Messy home
The high-speed train glided smoothly into the Anhe County platform. The modern station was bright and spacious, indistinguishable from the bustling Jiangcheng. However, as the two stepped out of the station, a stagnant air unique to the county town greeted them. Lu Yu felt that from the moment he set foot on this land, the emotions that had once calmed down a little began to tense up again.
They hailed a rather old taxi. Lu Yu gave an address, and Shi Guang remained silent from the moment he got in. He leaned his head against the cold window, watching the scene speeding by.
The car drove out of the brand new development zone near the high-speed rail station. The scene outside the window changed rapidly, and the brand new high-rise buildings were gradually replaced by low residential buildings.
The walls along the road had peeled away from years of wind and rain, revealing the mottled red bricks beneath. Black wires entwined like spiderwebs around utility poles fragmented the already cloudy sky.
The car finally stopped in front of an old residential building that looked quite old. The air was filled with a complex smell, including the smell of oil smoke from a small roadside restaurant, the slightly sour smell from the garbage can, and a musty smell that had not seen the sun for many years.
All of this made Lu Yu feel strangely suffocated. He was used to the urban atmosphere of Jiangcheng, which was full of endless possibilities, but this place seemed like a specimen sealed in a glass jar, slowly decaying.
The state of time After stepping into the area where he had grown up for eighteen years, every step felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead, as if every inch of land under his feet was stuck with memories that he didn't want to touch.
Lu Yu held his hand tightly and could clearly feel the sweat oozing out of his palm and the slight trembling coming from his fingertips.
They entered an old residential building, its doors rusted and peeling. The hallway was dim, requiring groping even during the day. The voice-activated lights had long since stopped working, and the walls were scrawled in red paint with phone numbers for locksmith services and outdated advertisements.
"Which floor?" Lu Yu's voice echoed in the empty corridor, sounding a little dull.
"...Fifth floor."
There was no elevator. They could only walk up the seemingly endless staircase, the handrails rusted, the walls covered in children's graffiti and black handprints left over from years of dread.
With each level he climbed, Lu Yu could feel the breath of time becoming more rapid. He gripped his own hands, the force so strong that it seemed to break his bones.
Lu Yu wrapped his own palm tighter around the cold, trembling hand. The flames of anger burned furiously within him. He couldn't imagine that he had walked this dark, depressing staircase alone for eighteen years. The loneliness and vulnerability he had once struggled to understand now had their answers.
Finally, they stopped in front of a shabby security door on the fifth floor. A faded Spring Festival couplet was still stuck on the door frame. The door was not closed tightly, leaving a crack ajar, like a wound that would never heal.
It was from that crack that leaked out a strong and disgusting smell of alcohol and a man's incoherent and violent curses.
Lu Yu pulled Shi Guang behind him, then he reached out and pushed open the half-closed door.
The scene behind the door was a thousand times worse than the worst case scenario he had imagined.
If the corridor is the prelude to depression, then this so-called home is the scene of a disaster.
All the warmth and order that the word "home" represents was utterly shattered here. The living room was a mess, as if it had just experienced a small earthquake. The dining table was overturned, and the broken pieces of dishes mixed with leftovers were scattered all over the floor. The sticky soup formed dirty pools on the floor. A huge hole was smashed in the TV screen, and the shattered LCD screen looked like a broken spider web. Several chairs were tilted here and there, and one of them, with its legs broken, lay alone.
The strong smell of alcohol in the air formed a disgusting taste.
Lu Yu's eyes quickly scanned the shattered space, his stomach churning. His gaze quickly found the curled-up figure in the corner of the living room.
Shi Guang's mother was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Her hair was disheveled, covering most of her face. She was still wearing an apron, but the blue apron was stained. When she saw Shi Guang at the door, her eyes, once empty and hopeless, suddenly erupted with shock and fear. It wasn't the joy of seeing a savior, but the panic of seeing a loved one fall into a trap.
She struggled to stand up, her voice hoarse and trembling: "Shi Guang?! Why are you back?! Go! Go!"
Her first reaction was not to ask her son for help, but to try her best to push him out of this dangerous place.
Lu Yu blocked the moment of complete ecstasy behind him, using his body to shield him from this harsh reality. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He began to examine the other people in the room.
Three men sat lazily on the living room's only tattered sofa, still in good condition. They wore tight black T-shirts, their muscular bodies clearly visible. Their bare arms were covered in faint tattoos. They crossed their legs, puffing away on cigarettes while gazing at the two uninvited guests at the door with malicious eyes.
Their eyes, like a group of vultures circling around carrion, were full of greed and ruthlessness.
There is no doubt that they are loan sharks.
At that moment, the bedroom door was violently slammed open. A slightly overweight, middle-aged man staggered out. He was shirtless, revealing a flabby beer belly. His face was flushed with the unnatural color of drunkenness, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with the violence and impatience burned by alcohol and anger.
He is the father of time, □□.
When he saw the door, he didn't feel any guilt or worry as a father. Instead, it was as if he had found a perfect outlet. His face, which was distorted by alcohol, instantly became hideous.
"You still have the nerve to come back?!" He pointed at Shi Guang and cursed loudly, saliva flying everywhere, his voice so loud that it almost lifted the roof off the roof. "Did that bitch call you to complain?! I'm telling you, I've been bullied outside, and now I can't even breathe a sigh of relief? If it weren't for me holding up this family, you two would have been starving to death! You little bastard, you've been in college for a few days, so you've grown up, right? How dare you glare at your father?!"
