Night began to fall.
The Gallagher House.
Except for Debbie, all seven Gallaghers were seated around the dinner table, ready to enjoy their meal.
Thanks to the joint efforts of Fiona and Monica, dinner was quite sumptuous, with a table full of various foods.
At this moment, Frank, noticeably different from his usual self, opened his mouth in high spirits and started speaking.
Frank had always been eloquent, and now without the influence of alcohol and drugs, he was even better. "My dear family, we, the Gallaghers..."
Frank rambled on non-stop.
Lip listened with annoyance, but because everyone had just reunited tonight, he had to endure it. This formed a vicious cycle, making him even more annoyed, so he had to pick up his beer and drink silently.
Finally, Frank finished. "Come on, everyone, dig in!"
Hearing this, Monica immediately chimed in with a happy smile.
The seven of them picked up their utensils and started eating, chatting and laughing.
The atmosphere of this dinner was, overall, quite harmonious.
Feeling this long-lost harmony, Fiona's mood improved significantly, resulting in a softer tone and attitude.
After eating, she checked the time.
Fiona wiped her mouth, didn't delay, and stood straight up. After hesitating, she chose to leave a word. "I have to go to work."
Hearing this, Lip immediately instructed warmly, "Be safe on the road."
Ian and Carl didn't say anything.
Monica also added a few words.
Fiona smiled faintly, didn't waste more words, quickly changed her clothes, and left the Gallagher house with much lighter steps, moving towards the L train station, heading straight for the bar she had agreed on yesterday.
The Gallagher House.
Monica, who was still relatively normal for the time being, smiled and actively took on the cleanup work after dinner, saying to Lip and the others, "You guys go play, I'll wash the dishes."
Lip already had a strong hatred for Frank. Now, because Frank had quit drinking and was behaving much more normally... that hatred grew even more, dragging Monica into it as well.
Glancing at Monica with disgust, Lip said nothing, just kept a straight face and stood up.
Ian's feelings towards Frank and Monica were naturally very complex... Monica was still his biological mother, yes, but Frank was no longer his biological father.
So, how should they get along?
Thinking about this gave Ian a headache, so he simply did as Lip did, saying nothing and leaving the dining room straight for the living room to kill time. Anyway, Fiona had already left, so there was no need to act anymore.
"I'll wash my own dishes," Carl, who had indeed grown a lot during this period, was an exception, speaking seriously.
Monica was a bit surprised to hear this, then decisively smiled and praised, "Our Carl has grown up..."
Time flew.
Life in the Gallagher house was returning to its former state, albeit a bit stiffly.
In the Living Room.
Taking advantage of the opportunity while Frank and Monica were making noise in the kitchen, Lip lit a cigarette and spoke to Ian and Carl, who had finished washing his own dishes, saying confidently, "We have to behave well for a while..."
Lip explained his thoughts, teaching Ian and Carl what to do.
Listening, Ian couldn't help but frown. He had truly had enough of Lip's attitude of teaching him how to do things and couldn't stop feeling annoyed. "You just worry about yourself, don't tell me what to do!"
"!!!" Hearing this, Lip immediately looked at Ian unhappily. "What exactly is wrong with you? I'm not teaching you how to do things, I'm saying this is the right way."
This kind of arrogant logic was truly suffocating.
Ian immediately frowned tightly and sneered, "Heh, how do you know you're definitely right? Who do you think you are?"
The fact was, deep down, Lip always felt that Ian was almost useless, had no skills, wasn't smart, wasn't flexible, was childish...
In Lip's view, Ian's words were a manifestation of childishness.
Lip glared slightly, hesitated repeatedly, but finally held back what he really wanted to say. He silently took a few drags of his cigarette, forcing himself not to argue with Ian. "Okay, okay, no matter what you specifically plan to do, as long as our goal is the same, which is to make Fiona change her mind, that's fine."
Ian couldn't be bothered to pay more attention to Lip, kept a straight face, and started watching TV, remaining silent.
Carl glanced at the two guys beside him and couldn't help but miss his life living alone.
Fighting as soon as we're back, why did Dexter make me come back, Carl thought to himself.
---
Mandy, who had been chased away by Lip earlier, wandered aimlessly outside in a bad mood, then found a random restaurant and had dinner.
