Chapter 9: A Happy Home
"Alright, monologue's over. Time for the main event." Slightly embarrassed, Ren wasn't particularly fond of such chuunibyou pronouncements, but under the Honkai's influence, every Herrscher developed a habit of saying strange things to some extent.
Clinging to the air conditioning unit, Ren surveyed the surroundings. The area was sparsely populated. The host had chosen the back of the building to jump; her body likely wouldn't be discovered quickly.
Clearly, this jump location had been carefully selected. Suicidal impulses rarely involved such meticulous planning. This suggested long-standing contemplation of suicide.
This was natural. The Domination mark only reacted to those consumed by despair. Who would choose death if there was another way?
A cold wind swept past, and the air conditioning unit swayed precariously, its supports creaking.
The strings extended, lowering Ren to the ground.
The downstairs windows were spotless, and the girl's reflection stepped out of the glass, meeting Ren's gaze.
An ordinary-looking girl. Thick, gloomy eyebrows, swollen eyes holding a lifeless gaze. A dark bruise marred her arm.
She wore concealing clothes. A black, long-sleeved shirt covered most of her upper body, leaving only the bruised forearm exposed. Loose sweatpants hid her figure.
What was she hiding?
Ren initially assumed a personal flaw drove her to suicide, but the student ID from her pocket suggested otherwise.
The girl was quite beautiful. The ID photo, though childish, revealed her potential beauty, tinged with melancholy.
A student ID?
Today was a school day.
The sun was setting. Ren's previous class was in the early afternoon. Judging by the sun, there was a one-hour time difference. This wasn't typical school dismissal time, unless she hadn't gone.
Logical. Someone suicidal wouldn't be thinking about school.
Asking her directly would be best, but her emotional state had been unstable. If he hadn't severed the connection, she might have fought for control. A jump from that height, with only ten meters left, any loss of control would have been fatal.
After being muted, the girl's tense spirit relaxed, drifting into slumber. Asking was no longer an option.
Ding!
A message notification. Ren retrieved an old, cracked phone.
"Bring a bottle of vinegar home."
No name, no signature, just a number.
Family?
But how could family not know she hadn't gone to school?
Scrolling through messages, Ren found a hidden text.
"The payment for your artwork has been transferred. 5,000 yuan! Keep it up, Xiaolei (Lily). A great commission for your age."
Contact: [Editor]
Finding this, Ren searched similarly, uncovering saved messages.
"Lily, you're amazing…"
"Lily, your art is wonderful…"
All from the editor, encouraging.
Besides these, only mundane messages like "Bring soy sauce" or "Bring salt" from the other number.
Thankfully, the phone had a map, marking "home." Ren was relieved.
Following the map, Ren arrived at a house. He knocked.
No response. He knocked again.
Creak. An old woman opened the door, silent.
Ren felt awkward. Wrong house?
He hesitated, about to speak, when the woman said, "What are you standing there for, you worthless girl?"
His expression changed, awkwardness replaced by a dark emotion, the girl's instinctive resistance.
A small apartment. A bed occupied the living room, stained.
The woman ignored him, washing dishes.
He observed the room.
A television, boxes under the coffee table filled with dusty toys.
A label: "Xiaobao (Little Treasure)'s Toy Box."
Maybe not so bad? Toys suggested some care.
A child's drawing on the wall.
Recalling the messages, Ren guessed it was Lily's.
He straightened a face-down picture frame. A family of five.
A beaming boy, surrounded by family. The girl was partially visible, her face scribbled black.
On the uncovered part, the word "ugly." Ren frowned.
So, the drawing, the toys…
"What are you standing there for? Those are Little Treasure's toys. Don't touch them." The woman finished the dishes, annoyed. "Go wash your brother's clothes."
Ren's frown deepened. Was this old woman a bit sexist? He glanced again at the apartment layout.
The old woman slept in the living room, the parents in the second bedroom, while the largest master bedroom was reserved for the family's only son.
As for the girl?
Ren pulled back the balcony curtain, revealing a small, partitioned-off space. He finally understood where she slept.
The balcony was separated from Xiaobao's bedroom by only a curtain, meaning she had to pass through his room every time she entered or exited. The bathroom, however, was on the other side of the living room. This layout would give an architect an aneurysm.
"Didn't you hear me? I told you to do the laundry! With this laziness, how will you take care of your brother in the future?" The old woman's nagging voice filled the air, the stench of her unwashed body assaulting Ren's nostrils.
He turned sharply, his eyes flashing with undisguised coldness. The old woman flinched, about to unleash a torrent of abuse, but a knock interrupted her.
"Grandma, open the door!" A boy's voice called out. The old woman's irritated expression vanished, replaced with a doting smile.
The moment she opened the door, a small, thin boy rushed in, nearly knocking her over. Unfazed, she beamed at him, wrinkles crinkling around her eyes.
