her mouth—so I’m heading up now! Shawn, we’re both men, you get it. If you’re bored, want me to hook you up so you can blow off some steam too?" George 'Oxhead' Gu grinned at Shawn Young.
"Uh—no, no thanks—you go ahead. I’ll just wander around for a bit. Come find me when you’re done," Shawn Young waved his hands. After all, he already had plenty of gorgeous, passionate women in his life—he really didn’t need to mess with any random girls for 'special services.'
"Haha—Shawn, I know you’re not short on women, but sometimes, wildflowers outside have their own flavor, you know? Anyway, I’m off!" With that, George 'Oxhead' Gu strolled over to a grayish building, casually greeted the middle-aged man at the stairs, and hurried upstairs to meet Cherry Lee.