The Gallagher House.
Mandy wanted to have Lip, not share him with Karen. Therefore, one could say she pulled out all the stops to rock Lip's world. Afterward, she couldn't help but ask, her tone as gentle as possible, "What's the situation between you and Karen right now?"
Lip was a smart guy. Hearing this, he immediately understood Mandy's thoughts.
But Lip didn't like Mandy; he just wanted to fck her. He didn't want to get more involved... or rather, he didn't want any responsibility.
"It's complicated," Lip replied flatly. Then, reaching for his cigarettes, he pulled out two and handed one to Mandy.
Hearing this, Mandy felt a bit disappointed. After a brief silence, she still spoke up, pressing on, "Are you still going to be with her, even though she betrayed you?"
Lip didn't want to talk about this. His brows twitched slightly as he lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. He didn't answer but asked instead, "Mandy, we're just having fun, right?"
The attitude behind this sentence was already very obvious.
As a die-hard romantic, Mandy's IQ in love matters was high. Instantly, she felt even more disappointed. She looked at Lip for a few seconds but ultimately couldn't bear to say harsh words to anger him and ruin the intimacy they had just built with difficulty.
"For now, yes," Mandy blinked and replied.
Lip smiled faintly. "That's good."
As the words left his mouth, Lip sat up on his own with the cigarette dangling from his lips. "I have to go downstairs and wait for Ian. I have something to discuss with him."
Translated, this sentence meant: 'You should leave.'
This version of Lip demonstrated the term "pull out and be ruthless" very clearly.
Unfortunately, Mandy liked Lip and instinctively wanted to stick to him, to be with him all the time. She didn't catch the hint immediately. "You have trouble moving around. Let me help you."
Saying that, Mandy moved to help Lip get out of bed.
Arrogant as Lip was, he already felt people in this hellhole were idiots and instinctively looked down on stupid people.
So, Mandy's reaction seemed stupid enough in Lip's eyes.
Lip frowned immediately, realizing that with a stupid person like Mandy, he had to make things clearer. "No need. I can do it myself. Mandy, you go back first. It's not good for Ian to see you."
Hearing this.
Self-esteem wasn't something Mandy had much of, but she did have some.
Lip was kicking her out. No matter how much Mandy wanted to stick with Lip, she couldn't insist anymore. She had to nod very uncomfortably. "Okay. I have stuff to do at home anyway. So I'm leaving... See you later."
Dropping this sentence, Mandy turned and walked quickly out of the room, picked up the dinner placed in the hallway, and left.
Shortly after.
Mandy arrived in the backyard. She turned sadly to look up at Lip's room, gritted her teeth, withdrew her gaze, and prepared to walk on.
Just then;
Ian arrived in the backyard with Liam.
Meeting Mandy's gaze, Ian couldn't help but be puzzled, asking first, "Mandy, why are you here?"
Hearing this, Mandy blinked, thinking of what Lip had said not long ago. An idea struck her.
Mandy felt that to defeat that bitch Karen and steal Lip from her, she had to use some tactics. After all, the current Lip really liked Karen.
Therefore.
Mandy had an idea. She grinned. "Came to fck Lip. I should head back."
Replying casually, Mandy walked away with a smile.
Ian: "????"
Lip fcked Mandy?
Then what about that bitch Karen?
As a man with a "love brain," Ian really couldn't stand Lip's two-timing operation. He thought it was disrespectful to love and couldn't help but feel speechless.
Mandy gradually walked away.
Ian turned his head to watch for two seconds, sighed silently, said nothing, and continued walking home with Liam.
Returning home and seeing the messy first floor, Ian frowned instantly and sighed again. At the same time, his resolve to move out became firmer. Without delay, he immediately placed Liam on the sofa, took out his phone, and called Carl.
"Carl, are you home?" Ian asked when the call connected.
"Yeah," Carl replied.
"Then I'll pack up now and move over."
"Okay."
The call ended. Ian put away his phone and was about to go upstairs.
Just then, Lip started coming downstairs on his crutches.
This dilapidated house had basically zero soundproofing. Therefore, Lip heard what Ian just said. He decisively sped up while shouting, "Ian, don't come up yet. Let's talk."
Ian, with his soft personality, heard this, hesitated slightly, and stopped his movements.
A moment later.
Lip came to the first floor with a cigarette in his mouth and arrived in front of Ian. "Ian, you can't move out. We must solve the Fiona problem together and make her change her mind."
"Otherwise, when summer ends, no one will take care of Liam."
Ian really didn't have much affection for Liam, and he never liked thinking about the future. He shook his head immediately. "Talk about it then."