His abuse was unbearable to listen to, filled with the most shameless logic and the most vicious excuses. He turned all his failures and incompetence into the sharpest weapons, ruthlessly stabbing those closest to him.
Shi Guang's body, behind Lu Yu, began to tremble slightly again at the sound of this familiar voice, one that had long been etched in his bones. It wasn't anger, but a fear that had long since penetrated his bones.
□□'s gaze finally fell on Lu Yu, who was standing in the front. He narrowed his drunken eyes and looked him up and down with the contempt of examining cargo.
Lu Yu's tall figure, clean clothes, and handsome face were completely out of place in this dilapidated environment. This contrast strongly stimulated □□'s sensitive and self-deprecating nerves.
"Who is this?" He yelled at Shi Guang's mother in the corner, as if Lu Yu was just an inanimate object. "These are the shady friends your son has made outside? They're dressed up like decent people. What? Do they want to pay back his debts?"
As he spoke, he walked towards Lu Yu. The strong smell of alcohol, sweat, and cigarettes on his body was almost enough to make him faint. He deliberately puffed out his beer belly, trying to show the "dignity" of a grown man in this way.
Lu Yu raised his eyes and met □□'s turbid and violent eyes.
"Uncle, you've had too much to drink."
"Oh, you're quite courageous."
On the sofa, the tattooed man who had been silent all this time extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand that was about to burn to the base of his fingers in the ashtray full of ashes, then slowly stood up.
He was younger and leaner than □□, but his eyes were as calculating as a hyena on the savannah. Unlike □□, who was driven solely by emotion, he was more dangerous.
He walked over to □□ and patted his shoulder as if to soothe a barking dog. Then he turned his gaze to Lu Yu and put on a forced smile: "Little friend, this is not something you should get involved in. We have a normal debt relationship with Boss Chen."
"□□," he turned to look at □□, his voice instantly cold, "He owes us three hundred thousand, with interest compounded, it's now five hundred thousand. We're here today, not for anything else, but to get the money. Either give us the money, or..."
His eyes slowly swept across the dilapidated living room, finally landing on the old refrigerator in the corner. The greed in his eyes was undisguised. "...Use this house as collateral."
Five hundred thousand.
This figure hit Shi Guang's mother's heart like a huge rock. She knew that even if they sold themselves, they would not be able to raise this amount of money.
The tattooed man in the lead seemed very satisfied with her reaction. He paced over and walked in front of Shi Guang's mother, looking down at her condescendingly, his tone filled with naked threats: "Sister, I urge you to think this over carefully. We are reasonable people too. Paying back debts is only natural. If you can't come up with the money today, we brothers will have to stay here. If we bump into something, break something, or... accidentally hurt someone, it will be hard to say what will happen."
Time's breath was growing more rapid. His knuckles were turning white from the excessive force he exerted on Lu Yu's clothes. He felt like he was suffocating. His mind was filled with helpless memories of his childhood, trapped at home, listening to his parents' quarrels and the threats from creditors.
Lu Yu could clearly sense the state of the person behind him. He knew that Shi Guang's psychological defenses were on the verge of collapse. He couldn't wait any longer.
He glanced at his father, who appeared to be audacious but was actually weak, and then at the debt collectors, who seemed to be acting with impunity. His mind raced, assessing the situation. A head-on confrontation was absolutely impossible. The other side was outnumbered and a local tyrant. Shi Guang and he were both outsiders, and there was no way they could gain any advantage.
In this suffocating standoff, the man, whose mind was clouded by alcohol and humiliation, seemed emboldened by the tattooed man's words. He suddenly pushed the tattooed man aside and once again turned his attention to the young man he had offended.
"What are you looking at! Who do you think you are?" He pointed at Lu Yu's nose and roared, "This is my home! I can do whatever I want! Get out of here!"
As he spoke, he waved his arms, which were slightly swollen from years of drinking, and staggered towards Lu Yu. He wanted to use this most primitive form of violence to regain his dignity, which had long since disappeared.
Lu Yu's eyes suddenly became stern.
Just before the man was about to pounce on him, he moved.
His movements were as fast as lightning. He dodged the man's chaotic charge with a sideways movement. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and firmly grasped the man's wrist like a pair of pliers. He pressed it down and then used his knee to gently press against the numb tendon in the man's knee.
With a dull thud and a painful groan, the arrogant □□ was easily pinned to the ground by him, his cheek pressed against the cold and dirty floor, unable to move.
Those battle-hardened debt collectors were stunned by this sudden scene.
Lu Yu controlled him with one hand and took out his cell phone from his pocket with the other hand.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, he pressed three familiar numbers.
Then he raised the phone to his ear and spoke clearly:
"Hello, is this 110?"
"This is Room 502, Building 3, Xingfu Residential Area, Anhe County. Three unidentified individuals have illegally entered a residential residence, violently collecting debts, and restricting personal freedom. Serious domestic violence has occurred at the scene, and the victim has been injured. The perpetrator is currently intoxicated, emotionally out of control, and extremely aggressive. Please dispatch the police immediately."
On the other end of the phone, the operator responded seriously.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Yu loosened his grip on □□, stood up and returned to Shi Guang and his mother.
The expressions on the faces of the debt collectors, who had been arrogant and domineering at first, had changed from watching a show to being in shock and doubt. They had not expected this seemingly gentle college student to be so decisive, flipping the table in one move and making things out of control.
□□ was also stunned. He seemed to be mostly sober and collapsed on the ground.
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