Chapter 145: Disappointment
No one on the screen reacted immediately.
Jingwei’s refusal remained between the two buildings while his aunt’s labored breathing continued through the medical connection.
Somewhere beyond Rong Jianfeng’s office, an argument grew louder as security personnel attempted to enforce the water restrictions.
The crisis hadn’t paused for the Rong Family’s disappointment.
Rong Jianfeng lowered himself into his chair. The anger that had animated him throughout the call disappeared, leaving something Jingwei found more difficult to face.
The thing that struck Jingwei the most was that, for the first time in his life, his father looked old.
"You understand what you’re choosing," the other man said after a moment.
Jingwei had spent the past month telling himself that he did.
He had chosen Hanchuan when he accepted an impossible warning without demanding evidence.
He had chosen Xiling when he delivered his family to Rong headquarters and left them behind. He had chosen the five people around him every time he protected the locations of the shelters.
That knowledge hadn’t prepared him to hear his father name the decision.
"I understand that returning won’t save you," Jingwei replied. "If I leave Xiling, you’ll have one more person to protect and no additional resources."
Su Lihua turned away from the camera.
She had always defended Jingwei when the demands of the Rong Family became too heavy. But this time, her silence allowed him to imagine everything she might have said if her disappointment hadn’t made speech impossible at the moment.
Xinyi, on the other hand, still had words for him.
"You know how to protect people," she argued. Her earlier anger had collapsed into disbelief, making the accusation sound more like an appeal. "You could organize the building and force everyone to follow the restrictions. Issuing orders from Xiling isn’t the same as standing here when people refuse."
Her words reached the weakness Jingwei had been attempting to correct since the call began.
The head of security obeyed him, but the man still answered to the Rong Family.
Employees followed the new restrictions until a senior relative objected. Every order traveled through layers of authority that had made sense before the Heat and now consumed time they couldn’t afford.
If Jingwei stood inside headquarters, no one would question who controlled the doors, water or weapons.
He could preserve order.
But the one thing he couldn’t do was create enough resources to keep 87 people alive for four years.
"I gave Director Han full authority over security and resource distribution," Jingwei reminded his family. "He can enforce the plan if Father supports him."
Xinyi looked toward Rong Jianfeng.
Their father remained silent behind the desk.
His unwillingness to confirm the order exposed the problem more thoroughly than anything Jingwei could have told her.
"You expect Father to surrender control of the family to an employee," Xinyi murmured as understanding replaced some of her anger.
"I expect him to surrender decisions that cannot be influenced by status," Jingwei corrected. "Director Han must be able to remove anyone from a restricted floor and stop anyone who takes more than their allocation. That includes members of our family."
Rong Jianfeng’s expression tightened. "You believe I would allow our relatives to endanger everyone else?"
"I believe I told you that that shelter could accept 20 people with enough food and water for everyone, and you changed that number to 87. I believe that you allowed those 67 extra people that the building couldn’t support to occupy 13 floors after I ordered everyone consolidated onto six. You kept multiple kitchens operating and permitted unrestricted showers while municipal water pressure was falling."
Under ordinary circumstances, Jingwei would have softened the criticism before it became a challenge to his father’s authority.
Nothing about their circumstances allowed softness.
"The headquarters can keep people alive longer if one person controls the resources," he continued. "That person cannot hesitate because an uncle demands a private room or an aunt refuses to share a bathroom. If Director Han gives an order, you need to support it."
"And if he reserves the supplies for his own personnel?" Rong Jianfeng demanded. "You would have me place the family’s survival in the hands of a man employed to protect us."
"Yes," Jingwei replied, expressionless. "Because that man reports to me."
His father’s gaze moved over the protected room surrounding Jingwei before settling on the untouched glass of water beside his breakfast.
"From there."
The quiet answer contained everything his family couldn’t forgive.
Jingwei could command hunger because he wasn’t hungry. He could restrict cooling while Xiling maintained the room at 22 degrees. He could order his relatives to share floors, abandon showers and dismantle corporate equipment without enduring any of the discomfort himself.
His family would obey him for as long as they believed he was working to rescue them.
Once they accepted that he intended to remain inside Xiling, every sacrifice he demanded would feel like another privilege he had denied them.
A medical alert interrupted the argument.
Qinghe checked the updated readings and moved closer to the separate feed showing Jingwei’s aunt. The wet cloths covering her neck and arms had begun lowering her body temperature, although her confusion remained.
"The cooling measures are working," Qinghe informed Su Lihua. "Continue replacing the cloths as they warm and check her temperature every 15 minutes. Someone needs to remain with her. If she loses consciousness or can no longer swallow safely, contact me immediately."
Jingwei’s mother acknowledged the instructions without turning back toward Jingwei.
He wanted to call her name, but he couldn’t think of anything to say after it.
Telling her that he loved her would sound like an apology without action. Promising that he would find another way would return the hope he had just forced himself to remove.
Hanchuan left Zhiyi’s side and stopped beside Jingwei. He didn’t take control of the call or attempt to make the decision less painful than it was.
"Rong headquarters is defensible," he told Jingwei’s family. "The building has trained security, protected water and enough supplies to survive the first stage of the emergency. Jingwei remaining at Xiling leaves someone outside your headquarters who can monitor conditions and respond when opportunities appear."
It was the closest Hanchuan could come to offering reassurance without lying.
After all, the Heat would outlast the headquarters by many years.