Chapter 115: Family Meeting

From the moment he stepped into the old apartment building, Lu Xin felt a strange sense of oppression.

The entire hallway was deathly quiet, utterly silent. Only slivers of light seeped in from outside through gaps in the concrete structure, allowing him to make out the vague layout inside. Empty rooms stood in neat rows on either side of the hallway like silent guards or prison cells. Closed doors and corridors thick with spiderwebs stripped the old building of any sign of life.

Occasionally, wild cats or rats would scurry out from the stairwell or holes under doors. They’d chase each other, fighting, or sometimes pause, glance silently at Lu Xin, then quickly dart back into some unknown corner.

Sister followed behind Lu Xin, crawling upside down along the ceiling.

She hummed a little tune under her breath, sounding quite cheerful:

“Little baby, ooh-wah-yah, bare feet looking for Mama…”

“Mama’s hiding under the bed…”

“Let’s not tell him!”

…

“Little baby, tummy’s hungry, lying in bed saying nothing…”

“Papa’s cooking in the kitchen…”

“He’s secretly smiling…”

…

Lu Xin couldn’t help but stop walking. “Sister, stop singing.”

Still upside down, Sister straightened up slightly, her black hair cascading down. She giggled, “Don’t you like it, Brother?”

“No.”

Lu Xin nodded. “You’re terribly off-key…”

Sister swayed upside down, unsure how to respond.

…

…

Slowly, they reached the fourth floor. Looking ahead, they saw a sliver of light escaping from under a door.

In this cold, empty old building, only home offered the warmth of light.

Sister stopped singing then. She gently dropped from the ceiling and clung to Lu Xin’s back.

“Don’t be scared.”

Lu Xin knew Sister didn’t want to go inside right now, which meant Father must be absolutely furious.

He murmured a word of comfort to his sister, walked silently to the door, and slowly pushed it open.

More light flooded his face, but it wasn’t warm like usual. It felt oppressive and harsh.

Lu Xin squinted, adjusting to the light inside. Then he saw it: the room was a wreck, looking like it had survived a war. Furniture, even the floor, was covered in cracks and damage. A conspicuous, massive scratch marred the ceiling. Hardly a single piece of furniture remained intact; signs of destruction were everywhere.

In the middle of the room, Father sat silently beside the dining table, wearing an apron. He occupied the only chair that still looked somewhat intact. When he saw Lu Xin enter, the bloodshot veins in his eyes became even more pronounced.

Meanwhile, Mom leaned against the wall, talking and laughing into the phone. “Miss Chen, what are you worried about? It’s fine, just a few robbers entered the city, but it’s already been handled. My son works for the relevant departments, you know…”

“…Just trust me, okay? Don’t worry, get some rest.”

…

*Bang!*

Father suddenly slammed his hand down hard on the table. The already cracked dining table immediately collapsed.

The loud crash grated on everyone’s nerves in the room.

“Useless! All of them are useless! A bunch of trash fit only to be used and killed by others…”

Father shot up in anger, his eyes crimson red. Blue veins popped on his forehead, looking like snakes writhing beneath his skin.

As he roared in fury, the row of knives hanging in the kitchen began to tremble slightly.

The light bulb hanging in the living room flickered and vibrated.

The room itself started to shake.

Finally, Lu Xin felt as if the entire old building was swaying slightly along with it.

*Hiss…*

Clinging to Lu Xin’s back, Sister poked her little face out from behind his head and let out a low growl directed at Father.

“Tell me, aren’t you useless?”

Father shouted as he advanced on Lu Xin, his finger jabbing almost into Lu Xin’s face.

He seemed incredibly dissatisfied with Lu Xin, yelling, “You ran around outside all night, but what did you actually accomplish?”

“You let all those people get away!”

“You were tricked into running yourself ragged, and for what? Absolutely nothing…”

…

Lu Xin watched his father silently, standing perfectly still.

Even as his father’s finger nearly touched his face, he didn’t move, didn’t even blink.

“Alright, alright, you’ve been angry all day, give it a rest. The boy’s back now, isn’t he?”

Behind him, Mom hung up the phone. She walked over lightly, smiling. “Now that the family’s all here…”

“Shouldn’t we have a little family meeting?”

…

Of the four people in the room, Father’s anger hadn’t subsided. He whipped his head around to glare fiercely at Mom.

Mom simply smiled back at him. “Haven’t you had enough fighting yet?”

Father’s breathing instantly grew much heavier. He clenched his jaw, the veins on his forehead writhing like earthworms.

“Mom has a point.”

At this moment, Lu Xin slowly spoke up, looking calmly at them. “We really should talk things through.”

Hearing this, Father immediately spun back towards him.

“Exactly! What is there that a family can’t sit down and discuss calmly…”

Mom, still smiling warmly, had already glided gracefully to the sofa and sat down lightly. After glancing at his father, Lu Xin carried Sister to the other end of the sofa and sat. They both waited quietly for Father to join them.

Father seemed provoked by their dismissive attitude, his anger flaring even hotter.

*Crash…*

He yanked the chair from beside the ruined dining table, slammed it down, and sat heavily, looking down on those seated on the sofa.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense and heavy.

An unseen force seemed to be building, ready to erupt at any moment.

…

…

“I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

After sitting down, Lu Xin remained silent for a moment before speaking. “Since I draw this salary, I should help solve some problems. It’s like the Old Director used to say: if everyone does their job well, society can function normally… Besides, she helped protect the people at the Orphanage, so of course, I had to protect the people of Satellite City for her first.”

Listening to these words, Father’s face turned visibly red.

A vicious glint flared in his eyes, almost shooting out. “Even now, you’re still saying things like that? You protected others, but who will protect us? What job? What position? That’s just them using you! It’s all their excuse!”

“Do you think they’ll be grateful? They wish you were dead!”

“You did so much for them, but their first reaction was to be wary of you, to track you…”

“That’s why you should let them die too…”

“Otherwise, everyone in this family, everyone, will be killed because of you…”

…

His words felt like steel needles stabbing into Lu Xin’s mind, twisting cruelly and making his head ache.