With just a few hundred dollars a month for living expenses, one could secure a lifetime of hard labor for a college daughter. What a bargain!
The elder brother frowned and said, "Who says I'm not making money? Just wait a moment."
He went into the bedroom and came back with a backpack. He pulled out five neat stacks of hundred-dollar bills and casually tossed them onto the round table covered with a red disposable plastic tablecloth.
In a cool tone, he declared, "Shi Shi, you can rest assured and go take your graduate entrance exam."
"Shi Shi, I will cover your tuition and living expenses!"
Fifty thousand dollars is no small sum!
The room fell silent.
The biological mother stared at the pile of red bills, swallowing hard.
Aunt picked up the money and felt it to check its authenticity, then asked in disbelief, "Where did you get so much money?"
The elder brother shrugged. "I told you before, I make money writing novels."
He had even given Aunt living expenses before, but she thought he was just putting on a brave face, using savings from his previous factory job.
Tears streamed down Aunt's face as she exclaimed, "Alright, alright! It's not your concern whether my younger siblings go to school or not. I'll save this money for you to buy a house and marry."
She gathered up the money while the biological mother’s eyes followed the cash hungrily.
Aunt walked towards the inner room, and the biological mother followed closely behind with a smile plastered on her face. "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, I'm planning to build a house for Xiao Guang..."
Aunt stopped in her tracks and coldly glared at her. "Who’s your sister-in-law? I don’t have such a shameless sister."
"This money is the child's dowry, and no one is going to take a single cent from me!"
Estimating that Aunt had locked the money away, I pushed the door open. She was sitting there, combing her hair while wiping away tears.
I stood at the doorway, wringing my hands. "I'm sorry, Aunt..."
Although she usually had a loud voice and a fierce temper, she was actually someone who cared about her pride. She never complained to anyone and would never throw a tantrum. Her earlier behavior was a sign of her lowering herself.
Aunt turned her back to me, tying her hair with a rubber band, and when she turned back, there were no traces of tears on her face. She scolded me fiercely: "To deal with someone like your mother, you have to fight fire with fire. Talking reason with her is useless!"
"I've raised you for so many years; if you soften up and help her raise her son, I'll slap you so hard you'll regret it, understand?"
Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. "I understand."
"Why are you crying? It's a day of celebration!"
She used her sleeve to wipe my tears, but as she did so, her own eyes turned red. "No need to cry; our Lin family will have good days ahead."
"They'll all be envious."
She patted my head gently. "The college entrance exam is over; let your hair grow out from now on. A young lady looks prettier with long hair."
Aunt locked the door with two bolts and led me back to the banquet table. My older brother was already surrounded by the women.
"How do you make money playing on the computer?"
“How much do you earn in a month?”
“My son just graduated from middle school; can he earn this much too?”
“We have a niece in our family, 22 years old, graduated from college, and she’s beautiful. I’ll introduce her to you!”
“I also have a niece who is 20 years old and works as a kindergarten teacher; she’s in great condition.”
…
Standing at five feet seven inches and weighing around 130 pounds, he felt small and helpless among the crowd of women.
The women continued to eagerly promote their daughters, even those who were barely related to them.
At that moment, the older brother adjusted his glasses and said softly,
“Actually, I already have a girlfriend.”
“What?”
An aunt exclaimed loudly.
His girlfriend was someone he met in the Author Group.
She was an amateur author and was about to enter her senior year of college.
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