At this moment, Mandy arrived home with a desolate expression, slumped weakly onto the sofa, and then subconsciously took out her phone.
No text messages or missed calls from Lip.
It had been hours since they separated, and Lip was acting like he was dead, not contacting her at all.
Mandy felt even more lost, but couldn't control herself and missed Lip very unworthily...
Just like that, missing him and missing him, Mandy gritted her teeth and sent a text to Lip: [Are you done being busy?]
Lip saw it and hesitated.
Karen was gone, no more fxxk...
In that case, keeping Mandy, if nothing else, at least meant he could continue to fxxk...
And the feeling of fxxking Mandy was really good... As for not liking Mandy, heh, what does fxxk have to do with liking?
After thinking briefly, Lip chose to reply: [Not yet, but there are signs of improvement.]
Receiving a reply so quickly, Mandy instantly shivered and beamed with joy: [That's good, take your time, no need to rush.]
Replying to several messages in a row like this, seeing that Mandy replied instantly every time, Lip couldn't handle it...
To put it bluntly, for Lip, Mandy was just a tool to fxxk... Lip really didn't have much interest in texting a tool non-stop and wasting time.
So, Lip thought for a moment and decided to unilaterally lengthen the interval between replies.
Mandy, completely unaware that her instant replies had already caused trouble for Lip, began a helpless wait.
On the Sofa.
Mandy lit a cigarette and stared at her phone for quite a while. There was no movement at all. Like she was throwing a tantrum, she put the phone aside, stopped looking at it, and turned to watch TV...
As a result, her gaze drifted uncontrollably towards the phone...
A long while later.
The phone vibrated once. Lip replied.
Instantly, Mandy picked up the phone with lightning speed, quickly read the content of the text, and then, like she was possessed, replied instantly again.
Done. The cycle started again, agonizingly waiting for Lip's reply.
This kind of waiting was truly goddamn agonizing.
Anyone who has experienced it understands.
---
The hot night was full of noise everywhere.
The Alibi Room.
Mickey sat on a high stool at the bar, already tipsy, but didn't want to stop or go home, so he called out to Kev, "Kev, another one."
Kev looked at Mickey in confusion, then poured a beer, placed it in front of Mickey, and didn't rush away, asking, "You've been coming every night recently, very diligently. Did something happen?"
Mickey froze hearing this, very unaccustomed to this feeling of being cared about. Therefore, subconsciously, he shook his head, pretending to be annoyed. "I come to drink, does it have to be because something happened? Can't I drink if nothing's wrong?"
Kev had a good temper, smiled, and wasn't annoyed at all. "Of course you can drink. I mean, we're so close, if you have something going on, you can tell me, maybe I can help you."
Mickey glanced at Kev, not knowing how to feel about these words.
Mickey was also very unaccustomed to this feeling of someone actively offering help.
Silence for a short while.
Mickey nodded a bit unnaturally. "Mm."
Having responded, not wanting Kev to ask more, Mickey quickly changed the subject. "Heard Dexter is opening a new restaurant?"
Kev smiled goofily. "Seems like it."
Having replied, Kev turned to Tommy, who was sitting with Kermit. "Tommy, is that right?"
Tommy was happily drinking his beer. Hearing this, he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, the place is bought, it's big, over a hundred square meters."
Mickey looked at Tommy. "restaurant again?"
Tommy shook his head. "Western restaurant, heard it's an affordable Western restaurant."
At this time, Kermit chimed in, "Dexter's business is really getting bigger and bigger... Tommy, you should know this, how come I heard that Dexter seems to have bought a lot, a lot of properties around here?"
Tommy nodded cheerfully. "Yeah, I don't know exactly how many, but definitely a lot... residential, apartments, commercial properties added together, at least dozens."
Hearing this.
A drunkard nearby suddenly interrupted, "That's lowballing it. You guys probably don't know, Dexter is buying XX Street... the whole street!"
As soon as these words came out.
Kev and the others were all shocked.
"The whole street?" Kev exclaimed. "How much money does that cost! Although that street is rundown, with so many houses, it can't be cheap."
The interrupting drunkard laughed. "At least tens of millions of dollars!"
Hiss~~~
These drunkards rarely had a chance to see even tens of thousands of dollars at once. Hearing this number now, they all gasped in unison.
