NABC Chapter 8 Things Don't Always Go As Planned, It's Always a Pity
Chapter 8 Things Don't Always Go As Planned, It's Always a Pity
After graduating from high school, Lin Zhuo moved away from his parents and lived alone in a single apartment assigned by the organization.
During his four years of university, he rarely left the campus, so the new apartment he was assigned was neglected and remained vacant for most of the year until recently when he started living there permanently.
It took him quite a bit of effort to clean the house, dust it, and air out the bedding. Readjusting to a new living environment takes time, and although he tried to build relationships with his neighbors, they remained just nodding acquaintances.
Lin Zhuo was truly familiar with the Qixing Community on the middle floor of the G4 Building. Fifteen households and dozens of residents met every day. Although there were bound to be some minor frictions, they would always meet again with a smile in the end. All the children here went to school together and spent their childhood together in the blink of an eye.
Stepping out of the monorail station and climbing two floors up the old but not broken staircase, the surrounding air becomes familiar.
Lin Zhuo saw several teenagers, sweating profusely, squatting on the stairs, diligently applying putty to the walls to cover up the graffiti and writing they had left behind. The middle-aged man standing to the side, hands on his hips supervising them, was the civil affairs coordinator of Qixing Community.
"Uncle Zhou, have you eaten?" Lin Zhuo straightened his back and raised his hand to greet him.
"Hey, Comrade Xiao Lin, your parents said you were coming back today, and you really are!" Zhou Zikang was a model worker who came from a mining background. He had thick arms and a strong neck, and his voice was like a firecracker exploding in the corridor, making the railings and handrails buzz.
The children who had done wrong shrank back, some even secretly covering their ears, their faces contorted in a grimace.
Lin Zhuo was also quite shocked, but the first thing that came to his mind was the Lion's Roar Technique.
There are two common forms of external projection of Qi: either it is directly released as a ball of true Qi, or it is indirectly used to harm people by transforming the atmosphere into sound waves.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. The main difference is that the former condenses the energy, concentrating all the power in one place, making it less likely to dissipate during transmission.
While transmitting energy through sound waves results in significant power attenuation, its advantage lies in its concealed nature, making it difficult to detect, and it is more suitable for group attacks.
Lin Zhuo intends to learn the art of mind control and spirit manipulation, which requires him to first master these two methods of projecting mental energy. There are many intricacies involved, and he has only briefly read the introductions in a few posts and has not yet studied them in depth.
Zhou Zikang reached out and patted Lin Zhuo on the shoulder, "You've gotten so thin living alone. When you come back this time, have your parents cook you some extra food to help you get better. Go back now, they've been waiting for you for ages."
"Hey." Lin Zhuo had no intention of lingering. The corridor was filled with the fragrant yet dangerous smell of chemical paint. He greeted the children who had been punished.
The little devils looked miserable. When he was their age, Lin Zhuo never participated in graffiti, but his playmates and younger siblings suffered several times. Back then, he would go to the vending machine, get an ice pop, and slowly savor it while sitting aside and watching them do their voluntary work.
On the way home, he saw familiar faces everywhere—uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and cousins. They chatted and walked briskly, all smiling at him as if some joyous event had befallen Lin Zhuo, making them genuinely happy as well.
When Lin Zhuo pushed open the door, the house was dark, with no lights on. The familiar sofa, coffee table, chairs, toys, cardboard boxes, books, and the glass cups arranged in a circle on the dining table all shimmered with a faint light, like a forest covered with moon frost under the night sky.
He realized what had happened almost immediately. Looking around the room, he saw people hiding in the shadows slowly peeking out from behind the sofas and tables like sneaky nocturnal animals.
There were seven pairs of slightly bright eyes blinking in total. His parents, two younger brothers, and three younger sisters were all quietly observing Lin Zhuo's reaction.
He smiled and shook his head, then reached out and turned on the living room light. The room was instantly brightly lit, and all seven people shouted in unison, "Surprise party!"
A large cake sat on the table, and a bright red banner hung from the living room ceiling, which read: Congratulations to my son/brother on being selected for the pioneer team!
Seven beaming faces jogged over. The fourth and fifth sisters, twins, grabbed Lin Zhuo's arms, the youngest brother wrapped his arms around his waist, the second sister and the third brother watched the show from the side, the mother, Zhou Lingning, stood on tiptoe and cupped his cheeks and rubbed them, and the father, Lin Kangping, patted his back with a hearty laugh.
