章 22: A Trio's Tussle
Scarlett had a day filled to the brim with three classes. From the break of dawn to the setting of the sun, her schedule was packed, including the commute. When she finally returned home from work, she bypassed the kitchen, her hunger paling in comparison to her need for a relaxing bath.
Just as she had twisted her hair into a towel and was patting herself dry, an unexpected ring echoed from the doorbell. Scarlett quickly slipped into her pajamas and approached the door, calling out, "Who's there?"
Silence answered her from the other side. She edged closer to the door and peered through the peephole. After a moment of surprise, she flung the door open and asked incredulously, "How did you find me?"
Standing at the doorway was Jack, almost matching Scarlett in height. He was casually dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. His handsome face carried an air of mystery, as if he was on a secret mission.
Scarlett stepped aside, "Come on in."
Jack asked hesitantly, "Is it a good time?"
Scarlett handed him a pair of slippers, a half-smile playing on her lips as she teased him, "Relax, there are no girls your age in the house."
Jack swapped his shoes and ambled in, his eyes scanning the modest one-bedroom apartment of about forty square meters, finding it smaller than his pet's room.
Scarlett followed him in and asked, "Did you come here alone? Does your family know?"
Jack slouched on the sofa and casually replied, "Downstairs."
Scarlett naturally assumed that he was referring to the driver. She pushed a plate of fruit towards him and asked, "Does your dad know you're here?"
She wasn't prying. High-class families had a myriad of rules, and Lucius might not appreciate her getting too familiar with Jack privately.
Jack said, "He's downstairs." After saying that, without waiting for Scarlett's reaction, he added, "Do you have any thoughts about him?"
Scarlett felt slighted and said with a wry smile, "Alright, I won't ask about him anymore. Now I only have one question, what brings you here?"
Jack replied nonchalantly, "I'm inviting you to dinner."
Scarlett instinctively wanted to ask, is it you inviting or your dad, but fearing the kid would overthink, she changed her words at the last moment, "No need to bother, because of what happened during the day? Don't be polite, it was nothing."
Jack said, "Don't tell me, tell him yourself."
Scarlett planned to change her clothes and go downstairs with Jack. If Lucius was downstairs, no matter how proud she was, she couldn't possibly not show up. Just as she was about to go to the bedroom, the doorbell rang again. She turned towards the door, looked through the peephole, and saw no one outside. She opened the door with suspicion, and Scarlett was about to look out.
Suddenly a hand reached out and held the door. Scarlett was startled and instinctively pulled back, but the other party was too strong, and she was almost pulled out.
A familiar face appeared in front of her, Young Song.
Scarlett's heart fluttered, and she immediately thought of what happened on the street during the day. The so-called ill-intentioned visitor must be in this situation right now.
She pretended to be calm and asked, "What can I do for you, Mr. Song, at this late hour?"
Song stared at her without blinking. They were only an arm's length apart, and she could clearly smell the alcohol on him. After a moment of eye contact, he suddenly lunged forward, opening the door and stepping into the room, reaching out to grab Scarlett.
Scarlett, clad only in her pajamas, retreated, and her collar was yanked by him, revealing most of her shoulder. She screamed, "Ryan!"
Only after shouting did she remember that Ryan was not at home tonight, as he had gone to pretend to be Mia's boyfriend.
While she was trying to pull her collar and push the man in front of her, a figure rushed up in the chaos and punched Song in the face. Song didn't expect there to be someone else in the room and was hit squarely.
He let go of Scarlett, and after a two-second pause, he immediately rushed towards Jack. Jack was not afraid at all, and the two of them started fighting. Jack was not as tall as Song, and after all, he was just a teenager. It was inevitable that he would be at a disadvantage. Scarlett rushed over and hooked Song's neck from behind, pulling him back with all her might.
A woman, a child, and a drunken adult man. The confrontation between the two turned into a three-person scramble. In the chaos, they didn't even hear the ringing of the mobile phone.
Scarlett was thrown onto the sofa by Song. Her calf hit the corner of the coffee table, and the pain made her open her mouth, but she couldn't make a sound. Tears blurred her vision, and in a daze, she saw Jack, who was fighting back but was punched by Song. She wanted to get up and help, but she was powerless. This feeling of helplessness was like shackles, binding her. For a few seconds, she had a hallucination. The scene, the characters, the sounds, everything was different. The only thing that remained the same was violence and overwhelming fear.
She couldn't let herself just lie there. Scarlett used her will to awaken her rationality, struggling to get up from the sofa. Before she could fully support herself, a figure quickly passed in front of her, heading straight for Song and Jack. The newcomer was very tall and separated the two in almost a second. Jack was pushed away, and the man punched Song, making him stagger. Before he could stand firm, the man stepped forward, grabbed his shoulder, and kneed him.
Song bent over, vomiting out the alcohol. The man was still not satisfied, grabbed Song's hair, and forced him to kneel next to the coffee table. There was a bang, and it was Song's face hitting the table. Scarlett finally saw the person behind the figure, Lucius with a stern face.
Lucius was always ruthless when he started. He even picked up the fruit knife from the fruit plate and was about to stab it into Song's ribs. Scarlett widened her eyes and screamed, "No!"
The tip of the knife was less than an inch from the flesh. Lucius lifted his eyelids and coldly stared at the pale-faced Scarlett.
Scarlett's pupils shrank, she moved her lips, and said tremblingly, "The child..."
Jack was still there. How could he be so ruthless in front of a child? He couldn't.
Whether Lucius realized it later or figured it out, his knife didn't fall after all. Scarlett's heart was pounding. Before she could catch her breath, she heard a 'bang'. A vase shattered in front of her. Song was lying on the coffee table, surrounded by water and broken glass. Soon, a striking red color began to flow from his head. Scarlett's gaze stiffened as she looked at Jack, who was standing aside, fearless, with a piece of the glass bottle neck still in his hand.
Lucius found it disgusting and let go of Song. Song slumped from the coffee table to the floor, motionless. Lucius made a call, "Come up."
After hanging up the phone, he looked at Jack and said calmly, "Throw it away and wash your hands."
Jack glanced at Song, who had collapsed on the ground, tossed the broken bottle neck into the trash can, and headed towards the kitchen.
Scarlett was still sitting on the sofa. Her hair towel had been lost in the scuffle, and her damp hair was spread out. Her gaze was somewhat vacant, as if she was in a trance.
Lucius said, "Give me an explanation."
Scarlett didn't respond. Jack returned from washing his hands and said, "It has nothing to do with her. That man suddenly came to the door to cause trouble."
In the midst of their conversation, the bodyguard arrived. Without needing instructions from Lucius, he cleaned up the scene efficiently. In less than half a minute, he had tidied up the blood on the table and the glass shards on the floor.
Looking at Scarlett again, Lucius said, "Change your clothes."
Scarlett, with her gaze lowered, replied, "I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood for dinner tonight."
Lucius, expressionless, said, "We're going to the hospital."
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