After staying at their aunt’s house on and off for two months, Meng Yue and her sister were pushed to their uncle’s place. They didn’t know much about their uncle, only that he had always been a bachelor who had never married. They harbored no particular affection for him either. When their parents were still alive, the two families didn’t interact much. They had heard there was some kind of dispute between them.
The two sisters looked at their uncle, Meng Qinghua, in silence. His brows were slightly furrowed. Meng Yue was about to speak when her aunt beat her to it. “Qinghua, after all, they are your brother’s children. Now that he’s gone, surely you have a responsibility to look after them, don’t you?”
Meng Qinghua’s brows furrowed even deeper. Aunt He Hong cursed the old man in her heart. She smiled and pulled out a stack of red bills from her pants pocket, slapping the money into his hand. “What do you say about this?” The moment Meng Qinghua saw the money, his brows instantly relaxed. His mouth twitched a few times, revealing a shallow smile.
“Oh my, my dear in-law, this is… I’m so embarrassed.” Meng Qinghua said he was embarrassed, but his hands didn’t stop moving. He even groped at He Hong’s hand with his greasy, chubby fingers. He Hong quickly stuffed the money into his hand, cursing this person ten thousand times in her heart, but still forced a smile on her face. “Then they will…”
“That won’t work. We’re busy with work and don’t have time. Besides, this little bit of money of yours probably isn’t even enough for tuition. Our family doesn’t have much to begin with, and it’s already stressful raising our own children…” Meng Qinghua held the money in his hand but didn’t immediately agree. How could He Hong not know his situation? She immediately interjected, “We’ll pay for their tuition and living expenses!”
Seeing the anger rising on He Hong’s face, Meng Qinghua knew it was time to stop. He immediately pulled Meng Yue and her sister to his side. He stroked Meng Yue’s head, his eyes wandering over the sisters, and immediately praised, “My brother’s children are my children. Don’t worry, in-law, I will definitely take care of them.”
Meng Huan couldn’t help but feel disgusted and quickly dodged, avoiding her uncle’s hand. Although Meng Yue was unhappy, she still didn’t move, just standing beside and saying, “Meng Huan and I can stay at our house. We can cook for ourselves, and we don’t want to trouble uncle if he’s busy.”
In the end, Meng Qinghua agreed to take care of the two sisters, and He Hong felt relieved. When she was about to leave, she looked at the two of them, feeling a little guilty in her heart, as she hadn’t fulfilled her responsibility after all.
A few days before this, He Hong’s husband told her that although he felt sorry for them, he still hoped she could give up raising them. The reason: financial pressure.
He Hong wanted to refute but couldn’t. She didn’t have a job, and the money she used came from the man in front of her. She certainly knew the money was sufficient. The tuition and living expenses were all paid with the money her sister left behind when she died. To put it bluntly, in this family, aside from her, no one was willing to accept two extra people—not even their own child. He had repeatedly hinted that he felt uncomfortable after they came to the house. Although she didn’t understand why her own child had such a big opinion about his two nieces, she could also see that Meng Yue and the others didn’t really enjoy getting along either.
“I’m leaving. If you have any difficulties, you can still come find me.”
“Thank you, Auntie,” Meng Yue said with a slight smile. Although they might still be considered children in terms of age, they could still tell who was sincere and who wasn’t.
He Hong left, and Meng Huan waved goodbye to her.
Seeing He Hong leave, Meng Qinghua’s face instantly darkened. “Since you don’t want to come to my house either, just live in your own house. Call me if you need anything. I’ll give you your living expenses on time.” After saying that, he left without looking back.
“Just looking at this person makes me feel disgusted,” Meng Huan complained before their uncle had gone far.
“Alright, wait until he’s gone further before you say that. What if he hears you? That wouldn’t be good.”
“It would be strange if he could hear us. I think he can only hear the sound of counting money.”
“Why don’t we just ask Auntie to give us the card?” Meng Huan was clear about her likes and dislikes. Of course she understood that Uncle didn’t like them, but she didn’t understand why Auntie had to push them to him.
“Then can you resist not buying things? Would you choose not to buy something if you saw something delicious?”
“Hmm… okay, I can’t resist at all.” Hearing this, Meng Yue walked over to Meng Huan’s side and laughed heartily.
Meng Huan pointed at the man who was walking out of sight. “He’s gone far now.”
“So disgusting,” Meng Yue said.
“He even touched you just now. Luckily I dodged quickly.”
“Let’s go home and wash our hair.”
Actually, when their parents were alive, Meng Yue felt she and Meng Huan didn’t talk this much. Since their parents left, her relationship with Meng Huan seemed to have gotten closer. Perhaps, besides their parents, they only had each other.
He Hong returned home. The man was sitting on the sofa, and he asked, “Is the matter resolved?”
In the end, He Hong still chose to let someone else raise them. Although Meng Yue said she could live on her own, she really couldn’t bear it. They didn’t have many relatives in the city. In the end, she found this uncle, who was actually her sister-in-law’s older brother. She had heard her sister say before that this person wasn’t very good. But after seeing him today, she didn’t expect him to be so materialistic.