A middle-aged woman carrying a schoolbag entered, scraping the soles of her shoes against the hallway wall as she complained, "These schools nowadays! Making middle schoolers carry so much. This heavy backpack will stunt my Xiaobao's growth!"
Finished with her complaints and having sufficiently scraped her shoes, she looked up and noticed Ren leaning against the wall.
"The good-for-nothing is back early today…" she muttered under her breath. After placing the boy's backpack on his desk, she turned back to Ren, suspicion clouding her features. "That's not right… You… High school should end later than Xiaobao's school. Why are you back so early? Did you skip class?"
Her face tightened, her eyebrows knitting together, her eyes glinting like sharp blades. It seemed she was ready to strike if Ren uttered a single "yes."
"Yes," Ren replied calmly, a hint of defiance in his voice, even a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"You little brat! You've grown bold!" Seeing her usually meek daughter looking her directly in the eye, the woman flew into a rage, raising her hand to slap Ren.
But her movement stopped midway. Her son's voice called from the bedroom, "Mom, come quick! Look at the drawing I made today!"
Her facial muscles twitched as she hesitated, torn between disciplining her daughter and attending to her son.
The old woman glared at Ren, still harboring resentment from his earlier look. She eagerly anticipated the slap, but upon hearing Xiaobao's voice, she quickly changed her expression and hurried into the bedroom.
"Xiaobao, let Grandma see your drawing!"
Unfortunately, Xiaobao was merciless. "No, you're too old. You wouldn't understand."
"Mom, what are you doing? Come here!"
Perhaps spurred by her son's call, or perhaps her raised hand had grown tired, the woman gave Ren a final glare before entering the bedroom.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ren looked at them with a mixture of annoyance and pity. Living in such a family was truly awful. Now that the mother, grandmother, and younger brother had appeared, the father, the supposed pillar of the family, should also be showing up soon, right?
He waited for several hours.
Despite the number of people in the apartment, he felt completely excluded. No one spoke to him, only occasionally barking orders for chores. But Ren wasn't about to be a doormat like the original host.
He waited, searching for the final straw that had driven the original host to jump.
As dusk settled, the aroma of dinner wafted from neighboring apartments, and Ren's stomach rumbled. The original host hadn't eaten all day and felt weak.
Xiaobao, who had been playing with his new game console since returning from school, wandered into the living room. "Grandma, I'm hungry!"
Hearing her grandson's complaint, the old woman's heart nearly broke. She hurried to the dining table, setting out the prepared meal. "Xiaobao, eat quickly! Don't starve! You're still growing; eat more so you'll be big and strong!"
"Look, Grandma made your favorite prawns. I lined up at the market this morning…"
A blissful smile spread across her face, the wrinkles deepening until they could practically trap mosquitoes. She pushed all the dishes towards Xiaobao, piling food into his bowl.
Xiaobao stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth and, seeing his grandmother hovering over him, pushed her face away with one hand. "You're so annoying!"
Her lips twitched, a stiff expression on her face. A flicker of sadness crossed the old woman's cloudy eyes, but she quickly replaced it with a smile.
"Then Grandma will be quiet. Grandma will peel your prawns for you." She sat beside Xiaobao, her dirt-stained fingernails picking at the prawn shells, carefully removing the heads.
"Oh." Xiaobao responded, taking a couple of bites of rice before pulling his game console from his pocket and resuming his game.
"Grandma, are they done yet? Hurry up!" He mashed the buttons, his eyes glued to the screen while issuing commands.
Hearing her grandson's complaint, the old woman frantically peeled the prawns.
Hiss.
A sharp pain. A bead of blood welled up from her fingertip, pricked by a prawn's sharp barb.
Seeing the blood, she quickly put her finger in her mouth, using the traditional method—saliva—to stop the bleeding.
"Grandma, you're stealing my prawns!" Xiaobao suddenly yelled, having caught a glimpse of her action.
His mother, unable to stand it any longer, pushed the old woman aside and began comforting Xiaobao.
With practiced ease, she expertly peeled the prawns.
After a while, the woman seemed to grow hungry. "Mom, let's eat first."
This simple statement earned her a glare from the old woman, who, forgetting her bleeding finger, snapped, "The men of the family aren't back yet! What are you eating for?!"
Stung by the rebuke, the woman seethed with anger. She stood, intending to take it out on her useless daughter, but found Ren gone.
"That damned girl! Where did she disappear to again?" she cursed loudly, venting her frustration.
Standing outside the door, Ren looked at the moon in the sky, a wave of sadness and despair washing over him.
In the distance, a man approached. The father, who worked overtime until seven or eight o'clock, was finally home.
"Xiao… Xiaolei." The man's face was etched with fatigue. Seeing Ren standing outside, a flicker of sympathy crossed his features. "Did your mother and the others lock you out again?"
Ren shook his head, observing the middle-aged man. His hair was streaked with gray, his suit ill-fitting, yet his tie was neatly knotted. Even with sweat beading on his forehead, he merely adjusted his collar with a finger, as if the tie were a leash rather than an article of clothing.
