"I heard Mandarin Chinese! And they were not beaten up!"

Few probably would understand the excitement seeing this couple chatting in Mandarin Chinese when I was strolling around SOGO in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay after a long day reporting on the unrest in the city. But before I jump to explain why I was so excited, let me tell you a story first. 

A law professor went instantly viral after a clip surfaced, which showed that she continued her lecture at the City University of Hong Kong on November 11, even though protesters occupied her university. On the mainland, that date is celebrated as a huge online shopping festival — Double 11 — created by e-commerce giant Alibaba , which was about to offer its secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, it was a dark day in Hong Kong, especially for its universities.

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Black-clad protestors and radicals occupied several universities on November 11. Clashes between demonstrators and police soon turned campuses to battle-like scenes. Fires, vandalization, shoutings, threats, tear gas… all over a place intended for academia.

Priscilla Leung, also a barrister-at-law, did not stop her teaching on that day, however. The fire alarm did interrupt the start of the lecture as she told me, but she carried on. In the clip spread on the internet, Leung told students, while the fire alarm was ringing in the background, "So the reason that we insist on going on is that we don't want to give a message that people would give in because of violence." 

I met Leung in Sham Shui Po — one of the worst-hit districts by the unrest. The first thing she said to me was "Glad you guys are safe. We need to be careful walking around this neighborhood."

She then told me that the experience on November 11 was just like in the movies — wartime movies.

"Like in the old days in the 1930s when warplanes were flying above, a group of very very good students, they decided to stay and learn," said Leung.

The barrister-at-law said it was her students who gave her the confidence and will to finish the class.

"They love the class; they paid the school fee; they want to be lawyers. They do not want to give up any chance to learn. And the sharing of such an experience — it is to say no to violence," she added.

One month ago — my million dollar question was what protestors want, and now it's become how the Hong Kong government is going to effectively deal with the deteriorating situation. 

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Matthew Cheung, Carrie Lam's right-hand man announced the establishment of a special team to deal with escalating violence during a Friday press conference at the same room where Carrie Lam announced the anti-mask law — a room with a huge screen displaying "Treasure Hong Kong, End Violence." 

Leung also has her thoughts on this move — especially — she said it was her suggestion to set up the special committee. One of the new measures is to show zero-tolerance on civil servants who involved in illegal activities. According to the Chief Secretary, arrested civil servants will be suspended immediately. 

"Those civil servants can occupy a very top position in the government, so they (the government) have to take action. The law requires that you have to neglect the background of the person. If the act has breached the law, you implement the law. There is no time to wait. We should not wait," said Leung. 

Although Leung and over 70 of her students pulled through their three-hour lecture with escalating violence nearby, universities in Hong Kong now have either terminated the semester early or moved the rest of the courses and exams online. Many have also canceled the graduation ceremony. The city's education bureau said that over one million students had been affected. 

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Things are getting quieter this weekend — the rumor is that protestors have urged radicals to take a break for now — a little room to breathe. I decided to take a stroll. 

However, I am not sure if the young man who just prepared a dessert for me would turn to a masked radical when the time comes, and I am not sure if the young lady who just smiled at me across the road would become a "supergirl" who builds roadblocks when the dark hours return. 

And all of a sudden, I heard a few lines in Mandarin — discussing where to get dinner. I peaked — a young couple — holding each other's hands. And people on the street did not stop or harass them.