Chapter 55: Strange Noises Outside

Father Lu watched the figure that never once looked back disappear through the doorway.

As the door slowly swung shut, silence settled over the study once more, leaving only the fading steam rising from the tea on the table and the occasional whisper of the wind outside.

His gaze remained fixed on the closed door, but his mind kept replaying the final words Lu Nian'an had left behind.

"Tell your eldest son that after he finishes dealing with everything the day after tomorrow, he should report to the company and take as CEO."

Father Lu sat frozen for a long moment.

CEO? And what exactly had she meant by "after he finishes dealing with everything"?

What was there to deal with?

He frowned, pondering the words for quite some time before finally pressing the call button on the side of the desk.

Not long afterward, the old butler entered the room.

"Sir."

After a brief silence, Father Lu looked up and asked,

"What has my eldest son been doing all these years?"

The butler's expression immediately turned rather awkward.

"Well..."

Father Lu glanced at him.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

After a moment's hesitation, the butler answered honestly.

"Your eldest son has been working for the Young Miss all these years."

"Working?"

Father Lu blinked.

"What kind of work? Her secretary?"

Silence filled the room for several seconds.

"Excuse me?”

Father Lu stared at the butler, completely dumbfounded.

His expression was one of genuine disbelief.

"Why have you never told me?"

The butler let out a bitter smile.

"Because... you never asked, Sir."

Father Lu opened his mouth, only to realize he had no response.

He had spent all these years believing he was fighting for his children's future, never realizing they had already found their own paths long ago.

Leaning back against his chair, he suddenly found the whole situation absurd.

For so many years, he had desperately struggled to secure something for his sons—something they had never actually needed.

Yet all this time, he had sincerely believed he was paving the way for their future.

At the thought, he lowered his head and began to laugh.

The laughter was quiet, carrying an unmistakable sense of desolation.

He laughed for a long time.

Only after the corners of his eyes had begun to redden did he finally stop.

Looking out at the trees swaying gently beyond the window, he spoke in a weary voice.

"Tell me."

"Does my daughter remind you of me... back when I was at the height of my success?"

The old butler smiled faintly.

"Yes, Sir. Miss Lu's accomplishments today are every bit as brilliant as yours were back then."

Father Lu slowly shook his head, his eyes distant.

"No."

His voice was barely above a whisper, yet it carried pride, sorrow, regret, and lingering unwillingness all at once.

"She's far better than I ever was."

Lu Nian'an drove the car away from her father's estate.

The vehicle descended the winding mountain road while the scenery drifted past outside the windows, but her thoughts remained trapped inside that study.

She had to admit that, deep down, she had always held on to a small hope regarding her father.

Even if it had been nothing more than a single word of affirmation.

Even just one acknowledgment.

And today, she had finally received it.

Her father had acknowledged her abilities.

He had even apologized.

Yet for some reason, instead of feeling relieved, an indescribable heaviness settled in her heart.

Xia Jiuwei sat quietly in the passenger seat, sensing the complicated emotions swirling inside Lu Nian'an.

She said nothing.

She simply stayed beside her.

Not until they arrived home, walked into their apartment, and the front door clicked shut behind them did Xia Jiuwei suddenly turn around and wrap Lu Nian'an in a hug.

"Hm?"

Lu Nian'an hummed softly without resisting, naturally resting her chin on Xia Jiuwei's shoulder.

Holding her gently, Xia Jiuwei swayed from side to side.

"Want to go visit Charles and clear your head?"

Lu Nian'an remained silent for a few seconds before giving a slight nod.

"That sounds nice."

Just as Xia Jiuwei reached for her hand, Lu Nian'an suddenly raised a hand to stop her.

"Wait a second."

The shadow beneath her feet rippled gently.

A mass of darkness slowly emerged from it, climbing upward before gradually taking shape.

Its outline became clearer and clearer until it formed an exact duplicate of Lu Nian'an herself.

Even its expression was nearly identical.

At the same time, a chibi version of Lu Nian'an suddenly appeared inside Xia Jiuwei's mind.

The tiny figure stood there with her hands on her hips, while every movement made by the shadow clone outside was perfectly mirrored by the little chibi.

Xia Jiuwei blinked.

"...What's that?"

"A messenger."

Lu Nian'an answered calmly.

"If anything important happens, it'll inform me."

With that, she reached out and took Xia Jiuwei's hand.

"Weren't you going to cheer me up?"

"Let's go."

The moment the words left her lips, both of them vanished from the apartment.

