Although satisfied with his progress, Michael still didn't forget about the revelation inside of the library.
Master S clothing is a complete scam. Well, even worse. It functions as an identifier to separate people from the inner and outer city. Should I do something about it? He said within his mind, practically asking Iris for her opinion.
No answer. Iris is probably still busy.
In the end Michael only sighed and decided to do nothing. Sure it was an injustice, but his role wasn't to fix those. He was just here by accident and still wanted to learn about this world without interfering too much.
He would still do what he wants but preferably within the confines of the established rules. Although not afraid, making enemies with high-ranking people would be troublesome for sure. Especially after already experiencing the attitudes of some privileged people, Michael decided that there was no need to interfere as long as it didn't affect him.
...
At the same time that Michael was contemplating his priorities, it was time for Tianfu to head to work. She quickly bade her brother goodbye before heading to the restaurant owned by Lan Rudong.
Although since Michael arrived she no longer needed to work, she still enjoyed it and couldn't quite bear to leave the old Lan Rudong alone after everything he had done for her and her brother.
Yes, there were some conflicts regarding Kaishi and lately Michael, but she still felt like Lan Rudong only wanted the best for her.
Thinking about Michael, a radiant smile blossomed on her childish face. He recently started to take care of her brother and her, and it felt like a completely new world had opened up for her.
Ever since Michael had arrived, there was no need to worry about what to eat at the end of the day or where to find any extra money to buy necessities. It felt like she was safe and like she had nothing to worry about at all. She felt completely free. A feeling that she couldn't quite grasp while interacting with Lan Rudong and before Michael arrived. Mostly due to the fact that he wanted her to separate from her brother and always tried to put restrictions on her personal life.
In her heart she just hoped that Michael could stay forever.
She arrived at the restaurant quickly and prepared for her shift of cooking and serving.
"Sister Fuuu!!!" Suddenly a shout was heard through the empty restaurant.
It was Lan Shi, Tianfu's coworker and best friend. Although Lan Shi was a few years older than Tianfu, she was still a child. She herself always listened to Lan Rudong and rarely went outside on her own, since Lan Rudong deemed it too dangerous. Therefore, she lacked real-world experience and behaved more childlike than Tianfu.
Lan Shi ran towards Tianfu and gave her a big hug. "Sister Fu, it's so good to see you again. It's always so boring without you. Even more so when Lan Rudong isn't here during the weekends."
Tianfu, after hugging Lan Shi for some time, answered with a smile. "Sister Shi, you have to come over to our house during the weekends. There it is always lively, and ever since Michael moved in, heavenly food has been served every day. It would be very fun to have you come over some time."
Lan Shi looked around to make sure nobody was around and then nearly whispered to Tianfu. "Sister Fu... You know that I'm not allowed to go out on my own. Lan Rudong is very strict in this aspect, you know it, and hearing the stories about kidnappings, I don't even want to go outside anymore. Boring is better than dangerous."
"Sister Shi, how many times have we been through this? Just sneak out when Lan Rudong is not here on the weekends. I will accompany you. Nothing will happen to you. You just have to know where the evil people are and how to avoid them. Nothing ever happened to me, and I walk here almost every day."
"But sister Fu..."
The two of them talked for some more time, but Tianfu already knew that this topic was pointless to discuss. It would always turn out similar. Either she convinced Lan Shi to head outside, but then she wouldn't come, or she would say no from start to finish.
As they discussed, suddenly Lan Rudong came in and spread his arms wide open. It was unknown whether he had heard the two.
Lan Shi used the situation to escape Tianfu's attempted persuasion and instantly ran towards Lan Rudong's open arms and hugged him while Tianfu just stood in place awkwardly.
Lan Rudong hugged Lan Shi while smiling at Tianfu. "Come here, little Fu."
"Lan Rudong, I'm already too old for this, and stop calling me little Fu; my name is Tianfu."
"Oh, excuse me, I totally forgot." Lan Rudong dramatically hit his forehead. "The adult Tianfu doesn't want hugs anymore. My poor old heart will be broken some day if you continue to stare at me so coldly after not being able to see you for two full days. Come on, don't leave me hanging like this, or else I might die of sorrow." Lan Rudong said and acted like he was about to fall.
In the end, Tianfu, although recognizing the act, still felt bad enough to hug Lan Rudong shortly before pulling away. Recently she had been feeling more and more uncomfortable hugging Lan Rudong, since it always felt like he would prolong or deepen the hug with her unnaturally.
Although Lan Rudong didn't like her brother and even hated Michael, she still felt like he just wanted the best for her. So even though his wishes occasionally felt uncomfortable, she still chose to oblige most of them.
