dmims Chapter 13: The Paused Dungeon
Chapter 13: The Paused Dungeon
In mid-July of the following year, on an ordinary, rainless night.
Liu Gan, the expectant father, was already waiting outside the delivery room, while his parents paced anxiously behind him.
"Which one is the child's father?"
"It's me! It's me! Save the baby!"
"Don't worry about saving the mother, I'm asking if you brought your hospital bag. We need it in the delivery room."
Liu Gan handed over the bag he was carrying. He had bought four maternity kits online, one for each of them—one for their home, one for their car, and one for his company.
But things didn't turn out as chaotic as Liu Gan had imagined.
Water breaking, contractions—everything was just like in the textbooks, and I made it to the hospital to give birth smoothly.
After being taken into the delivery room at noon, there was no further news. Liu Gan became increasingly nervous as she looked at the three large characters "Operating" on the delivery room door.
At 3:23 a.m., the delivery room was filled with the cries of a newborn, and the four parents sat comfortably on the bench.
"Are Lu Mo's family members here? It's a girl, weighing 6.46 pounds."
The nurse pushed the stroller out of the delivery room, and the four elderly people sitting on the bench all stood up and looked at the baby.
But Liu Gan only glanced at it briefly before looking into the ward.
"Nurse, where's my wife? Why didn't she come out with me?"
"It's coming soon, it's right behind us."
"Mom and Dad, please watch the child for a bit. I'll wait for Xiaomo."
Less than five minutes later, Lü Mo was pushed out.
The weakness after childbirth was hard to hide, and apart from the grandfather and maternal grandfather who were left aside, the other three people all came over.
"Where are the children?"
"Her grandparents are taking care of her. Honey, how are you doing?"
"How was it? Of course it wasn't good. Try having a child yourself!"
One sentence made Liu Gan scratch his head in embarrassment, but he still said the name he had prepared.
"Let's name the girl Wei Xi, just like we discussed before. Dongfang Wei Xi."
Raising a girl is very happy. Liu Gan was afraid that his wife would be too tired, so he hired a nanny and two housekeepers. As long as it could be solved with money, he would never let his wife be too tired.
The first time they spoke was when Liu Gan came home from get off work one day.
It was just a routine of picking up the child and giving him a kiss, but I never expected that my stubble would prick the child so much that he would call me "Dad".
"Honey, let's go out for a walk after the kids start kindergarten. There are some little horses at the company."
"We'll see then; right now, Xiaoxi can't live without someone."
But after having this thought, Liu Gan never left Jinchuan City again.
Every time I want to go on a trip, either my child gets sick, or Lü Mo has something to do, or my company gets embroiled in an even bigger lawsuit.
In short, I've been stuck in Jinchuan City for over ten years, and each year seems to pass by faster than the last.
Every first night of the new year, he would feel a dark figure around him, but it would quickly disappear.
He had mentioned it to Ma Ye a few times, but it didn't have much effect. Lu Mo also assumed that the guy was just getting old and had floaters.
It wasn't until Liu Weixi graduated from university that they thought they could retire after she went to work for the company. Unexpectedly, the girl brought a boyfriend home.
"Dad, this is my college classmate."
"More than that, right?"
Ever since this college classmate came into the house, Liu Gan has found him increasingly unpleasant to look at.
His name is Zhao Fangqu. He doesn't have a proper job; he just runs a murder mystery game shop.
"Dad, don't talk nonsense. He just lives nearby and came for a stroll."
"Don't treat your dad like he's senile. I've been that age too."
If opening a shop doesn't make money, I can always work as an investment assistant under Uncle Ma.
"He's a young man with ideals!"
The conversation ended without a conclusion, leaving the two elderly people sitting on the sofa.
Since last year, Liu Gan has devoted all his energy to the courtyard. He renamed the large apartment after his daughter and usually just tidies up the two small courtyards.
Lu Mo can still go to the company often, and there's not much to do at home. The old married couple can still maintain their passion even though they don't see each other often.
Before winter was over, the daughter's relationship could no longer be kept a secret from the old father.
"Honey, why don't we let our son-in-law go to work at the company? It's time for us to retire."
As he said this, Lü Mo was applying a face mask on the sofa.
Over the years, Liu Gan hadn't seen many signs of aging on his wife's face.
"Whatever, let's set a wedding date, then we can both retire."
"A wedding date? That kid brought two bottles of Moutai last time he came. Is that how he treats his future father-in-law?"
Stroking his face, Lü Mo rolled his eyes on the sofa.
"They are just an ordinary family, don't judge them by your standards."
We come from ordinary families too. As long as he treats our Xiaoxi well, we shouldn't have too high expectations.
The New Year came twice, and Liu Gan accepted this son-in-law, setting the wedding date for early July of that year, supposedly after Lü Mo consulted a feng shui master.
This time, he went from being the groom who banged on the door to being the father-in-law who waited to be served tea.
This time, Liu Gan changed into a light blue robe, and Xiao hope, having watched her parents' wedding video from years ago, also chose to cover the entire hall with white roses.
"Honey, are you nervous this time?"
"This isn't my first marriage, what's there to be nervous about?"
"Isn't this the first time we've sat here together? Looking at it this way, I understand how your dad felt back then."
Lu Mo wasn't angry this time. She changed into a purple-red cheongsam and sat on the stage with a dignified and elegant demeanor.
Surrounding them were Liu Gan's old colleagues, and Ma Ye was the officiant; this time, they didn't even use a master of ceremonies.
Looking down at the audience, Liu Gan spotted an unfamiliar figure among a group of old colleagues.
He was a middle-aged man, dressed in a black coat among the crowd.
Everyone else treated him like he was invisible. Liu Gan thought he was a relative of Lü Mo's family, but when asked, he didn't recognize him at all.
"Little Horse, do you know who that is?"
"Holy crap... wait, are you seeing things? There's no one over there!"
Although Liu Gan was old, he wasn't hard of hearing and was sure he could hear Ma Ye's surprised voice.
"You really can't see?"
"What? You really don't have it?"
Ma Ye's eyes darted around, while Zhu Jin, as if receiving an order, quickly rushed over there, not at all like a middle-aged woman in her forties.
But the middle-aged man seemed to know he had been discovered, and jumped onto the table right in front of everyone.
"Xiao Jin, stop Qin Qingyou!"
"We can't stop them!"
In the blink of an eye, the middle-aged man had already crossed two tables, and Lu Mo, who was sitting next to him, was now stunned.
"Hurry, honey, something's wrong."
"No way, what era are we living in?"
Liu Gan stood up, wanting to drag Lü Mo backstage to avoid the limelight, but she remained seated and unmoved.
No matter how much Liu Gan pulled, he wouldn't get up.
"It's all fake!"
No wedding, no guests, and your daughter is fake!
The middle-aged man in black did not rush towards Liu Gan; instead, he shouted and then punched Ma Ye in the face.
The guests all looked at the stage as if they were watching a spectacle.
Zhu Jin was still running in the audience, but she didn't jump onto the table; she was still some distance from the stage.
When the fist was only half an inch away from Ma Ye's face, everything around them froze instantly.
The spilled wine, the hand holding the food, and Qin Qingyou suspended in mid-air all remained frozen in that one second.
"Why does that guy surnamed Ma get to enjoy all this? Why can't I?!"