Nanya Secondary School
What is coming cannot be avoided. When the dazzling morning sunlight squeezed in through the window covered with newspaper, Wu Shi knew that the family reunion meeting had arrived.
She washed up slowly, hoping to get out through the bedroom window. However, when she turned the doorknob to go out, she found that the door didn't budge!
A chill instantly shot up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She twisted the door a few more times, but it felt like it was welded shut. From outside, she could vaguely feel... a dull, heavy feeling as if something was holding it up. An ominous premonition, like icy water, instantly overwhelmed her.
"What the hell?" Her heart was pounding. She turned around suddenly and pulled open the bedroom door - it wasn't that the door lock was broken, but that it was blocked from the outside!
The scene before him made Wu Shi gasp.
Her small living room, originally meant to accommodate only two or three people, was now completely packed. The original sofa and coffee table had been forcibly pushed into a corner, and the center of the living room seemed to have been cleared to make room for the uninvited guests. The air was filled with the strong, expensive scent of cigar smoke and another acrid tobacco aroma, so thick that it was almost impossible to see the faces.
On the right-hand sofa sat a middle-aged man with a commanding presence. He wore a well-tailored dark suit, his hair meticulously combed. Between his fingers sat a thick cigar, the crimson flame flickering, wisps of smoke rising, never truly extinguished. He slumped in the sofa, seemingly relaxed, but his eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, held a hawk-like sharpness and scrutiny that sent a chill down his spine. It was Xu Keming, the current head of the Xu family.
Xu Man was clearly not the protagonist this time. She stood quietly behind her father Xu Keming's sofa, dressed elegantly, but the usual arrogance on her face was forcibly suppressed, appearing a little tense. She saw Wu Shi sticking his head out, and the corners of his mouth pulled into an extremely rigid, insincere smile.
Across from Xu Keming, on another single sofa, sat Xia Ziran. He wasn't wearing sunglasses, but he too held a lighted cigarette between his fingers. His posture was more casual than Xu Keming's, even a touch of cynicism. But the glint in his slightly narrowed eyes was equally impressive. Sparks flickered between his fingers, their smoke mingling and entwining with Xu Keming's cigar smoke, filling the small living room with the smoky air of a still-smoking battlefield.
Ms. Xu Jiamian was sitting on a small, improvised stool, slightly off the center of the "confrontation line" formed by Xu Keming and Xia Ziran. Her face was undisguised with disdain. She fanned her nose vigorously with her hand, her brow furrowed so tightly it could snuff out a fly. She rolled her eyes at the two heavy smokers, silently accusing them of turning her "living room" into a "gas chamber."
"Aunt," Xu Man's voice broke the suffocating silence, her voice achingly respectful, yet unable to mask an underlying distance and a subtle hint of contempt. "Is it such a small matter, is it necessary to disturb Grandpa personally?" She raised her chin slightly, her gaze fixed on Xu Jiamian. "Aren't we here to personally apologize to Aunt and Cousin?" Even so, her straight back and slightly raised chin didn't convey any hint of "apology" at all. It was clearly a condescending statement.
Xu Jiamian barely glanced at Xu Man, as if she were merely an obstruction. Her gaze, sharp as a knife, pierced through the mist and locked onto Xu Keming's expressionless face, shrouded in sunglasses. Her tone was icy, dripping with sarcasm: "When did the younger generation get to butt in here? Keming, you haven't improved at teaching your daughter in all these years." She deliberately emphasized the words "teaching your daughter," pointing the finger directly at Xu Keming, as if to say: Keep your dog under control and stop her barking.
Xu Keming's fingers, gripping his cigar, paused imperceptibly. He didn't immediately retort Xu Jiamian. Instead, he raised his other hand and, seemingly casually, slapped Xu Man's arm with a gentle, though not heavy, slap. The force wasn't heavy, but it carried an undeniable authority. Xu Man's expression froze instantly, her lips pursed into a straight line. She reluctantly took a half step back, completely silent.
The air in the living room seemed to have solidified into a lead block, making it hard to breathe. Wu Shi froze behind the door, feeling his hands and feet cold, even breathing cautiously.
At that moment, Wu Xiang, who had been standing silently in the shadows behind Xu Jiamian, took a step forward. This steady, powerful step instantly captured everyone's attention. He wasn't wearing a suit and tie, still dressed casually, even with the incongruous large bag of "Hainan Specialties" at his feet. But his upright posture, his straight back, and the sudden concentration of his dark face were no less impressive than those of the two big men on the sofa.
