Chapter 115: Family Meeting
Chapter 115: Family Meeting
From the moment Lu Xin entered the Old Building, he felt an unusual sense of oppression.
The entire hallway was deadly silent, without a single sound. Only some light from outside filtered through the gaps in the concrete structure, allowing him to make out the dim interior layout. Rows of empty rooms stood neatly on either side of the corridor, like silent sentinels or prison cells. The tightly shut doors and the corridor coated with Spider Webs decorated the Old Building without a trace of vitality.
Occasionally, feral cats or rats could be seen darting out from under the stairs or through holes beneath the doors, either chasing each other in fights or turning to glance silently at Lu Xin before swiftly disappearing into some unseen corner.
Little Sister followed behind Lu Xin, crawling upside down along the ceiling of the hallway.
She softly sung a tuneless song, seeming to be in a good mood:
“Little Doll, wailing cry, tiny toes wiggling, searching for Mommy,”
“Mommy hides beneath the bed,”
“Let’s not tell her where!”
“…”
“Little Doll, tummy’s sore, lying in bed all quiet and still,”
“Daddy’s gonna cook some grub,”
“Watching his Doll, he cracks a smile…”
“…”
Lu Xin couldn’t help but stop and said: “Little Sister, stop singing.”
Little Sister craned her upside-down body upright, her black hair dangling, and giggled: “Don’t you like it, Big Brother?”
“Yes.”
Lu Xin nodded. “You’re too badly out of tune…”
Hanging upside down, Little Sister swayed slightly, unsure how to reply.
…
…
Slowly, they had reached the fourth floor. Looking ahead, a sliver of light squeezed out from under the door.
In this cold, empty Old Building, only the house had a warm glow.
Little Sister stopped singing then, gently dropping down from the hallway ceiling and clinging to Lu Xin’s back.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Lu Xin knew Little Sister didn’t want to enter the room at this moment, which also meant Father must be especially angry.
He softly comforted Little Sister, then silently walked to the door and slowly pushed it open.
More light fell upon his face, but unlike its usual warmth, it felt oppressive and harsh.
Lu Xin squinted his eyes, adjusting to the light inside the room. He then saw the interior appeared shattered, as if it had endured a war. Furniture, even the floorboards, had visible cracks everywhere. A noticeable, deep slash scarred even the ceiling. Almost no single piece of furniture in the entire room was intact; everywhere bore marks of devastation.
In the middle of the room, an apron tied around him, Father sat silently beside the dining table, on one of the only chairs that looked relatively whole. He remained quiet as Lu Xin entered, but the Blood Threads in his eyes became more pronounced.
Meanwhile, Mother leaned against the wall, talking on the phone with a smile: “Miss Chen, what are you worried about? It’s nothing. Just a few robbers got into the city, that’s all. They’ve been dealt with. My son works in the relevant department, you know…”
“…Trust me now, alright? Don’t worry, rest well.”
“…”
“Thud!”
Father suddenly raised his hand heavily and slammed it onto the table. The already half-splintered table immediately collapsed completely.
The enormous noise grated on the nerves of everyone in the room.
“Trash! All of them trash! A bunch of fools who deserve to be used and killed…”
Father rose to his feet furiously, his eyes bloodshot. Veins bulged on his forehead like snakes writhing beneath his skin.
As he roared in fury, the row of knives suspended in the kitchen trembled faintly.
The light bulb hanging in the living room also swayed slightly.
The room itself began to tremble.
Finally, Lu Xin felt as if the entire Old Building seemed to sway mildly beneath him.
“Hsss…”
Little Sister, clinging to Lu Xin’s back, poked her small face out from behind his head and hissed lowly at Father.
“Tell me, are you trash?”
Father yelled, striding towards Lu Xin, his finger almost jabbing Lu Xin in the face.
He seemed intensely dissatisfied with Lu Xin, shouting: “You ran around all night! But what exactly did you achieve?”
“You let them all get away!”
“You were tricked into running your legs off, and got nothing for it…”
“…”
Lu Xin silently gazed at Father, standing motionless in place.
Even when his finger almost touched his own face, he did not move, and his eyes did not even blink.
“Enough, enough,” Mother said. “You’ve been angry for a whole day without stopping. Isn’t it true that the child has already returned?”
Behind him, Mother hung up the phone, then walked over lightly with a smile: “Now the whole family is gathered.”
“Aren’t we supposed to have a small family meeting?”
The four people in the room were present, with Father’s furious expression still lingering on his face; he twisted his head fiercely toward Mother.
Mother only watched him with a gentle smile: “Haven’t you fought enough?”
Father’s breathing suddenly became heavy and loud, his jaw clenched tightly, and veins bulged on his forehead like worms crawling back and forth.
“Mother is right,” Lu Xin said slowly at that moment, quietly watching them. “We really should have a proper discussion.”
Upon hearing his words, Father immediately turned to look at him.
“Exactly,” Mother responded with a light laugh. “There’s nothing in a family that can’t be settled with a good, seated talk…”
Smiling gracefully, Mother elegantly moved to the sofa and sat down lightly. Lu Xin glanced at Father, then carried Little Sister over and sat at the other end of the sofa. Both remained calm, waiting for Father to join them.
Father seemed somewhat angered by their dismissive attitude toward him, his temper flaring with greater intensity.
With a clatter, he forcefully pulled a chair over from near the dining table and sat down heavily on it, looking down at those on the sofa.
The atmosphere in the room began to stiffen and grow oppressive.
An invisible force seemed to be building constantly, unknown when it might erupt.
“I believe what I did wasn’t wrong,” Lu Xin said after sitting quietly for a while. “Since I’m drawing this salary, I should help others resolve problems. Just as the Old Dean once said, everyone does their own duty, so society can run smoothly… Additionally, since she helped protect the people at the Orphanage, of course, I must first help her protect the people in the Satellite City.”
Listening to these words, Father’s face visibly turned a deep red.
His fierce gaze seemed almost ready to burst from his eyes: “Even now, you still say such things? You protect others, but who protects us? What job, what duty? They’re just using you—it’s all their excuse!”
“You think they’ll thank you? They’d rather see you dead!”
“You’ve helped them with so much, but their first reaction is to distrust you, to tail you…”
“So, you should also let them die…”
“Otherwise, in this home, everyone, everyone will perish because of you…”
His words were like steel needles piercing the mind, fiercely churning within, making Lu Xin feel a headache.