There was still some time before the preparations needed to be completed and guests would arrive, and as usual, Lan Rudong would hold a meeting, outlining some important points for each day's dinner service.
Lan Rudong would be quite strict during this process and lay the foundation of discipline and attention to detail in the minds of his two workers. This was one of the many reasons that his restaurant was one of the best within the outer city while simultaneously being one of the most famous ones due to the weekly free meal day.
After outlining some important points, Lan Rudong's expression suddenly turned even more serious.
"One last important topic: While visiting the inner city this time, I heard some dangerous news. Apparently two weeks from now, the beasts from the forest will be rampaging through the outer city. Nobody who stays will be safe." He paused and looked at the shocked faces of Lan Shi and Tianfu. "You two are the people I value the most. I want you to stay safe, so please stay with me in the inner city starting a week from now until the disaster ends. Only that would leave me at peace."
His expression was sincere, and the worry was visible.
"But... but, the costs. We can't afford to purchase a pass to stay in the inner city," Lan Shi said.
"It will be fine; I head to the inner city every week. I have enough savings for both of you to stay for an extended period of time as well."
"I won't leave my brother behind!" Tianfu said. She knew that Michael had visited the inner city a few times already and should not have any trouble entering again if any danger were to arise.
Ideally she would live with Kaishi and Michael in the inner city during this time, but she didn't want to trouble Michael any more than she already had. He had already done so much for them without receiving any real repayment.
"Ok, Tianfu. You know that I don't particularly like your so-called brother, but in dire times like these I will allow it. Next week, this time we will leave together."
"Ok?" Tianfu was surprised by the agreement. Normally Lan Rudong would reject anything that had something to do with her brother, so she was surprised that he agreed without any need to even argue.
Lan Shi, who originally was ready to listen to 30 minutes of arguing, smiled happily. "Staying in the inner city with Sister Fu. What an adventure!"
The meeting was over, and soon the dinner service started. It was stressful as usual, and after 10 hours of hard work, Tianfu bade farewell and headed home. Her mind was already busy anticipating the delicious dinner.
Lan Shi, meanwhile, stayed like she always did. She lived inside of the building right next to the restaurant together with Lan Rudong.
She would eat dinner from the leftovers of the dinner service every day before either spending time with Lan Rudong or heading to her room.
Ever since she got picked up from the street, after nearly starving to death, Lan Rudong has been her savior and hero. Naturally, she had no problem with his arrangements. Even though she had to work hard, her life, although sometimes dull, felt safe and fulfilling. Therefore, her main goal was to repay Lan Rudong for his goodwill.
"Lan Shi. Stay in your room tonight. Understood?" Lan Rudong said to her.
"Ok," Lan Shi replied obediently as always. She was already used to this request. Once a week she would be told to stay in her room. She didn't know why, but she never thought much about it either. Lan Rudong wanted the best for her, so anything else didn't matter too much.
She quietly headed to her room and closed the door behind her. Her room was tidy and without any holes in the walls. She had a single bed, a wardrobe, and some wooden toys.
That was the only aspect of her life that she hated. She sometimes felt like she was captured inside. Inspired by Lan Rudong and his weekly effort to feed everyone, she herself wanted to do good too.
She wanted to change something. She wanted to make no one experience what she had gone through. She wanted to make people's lives better and not just by feeding them. She wanted to change something… maybe everything.
She wanted to make Lan Rudong proud. But without even leaving her home, there was no real way to fulfill her dreams…
She sighed and just put out the lights and quietly lay in her bed while trying to listen to the sounds outside and think about something else, but outside of a few occasional footsteps, nothing was heard, leaving her thinking even more.
As usual. During the day it was lively and loud, and during the evening and night not much was heard outside. She never understood why; wouldn't there be some drunk and dangerous people outside at night?
Since there was nothing else to do, Lan Shi slowly drifted into an irregular, light sleep. She was close to succeeding until suddenly a loud shout was heard.
Lan Shi sat up straight instantly. A habit from her past. When something was loud, it was time to run, at least before living with Lan Rudong.
Following the shout, the sound of breaking wood was heard, followed by a scream. This time the sound held no authority and was only filled with pain.
Lan Shi, hearing the commotion and now being wide awake, had listened closer this time and realized that the sounds didn't come from outside but more likely from the inside.
Lan Rudong! She quickly got up from her bed and was about to run out to see if everything was alright with the old, fragile man that saved her.
She was very scared, but Lan Rudong could be in danger. After thinking quickly, she came to the decision to sneak around and check the situation without alarming anyone first.
She wasn't allowed to leave, but this was a matter concerning Lan Rudong's safety. She had to do something.
The commotion had already died down, and quietness was present again. Lan Shi carefully opened her door and took small steps, getting closer and closer to the source of the earlier sounds.
