Bai Yulao: The Night Watcher's Debt to the King of Hell

Chapter Fifteen: A Storm of Family Affection and Snatching Food from a Dog's Mouth

As Lin Shoumo walked out of the police station's second basement level, the cool night breeze rushed into his collar, and he felt as if he had just surfaced from underwater, taking a deep breath of the air that belonged to the living.

The oppressive feeling from that illusion was too strong; my stomach was convulsing—it was a physiological emptiness after extreme tension.

"I'm starving, senior sister. Let's replenish our energy before we review the game."

He turned towards the late-night food cart still operating outside the police station, pulled out his phone to scan a QR code, and said in a hearty tone, "Boss, two pure meat sausages, please! Make sure they're bursting with skin, and sprinkle extra cumin and chili powder!"

Before long, two golden, crispy, and sizzling sausages were in my hands.

Lin Shoumo swallowed hard; it wasn't just food, but also his only solace at that moment. He held the sausage in a tissue, turned, and handed it to Su Wantang with a fawning smile.

"Senior sister, eat it while it's hot, this is from the working people..."

Before he could finish speaking...

A blinding white light instantly tore through the darkness at the entrance of the police station!

Then came the screeching sound of tires violently screeching against the ground, the braking force of which seemed to shovel off a layer of asphalt!

"squeak--!!!"

A black Maybach, like a wild beast out of control, came crashing into the police station entrance with a violent gust of air! The car door was shoved open before it had even come to a complete stop.

A man wearing a dark gray haute couture trench coat rushed down.

Su Jing!

His face was deathly pale, his tie was askew, and the air of a shrewd and capable executive he usually exuded on the cover of financial magazines was completely gone.

He didn't even look at his surroundings, like a mad lion protecting its cubs, he pounced straight on Su Wantang on the steps.

"Wantang! Wantang!"

Su Jing's voice trembled. He gripped Su Wantang's shoulders tightly with both hands, looking her up and down with terror in his eyes.

"I heard you fainted on the street? Was it about that case? Was it that curse? How are you? Are you feeling unwell? Don't scare your brother!"

Su Wantang was dizzy from being shaken: "Brother? What are you doing here? I'm fine, I just..."

"Your face is so pale! And you say you're fine! I told you long ago that you shouldn't touch that unfinished building project! If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to Mom and Dad!"

Su Jing wouldn't listen to any explanations. He was like someone suffering from incontinence-induced anxiety, shielding Su Wantang tightly behind him as if the whole world wanted to harm his sister.

Against the backdrop of this dramatic farewell between the brother and sister, another tragedy was quietly unfolding.

The rear door of the Maybach was also smashed open.

A golden bolt of lightning—no, a golden humanoid war machine—burst out of the carriage with an indescribable excitement.

That's Dahuang, the dog Su Jing keeps.

A dog that looks honest and kind, but is actually full of wicked schemes.

It smelled the aroma of the two grilled sausages and then identified the person who took them—Lin Shoumo!

"Woof!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Da Huang took a running start, like a crazed fan about to pounce on someone and force a kiss. His obese body, carrying enormous kinetic energy, crashed straight into Lin Shoumo.

"Thump!"

Lin Shoumo was caught off guard. He was holding up the sausage, ready to take credit, when the force knocked him off balance, and he fell backward onto the concrete ground.

"Clatter!"

Two freshly grilled, piping hot, and fragrant sausages flew out of my hand.

In mid-air, Dahuang performed an extremely smooth turn to catch the food. With a snap of its mouth, two sausages, along with the cumin powder on them, fell into the dog's belly.

The world was silent for a second.

At the front desk, Su Jing was still asking with deep affection, "Wan Tang, are you really alright? Should we go to the hospital?"

……

Backstage, Lin Shoumo silently sat up from the ground.

He didn't immediately go to the brother and sister to complain, nor did he utter a single sound.

He simply stretched out his hands expressionlessly and grabbed the two ears of the big yellow dog sitting on his chest.

The lingering aroma of the sausage still lingered in Da Huang's mouth. Despite having its ear pulled, it didn't get angry. Instead, it tilted its head innocently and tried to lick Lin Shoumo's face with its saliva-covered tongue.

"Eat... keep eating..."

Lin Shoumo grabbed the dog's head and shook it from side to side while lowering his voice and gritting his teeth as he reprimanded it:

"Big Yellow, are you even a dog? Look at you, you're as fat as a pig! Look at your belly!"

I'm already so exploited that I can barely afford to eat anymore, and you're still trying to take it from me?

Do you have any conscience? Do you have any morals? Huh? This is pure meat! Ten yuan a piece, you know that?

The big yellow dog was so dizzy from being shaken that it whimpered twice, its tail still swishing back and forth on Lin Shoumo's thigh, enthusiastically circling around him.

Don't play the victim with me!

Lin Shoumo brought Da Huang's dog face closer to his own, staring fiercely into those big, wet eyes:

"You think you can act tough just because this is your Su family's territory? This is in front of the police station! This is a society governed by law! Robbing someone's property, even if the amount is small, is a serious offense! I'm calling the police!"

I'm going to make Su Wantang take your statement! I'm going to put you in jail! To be a police dog! To pick up bombs!

Big Yellow: "Woof!"

Lin Shoumo: "You dare talk back! Spit it out! Spit it out right now!"

The commotion finally caught the attention of Su Jing, the receptionist.

He was checking Su Wantang's pulse by holding her wrist when he heard the dog barking and someone muttering curses over there, and he suddenly turned his head.

