Chapter Forty: The Oil Runs Dry and the Lamp Fades

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That evening, everyone in the Xiao family gathered to set off fireworks and eat their New Year’s dinner, with the exceptions of Xiao Ruoli, who was still furious, and Old Master Xiao, whose health had deteriorated too badly for him to attend.

“By the way, why didn’t Ruoli come with us? Did she go to bed so early today?” Xiao Zhengming asked the others when he noticed someone was missing.

“Ugh, don’t mention that girl. She’s gone mad.” Mrs. Xiao sighed, though she did not explain why.

Xiao Zhengming was utterly baffled. Seeing that no one else seemed willing to speak, he asked again, this time with a trace of irritation, “What exactly happened?”

“It was like this…” Xiao Caiyue recounted the entire incident, then said angrily, “Dad, you be the judge. Was what Ruoli did this time acceptable? She clearly doesn’t take her younger brother seriously!”

Xiao Zhengming remained silent for a long while before asking, “What about the maid? Where is she now?”

“She’s already been dismissed.”

After the incident, Xiao Caiyue had thrown a wad of money at the maid and told her to leave at once.

At that, Xiao Zhengming frowned and said displeasedly, “Caiyue, you’ve been running the company for nearly a year now. How can you still be so softhearted?”

“Dad, what do you mean?” Xiao Caiyue asked humbly, like a child who had made a mistake.

Seeing how readily she had corrected her attitude, Xiao Zhengming’s expression softened somewhat, though his warning remained stern.

“Once people like that are released, who can guarantee they won’t spread rumors? If something like this happens again, you should know what needs to be done.”

“Your lesson is well taken, Dad. I understand.”

“Good.”

Xiao Zhengming then turned to Xiao Chusheng and asked, “Chusheng, your second sister’s slap didn’t hurt, did it?”

“No.” Xiao Chusheng slowly shook his head.

“Speaking of your second sister, she really…” Xiao Zhengming struck the table angrily with his fist. “Everyone is gathered here to celebrate the New Year, yet she’s shut herself in her room all alone. It’s as if she wants to sever all ties with us!”

“Don’t be angry, Dad,” Xiao Chusheng and Xiao Caiyue urged him together.

Only then did Xiao Zhengming’s expression ease considerably. He waved his chopsticks dismissively. “Enough. Forget about them!”

In the villa, in the room at the far end of the second-floor corridor, an elderly man in the twilight of his life lay dying against a crude wooden bench.

Tears streamed from his cloudy eyes. His half-open mouth struggled to close, but after going without food for so long, he no longer had the strength. From his throat came faint, feeble sounds—old and broken murmurs.

There was not a trace of light in the room. The door and windows had been sealed shut with steel nails, making it difficult even to draw a breath.

The dignified Old Master Xiao, who had once risen from poverty and carved out everything the Xiao family possessed with his own hands, had now been reduced to such a miserable and pitiful state. It was a fate that could only inspire sorrow.

Knock, knock, knock—

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Someone knocked on the door. After a moment, there came the violent sound of someone trying to force it open.

“Grandfather, what’s wrong?”

Xiao Ruoli pressed nearly her entire face against the door as she anxiously called into the room.

Ever since Lin Tian had suffered injuries severe enough to be fatal and been rushed to the hospital, she had not had time to visit her grandfather.

Early yesterday morning, after returning from the hospital, Xiao Ruoli had been told by Xiao Zhengming that she was to be sent to some as-yet-unknown place in another province to study. He had instructed her to arrange the documents and formalities she would need when the time came.

After spending the entire day dealing with that, she had hurried out again first thing this morning to resolve the details concerning the orphanage where Lin Tian had once lived.

At last, around noon, she had gone to the company to discuss with Xiao Caiyue the matter of inviting Lin Tian home for the Lantern Festival.

They had failed to reach an agreement. In a fit of anger, she had slammed the door and left, then gone to the old bungalow to find Lin Tian.

After staying there for nearly an hour, she had driven back. As fate would have it, she arrived just in time to witness Xiao Chusheng bullying the maid.

Only now had she finally found a moment to spare.

But for some reason, Old Master Xiao’s door had been sealed shut with steel nails.

If even a woman like her could not push it open, several men might not have been able to do so either.

What frightened and alarmed her even more was the question of how long this had been going on.

There was only one person in the Xiao family capable of doing such a thing.

She could not imagine why her father would commit such a cruel act.

Was he trying to starve the old master to death?

Had he gone mad?

Unable to make sense of it, her thoughts grew increasingly chaotic until she fainted where she stood.

At that very moment, far away, Lin Tian was preparing to go to bed. Then, as though he had sensed something, he suddenly frowned, overcome by an inexplicable feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

“What’s going on…?”

He muttered to himself, but could not figure it out. In the end, he lay awake for the entire night.

The following morning,

Although Lin Tian had not slept at all, he was still full of energy and showed no sign of fatigue.

After washing up, he locked the door, went out to buy some breakfast, and casually made his way toward school.

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Today was the day for students to register at the start of the new term. For Lin Tian, as had always been the case, it was little more than a formality.

Since it was still early, not many people had arrived.

“Hey, kid, registering again?”

The security guard greeted Lin Tian. The two of them had long since become familiar with one another after repeatedly competing at school to collect bottles and sell them for money.

Lin Tian smiled faintly at him, then went inside.

Class One, Grade Eleven.

The moment Lin Tian saw those words, he walked in.

Several students were already in the classroom.

He was not particularly familiar with any of them, so he quietly took his seat, lowered his head, and promptly fell asleep with his face on the desk.

After a while, the teacher arrived. Lin Tian got up, went forward to pay his tuition, and then returned to sleep.

Since it was the first day and most of the students had yet to arrive, the teacher simply turned a blind eye.

After all, Lin Tian’s grades were only average, and he was even weak in certain subjects.

Even when he reached his final year of high school, he was unlikely to achieve any impressive results in the examinations.

Teachers generally did not place high expectations on students like him. As long as they did not cause trouble, that was enough.

Lin Tian was awakened by someone calling him.

He opened his eyes and saw a girl standing before him. She had large eyes, a small mouth, and an apple-shaped face with a slightly dusky complexion. A smile curved across her features as she stared at him.

“Long Yuqing?”

The girl seated in front of him was called that.

Lin Tian had always had a very favorable impression of her. In fact, he had already begun to harbor the first vague stirrings of affection for her.

Although she often pinched his arm hard enough to make him grimace, he found her easy to talk to and felt that they had much in common.

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