Lip truly couldn't stand Ian's attitude, but he needed Ian's cooperation now, so he had to endure. He spoke again as calmly as possible. "Ian, that's not how things work. This kind of thing can't be dragged out. I know Fiona very well."
"Although Fiona's will has never been firm, that's short-term... Within a certain period, Fiona changes her mind easily. But if it drags on too long, she might really stick to it."
"We must all move back immediately and solve the problem as soon as possible. Otherwise, there's a huge probability she'll give up completely."
Did Ian care?
Honestly, not that much.
"We discussed this issue this morning. My attitude hasn't changed," Ian shook his head again. "Fiona has suffered for years. Now she wants to live a good life for herself. I support her and don't wish for her to change her mind."
"So, whatever you want to do, you go do it. I won't participate. I have to go upstairs to pack and move to Carl's."
Hearing these words.
Lip was really about to lose it. Anger flared up a bit. "Ian, what exactly is wrong with you? This family falls apart, and you don't care at all?"
Ian smiled and asked back, "What's there to care about? This family seems to have nothing but trouble. What am I caring for?"
"!!!!" Lip finally got angry. He couldn't hold it back anymore and didn't try to. He roared, "Ian! We are family! How can you be so cold-blooded!"
Seeing Lip's violent reaction, Ian instantly didn't want to waste another second. He simply started walking upstairs.
Lip got even angrier and immediately reached out to grab Ian's arm.
Ian shook him off directly.
Lip had trouble moving and couldn't stop him. He could only roar, "Ian!"
Ian didn't look back.
Ten-plus minutes later.
Ian finished packing. Too lazy to see Lip again or listen to his nagging, he left the Gallagher house via the stairs outside the second floor and walked toward Carl's place.
Arriving at Carl's home.
Ian couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. He plopped down on the sofa and smiled at Carl. "It's still more comfortable here with you."
Carl returned a smug smile. "Of course. I do whatever I want."
Ian smiled. "Did Lip call you?"
Carl nodded. "Yeah. Told me to come back, said we should make Fiona change her mind."
"What did you say?" Ian asked.
"I don't want to go back. I'm living fine here," Carl said seriously.
"Mm," Ian reached out and gently rubbed Carl's head. "Stick to it. Let's not go back. Going back means absolutely nothing good!"
"Ok," Carl gave a cool grin and replied.
---
Fiona was young, pretty, had a nice body, was uninhibited, and skilled at flirting.
The vast majority of bars needed waitresses like this to sell alcohol.
So, tonight, without the influence of the kidnapping case, Fiona easily found a job as a bar waitress.
After confirming she would start work tomorrow night, Fiona left the bar in a good mood with Jimmy and returned to the hotel.
Back at the hotel.
The two first went to the restaurant to enjoy an exquisite and expensive dinner.
"Go for a swim in the pool later?" Jimmy proposed while eating.
For the time being, Fiona, whose resolve was firm, didn't hesitate. She simply smiled and nodded. "And get a spa treatment."
Hearing this, Jimmy laughed happily and agreed. "Okay."
After dinner, the two returned to the room.
Fiona stretched, then walked straight to the window and looked out.
Overlooking the brilliant lights of Chicago from this height, the view was indeed beautiful. Fiona liked it very much, and a joyful smile gradually appeared on her face.
As she smiled, Fiona unconsciously looked in the direction of the South Side. Thinking of Liam, the smile on her face gradually began to disappear.
Debbie went back to juvie, no need to worry... worrying was useless.
Lip, Ian, and Carl were all grown up; taking care of themselves was no big problem.
Liam was only three years old. And Frank and Monica, those two guys who had absolutely nothing to do with being reliable, might still be in that house.
Fiona was genuinely worried about Liam.
On one hand, because Liam was too small and couldn't take care of himself.
On the other hand, because Liam hadn't done anything to her. Her conflict with Lip and the others shouldn't involve Liam; Liam was innocent.
Did he have dinner?
Is someone taking care of him?
The more she thought, the more worried she became. Various worries flooded into Fiona's mind.
Fiona slowly furrowed her brows.
Just then, Jimmy approached and hugged Fiona from behind, speaking gently, "If you're worried, do you want me to drive you back to check?"
Hearing the voice.
Fiona froze slightly. Then, her stubborn nature emerged. She bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm just looking at the night view. Not worried."
Jimmy smiled, his hands sliding down.
Before long.
Behind the window, Fiona performed her skills.
The room was extraordinarily lively.
At the same time, Fiona made up her mind that no matter what, she wouldn't go back tonight. She had to stay here; she couldn't care about those ungrateful things anymore.
Time flew.
The two fought fiercely for several rounds, rested for a while, went out for a spa, and after finishing, found a relatively secluded space to start the battle again.
