Chapter 3: Kicking the Door to Save Someone

Lu Chen pulled out a chair from under the table and helped Jiang Yulian sit down, then lit several candles that were kept at home for lighting.

The furnishings at home were simple, with only a bed, the essential furniture, and some gym equipment.

After looking around, Jiang Yulian rested her hands on the table and sighed, looking at the nephew she had raised by herself, her heart aching as she said, "You are so stubborn, insisting on living alone in such a small place, and it's so uninviting."

Lu Chen poured a glass of water, handed it to her, pulled up a chair beside her, and replied with a faint tone, "It's nice here."

After taking the glass handed over and drinking a full cup, Jiang Yulian finally felt her throat ease a bit. She wiped her mouth, set down the cup, and started complaining to Lu Chen, "You hardly ever come home except for missions. You should visit more often. Lu Yuan keeps calling me every other day looking for you; I'm almost driven mad by her."

Something seemed to occur to Jiang Yulian, and she sighed again. This daughter of the Lu family had been uncontrollable since she had come to stay and met Lu Chen just after he returned from a mission.

"Did you give her my number?" Hearing the name, a hint of disgust crossed Lu Chen's eyes as his slender fingers tapped intermittently on the table producing a crisp sound.

"How could I, knowing you dislike her," Jiang Yulian quickly shook her head, disclaiming any connection. The relationship with the Lu family wasn't as harmonious as it appeared. The number, indeed, was given, but not to Lu Yuan.

Lu Chen stopped tapping his fingers on the table, his deep eyes earnestly staring at the woman before him, who was now somewhat handicapped in her movements. With utter seriousness, he said, "Lu Youwei and I have nothing to do with each other."

"I know," Jiang Yulian reached out, grasping Lu Chen's hand, and patted the back of it as if to comfort him. She had raised this boy by hand, and every matter concerning him pained her deeply.

Not knowing what to say for a moment, Lu Chen got up, opened the room's window, and took out a telescope from the cupboard to observe the outside. All electrical systems had collapsed; only the blazing fires lighted the world that was devoid of any color.

Lying on the couch in the dark for a while, Su Mo finally felt a bit of strength returning. She took out her phone, planning to call her parents in City B. Although her parents always favored her brother over her, barely maintaining contact with her distant brother, she still felt obliged to make the call.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable...."

A busy signal followed, and she tried calling Mo Yan and some classmates, but the mechanical, repeated voice messages were all that came through the phone. What was going on? That aunt had managed to get through in the afternoon, hadn't she? Su Mo flipped through her phone, her small face crumpled like a bitter melon, as her battery was about to die.

"Huh?"

Her fingers scrolled to the bottom of the phone book, and she saw a short number she had never seen before. Was this the aunt's mobile number? Holding on to a glimmer of hope, Su Mo dialed the number.

"Hello?" A slightly hoarse, magnetic male voice suddenly answered.

It... It connected!? Holy crap! This aunt is incredible!

The faint blue light of the phone screen illuminated Su Mo's face, showing the call was in progress. She excitedly did a kip-up from the couch, but before she could speak, her leg wound heavily collided with the leg of the couch. Su Mo immediately dropped the phone and clutched at her shin, crying out, "Oh my god!"

Amidst a scream from downstairs, Lu Chen had just picked up the call when he cut it off at the sound of the piercing female voice. He closed his phone with a stern face, able to guess who was behind this with his toes.

"Did you give her the internal number?" he asked, closing the window and turning back.

Jiang Yulian, feeling guilty, covered her stomach and avoided looking at him; her gaze unsettled, "I was just worried about the young lady being alone there. Since you live upstairs, I thought you could help out, right?"

"..."

Lu Chen sighed inwardly, helplessly looking at the woman before him — a nearly forty-year-old still so thoughtless.

"You should go down and check on her," Jiang Yulian suggested, concerned by Su Mo's miserable cries, fearing the young girl might be alone in some trouble.

After all, she was his lifesaver, and Lu Chen couldn't just stand by. He nodded, "I'll go check it out," and picked up the flashlight lying on the table before heading downstairs.

Su Mo's condition was indeed dire; she lay on the carpet, protecting her calf where the wound had torn even larger. She was already bleeding significantly, and now she started to bleed profusely again.

"Knock knock"

Someone knocked on her own door. With a pale face, Su Mo dragged her leg and propped herself up against the sofa, her voice weak: "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Before she could ask who it was, a wave of dizziness hit her, and then her body swayed, and she fainted to the floor.

All Lu Chen heard in response was the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor. He frowned and knocked again, but there was no response from inside.

What a bother, he thought to himself, yet he stepped back and kicked the door lock force.

With a "bang," the door was easily kicked into halves. Lu Chen, holding the flashlight, stepped sideways into the apartment and swept the room with the light.

The entire living room was in disarray. Su Mo lay on the floor, her calf still oozing blood, the carpet beneath her soaked red, making the scene look like a murder had taken place.

Stepping over some unknown food wrappers and smelly socks, he approached this woman, uncertain if she was alive or dead, and disdainfully kicked her arm with his foot. No response. He then squatted down and placed his hand under her nose; she was still breathing, just fainted from too much blood loss.

After glancing at the door's position, Lu Chen lifted the unconscious Su Mo in a rough motion and dumped her onto the bed. He turned and went upstairs to fetch a medical kit, then came back down.

As the War God Admiral of the Jiang Family's mansion, such injuries were quick for him to handle.

In her haze, she vaguely felt someone treating her wounds, not gently at all.

When she opened her eyes again, the room was lit by nearly spent candles, the dim light flickering, and the pain from the wound was much alleviated, replaced by a cool sensation. Her leg was professionally bandaged, leaving Su Mo feeling no discomfort.

Staring at the ceiling, Su Mo guessed who had saved her. A rumbling sound came from her stomach. She estimated it was the middle of the night. She was so hungry...

She carefully moved out of bed and slowly walked to the living room, where someone had also lit candles. Just as Su Mo was about to praise the upstairs boss for being a good person, she saw her own door kicked to pieces.

Her heart chilled instantly...

So the upstairs boss, in order to save her, had shattered her door? Su Mo gazed blankly, not knowing whether she should laugh for having at least saved her life, or cry over the hefty door repair costs... Could she ask for compensation?

The moment Lu Chen heard movement in the room, he opened his eyes. Just as he was getting up from the sofa, he saw her standing in the broken doorway, both laughing and crying.

"What are you doing?"

The cold voice of the man rang from behind her. Su Mo stiffened, immediately putting on a smile, hopping on one leg toward him, then bending over to bow in thanks, carefully not mentioning the door: "Thank you for saving my life, boss."

Lu Chen leaned on the sofa, staring at her head, his lips pressed in a straight line, his arms crossed, utterly indifferent.

Not getting a response, Su Mo looked up, her smile almost slipping. After all, she was considered a campus beauty and quite cute, so why didn't this man show any normal male reaction?

Could he be... not quite right? She silently considered this very likely possibility without saying it out loud.