"They're going too far. Come, Dad will open the door for you. I need to have a word with them." Ren stepped aside, watching as the man fumbled for his keys.
The father seemed to notice Ren's gaze, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
This behavior didn't exactly scream "protective father."
"I'm home."
The door opened to a dining table littered with prawn shells. The man glanced at his wife peeling prawns for Xiaobao, then at his daughter standing behind him.
He chose selective amnesia, saying nothing, merely placing his shoulder bag neatly on a shelf.
Unfortunately, while he remained silent, the aggrieved mother had no intention of sparing Ren.
She patted Xiaobao's back, instructing him to eat by himself, then stood and strode towards Ren.
Slap!
A stinging blow landed squarely on Ren's face.
He didn't dodge.
This was what the girl endured in this family. To understand her, he had to experience her pain.
He now understood the origin of the bruise on her arm. It was likely the result of her mother's abuse.
"You damned girl! Where did you run off to just now?"
Ren's cheek stung, but he remained silent, turning to look at the father who had promised to stand up for her.
Noticing Ren's gaze, the father shifted uncomfortably. Seemingly remembering his earlier words, he spoke up, interrupting his wife's tirade.
"Honey, she's still young. Don't resort to hitting her. We can talk things through."
He straightened his posture, as if this would give him the courage to speak to his wife as an equal.
The woman glared at him, her voice unwavering. "This doesn't concern you. Wait, what's wrong with your tie? I remember tying it neatly this morning. And your bag! I told you to put it on the third shelf! Have you forgotten again?"
"It's just… a bit hot, so I loosened it a bit…" After his wife's glare, the man's bravado evaporated. He glanced around, noticing the old woman's absence from the living room.
Shrinking back, relieved that his mother wasn't present, the spineless man lowered his head, avoiding Ren's gaze, and retreated to the bedroom.
A sexist grandmother, a domineering and abusive mother, a spineless father, and a spoiled younger brother…
It felt like a nightmare. Having only experienced half a day in this girl's life, Ren had already countless times considered gifting this family a "reunion" – in the afterlife.
How much more so for the girl who had lived in this hell for over ten years?
He sensed the girl's awakening consciousness within the Theater of Domination. Having lost control of her body, she seemed more at ease. Even confined to a wooden puppet, it was far better than living in this reality.
A yearning for self-destruction.
A desire to be dominated.
Undoubtedly the perfect host for the Theater of Domination.
But Ren wasn't the monster consumed by resentment and hatred. He had once been human, and even after being chosen as the Thousand-Person Herrscher, he retained his humanity.
Resentment solved nothing. He had learned that lesson in his previous life when his relatives had carved up his parents' inheritance.
However, just as Ren thought he finally understood the girl's suicide attempt, he sensed a deep-seated fear of her family lurking within her heart.
Seeing Ren's impassive reaction to the slap, the woman grew even more enraged.
As she raised her hand to strike again, Ren grabbed her wrist. The girl's strength wasn't great, but empowered by the Thousand-Person Herrscher, it wasn't something a normal woman could resist.
With a sharp tug, the woman stumbled and fell like a dog yanked by its leash. Ren's eyes were cold, filled with the girl's hatred.
For a moment, the woman was speechless, only able to point at Ren, stammering, "You… you good-for-nothing…"
"Shut up!"
Slap!
Returning the blow with full force, the woman finally recoiled, scrambling backward.
Silence descended upon the living room. Xiaobao remained engrossed in his game, seemingly oblivious to his mother being thrown to the floor by his sister.
To him, whether it was his sister, mother, or grandmother, they were all merely servants. He didn't need to worry about anything. Someone would always prepare his meals, take him to and from school, and let him play games to his heart's content. It was a life envied by all his classmates.
Surprisingly, the old woman also remained silent. Perhaps she had gone to the kitchen or the bathroom.
Only the bedroom door cracked open, the father peering out, observing the scene in the living room.
Seeing his wife being struck, he quickly opened the door.
"Xiaolei, what are you doing? How can you hit your mother?" He spoke with unexpected authority, a stark contrast to his previous timid demeanor.
But Ren was in no mood to deal with him. He had seen through this man's cowardly nature. Submissive to his wife's dominance, yet putting on a show of paternal authority when his daughter was bullied, as if he were some great father. And in his own incompetence, his first instinct was to rely on his elderly mother.
Ren ignored him, and after confirming the woman wouldn't cause further trouble for the time being, he returned to his room, closing the door behind him.
Soon, the sounds of the woman's cursing, ranting, and crying echoed from the living room.
Like a lunatic who had lost all reason, she loudly denounced her daughter's actions while berating her husband's incompetence for failing to protect his wife.
Her wails were loud, as if intentionally broadcasting her grievances to the neighbors.
Listening to this, Ren only felt a growing sense of irritation.