Done. Went swimming. In the pool with no one else, another battle!
Fiona really liked this feeling of constant fireworks.
---
2118 North Wallace Street.
Cleaning took a lot of time. After busy working for several hours, they finally finished.
By this time, both Dexter and Bianca were exhausted and collapsed on the sofa.
Resting for about a quarter of an hour, Dexter thought for a moment and found an excuse to send Bianca upstairs to shower. Then, he nimbly summoned Little Black back, processed the video simply, and sent it to Karen.
Done. Dexter lit a cigarette, walked outside the back door, and called Karen.
In this hot weather, Karen was comfortably blowing AC on her bed, watching TV. Receiving the call, she pressed answer immediately.
"Did you see the video I sent?" Dexter asked softly.
"Saw it," Karen truly didn't care, replying with a calm tone. "How do you want me to handle it?"
Dexter naturally already had an idea, otherwise he wouldn't have made this call. "First, remember my words: don't provoke Mandy, don't contact her, don't say anything to her. Otherwise, she is very likely to kill you."
"You don't want to die, right."
Karen was startled, subconsciously doubting a little. "Don't want to... Would Mandy really kill me for that idiot Lip?"
"She would," Dexter exhaled a puff of smoke. "She is extremely love-starved. For bullshit love, she can do any stupid thing."
Hearing this, Karen couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. King, your attitude toward love is really strange. You and Bianca seem fine."
Dexter had no interest in chatting about this topic with Karen and skipped it directly. "Anyway, don't have any contact with Mandy."
"Okay," Karen agreed crisply without hesitation.
"Then, reduce the time you spend with Lip. Create opportunities for the two of them to fck. Wait for my notice, then go catch them in the act," Dexter said.
Catching them in the act. Exciting just thinking about it.
Karen smiled. "No problem."
"After catching them, break up with Lip," Dexter said again.
"No problem," Karen agreed readily.
"Wait for my notice later," Dexter said, then threw out the temptation he had thought of beforehand. "I'm currently acquiring that whole street on XX. Once I'm done, you can try owning your own business on that street."
Thump!
Acquiring a whole street? Her own business?
Current Karen, after Dexter's systematic guidance—or rather, cultivation—was already an excellent [Little Fairy] (scheming gold digger/ambitious woman).
As a Little Fairy, Karen craved money and the happiness money could bring.
Therefore, hearing this, naturally, Karen was excited beyond measure. "Okay! Thank you! I will definitely work hard."
"Mm, that's it then," Dexter didn't say more, hung up, and went back inside.
---
Karen's House.
Karen was thrilled. She tossed her phone aside and wriggled excitedly on the bed, imagining her beautiful future life.
Loads of cash, luxury cars, famous watches, all kinds of luxury goods...
The high-class life she dared not imagine before seemed suddenly within reach.
How could she calm down?
Karen made quite a ruckus; the noise was a bit loud.
Outside the room, Sheila heard it. After hesitating repeatedly, she moved, arriving at Karen's door and knocking. She asked with concern, "Karen, are you okay?"
Karen stopped wriggling and replied, "I'm fine. What's up?"
Sheila wanted to speak but stopped. She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again. "Can I come in?"
Karen was a little puzzled but immediately got out of bed and opened the door. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Seeing Karen, Sheila's already miserable old face looked even more miserable. "Karen... do you know where Frank went... He hasn't been back for days. I'm very worried about him, don't know if something happened to him..."
Hearing this, Karen's confusion cleared up. She smiled faintly. "He's fine. He just went home. He's with his wife Monica."
Hearing this.
Sheila didn't feel any comfort at all. After all, this wasn't good news.
"He went back to that Monica after all, doesn't want me anymore..." Sheila said with a mourning face, her voice already crying.
Listening, Karen couldn't help but feel some heartache.
Karen still cared about her mother, Sheila.
Therefore, for so long, even though she knew what kind of scum Frank was, even though she knew Frank lived here purely to use Sheila—stealing things to sell for money and frequently swindling Sheila's money...
But, because Sheila could be happy, Karen said nothing.
Now, looking at Sheila like this...
Karen thought for a moment and comforted her, "Mom, it's not like that. Don't overthink it. That Monica has brain problems. She'll disappear before long, and Frank will come back then."
Sheila was about to cry. "My brain has problems too..."
"..." Karen was speechless. "I didn't mean that. Mom, don't worry. How about this? I'll help you find Frank and get him to come back, okay?"
Hearing this.
Sheila instantly beamed with joy, a clear smile appearing on her face. "Ah, really? You're willing to do that for me?"
Karen flashed a beautiful smile immediately. "Of course. You're my mom. Of course I'm willing."