Around her was nothing but darkness except just a tiny ray of light shining through the crack of the door downstairs. This tiny ray of light was bright enough to illuminate her way down the stairs in complete silence. The direction she headed also matched with the direction of the previous sounds. Her heart beat faster and faster as she anticipated what the situation would look like.
As she got closer to the crack, she could suddenly hear voices. The closer she got, the more she could understand what was said and, more importantly, who was speaking.
Not wanting to alarm anyone inside, she didn't dare to look directly through the open crack of the door and instead tried to lean as close as possible to it without actually touching and pushing the door open. She needed to understand the exact words said; Lan Rudong's situation was still unclear.
"Do you still want to quit?" She heard Lan Rudong's voice.
"No, no, we don't dare. We will do as you say. But, but the beast tide. How many brothers will die?" An unknown voice answered, stammering.
"I don't know. Most? It doesn't matter; everyone in the outer city was destined to die from the start. Accept it and move on. As long as you do what I say, I will save everyone present in this room. That's what I can promise. Nothing more, but not anything less."
Lan Shi covered her mouth as to not make a sound. Everyone in the outer city was destined to die? She couldn't quite process these words but kept listening, feeling like she witnessed something unbelievable.
"Alright. Listen closely one more time. When the man named Michael leaves and the children are alone, you will send a group of your men to break into their home and pretend to try to kidnap them. Then, when the male kid does anything to defend his sister, you directly kill him. Then your group will take the girl without injuring her a lot, especially not her face. Afterwards, you will send another group of your men to defeat your first group. I will act as the person who called them. Now the only thing left to do is for your first group to "confess" to being sent by Michael. Later, when Michael comes back, you can bring him to me so I can finish him, or wait, I think I will just deal with him myself," Lan Shi heard Lan Rudong saying, and from the tone it seemed like a large smile was plastered on his old face.
Lan Shi, who heard every word, almost stormed into the room just to clarify if what she just heard was the reality. In the last moment, though, she hesitated. She quickly controlled her first impulse, turned around, and returned to her room.
What did I just hear? Attacking Tianfu and Kaishi?! Killing Kaishi?! Everyone in the outer city will die?! What is going on?!
Lan Shi's mind raced with the new information she had just received. The longer she thought about the questions in her mind, though, the stronger another question that lingered above everything surfaced in her mind. Is Lan Rudong a bad guy?
It was unmistakably his voice. She knew it. It was undeniable, as much as she wanted it to be. But it didn't make any sense. Why would Lan Rudong be so different all of a sudden? Was that the real him?
Her mind kept spinning in circles, but in the end the real question, through all the identity crises she was having, was, would she tell Tianfu about this?
She had too, yet Lan Rudong was the person she would die for. She did everything he told her without question. Was she now an accomplice?
She thought hard for an entire hour and came to a decision. She would tell Tianfu about everything she heard. It seemed like an issue that needed to be shared. She couldn't bear to betray Tianfu like that. And she wanted to do good. Just because Lan Rudong did everything for me doesn't mean that he can just kill everyone he wants now.
Lan Shi's decision stood, but suddenly she thought about something else.
Why were the people afraid of him? Why did he say he wanted to take care of Michael himself? Isn't he an old, frail man? And lastly, did he hear me?
Her way back to her room was panicked; she wasn't sure if it was quiet or loud.
As soon as someone was suspicious, a lot more irregularities would surface. Lan Shi didn't know what to think about Lan Rudong anymore, but she was sure about one thing. She somehow needed to leave before Lan Rudong became suspicious of her or even outright caught her.
The person she had trusted the most over the last 7 years, her personal role model, suddenly became the person she feared the most.
*knock knock*
Lan Shi nearly fell out of her bed when the knocking sounds reverberated through the room.
The door opened slowly, and Lan Rudong entered before closing the door behind him.
His face was kind, and he had a small smile on his face.
It was the same expression he would usually have when looking at Lan Shi. Instead of the usual warmth she would feel seeing this face, though, the only thing she felt while seeing this face right now was incredible dread.
Her heartbeat quickened until she could hear it clearly; her hands were clenched nervously as her whole body started to sweat. Everything was the same as it always was, yet it seemed completely different.
Lan Rudong closing the door meant she had no way of escaping. At this second, she felt like she was caught. She felt like something terrible would happen at any moment now.
Inside, besides her obvious fear and nervousness, she also felt… shameful and… guilty?
Shameful because she couldn't see through Lan Rudong's facade at all, even after spending all this time with him, but still guilty for wanting to betray the man who saved her.
Lan Rudong, looking at Lan Shi with an unchanging expression, suddenly spoke. "Little Shi. I think we should have a talk..."