The Obligations of the Elderly - Chapter 28

For the first time, Gong Si discovered that he actually had the potential to be a Jinx!

Not long after they landed on the unbelievably spacious lawn of that enormous mansion, just as they had stepped off the Aircraft, the Elder suddenly received a phone call. Gong Si was standing right next to him at the time, and although he didn’t know what was said on the other end, he saw with his own eyes as the always calm and composed Elder began to tremble all over.

He almost couldn’t hold onto his phone!

After instructing someone to take them to their accommodations, the Elder immediately strode away.

Gong Si only learned what had happened from the whispered gossip of others-

The Master of their family was critically ill and about to pass away.

Of course, no one actually put it that way; that was Gong Si’s own summary.

They were settled in the mansion directly facing the large lawn.

It was truly a massive house, built entirely of snow-white stone, looking just like the kind of mansion they’d only ever seen on TV. No exaggeration, the interior was even more luxurious, and there were servants!

The room they were assigned was also extremely large. Upon entering through the main door, they found themselves in a huge open suite: deep blue carpet, an oversized, soft sofa, heavy and high-quality curtains, and at least four-meter-tall floor-to-ceiling windows!!!

The Gong Brothers had never seen anything like this before. They were stunned as soon as they entered, and only after the maid who led them in had left and closed the door did they start looking around.

“This is that old man’s house? Is he upstairs from us?” Gong Si carefully stepped on the soft carpet, confirming that it was even softer than the soles of his shoes. Only then did he confidently set Ah Ji down from his chest. Ah Ji immediately began scurrying around, starting to patrol his new territory.

Qiu Xia slowly surveyed the room and said to his elder brother in an unhurried tone, “This is indeed his house, but that old man might not be living with us.”

“I observed the layout from the Aircraft before we landed. Besides this house, there are many others around, and there are no walls in between,” Qiu Xia said slowly.

“So you’re saying this whole area belongs to that old man? He has a lot more houses besides this one?” Gong Si was startled.

He had imagined the other party was wealthy, but clearly, the extent of their wealth far exceeded his imagination!

“The snow was too heavy, so I couldn’t see very clearly…” Qiu Xia put his backpack on the floor.

“Let’s go take a look.” At Gong Si’s command, the Gong Brothers sprang into action.

“Bro! This is a bedroom!!! And the bed is huge!” Dong Chun was the fastest, shooting off like an arrow as soon as Gong Si spoke. Unlike his elder brothers, he ran straight for the inner part of the suite.

“This room has huge windows! Brother, brother~~~ can I sleep in this room?” Dong Chun clung to the doorframe and asked Gong Si.

“The other rooms might be even better. Don’t you want to check them out?” Gong Si raised an eyebrow.

“No! I want this one!” Dong Chun’s eyes sparkled. Not only were the windows big, but the room itself was huge-he could even play soccer in here!

“Then it’s yours,” Gong Si didn’t stop him.

“Yay yay yay~” Dong Chun immediately put his backpack on the bed, marking his territory!

Then he followed his brothers to explore the other rooms. They passed a large study, a massive walk-in closet, and found two more bedrooms.

Each one was bigger than the last, and looked even more suitable for playing soccer indoors…

“Regret it?” Gong Si looked down at him.

Pouting, Dong Chun looked a bit envious, but shook his head and snorted, “I’m a kid. It’s only right that my room is smaller than my brothers’.”

He said it as if it were only natural.

Qiu Xia laughed, “According to Dong Chun’s logic, the room on the left is mine, and the biggest one next door should go to Eldest Brother.”

Seeing how sensible his younger brothers were, Gong Si did not refuse their filial piety (?), and raised his voice to call out to Ah Ji, who was struggling to climb after them, “Ah Ji, this is our room now.”

For now, he was sharing a room with Ah Ji.

Whether Ah Ji understood or not, he tilted his head and let out two “ah ah” sounds, then continued his baby-style exploration.

A unique woody fragrance filled the air, mingling with the warmth and making one feel utterly refreshed.

“This is the scent of money. We mustn’t be tempted by it,” Gong Si said solemnly, taking a deep breath.

Right now, what lay before the Gong Brothers was a gigantic swimming pool.

No, wait, not a swimming pool-judging by the steaming water and the scent in the air, this was a luxurious hot spring bath, ahhhhh!

All made of wood!

From the floor, to the hot spring pool, to the walls and even the ceiling-everything was wood!

They were staying on the second floor. After taking a group shower in the huge bathroom upstairs, Dong Chun noticed a wooden door whose destination was unknown. He pushed it open to find a winding staircase leading down, and at the bottom was this super spacious hot spring room!

One entire wall was made of glass. Because the windows were frosted, they could clearly see the scenery outside. It wasn’t dark yet, so they could see the entire forest outside, with thick snow resting on the lush green leaves, looking tranquil and cold.

And on the other side of the glass was the all-wood luxury hot spring bath~

The Gong Brothers had never seen anything like this before. They were all stunned, even Ah Ji’s mouth dropped open and a line of clear drool dripped out.

“I don’t know if that old man will make it through the night. For now, let’s treat this as a vacation. Who knows if it’ll be three days and two nights, or just one day and one night-anyway, it’s a super luxurious hot spring trip,” Gong Si said to his brothers, frowning. “Got it?”

Qiu Xia and Dong Chun both nodded.

“Let’s go soak in the hot spring!” Gong Si jerked his chin toward the hot spring pool.

