Trouble at the Mall

A sleek black sedan glided through the streets of Hangzhou City, the city's towering skyline reflecting off its tinted windows. Inside, Tianzhu was driving, one arm resting against the door, watching the city slip by.

Beside him, Vera scrolled through her phone, lost in her own world.

Their destination: the InCity Mall. The shopping center was a natural choice for what they needed—gifts for the family they were about to visit for dinner.

They were halfway to the destination, and Tianzhu's phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen, which said the name: Storm. He picked it up and answered with a neutral hum. A low voice spoke on the other end.

"Young Master Theo just got down from a cab. He has entered the MIXC."

Tianzhu's gaze sharpened slightly, but his voice remained calm. "All right," he said and hung up.

He didn't say anything for a moment. After about a kilometer, the car suddenly slowed down and took a U-turn.

Vera looked up, confused. "Wait… Dad? Why are we going back that way? Isn't Zhejiang in the other direction?"

"There seems to be a problem at InCity Mall," Tianzhu replied casually. "Let's go to the MIXC."

She raised an eyebrow but shrugged and returned to her screen.

Another hour later, they reached the location.

The moment they stepped inside the luxurious department store, the polished floors and towering glass ceilings welcomed them with soft light and quiet opulence. The air buzzed with the low hum of conversations, designer heels clicking, and the subtle scent of perfume everywhere, despite the centralized purifiers working at full capacity.

Tianzhu felt the glances as they moved, people noticing them, some subtly, some not. He ignored them all.

He knew what those busybodies were thinking.

In fact, it was the same situation almost everywhere his counterpart experienced, especially over the past couple of years. Either people think of Vera as his sister or take him as a person who had a teenage girlfriend. Not because they walk beside each other, but Vera has the habit of wearing matching attire with him, and when they go out, she always… well, most of the time, holds his hands.

Meanwhile, a wireless earbud was in his ear, connected to the phone, which was kept in his pocket.

Through the earbud, the familiar voice came in.

"Sir, he's heading into boys' wear, second floor, Section B-3," the voice reported quietly in his ear.

Tianzhu kept his silence.

But then he turned toward Vera, who was currently in the middle of admiring a jewelry case. "That won't suit you, Vera. It suits adults."

Vera looked away with a snort. "Who said I was interested. I'm just looking for the Aunt."

Tianzhu chuckled, "Think your aunt would like it?"

Her eyes sparkled as she nodded. "Of course, it's pretty." Then, after a pause, she asked. "By the way, but what about my cousins? Shouldn't we get them something, too?"

Tianzhu blinked. "Cousins? You only have one cousin, dear."

"I meant Park Soojin," Vera. rolled her eyes as if she were stating the obvious. "She might be my step-cousin, but still a cousin, nonetheless."

Tianzhu grabbed his chin, his gaze drifting toward the necklace as if weighing his words carefully. "Actually, she is not your step-cousin." He said, his voice thoughtful. "Park Soojin is related to your aunt by marriage and has no blood ties with you. She is not your cousin or your step-cousin. Your both step-uncles' respective children are your step-cousins, dear." He glanced at Vera, watching her brows knit together in thought.

Tianzhu would treat her well and won't hold any sort of prejudice against her or anything, but he wanted his daughter to acknowledge the truth first. It is that Soojin is not a family.

But why does it matter to him?

Well, he had this belief that strangers don't deserve a second chance, friends and allies deserve a second chance, and only family members deserve a third chance. And he wanted his children to grow up with the same ideals.

"Oh," Vera muttered, blinking. She didn't quite see the difference, but she nodded anyway.

Hearing this, she puffed her cheeks, looking down at her feet in a bit of disappointment. "But Park Soojin is the same age as me. I wanted to buy something for her, to form a quick friendship."

Tianzhu stared at her for a moment in silence and said. "I'm not stopping you from buying her a gift, though. And if you want to leave a good first impression, then you should buy it from your own pocket."

"Really?" Vera's eyes lit up at once, and she raised her head to look at her dad. She nodded. "Alright then." With a newfound mission, Vera skipped off to explore, leaving Tianzhu alone.

Sungjun shook his head with a smile.

He didn't follow. Instead, he continued his shopping calmly, selecting high-end gift boxes, occasionally checking his phone, and exchanging quiet updates with the guard tailing Theo.

"Target is now at the meat section. Aisle 7."

Ten minutes later, Tianzhu walked calmly into the refrigerated meat section, inspecting cuts of A-7 beef until his gaze settled on a familiar figure near the end of the aisle.

Theo was spotted standing with his back turned, intently comparing packages of steak. Tianzhu's footsteps made almost no sound until he was directly behind him.

"Theo," he said, voice low.

The 14-year-old startled all of a sudden, jumping like a cat that's been poked in its sleep. Then slowly turned around, eyes wide.

"D… Dad?" Theo blinked. "How… How did you know I was here?"