"What's he buying so many properties for?"
"If he keeps buying like this, in a few years, the South Side will probably be his."
"What does he want to do..."
For a time, the drunkards, having nothing better to do, chattered away.
Tommy didn't participate, drinking and listening with a smile.
After listening for a short while and finding a gap, Tommy suddenly smiled smugly and spoke up. "I bought a house two days ago too. I think following rich people, probably won't be wrong!"
Good guy!
Everyone is a resident drunkard at the Alibi.
And you, you son of a btch, secretly bought a house without a sound?
What the hell!
Including Kermit, the group of drunkards immediately became unhappy and started shouting.
"Tommy, you son of a btch, you made a lot of money!"
"You got rich and didn't say a word!"
"Tommy, that's not cool!"
"If nothing else, tonight's drinks are on you!"
"..."
Tommy liked this feeling very much. "Haha, fine, fine, fine, I'm buying, I'm buying!"
Hearing this, the drunkards immediately became happy, acting as if the shouting just now had never happened.
In a flash.
The Alibi Room was filled with laughter and joy.
Mickey lit a cigarette, looked at this scene, and suddenly understood a bit why these drunkards wasted time here every day.
The fact is, as long as you blend in, it's actually quite joyful here.
If nothing else, at least, you won't be lonely.
---
The night deepened.
Mickey, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, swayed slightly as he arrived home.
Walking into the living room and seeing Mandy curled up on the sofa, Mickey hesitated briefly, walked over, and plopped down next to Mandy.
The smell of alcohol on Mickey was very strong. Mandy sniffed, frowning slightly. "What?"
Mickey exhaled a puff of smoke.
Unlike Fiona, Mickey had no desire to control Mandy. he just wanted to show some concern and see what Mandy planned to do. "Have you made up your mind?"
Mandy wasn't stupid. She knew immediately that Mickey was talking about the daytime matter...
Mandy didn't want to talk about this and fell silent.
Mickey waited for a short while, feeling a bit impatient. "I suggest you think about it carefully, whether it's worth it. Once you've thought it through, whatever you plan to do is up to you."
"But remember, that guy Dexter only looks amiable on the surface. In reality, he's very ruthless."
"Have you thought about why he was willing to give you this job?"
"I have. I think it's not because of me, but because he chose you, just like he chose that hooker Svetlana."
Mickey had drunk a bit too much, so he talked a bit more, adding.
"Do you know that at the very beginning, Dexter wanted Fiona to work at the restaurant... Later, Fiona basically played him and disappointed him."
"And the result? How many things happened to Fiona?"
Hearing this.
Mandy immediately raised her eyebrows, asking with some disbelief, "What do you mean?"
Mickey smiled brilliantly. "You're a Milkovich, you know what I mean."
Dropping these words, Mickey stood up on his own. "Anyway, no matter what you do, part on good terms with Dexter. Don't provoke him."
After speaking, Mickey walked straight to his room.
Mandy stared at Mickey in shock, her brain buzzing for a moment, unable to speak.
Just then.
The phone vibrated. After a gap of almost half an hour, Lip finally replied to the text: [I'm sleeping.]
Seeing this, Mandy didn't smile this time, nor did she reply immediately.
Staring blankly at the phone for a short while, Mandy finally moved her fingers: [Okay.]
She gave a reply.
Mandy tossed the phone aside, picked up the cigarettes, lit another one, smoked silently, and at the same time, started pondering.
What to do?
She didn't want to give up on Lip...
Nor did she want to give up on that job...
Mandy had a headache.
---
2118 North Wallace Street.
Outside the back door, Dexter lit a cigarette and looked at the Gallagher house next door.
The Gallagher house was still brightly lit and very noisy.
Most of it was Frank and Monica's voices.
A small part was Carl's voice.
It seemed that Frank, having quit drinking, was having a great time playing with Carl.
That's good.
Playing like this for a while, the Gallagher house would have a new atmosphere.
Then, Monica would definitely stir up trouble, leave the Gallagher house again, and start a new journey.
Without Monica, Frank would inevitably return to his old ways...
After that, like rolling down from a mountaintop, Fiona and the gang would roll all the way down.
Truly quite interesting.
Dexter thought, finished his cigarette, turned, and went back inside.
The night was deep.
Sleep.