Then, with a splash-

Dong Chun was already the first to jump in~
“Keep an eye on them.” Handing Ah Ji over to Qiu Xia, Gong Si also gestured toward Dong Chun.

“Alright.” Smiling, Qiu Xia nodded at his brother, picked up Ah Ji, stepped into the water himself first, tested the temperature, and then gently eased Ah Ji in bit by bit.

Ah Ji’s eyes were wide as he stared down at the water, his mouth shaped into an O, his whole body stiff as his Second Brother lowered him into the pool.

Clinging tightly to his Second Brother’s chest, he didn’t dare move for a long while. Perhaps it was the encouragement from Dong Chun, who had already started swimming nearby, that gave him courage. Using his chubby little arms to push against Qiu Xia’s chest, Ah Ji peered outside. After a while, he actually looked eager to try swimming like Dong Chun!?

Qiu Xia supported him, letting him slowly get used to the hot water.

Seeing his younger brothers all soaking in the hot spring, Gong Si didn’t join them. Instead, he walked alone to the end of the hot spring pool, near the right-side wall. There was a small pool there-not made of wood but of stone, and there was no steam rising from it. The water temperature seemed low.

Gong Si went over and touched it: inside was cold water.

It must be for cooling down after soaking in the hot spring, he thought.

Then he went back upstairs to the cloakroom where they had left their luggage. All their luggage was now stored here; the people who unloaded the luggage had arrived before them, so by the time they arrived, everything was already in place.

In the vast cloakroom, the Gong Brothers’ luggage looked pitifully scant, making the large water tank stand out even more.

Gong Si walked over and lifted the lid of the tank, revealing many fish inside-not alive, but dead, eyes rolled back, floating messily on the surface.

Pushing aside those fish, a large big-headed fish was revealed inside. Like the others, it appeared lifeless… belly up.

Gong Si reached out a finger and poked that white belly. “Stop pretending, Big Head, there’s no one else here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a splash, and the big fish suddenly flipped over!

With its fins hooked onto the edge of the tank, Big Head looked at Gong Si, its huge mouth seemingly forming a smile.

“I’ll take you somewhere more spacious,” Gong Si said, spreading his arms wide. Big Head leaped into his embrace, and Gong Si hurried to catch its slippery body. To keep from falling, Big Head even wrapped its tail around Gong Si’s waist.

Just like that, Gong Si carried Big Head downstairs again.

He placed Big Head into the cold water pool, stayed a while to help it acclimate, and then joined his brothers in the other pool.

When the hot water covered his head, he felt as if he had returned to the womb.

It was an unusually comfortable and safe sensation.

Hugging his knees, Gong Si immersed himself in this comfort for a long, long time… until he needed fresh air. Only then did he emerge from the water, resting one arm on the edge of the pool while wiping droplets from his face with the other hand.

His cheeks were now rosy, his whole body warm, yet his mind was utterly calm.

Since they had come, he might as well accept it. Although they were forced to come here, didn’t the other party actually meet all the conditions they had initially set?

In some ways, the other party’s terms were much better than those from the bids they’d received.

Next, it all depended on what kind of person that individual was. If he turned out to be a good person, they would let him accompany Ah Ji as he grew up; if not…

Gong Si narrowed his eyes.

Honestly, he didn’t know what he could do, but he was sure he would never sit still and wait for doom.

Perhaps because of the hot spring, the Gong Brothers felt sleepy very early that night.

It was also because their nerves had been taut for so long.

The rooms here were so large that Dong Chun, on the first night, didn’t dare sleep alone in that strange room. Looking at the huge carpet in the room he shared with Ah Ji, he simply made the decision: “Let’s all sleep together.”

Each brought their bedding from their rooms, and they spread them out in a row in front of the enormous floor-to-ceiling window-Qiu Xia and Gong Si on the sides, Dong Chun and Ah Ji cozy and warm in the middle.

“This is the first time I’ve slept like this~” Dong Chun pulled the blanket up under his chin with satisfaction.

“No help for it, our house didn’t have this much space,” Gong Si said, loosening the blanket a bit-there was strong heating here, much warmer than at home.

Not long after the lights went out, the sound of his brothers’ even breathing filled the room.

Gong Si was tired, too. After the hot spring, his body felt soft and comfortable, perfect for a good night’s sleep. Yet he tossed and turned for a long time, unable to drift off.

Worried about disturbing his brothers’ sleep, he got up quietly, took his phone, and sat down by the window.

It was silent outside as well.

Specially designed lights were scattered artfully across the dark ground outside, softly illuminating the surroundings but not too bright. These sparse lights reminded Gong Si of the lights in the homes of Lengshui Town…

He took out his phone and opened his contacts, immediately spotting Xi Liu’s name.

The contact list defaulted to showing communication records first, and among those, phone calls and emails between him and Xi Liu were quite frequent.

He wasn’t even sure how the two of them had grown so close, but somehow Xi Liu had become the person he spent the most time talking to.

On his first night in a foreign land, Gong Si suddenly thought of Xi Liu.

He clicked on Xi Liu’s name, chose the “email” option, and sent him a message.

“How is your health now? When will you be able to come back to school? The snow in Lengshui Town has already passed my knees-if you don’t come back soon, it’ll be spring.”

He wrote as if he were still in Lengshui Town.

After pressing “send,” he hugged his knees and sat by the window, quietly watching the lights outside for a while before returning to his bedding.

This time, he fell asleep.

Then-

He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep-it felt both long and short-when he was suddenly startled awake from his dreams.

Ah Ji let out the loudest cry Gong Si had ever heard from him!”