Chapter 31 Lively
Lin Xi did nothing else all afternoon but stare at the monitor screen watching the commotion.
After being slapped and scolded, Lei Bao went home crying and complaining. Gu Lanjuan was never one to suffer a loss, and besides, she held a prominent position in the gossip circle of the neighborhood. Anyone who upset her would be given a sidelong glance by all the aunties and uncles in the neighborhood the next day.
Having suffered such a loss at Fu Minjun's hands, he was not about to back down. So he took his wife and child and went straight to the third floor, where he started cursing loudly in front of Fu Minjun's house.
"What kind of petty woman would lay a hand on a child? What business is it of yours if my Lei Bao'er jumps down the stairs?"
If this had happened on the street during a normal time, Gu Lanjuan and Lei Bao, a group of "vulnerable people," would have certainly attracted the attention of the community. But now, with no onlookers, Gu Lanjuan's advantage is gone.
Seeing that Fu Minjun's door wouldn't open, she had nowhere to vent her anger. She took a deep breath and continued to yell, "If you have the guts to hit someone, why don't you come out and reason with us? If a zombie comes, you'll be the first one to eat us!"
"Bang!" The old security door of Fu Minjun's house slammed shut, and his wife came out with a kitchen knife.
Fu Minjun was a quiet man who only knew how to work and earn money. He usually enjoyed playing chess downstairs, leaving everything at home to his wife. His wife wasn't from Nanhua, but she had picked up some of the bold and uninhibited spirit of her hometown.
She was already tall and sturdy, and the way she held the knife made her look even more imposing and terrifying.
Lin Xi felt a sense of oppression even while watching the surveillance footage. What was even more oppressive was that the commotion in the corridor had attracted a large number of zombies that surrounded the building.
Looking out the window, Lin Xi could see several neighbors across the street quietly watching the commotion inside.
It's just a matter of watching and cursing. Of course, people will watch when there's an argument, but if the argument attracts zombies and puts their living environment in danger, then they should also curse.
Gu Lanjuan glanced at the kitchen knife, swallowed hard, and her eyes darted around: "What? You want to chop someone up? All the neighbors around here are watching!"
As he spoke, he turned around and pointed.
In Lin Xi's surveillance footage, Gu Lanjuan is staring wide-eyed and pointing at her own nose.
Because Gu Lanjuan was pointing to the surveillance camera on the top of Lin Xi's door, and since her house was opposite Fu Minjun's house, the surveillance camera could see everything clearly.
Gu Lanjuan shouted at the top of her lungs, "Not only did the neighbors outside see it, but Xiao Xi's security camera also captured it. If you dare to hit anyone again, once the zombies are gone, I'll call the police and have you arrested."
"..."
Fu Minjun's wife was not used to arguing, so she just brandished the knife in her hand to try to intimidate Gu Lanjuan. However, Gu Lanjuan had brought her husband Yang Hua with her. Yang Hua and Fu Minjun were chess friends and often saw each other. He did not want to participate in this brawl, but his grandson had been beaten and he could not control Gu Lanjuan, so he had to step in to argue.
Lin Xi, who was inside the door, didn't expect that even though she had installed her surveillance camera quite discreetly, Gu Lanjuan could spot it at a glance.
Just then, a "click" sound came from the hallway, followed by the sound of footsteps rushing past.
Gu Lanjuan and Fu Minjun's wife were both startled. They glanced downstairs warily, fearing that the building entrance had been breached and zombies had entered the building. Fu Minjun's wife even quickly retreated into the house and slammed the door shut.
Lin Xi knew that her security door didn't close like that; such a light and hesitant closing sound could only come from an old door that had been used for several years.
Lin Xi rewound the hallway surveillance footage and saw that Li Rong, Gu Lanjuan's neighbor across the hall from the second floor, took advantage of Gu Lanjuan's argument on the third floor, suddenly went out, closed Gu Lanjuan's door, and then quickly ran home to hide.
As Lin Xi was rewinding the surveillance footage, Gu Lanjuan also saw that her door had been closed, and couldn't help but yell, "Li Rong, you bitch!!"
The three of them, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson, didn't take the door key when they came out; the door was barred.
Li Rong's purpose in doing this was obvious: to make Gu Lanjuan's family homeless.
Lin Xi rubbed her forehead. When the stairwell was unsafe, everyone stayed inside their doors and behaved themselves. Now that security doors have been installed to ensure the safety of the stairwell, these neighbors have become even more mischievous.
She roughly knew why Li Rong did this. Gu Lanjuan and her family had argued several times in their early years over the location of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the range hood duct, which had created a grudge between them.
Gu Lanjuan was always gossipy and loved to spread rumors. In just a few days, she had made Li Rong's family look like nothing at all, so the two families naturally became extremely hostile towards each other.
To be honest, Gu Lanjuan, this kind of narrow-minded old lady, only showed some kindness and pretended to be a good person to Lin Xi, an orphan girl who was already pitiful after losing both her parents. She didn't have a good reputation among her neighbors who lived with her day and night.
Gu Lanjuan had just finished knocking on Fu Minjun's door on the third floor when she went back and started banging on her own door.
The three of them had just come out together, and now naturally no one could open the door, so they were left to live in the stairwell.
When Lei Bao realized that he hadn't gotten his way and was even locked out, he grabbed Gu Lanjuan's hand and cried and wailed, "Grandma, I want to go home, I want to eat, I want to watch TV, waaaah... I don't want to sleep in the stairwell."
Gu Lanjuan glanced at Li Rong's house across the street, which was tightly closed, then looked up at Fu Minjun's house. She was so angry that she clenched her teeth and stomped her feet.
He wanted to yell and curse, but he was worried that his own door was locked and he couldn't go in. The only security layer was the stairwell door, so he could only keep quiet for a while.
If it weren't for her grandson, she probably wouldn't have been able to open the stairwell door and let the zombies in, resulting in everyone perishing together.
Seeing that the farce was over, Lin Xi stretched, turned on the air conditioner, snuggled on the sofa for a nap, and then prepared dinner.
Although it was just a nap, she had a dream.
She dreamt that the doorbell rang at home, and through the endoscopic viewer she saw a handsome man who rarely appears in reality. He was simply wearing a white shirt, with no particular fashion sense, but he looked aloof, cold, and unreasonable.
She took a step back in fright when she saw the face clearly. The face was indeed handsome, but in Lin Xi's eyes, Lu Wei's face was similar to that of a zombie. Regardless of whether it was beautiful or ugly, it was there to take her life.
"Ring... Ring..."
Lin Xi looked at Lu Wei's face and dared not open the door, but the doorbell kept ringing and wouldn't stop.
She woke up with a start and found that her doorbell was indeed ringing.
Cold sweat soaked her loungewear, and goosebumps quickly spread across her arms.
Impossible... Nightmares won't come true... There's no reason for Lu Wei to knock on her door at this time.
But she still didn't dare to open the door, so she went to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water to clear her head.
The doorbell in the living room hadn't stopped ringing.
Lin Xi steeled herself and walked towards the door, where she saw the scene outside on the monitor...
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