"Forget about me, Mister," Tianzhu said firmly, his eyes turned serious. "What the hell are you doing here, in Hangzhou, 7000 kilometers away from home? No, before that. Answer me this. How did you come alone? You're fourteen. St. Petersburg Aviation rules prohibit minors from taking a flight on their own without the consent of their guardian. And I'm the only guardian you have. Who helped you board the flight? Who were you with?" Of course, Tianzhu doesn't need to question these. He already knew.

From the moment Theo left his home, the latter was already being followed by the gang members. However, in the eyes of Theo and Vera, Tianzhu was only a legal consultant and had a normal job. So, he had to ask as a part of the norm, and of course, to see whether they would be honest with him or not.

Theo fidgeted at the enquiry. "I… I… changed my mind yesterday. I wanted to come here after all and surprise you. I asked Uncle Volk to help me. He lied to the aviation authorities that you were in an emergency, and helped me board the flight. I…" he hung his head down to look at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Then why didn't you call me first?" Tianzhu's voice rose just slightly, controlled, but stern. "If you do these things behind my back, Theo… how am I supposed to trust you in the future?"

Theo lowered his head and apologized again. "I'm sorry."

Before Tianzhu could say more, a familiar voice called out from behind.

"Dad, I'm back… look what I fou…" Vera came around the corner, her cart overflowing.

She froze, spotting Theo standing right in front of Tianzhu. "Wait… Theo?!"

Her eyes widened in shock, but then her eyes lit up in joy. "What the heck?! What are you doing here?"

Theo smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Vera…"

Tianzhu then had his gaze shift to Vera, followed by an employee pushing an increasingly full cart. It had only been 20 minutes since they parted ways, and she came back with a mountain load of things.

He sighed. "Seriously, Munchkin. You want to gift all of those?"

The nickname made Vera groan. "Dad, stop calling me that in public! It's so embarrassing. I'm not a kid anymore."

Tianzhu shook his head with a chuckle. He leaned forward and playfully pinched her nose. "Even if you turn fifty, you'll still be my munchkin."

Theo watched both of them and made a disgusting expression. "Ugh… sometimes, I get cringed so hard, looking at you two. And matching attire, seriously?"

At that, Tianzhu snapped at the boy, his expression turning serious once again. "Do you think you were in a situation where you could make comments, Theo? I still haven't forgiven you."

As Theo looked down at his shoes again, Vera asked. "Why are you here anyway? I thought you didn't want to come with us."

Theo was about to answer, but Tianzhu sighed again, interrupting him. "Forget it. Since you are already here, go and buy gifts for your aunt's family. We are going there for dinner."

After a brief pause, he added. "By the way, budget's still 300,000 credits. Anything over that comes straight out of your allowance. I have to remind you both that today is the 21st. That means your next pocket money won't arrive for at least 14 days."

Vera's face twisted in horror at once. She whipped out her phone. "I know! I'm calculating it now…"

Meanwhile, Theo took a deep breath and asked. "Dad, how many gifts are we supposed to buy? Are we buying for everyone? Or are we splitting the responsibilities?"

Tianzhu answered. "It is not mandatory for you two to buy them anything, but since Vera is already buying and you caused trouble behind my back, here's how it goes. Vera will buy a gift for Park Soojin, and you will buy one for Little Alice."

Theo nodded in understanding.

Nearby, a middle-aged woman and her elderly mother were discussing pork belly when they overheard their conversation. They couldn't help but gossip.

"Mother-in-law, both of those were addressing that young man as their father…"

"Shh… don't mind others, Yumi."

"But, seriously… look at him. He looked like he was barely in his mid-twenties or maybe late twenties if we stretch it a little bit. He had such big children?"

"Could be their stepfather."

"Marrying a middle-aged woman… I guess his wife is quite wealthy."

"Shh… control your voice…"

After a while;

"Dad, I bought this for Alice…" Theo brought a plush toy with him. Vera couldn't help but take it in her hands to check its price. Her eyes widened instantly. "290,000 credits? Theo… seriously?" She looked at him in almost horror. "Alice is a 3-year-old. Why would she need such an expensive toy?"

"Why not? I bought within the budget limit set by Dad." Theo calmly shrugged his shoulders and placed it in her cart. 

Tianzhu, standing beside, cleared his throat. "That's alright. Let's go."

As the shopping was done, the three of them were standing at the reception desk, in a long line, to pay the bill.

Just three minutes later, a sharp, sudden noise erupted, followed by a loud alarm.

The lights flickered as the PA system crackled with an urgent, robotic voice:

"ALERT. This shopping center has been designated as an Instant Dungeon. Grade 3 detected. All external exits are locked by the barrier. Rift activation in 120 minutes. Please follow safety protocols immediately."

People froze. The buzz of excitement that had filled the mall evaporated in an instant, replaced by panic.

Vera clutched the cart. "Dad… what's going on?"

Theo, on the other hand, clenched his fists. A smile could be seen on his face as he muttered under his breath. "An instant dungeon. Just one day after I came to Hangzhou, the opportunity fell right into my lap."

Across the mall, countdown timers lit up.

119:58

119:57

119:56