“Resolved,” He Hong glared at him fiercely.
“Why are you glaring at me? It’s already hard enough for us to raise one, and you’re bringing two more over. Do you know I haven’t had much work lately? It’s not that I’m being unreasonable, but they’ve been staying with us for a few months, right?”
“Alright, alright, they’ve already left. What’s the point of saying all this?”
“Hey, that’s not right.” He saw that He Hong was still holding a bank card in her hand. “What? You didn’t give it away? Why is the card still in your hand?” he asked suspiciously.
He recognized this card. This was the Meng sisters’ card, containing all their money. After their parents passed away, including the company’s compensation, there were still tens of thousands of yuan on the card.
“Sigh, this…” He Hong told him about the uncle’s situation. “I don’t feel comfortable giving the money to him. The two sisters are still young, and it wouldn’t be good to give it to them either. I’ll just keep it. Anyway, this card can’t possibly go to that money-grubber.”
Hearing this, her husband leaned closer to her, seemingly thinking of something. “Why don’t we just keep the two children here? We can take a little money from the card as our expenses for taking care of them. I think…”
“Hu Youwei, how can you be this kind of person? I’m taking care of my sister’s children. Am I doing it for money? If you have a conscience, take care of them. Don’t mention money to me. Do you have any shame? You’re taking the children’s money.” He Hong pointed at his nose and cursed.
Being pointed at and scolded, he wasn’t happy either. “Tch, I’m noble, you’re an adult, not a volunteer. Besides, they eat our food, drink our water, and sleep in our house. What’s wrong with wanting a little money? What’s wrong with wanting a little child support? I’m the bad guy, alright, I won’t say anything else.” He walked back with a weird tone.
“What else are you going to say? They’ve already been sent away. Do you have the face to bring them back? I don’t have the face to say it!”
In the end, the two parted unhappily because of this matter.
Meng Yue and her sister entered their third year of high school. For the entire semester, they were at school when studying, and basically at home on weekends. Their so-called uncle basically never showed up. However, He Hong would occasionally come to see how they were living. Seeing that the room was clean and tidy, she felt much more at ease. Moreover, Meng Yue mentioned that the aunt upstairs often came down and taught them many things.
At the end of the semester, Meng Yue received another piece of bad news—her grandmother had passed away. After their parents passed away, their guardian was their grandmother. But since their grandmother wasn’t in the city, He Hong was responsible for taking care of them. Now that their guardian had passed away, it meant their guardian had to be changed again.
After some time, their guardian became their uncle, Meng Qinghua. He also took over the Meng family’s finances from He Hong.
One weekend, Meng Huan went out to play, and Meng Yue was writing homework alone in her room. A knock came from the door. Without thinking much, Meng Yue ran to open it, because the only people who usually came to their house were He Hong and the aunt downstairs. She didn’t expect this time it would be a half-familiar face—and it was a man, with people behind him.
“Little Yue, are you home?” Seeing Meng Yue, who had grown into a young woman, Meng Qinghua actually had some improper thoughts in his heart, but he quickly suppressed them and asked with a playful face.
“What’s wrong, Uncle? Is there anything I can help you with?” Meng Yue asked vigilantly, looking at him and the people behind him.
“Oh, nothing. I just came to see how you’re doing.” Meng Qinghua gestured with his eyes, and two people came out from behind him and walked directly into the house, taking pictures of the walls and corners inside. They even went into Meng Yue’s and her sister’s rooms to take pictures.
Although Meng Yue was angry, she didn’t know what to do. Meng Qinghua looked at the living room decoration and touched the small television on the table. He smacked his lips and exclaimed, “I didn’t expect your little brother to be living so well.”
“That’s my dad’s.”
“Your dad is my brother. Half of his things belong to me too.”
Meng Yue felt that something was wrong when she heard this. Soon after, when the two people finished taking pictures of the house, Meng Qinghua nodded to them. He took out a hundred yuan from his pocket. “This is your living expenses for this month. Spend it sparingly.” He reached out to touch Meng Yue’s face, but she quickly dodged it. He smiled awkwardly and touched his own face.
One hundred? Auntie had always given them at least three hundred, and they could ask for more if it wasn’t enough.
“Uncle is leaving. Remember to come to me if you have any problems. Don’t be shy.” Meng Qinghua quickly left. When he went downstairs, he asked the two people next to him, “How much do you think this house can sell for?”
“It’s a bit old, but the decoration is pretty good. About ten thousand yuan should work. Didn’t you say the house was yours? I think it belongs to that kid though,” a middle-aged man joked.
Hearing the price of ten thousand yuan, a light flashed in Meng Qinghua’s eyes. This was a lot of money. He was planning to open a shop and start a business, but he was still short a bit. Even if he used the money in the card, he would still be a few thousand short. Just right—hearing the price of the house, he instantly had an idea.
“Brothers, what does a kid know about houses? Can they keep it safe? My brother’s house is also mine! Please put this house up for sale for fifteen thousand yuan. How about it?”
“Fifteen thousand… that’s a bit…”
“Two thousand yuan will be your reward when it’s done. Thank you, brothers.”
