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墨書 Inktalez
As the four of them sat at the dining table, the elderly couple enjoyed their tea while waiting for the meat to be served. The two younger ones slurped their porridge, and it was then that the parents officially began to summarize the recent behavior of the siblings. First on the list was Song Bunan's indifference. Although he had promptly sent a large sum of money for their trip after learning they were traveling, they strongly condemned his lack of even a single inquiry about them and demanded that he find a way to make up for it.
As for Song Buxian, he was first praised for his concern and greetings during this time. Then came the usual topic of finding a partner, but this time it shifted from urging him to hurry up and find someone to asking when he would bring a girl home for them to meet, along with checking her household registration.
The most voiceless among them, Song Bunan, quietly drank his porridge at the side, silently noting all the information in his mind for future reference. Meanwhile, Song Buxian was bombarded with relentless questions, struggling to lift his head as he answered dutifully, his spoon hovering in mid-air as he failed to get the porridge into his mouth.
"Alright." By the time his bowl of porridge had cooled completely and Song Bunan had finished eating while reveling in the parents' words, the interrogation finally came to an end. Their mother stood up, satisfied, and walked toward the kitchen while saying, "You two don’t need to worry about lunch today. Go downstairs and open your gifts; just don’t get into fights with others. Remember to wash your hands before eating! No sneaking snacks with your pocket money!"
At their ages—Song Buxian in his thirties and Song Bunan in his twenties—they were momentarily unsure whether to respond or argue back; after all, it seemed a bit excessive for them to go downstairs and compete with children for play equipment. Their father, however, remained rational and handed each of them ten yuan from their mother, telling them to use it to buy drinks.
Ultimately obediently heading out to play, the two sat in the community pavilion. Song Buxian sipped on the milk tea his brother had bought and remarked that he was increasingly beginning to suspect that their parents might be showing signs of dementia. The milk tea was so sweet it stuck in his throat, while only his brother, Song Bunan—who thought himself clever but was actually quite foolish—enjoyed it. Upon hearing this, he retorted that it was impossible; their father was very clear-headed.
“Oh? What makes you say that?” Song Buxian asked.
Song Bunan then waved the ten yuan in front of him triumphantly and said, “It used to be only five!”
“…” Perhaps they should take this kid to a reputable mental hospital first for a check-up, Song Buxian sighed. He tossed his nearly empty cup into the trash can and lightly teased his brother enjoying his milk tea: “But I’ve always been getting ten.”
When they returned home and obediently washed their hands for dinner, Song Bunan stubbornly appealed about how his allowance had always been five while his brother’s was ten. The result was that their mother completely blocked any way for them to get pocket money from their father in the future; they wouldn’t even be able to get a single yuan anymore.
Song Buxian kicked Song Bunan hard under the table.
“Good morning! Have you eaten yet?” Although knowing Xin Yi wouldn’t have her phone on during work hours, Song Bunan still diligently sent messages. Since her last reply of “Okay” last night, Xin Yi had completely disappeared. When he was awakened by his mother in the morning and instinctively looked at the person beside him only to confirm it wasn’t her, he reluctantly accepted that last night’s not-quite-goodbye really was a goodbye.
"My parents are here! They brought a lot of things for us, and there's a piece of clothing that suits me perfectly!"
"So many snacks, enough to last half a year!"
"Haha! Dad gave me some pocket money for me and my brother to buy snacks!"
"…My brother said he always gets ten bucks! Why do I only get five? Dad, ahhhhh—"
"Oh no, Dad gave us pocket money without Mom knowing. After I asked, Mom found out about Dad's little stash, and now we won't have any more pocket money QAQ."
"They brought back some noodles from this place, it smells amazing, with meat the size of my palm. By the way, Old Brother really does have a girlfriend; I think I saw a picture of her today =V=."
From day to night, after sending his parents home, Song Bunan returned alone to the house that had already been rummaged through. Fortunately, the people who searched had some conscience; they didn’t cause any damage while looking for things, just left it a bit messy. Sitting on the sofa, which had somehow become even softer after being tossed around, Song Bunan took a deep breath and sighed. At this moment, he felt a bit of heaviness in his heart.
He wanted to help Xin Yi and could easily mix into that group with his own skills. However, he couldn’t predict what kind of changes or troubles he might encounter once he got in. Right now, he still had Ghost Messenger and Shui Su to help him stay safe; if he intervened and lost that support, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Ah..." The man slumped onto the sofa like a puddle of mud, gazing at the ceiling as he expressed his dissatisfaction and confusion. Feeling restless, Song Bunan decided to eat something. He dumped all the snacks from the bag onto the coffee table without even looking and started grabbing them to eat.
His phone vibrated suddenly, startling him. He dropped the snacks and grabbed his phone to check—it was a transfer notification from Xiao Mei and Xin Yi. Song Bunan chose to view Xin Yi's message. The man had sent him a ten-dollar red envelope with the note: "Today's pocket money." He mentioned they were still discussing their plan to go in and were organizing their gear. They would be ready to move out tomorrow during the day but couldn't bring their phones; he told him not to worry.
"I'm not worried at all." Song Bunan quickly accepted the red envelope.
"Be safe. If you need anything, just contact me; I'll come help." He still left himself an option to go down this path because deep down, he didn’t want anything to happen to Xin Yi.
The response came quickly, indicating that they could handle things well, and along with it, a series of red envelopes were sent. The sender mentioned not knowing how many days they would be gone, so they sent a week's worth of pocket money. The amounts ranged from ten to fifty, and starting from the third one, each was in whole hundreds. Song Bunan couldn’t help but grin at his phone, wondering which family gives out such generous allowances; if his mom found out, she would confiscate his salary card.
"My salary card is with you; it's all your pocket money." After this message, Xin Yi fell silent again. Song Bunan suddenly remembered this and hurried to the study where he kept his life savings in a small cabinet. The cabinet, locked with two layers of security, was opened without any issue, and thankfully, the contents hadn’t lost a single cent. Holding both his and Xin Yi's cards, he felt as if he had survived a disaster; if even a corner was missing, he would definitely blow up the lab.
Suddenly, the phone rang. The screen displayed the avatar he had specially set for Xiao Mei. Upon answering, a boy's voice shouted at him, asking why he was online but hadn’t replied to any messages. Song Bunan sent a picture of his chaotic surroundings and said, "I just went through a major heist; I’ve only finished counting everything. Comfort me!"
"Comfort you? The Jiang Family has been invaded; your little mess is nothing! Comrade Big Guy should have already set off by now. Tsk tsk tsk, becoming Wangfu Stone at such a young age! Who was it that couldn’t sleep at night and cried into their pillow? I won’t say." The boy’s knack for schadenfreude had only improved over time. Song Bunan spat at him through the phone, feeling like he could drown him in spit if only he could reach through the screen.
"Hey hey, enough of that banter. Come over here; you can watch their entrance live!"
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