The conversation between Director Zhang and the lawyer from the Feng family's clan uncle came out clearly.
"Make that mental appraisal report look more convincing."
"As long as we pull him down, that overseas project will be ours..."
The meeting room fell into complete silence.
Director Zhang's face instantly turned deathly pale, and the documents in his hand dropped to the ground with a "pop".
"Who else?" Feng Lin's gaze swept across everyone. "Those who think I'm unfit to manage the Feng Group can step forward now."
No one said a word. Several senior officials who had just echoed Director Zhang now wished they could bury their heads under the table.
Feng Lin stood up and looked down at them condescendingly. "Director Zhang, forging documents and colluding with external forces in an attempt to seize power. According to the company's articles of association, how should this be dealt with?"
Director Zhang's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
"Additionally," Feng Lin's gaze fell on the surveillance camera in the corner.
"The entire meeting today has been recorded, and it will be submitted to the board of directors as evidence."
He paused for a moment, his voice as cold as ice. "From now on, all affairs of the Feng Group will be taken over by Assistant Zhang when I'm not around."
"Anyone who dares to have any more crooked ideas, I'm sure the clan uncle in prison will be very happy to see you."
Su Xianyu watched his straight back, and the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
She knew that this farce was over.
It had already been two days. She wondered how they were.
---
It took more time than expected to sort out the mess in the Feng Group.
Just cleaning up the bad debts left by Director Zhang took three days.
By the time Feng Lin could finally catch his breath, it was already the fifth day since they left home.
"I'll definitely go back tomorrow." He promised Su Xianyu, who was packing up the documents.
"Bring Deng Deng and the others over. We'll live in that house in Haobang Community then. There's no need to worry about being noticed by outsiders."
Su Xianyu nodded, but her uneasiness grew.
She always felt that those quiet items seemed to be silently urging them.
That night, they returned to the Feng Mansion. Maybe it was because the time was short or due to the environment, but there was nothing abnormal about the items around them.
But Su Xianyu tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. She got up and turned on the TV.
An old movie was playing on the screen. It was about humans making friends with the little elves in the forest, but finally abandoning them because of moving.
"Look at this." She called Feng Lin over.
In the movie, the villain was a mean - spirited witch, screaming at a group of aggrieved little elves.
"They don't really treat you well! Humans only regard you as toys. They'll throw you away once they get bored! Only our own kind will always be together!"
The little elves were incited and their eyes turned red. They began to use magic to destroy the humans' houses, as if venting their anger at being abandoned.
Su Xianyu felt a tightness in her heart. "This movie..."
"It's too deliberately made up." Feng Lin hugged her from behind. "Don't think too much. We'll go back tomorrow."
He didn't pay much attention, but Su Xianyu's face turned a little pale.
She remembered the extremely bright light of Deng Deng when they left home, as if it was desperately trying to keep them.
At this moment, their home, which had been empty for five days, was in a strange chaos.
The light of the floor lamp flickered on and off, much dimmer than usual, as if it would go out at any moment.
Deng Deng's consciousness was getting more and more blurred. It only knew that the "warmth" in its body was draining away.
The feeling of being touched by Feng Lin's palm and being surrounded by Su Xianyu's laughter was gradually getting colder.
The bone - china cup had fallen over under the coffee table. The patterns on the cup wall had faded, and it could no longer emit warm heat.
Ci Ci shrank in the corner, listening to the witch's voice on the TV repeating over and over again, "They abandoned you..."
The sweeping robot stopped at the door. Its indicator light flickered weakly, like a dying breath.
Sao Sao tried to move towards the door, but didn't even have the strength to push open the slightly ajar door.
It remembered that Su Xianyu had said "I'll be back soon", but why had it been so long and there was still no sound of footsteps?
The TV was still playing, and the witch's voice stabbed sharply into their simple consciousness.
"They're not your friends..."
"Friends won't leave you alone..."
"Only by making them remember you will they never leave again..."
Suddenly, Deng Deng lit up for a moment, brighter and more blinding than ever before.
It remembered that Feng Lin was most afraid of strong light shining directly into his eyes. Once, when Su Xianyu playfully shone the flashlight of her phone at him, he had instinctively closed his eyes and frowned tightly.
If... if it made him hurt, would he come back quickly?
Ci Ci rolled out from under the coffee table and crashed into the dining table.
There was still the honey water that Su Xianyu hadn't finished on the table. It remembered that when she accidentally knocked over hot water, she would instinctively pull back her hand.
Sao Sao's indicator light flashed one last time, and it moved towards the balcony.
There was the scarf that Su Xianyu had hung out to dry. It knew how to make the clothes hanger fall down, right on the path she usually walked on.
Their consciousness was getting more and more blurred, and there was only one thought left.
Use the method the witch had said, "make the humans remember", to bring them back.
This wasn't harm. It was... a way to keep friends together forever.
At noon on the sixth day, Feng Lin and Su Xianyu finally rushed back to the villa in Country K.
The moment the key was inserted into the keyhole, Su Xianyu heard a soft "click" from inside, as if something had fallen to the ground.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she pushed open the door and walked in.
The living room was dim.
The light of the floor lamp was as weak as a candle flame, making the whole room look gloomy.
Ci Ci was lying on the ground, with a crack on the cup mouth.
Sao Sao stopped at the balcony door. Its indicator light was completely off, as if it was asleep.
"Deng Deng? Ci Ci?" Su Xianyu's voice trembled. She squatted down to pick up the cup.
The moment her fingers touched the cup wall, she was stabbed by the cold touch and quickly pulled back her hand.
Ci Ci used to be always warm.
Feng Lin also noticed something was wrong.
He walked to the floor lamp and gently knocked on the lamp post. "Deng Deng?"
The light flickered for a moment, as if in response, but there was an indescribable weakness in that light.
"I'm sorry. We're back late." Su Xianyu's eyes were red. She carefully picked up Ci Ci.
She wiped the dust on the cup wall with her sleeve. "Were you waiting anxiously? We'll take you guys away now and move to the new house."
Feng Lin also squatted down to check the sweeping robot. He pressed the power button, but there was no response.
Then he got up and touched the lamp base. It was also ice - cold, completely without the usual warmth.
"It's our fault," his voice was a bit low, full of apology. "We shouldn't have left you guys alone at home for so long."
Just then, the floor lamp suddenly lit up for a moment, brighter than before, with a strange shaking in the light.
Su Xianyu instinctively looked up and was directly hit by the light in her eyes. She gasped in pain and raised her hand to block it.
"What's wrong?" Feng Lin immediately supported her.
"It's okay. Maybe the light was too sudden." Su Xianyu rubbed her eyes and didn't think much about it.
She got up and walked towards the balcony to see how Sao Sao was.
Feng Lin frowned. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a "crash" sound coming from the balcony...