"Oh~ Karen, my baby," Sheila felt warm inside and hugged Karen. "Thank you, thank you. Mommy loves you."
Karen had no choice but to let Sheila hug her.
A good while later, Sheila let go.
"Then, Mom, go back to your room. I'll change clothes and go out to find Frank," Karen said obediently.
"Okay, okay," Sheila nodded repeatedly.
About ten minutes later.
Karen went out and got in her car. Thinking briefly, she decided to go to the Gallagher house first to provoke Lip and see how that idiot reacted.
Decision made, Karen didn't dawdle. She stepped on the gas and sped away.
Arriving at the Gallagher house, Karen took out her phone and called Lip.
Lip was in the first-floor living room, waiting irritably for Fiona to come home while watching TV with Liam.
The phone rang. Seeing Karen's name, Lip truly felt zero guilt and answered naturally, "Karen."
"I'm at your door. Is it convenient to come in?" Karen immediately pretended to know nothing and asked.
"Of course. Come in," Lip replied.
Before long, Karen entered the house, looked around, and asked Lip casually, "Just you and Liam home?"
Lip took a drag of his cigarette and nodded. "Yeah. Don't know where Fiona went. I'm waiting for her to come back, want to talk to her."
Karen sat naturally next to Lip. "Didn't call her?"
"Called. She didn't answer. Maybe working," Lip said.
Karen pretended to think. "Could also be with Jimmy."
Hearing Jimmy's name, Lip was very unhappy. His face changed, but he suppressed the anger instantly.
The most important thing right now was to make Fiona change her mind. Achieving this goal meant he had to temporarily ignore the Jimmy issue and not fight with Fiona over Jimmy anymore.
Lip gritted his teeth. "Whatever."
Karen heard this and was slightly surprised. "You don't plan to seek revenge on Jimmy?"
Lip shook his head decisively, speaking firmly. "Before Fiona changes her mind, no revenge for now."
Karen understood and immediately gave a thumbs up. "Smart!"
Lip smiled smugly and faintly.
Idiot, looking at Lip like this, Karen cursed fiercely in her heart. Then, blinking, she smiled slyly. "Want to fck?"
As she spoke, Karen reached out her hand and started getting restless.
Lip naturally wouldn't refuse. Immediately, without a word, he started taking off his clothes.
In no time.
Karen got the fire started. "I'm gonna use the bathroom."
Finished using it.
"Sorry, period started. I gotta hurry to buy stuff. Let's play in a few days," Karen spouted nonsense and left right after.
Lip: "!!!!"
What young man can handle this?
Lip felt incredibly uncomfortable for a moment. Speechlessly watching Karen's retreating figure, he subconsciously thought of Mandy.
Karen left, went out the door, got in her car cheerfully, and drove toward the Alibi Room.
The Gallagher House.
Lip smoked several drags in a row. Finally, unable to hold back, he took out his phone and called Mandy. "Mandy, wanna come play?"
---
Mandy's House.
Mandy really liked Lip.
And liking someone really makes people do incredibly stupid things.
So.
Despite being dissatisfied with Lip making her leave earlier, after a brief hesitation, Mandy agreed. "Okay, coming over now."
Hung up.
Mandy, who was already in bed, got up nimbly and headed straight for Mickey's room. "Where are the car keys? I need to go out."
Mickey was sitting on his bed drinking beer, smoking, and watching a movie, killing time in boredom. Seeing Mandy barge in like this, he glared instantly. "Don't know how to knock?"
Mandy was in a hurry to find Lip. "Car keys."
Mickey couldn't handle Mandy. He grabbed the keys from the nightstand and tossed them to her. "Don't wreck my car. Also, it's so late, where are you going?"
"None of your business. You better pull yourself together. Look at you now, just drinking and smoking all day," Mandy couldn't help but say.
"Fck off!" Mickey didn't want to hear that crap and retorted unhappily.
"Fck you!" Mandy simply flipped Mickey the bird, then stopped nagging, left directly, got in the car, and sped toward the Gallagher house.
At this time of night, the sound of the car was relatively clear.
Dexter, reading in bed, heard it and judged the braking sound was right in front of the Gallagher house. Curious, he silently summoned Little Black to go see what the situation was.
Before long.
Little Black sent back feedback.
Only a few hours later, Mandy was back.
Truly ridiculous! Dexter was genuinely speechless, thinking to himself. Then, not thinking much more, he immediately took his phone and texted Karen, telling her to rush to the Gallagher house immediately.
[Okay, on my way!] Karen, who was almost at the Alibi, received the text and replied instantly. Then, she turned around cleanly and headed back to the Gallagher house.