He looked around, his gaze lingering briefly on Xu Keming's sunglasses and the cigarette butt between Xia Ziran's fingers, before finally settling on the empty space in the middle of the living room. His voice was not loud, but it was like a rock falling to the ground, each word clear and with a decisiveness that left no room for questioning:
"I now have a clear understanding of the cause and effect of this matter."
His gaze swept across Xu Keming and Xia Ziran as if it were real, with a kind of insight that said, "Don't play tricks on me."
"It's clear who caused this disaster." He suddenly changed the subject, his tone instantly becoming cold and hard. "So, now, both of your families, and we, must immediately apologize to the 'families of the victims' who were forced homeless by the demolition! And to those children who were bullied in school, we must pay every penny of the compensation we owe them!"
Xu Keming's sunglasses were slightly raised, and Xia Ziran stopped smoking.
Wu Xiang's voice didn't pause for a moment, and his spearhead was directed at Xia Ziran: "And you, Xia Ziran. Your underground boxing club, which harbors so much filth and harms so much, will be completely shut down within three days! Those who are inside, those who should leave should leave, and those who should surrender should surrender! From now on, I don't want to see anything related to that place in the west of the city!"
His voice suddenly rose, carrying the unquestionable majesty of someone who had long held a high position, exploding like thunder in the small living room:
"We, the Black Dragon Gang, went through so much trouble to clean up our ranks and transform ourselves! We don't want to launch a second anti-gang operation because of these despicable, unremarkable people like you! We can't afford to lose face!"
The three words "Black Dragon Gang" were like a huge rock thrown into stagnant water, instantly stirring up invisible waves in the living room!
Xu Keming's fingers tightened around his cigar, sending ash cascading down. Xia Ziran's fingers burned directly from the cigarette, and with a hiss, he subconsciously stubbed the butt out on the coffee table. The cynical expression on his face vanished completely, replaced by extreme shock and a hint of... barely perceptible fear.
The entire living room fell into deathly silence.
It was no longer the tense silence of the previous confrontation, but a kind of submissive silence, crushed by absolute power, where not even a breath dared to be breathed. Xu Man's face was pale, her body trembling slightly, and she looked at Wu Xiang with eyes filled with incredible awe.
The living room, which had just been filled with smoke and looked as if it was about to burst into flames, was now filled with only the cold aftertaste of Wu Xiang's resounding words and a heart-pounding, absolute pressure.
No words.
No one dared to speak.
Because Wu Xiang's words were no longer requests, but orders. Because the threat of a "second anti-□□ operation" was no longer empty rhetoric, but a sword hanging over everyone's head, ready to shatter them. Furthermore, because the "Black Dragon Gang," a name long forgotten but still representing the most terrifying order in this city's underworld, spoke with a soul-shaking, undeniable authenticity from the mouth of this casually dressed man with a bag of mangoes at his feet.
Agree? No, this was no longer a matter of agreement. It was a survival instinct that made them choose absolute obedience.
Wu Shi pried open the door and watched the dramatic scene in the living room. She watched her "ordinary" father instantly transform into a "big boss" who controlled the power of life and death. She watched Xu Keming and Xia Ziran, who had been so arrogant just now, suddenly become silent and frightened... She felt that her worldview had once again been thrown into a crusher and ground into finer pieces than the dust outside the window.
Who is her dad...?! Black Dragon Gang?!
A full week had passed since the Black Dragon Gang incident, and the news had long since cooled. Wu Shi had also transferred to the heroine Yu Mian's school to begin her subsequent mission. Under her emotional persuasion, Xiao Qingqiu had managed to suppress his urge to transfer and successfully achieved zero communication with the heroine.
Three years of high school were neither short nor long, but for Wu Shi, who had no interest in studying, it was still easy to get through. Three years later, the mission of Nan Ya Middle School finally achieved a perfect result. Yu Mian successfully entered a prestigious university, and Xiao Qingqiu and Wu Shi reunited at the electronics factory.
"System, you finally gave me a happy ending."
"Host, the next world is about the love, hate and hatred of the Republic of China. Are you interested?"
"Cherish your life."
“What about the future of technology?”
"Cherish your life. System, I'm going to retire and enjoy my life. I'm coming to the island."
——End of the main text
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