When Xia Jiuwei opened her eyes again, she and Lu Nian'an were already standing inside Charles's basement.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Xia Jiuwei noticed that the hour hand had barely moved.

Less than two hours had passed since they had left.

"Looks like it's still early."

She blinked.

"Let's head outside and have a look around first."

The two of them appeared on a desolate street.

The surrounding scenery looked almost exactly like the post-apocalyptic worlds depicted in movies.

Buildings lining both sides of the road had long since fallen into ruin, with shattered windows and weathered walls stained by long-dried blood.

Abandoned vehicles were scattered everywhere, many of them so rusted they were barely recognizable anymore.

Yet the entire street was eerily silent.

No zombies.

No survivors.

Only the wind sweeping through the empty road.

Hand in hand, Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an wandered leisurely down the street.

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the empty city, creating an unsettling sense of hollowness.

Ahead of them stood a dilapidated shop with its front door hanging wide open.

The moment Xia Jiuwei spotted it, she excitedly ran inside.

"Nia, come look!"

Lu Nian'an followed her into the store.

Inside, everything had already been stripped clean.

The shelves were gone.

The refrigerators were gone.

Even the metal racks that had once been bolted to the walls had been dismantled.

Nothing remained except layers of dust and bare walls.

Xia Jiuwei looked around in every direction.

"Hey! There's literally nothing left!"

She hurried over to the other side of the shop.

"Nothing here either! They even stripped out the lights!"

Watching her dart back and forth across the empty store, Lu Nian'an couldn't help smiling.

The heaviness weighing on her heart gradually melted away.

Meanwhile, Xia Jiuwei secretly glanced back over her shoulder.

Seeing that Lu Nian'an was finally smiling again, she nodded to herself in satisfaction before quickly turning back around and continuing to wander about as though nothing had happened.

At the same time, atop a small hill several kilometers outside the city, a woman observed the street through a pair of binoculars.

Within her view were Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an, casually strolling through the deserted streets.

The woman frowned.

"Where did those two come from?"

The man beside her took the binoculars and looked for himself.

Meanwhile, the woman continued,

"Their clothes are unbelievably clean. Not even a single patch or repair anywhere."

"They look more like pampered young ladies from one of the major survivor bases."

After watching for a while, the man slowly shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"What makes you say that?"

"Do you see any escort?"

The woman paused.

The man continued,

"The nearest settlements are several kilometers away. They're out here without a vehicle, without an escort, and they're casually taking a walk through the city."

He paused before raising the binoculars again.

"That alone doesn't make any sense."

The woman folded her arms.

"So what are you saying?"

After several seconds of silence, the man finally spoke.

"When you've ruled out every impossible explanation..."

"...whatever remains, no matter how unbelievable, has to be the truth."

She raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

Lowering the binoculars, the man answered calmly.

"They're probably Espers far beyond anything we understand."

The woman blinked.

"Seriously?"

The man continued watching the two distant figures.

After a long silence, he finally replied,

"I don't know."

"But if I'm right..."

He paused.

"...then I sincerely hope they never become our enemies."

Six hours later, Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an returned to Charles's home.

The moment they appeared in the basement, Xia Jiuwei stretched lazily.

"So? What did you think of the outside world?"

Lu Nian'an turned toward her.

"It was interesting."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Jiuwei smiled.

"Especially all those people secretly watching us from the shadows."

"That part was definitely amusing."

Lu Nian'an nodded as the two of them chatted while walking upstairs.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the staircase as Charles emerged from the lower level.

Seeing the two of them, he paused for a moment before smiling.

"Morning, you two."

"Morning!"

Xia Jiuwei waved enthusiastically.

"Morning."

Lu Nian'an replied simply.

Charles glanced at the time.

"Since you're here, would you like to take a look at the growing room?"

"We're harvesting vegetables from there for breakfast today."

"Sure!"

Xia Jiuwei immediately nodded.

Not long afterward, Lukas and Elena sleepily climbed up from the lower floor as well.

Charles led everyone to the entrance of the growing room, where a small decontamination chamber was sandwiched between two airtight doors.

Opening a locker inside, he took out several sterilized protective suits.

He first helped the two children put theirs on.

"Make sure your gloves are on properly."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Lukas reluctantly slipped his hands into the gloves, while Elena efficiently adjusted the hood of her suit herself.

After confirming everything was in order, Charles let the two children enter the growing room first.

Turning around, he reached for two more protective suits for Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an.

Just then—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A series of footsteps echoed from above the growing room ceiling.

As though... something was slowly moving overhead.