Lin Shoumo was sitting on the cold cement floor, acting like a shrew from the streets. He was pulling the dog's ear with one hand and poking its forehead with the other, scolding Da Huang until the dog's head was shaking wildly. Da Huang, on the other hand, was lying on him with a look of enjoyment and innocence.

"Lin Shoumo?!"

Su Jing's brows furrowed instantly, his air of a business elite crumbling in a flash, replaced by a look of utter disappointment at seeing a "prodigal son" go to waste.

"What are you doing? It's the middle of the night, are you sitting on the floor putting on a drama with a dog?"

Lin Shoumo froze, then abruptly raised his head.

Looking at Su Jing's expression that seemed to say, "Is this person mentally challenged?" and then at Su Wantang's barely suppressed laughter, he felt a surge of pent-up resentment.

"Su Jing! How dare you ask me that?"

Lin Shoumo abruptly shoved Da Huang's big head away, jumped up from the ground, dusted off his rear end, and pointed at Su Jing's nose to begin his accusation:

"Su Jing, how dare you say that! Your sister comes to my barbecue stand every few days to freeload! I'm almost bankrupt from all the eating!"

And this dog! Is this a dog? It's a thief! I bought two sausages! Two! Freshly cooked! I hadn't even taken a bite before it snatched them away! Doesn't this count as condoning a crime? Doesn't this count as instigating robbery?

Su Jing glanced at the big yellow dog lying on the ground licking its paws, then looked at Lin Shoumo's grief-stricken expression as if his "child had died." Instead of apologizing, he sneered and straightened his cuffs:

"It's just two starchy sausages! Big Yellow is growing, and this is to help you lose weight. How can you still be so petty after all these years? You have no class at all!"

"Perspective? You're talking to me about perspective?"

Lin Shoumo was so angry he jumped up and down, his voice instantly rising eight octaves:

"You know how your sister exploits me all the time! Now even your dog is stealing my food! This is class discrimination! This is oppression and exploitation!"

"Alright!"

Su Wantang finally couldn't help but interrupt the two men's argument. Looking at Lin Shoumo's exasperated appearance, her originally suppressed mood inexplicably improved a lot.

She walked over, glanced at Da Huang, then at Lin Shoumo, and instead of speaking up for him, she naturally sided with her brother.

"Lin Shoumo, you are indeed stingy. The fact that Dahuang likes your sausage means it's close to you."

Besides, why are you arguing with a dog? What does it know about pure meat and starch?

"Huh? Su Wantang!" Lin Shoumo stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"You...do you have any conscience at all? The dignified eldest daughter of the Su family, you come here every day to freeload, and now you even want to bring your dog along..."

"Stop arguing! It's not like I'm not going to give you money!" Su Wantang lied without changing her expression, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

Seeing that his sister was on his side, Su Jing immediately became smug, put his hands in his pockets, and glanced sideways at Lin Shoumo:

"That's right, it's not like I'm not giving you money. Don't embarrass yourself here. Wan Tang has been frail and sickly since she was little, what's wrong with her eating some of your food?"

Su Jing looked Lin Shoumo up and down in his wrinkled trench coat, then pulled a fine wallet from his pocket, stingily took out a few bills, and tossed them directly into Lin Shoumo's arms.

"This meal is on me, okay?"

Lin Shoumo looked at the money in his hand, and his angry expression instantly froze.

He looked down at the innocent-looking Big Yellow, then looked up at the arrogant brother and sister.

The "smell of money of the rich" and the "dignity of the lower class" flashed alternately on his face.

Finally, he stuffed the money he had reached for into his pocket, but his face showed disgust.

"Old Su, you're so stingy! Your sister still owes me over 30,000 yuan for meals, when are you going to pay her?"

"I'll definitely give it to you next time!" Su Jing replied, but his face showed a shrewd and calculating look.

"You mean what you say?" Lin Shoumo looked unconvinced.

"Woof!" Big Yellow suddenly raised its head and barked at him.

"Shut up!" Lin Shoumo snapped at the dog instantly, then angrily yanked open the car door. "Drive! Take me back to the office! I'm going to write this down in my little notebook! My consultation fees will double from now on!"

Su Jing snorted coldly and helped Su Wantang into the car. Da Huang followed smugly and plopped down on Lin Shoumo's lap, its heavy body making Lin Shoumo roll his eyes.

"Su Jing! Tell your dog to get off me! It's smeared its saliva on my pants again!"

"Bear with it, you chose to get in the car yourself!"

Despite grumbling, Lin Shoumo, pinned beneath the dog, watched as Su Jing carefully handed warm water to Su Wantang in the front seat. His shoulders, which had been tense all night, finally broke down completely.

"Where to?" Su Jing asked them.

"Take me home first!" Lin Shoumo's smile faded as he looked out the window at the fleeting night view. His voice lowered. "I was just thinking about how to get Wan Tang back. You've come at the right time. Things haven't been peaceful outside lately; someone's trying to harm her!"

Su Jing's grip on the steering wheel tightened abruptly, his previous mockery vanishing, replaced by a deep, somber expression: "You mean... someone's trying to harm my sister?"

Lin Shoumo nodded and replied, "I will find out the truth. Until I do, tell her not to run around and to stay in touch!"

Upon hearing that he was going to investigate alone, Su Wantang's anxiety and worry were palpable: "You're going by yourself?"

"I'll go myself!" he replied, touching the slightly trembling stone in his chest.