This posture reminded Lin Zhuo of Shang Yang in ancient times.
"Alright, alright..." He was most helpless about his parents. Although they were adults, they were not steady. After all, they had lived their whole lives in Hongshui City, living a stable and comfortable life without any worries. Many times, they were as innocent as children.
"Brother is late! You're disobedient!" The youngest brother, Lin Wubing, was only ten years old and looked silly. He glared at him with a serious expression.
"What should we do then?" Lin Zhuo snatched his arm back from his fourth sister Lin Si and fifth sister Lin Nian, raised his hand to pat his little brother's head, and gave his mother a helpless and speechless smile. However, Zhou Lingning still rubbed her son's cheeks and wouldn't let go.
"Give me a piece of cake first and I'll forgive you!" This kid had already planned it all out.
"OK."
The second sister, Lin Ci, was a kind-hearted girl who stopped Zhou Lingning's evil clutches for her eldest brother. The third brother, Lin Chen, sighed softly and also came up to restrain Lin Kangping. The father and son put their arms around each other's shoulders.
With their help, Lin Zhuo was able to barely manage to get these clingy guys off him.
The result of the planet Cuirang's encouragement of childbirth is that each generation has many brothers and sisters to grow up with. Lin Zhuo's house was not big when he was a child, but after the couple continued to have children, they were moved to this spacious apartment by the organization according to the per capita living space.
In a few years, as their children grow up and move away, Lin Kangping and Zhou Lingning will return to their old house to spend the rest of their lives. The house will then be renovated by a construction team arranged by the community and allocated to a young couple.
Perhaps for this reason, the citizens of Emerald Planet do not cherish houses, but have a strong preference for various furniture, decorations, handicrafts, and miscellaneous odds and ends, and will try every means to take these belongings with them when they move.
Lin Zhuo walked up to the party celebration banner, looked up and admired it. It was red with yellow lettering, and the banner was covered with many decorative sun and star stickers. There were also simple watercolor portraits of a family of eight, as well as some ugly-cute flowers and plants.
"Mom embroidered this for you with a sewing machine," Zhou Lingning boasted proudly. "Isn't it beautiful?"
The others were not to be outdone and took credit for it. The father said he went to buy the cloth, the youngest brother said he drew the flowers and plants, and the stickers and simple drawings were made by the twin sisters.
"It looks good, it looks good." If Lin Zhuo had actually passed the interview, he would probably feel embarrassed and happy to see this banner, but right now he only felt a warm peace.
The second sister and third brother also prepared gifts and placed them on the dining table in front of Lin Zhuo's seat.
They never doubted that Lin Zhuo could be selected, treating it as a sure thing, an inevitable good thing, and made preparations for today's celebration well in advance.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Lin Zhuo smiled and didn't say anything to spoil the mood. He continued to celebrate with his family, cutting the cake and unwrapping gifts.
The youngest brother was very happy to receive the first piece. He was a premature baby, thin and weak, and could not eat much, so he was especially favored by the family.
My second sister's gift was a magnetic thermos, a simple navy blue color, with a suction cup coaster for easy use on the spaceship.
My third brother loves birdwatching. He pieced together a pair of small, colorful wings from the feathers of many birds, sealed them in resin, framed them, and attached a note that read: "To my eldest brother, Lin Zhuo, may you grow wings and roam freely without hindrance."
"I really like it, thank you."
Lin Zhuo's cheerful demeanor was somewhat unusual; he deliberately cracked jokes and always avoided topics related to work. Er Mei was the first to notice, gently patting his shoulder and looking at Lin Zhuo with eyes that seemed to feel sorry for him.
The rest, except for the youngest brother who was a bit of a fool, gradually realized the truth and tacitly stopped mentioning it. They also stopped the youngest brother from shouting outside about his older brother going to space to explore.
"My dear son, have dinner and get some rest. I've prepared your room. Take a shower first; you're all sweaty." His mother said with a slightly apologetic smile, her voice filled with concern.
"No, I have to go out and take care of some things." Lin Zhu put down his cake fork, wiped his mouth, and got up to say goodbye to his family.
"Will you be back tonight?" Lin Kangping asked quickly.
"If nothing unexpected happens, he should be back." He smiled, his carefree demeanor nonchalant. "Alright, see you later."