The two young men looked at each other. “Alright.” They finally agreed. There was no way around it, since the other party was willing to pay more.
Half a month later, Meng Yue and Meng Huan returned home together. When they arrived, they found the door had been changed. Meng Yue instantly felt uneasy. When she inserted her key and tried to open the door, she found she couldn’t open it no matter what.
“Sister, what’s wrong?” Meng Huan asked. She took out her own key and prepared to try.
“Don’t bother trying. Come with me.”
Meng Yue took Meng Huan to find their uncle, Meng Qinghua. When he opened the door and saw Meng Yue, he said, “Isn’t this my good niece? Come, come, this is your first time visiting my house. I’m so sorry. Sit, sit.”
Meng Qinghua opened the door and gestured for them to sit down, but Meng Yue stood at the door. She suppressed her anger and lowered her voice. “Did you change the door, yes or no?”
“Come, come, sit down and have a glass of water before we talk.”
“I’m not drinking!”
Seeing that Meng Yue wouldn’t listen to reason, he changed his smiling face, stood in front of the two of them, thought for a moment, and then smiled slightly. “Oh dear, when I went to find you that day, I discovered the door was broken, so I asked someone to change it for you.”
“Here, this is the key. You were at school at the time, and I didn’t know which class you were in, so it wouldn’t be good to disturb your studies, right?” He took out a key from his pocket and handed it to Meng Yue.
“I didn’t notify you in time. It’s my fault. I’m sorry!”
Meng Yue didn’t expect him to suddenly soften. She snatched the key from Meng Qinghua’s hand. “Is there only one? My sister needs one too.”
“I only have one. If you take it, I won’t have one.” Meng Qinghua shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands to indicate he didn’t have any more.
Meng Yue could only leave with Meng Huan. Along the way, Meng Huan cursed at him, directly saying he was shameless. They originally wanted to go find He Hong, but they ultimately gave up. If they went to Auntie, she would definitely argue with him.
This time, Meng Yue completely lost hope in this person, and at the same time, she became vigilant.
From then on, until the end of the college entrance exam, Meng Qinghua didn’t make any more moves. Just when Meng Yue thought this kind of life would continue, Meng Qinghua knocked on the door again.
This time, he came alone, but he was holding a few pieces of paper with writing on them.
“Little Yue, I’m here today mainly because I hope you can agree to something.”
Meng Yue frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s very simple. Just sign this and put your fingerprint on it.” Meng Qinghua handed the contract to Meng Yue’s face. Meng Yue was about to tear it up after reading it, but Meng Qinghua quickly dissuaded her. “Don’t rush. Take a look at this.”
He took out a stack of photos from his body and threw them on the table. The person in them looked very much like her—or rather, it was her, but she knew that it was actually her sister, Meng Huan.
Meng Qinghua also opened his phone album and showed a few photos. “She went out early this morning, right? It’s noon now, and she hasn’t come back for lunch yet, right?”
“What do you mean by this?” Meng Yue was trembling with anger, clenching her fists.
“Sign it, and I guarantee she’ll come back shortly. Think about it.” Meng Qinghua stood in front of the kitchen door and started smoking, as he was afraid Meng Yue would suddenly do something desperate.
“You’re my uncle, my father’s brother. If you do this, my father definitely won’t let you go if he knew!” Meng Yue gritted her teeth and stared at the man in front of her, cursing angrily.
“Alright, alright, the dead won’t let me go? If you have to blame someone, blame your bad luck. Hurry up—do you want the person or the house? Your sister is so good-looking. If I don’t want her, someone else will.” A few days ago, he was still short of funds needed to start his business. He had heard people say that you could make money by playing cards, and you could earn a few thousand yuan in one night if you were lucky. He actually tried it. He won a few hundred on the first day, and he also won on the second day. He was almost able to raise enough for the business. On the third day, he came in high spirits, but he didn’t have good luck. He ended up losing thousands of yuan, including his capital. Now he needed even more money. In order to win it back, he played for a few more nights, and in the end, he lost all of his savings. Now he had even lost his own house.
He originally thought it would be fine if he didn’t participate, but that group of people directly kicked down his door with machetes, claiming that if he didn’t give them the money for his house, they would cut off both his hands. Desperate, he thought of his younger brother’s house. His younger brother’s house was much more valuable than his. After selling it, there would still be some left over, and then he could win it back…
Seeing the impatient look on her uncle’s face, Meng Yue was forced to choose Meng Huan, and she signed the contract.
In the afternoon, Meng Huan happily returned home and found the door ajar. When she entered, she saw Meng Yue sitting on the sofa.
Seeing Meng Huan, Meng Yue stood up and ran over to hug her tightly.
“Are you okay?” Meng Yue took Meng Huan’s hand and checked her clothes and body for injuries.
“What’s wrong? I’m fine. I went to the arcade and played games with a friend,” Meng Huan said with a smile.
Hearing these words, Meng Yue was stunned. She staggered back in panic and sat down without saying a word. It was at this moment that she realized she had been deceived by that man.