But on the other end of the phone was his birth mother, the one who bore and raised him. How could Li Bin bear to refuse her request? After all, it was the debt of being raised! No matter how much grievance or anger he felt, Li Bin could only swallow it!
"Alright, how much does Brother need to borrow? I'll come by in a couple of days and bring the money." Li Bin said calmly.
"Your… your brother wants to borrow… 2 million…" His mother's voice carried a hint of hesitation but finally came out with it.
"2 million?! That much? The 65-square-meter house from before should be worth 50,000 or 60,000 per square meter now. If you sold it, it should cover the down payment for a new place, right? Besides, Brother's job is so good—he must have saved up a few hundred thousand over the years. How could he need so much?" Li Bin asked, surprised.
"It's… it's like this… Actually… actually, your brother quit his job last year to start a business with some friends… It's a big venture with great prospects! So it needed a lot of investment. Back then, we decided to support him, so we sold the house… to fund his business… Now your brother wants… wants to buy a 100-square-meter place, and the down payment needs… needs 2 million… Your dad and I… all our savings went to his business. And now your dad's health isn't good… he can't help much. So… so now we're counting on you… Little Bin, we raised you all these years and never asked anything of you. Now that you've married out, you can't just ignore your parents and family…" His mother Xu Fang's tone shifted from a plea to blackmail, each word filling Li Bin with waves of disappointment.
Originally, 2 million wasn't a big deal to him. If his parents needed it, he'd give it! But… why did his mother's tone carry a threat? Why were his parents so biased? They were both their sons—why were they so good to his brother but so harsh to him? Li Bin knew a bit about his brother Li Qiang's situation. Though he hadn't been home in a long time, he always kept tabs on the family.
Last year, his brother claimed he met some big shot and wanted to get into P2P and blockchain. He quit the state-owned enterprise job their parents had scraped together all their savings to secure for him, diving into entrepreneurship with a group of rich guys driving luxury cars.
Li Bin had thought his brother was so smart he'd surely succeed, and he'd been both envious and jealous.
But he never imagined his brother would sell the house—bought with Li Bin's betrothal money—for his business.
"Mom, what's Brother doing now? Since he's in the startup phase, he could tough it out a bit. Once his business takes off, he can buy a house later. The kid's still young—Brother, his wife, and nephew living at home should be fine for now. Why the rush to buy a house?" Li Bin suggested tactfully.
It wasn't that Li Bin didn't want to lend the money, but he felt something about this wasn't quite right.
"Little Bin, what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying we shouldn't buy a house because we're poor? Are you refusing to lend the money? Are you disowning me as your mother? I carried you for ten months, raised you through hardship, and this is how you treat me?! You can buy a million-yuan car for that Wen family vixen, but you're stingy with 2 million for your mom? You're so rich now—2 million is nothing to you!" To Li Bin's shock, his reasonable suggestion was met with his mother's hysterical ranting and sobbing.
Listening to his mother's piercing insults over the phone, Li Bin closed his eyes in pain.
That's how his mother always was. Growing up, whatever his brother wanted, he got. But Li Bin? He had to yield everything to his brother, give everything to him.
No matter how wrong his brother was, he was always right.
And no matter how much Li Bin suffered, he had to bottle it up!
"Mom, that's not what I meant. I just think, with Brother in the startup phase, taking a loan for a house would add more pressure. Once his business succeeds, buying a big villa won't be an issue, right?" Li Bin sighed deeply, suppressing his grievances and anger, explaining calmly to his mother.
"Your brother… his company is doing great! Don't worry, the 2 million we're borrowing, we'll definitely pay you back this year! If you still see me as your mother, if you still consider yourself my son, you'll scrape together the money in the next couple of days and bring it to me!" Xu Fang continued her unreasonable demands, blackmailing Li Bin.
"Alright, Mom, I understand. 2 million isn't a small amount—give me some time. I'll come home in a couple of days to discuss it."
After saying this, Li Bin hung up, leaned against the steering wheel, and burst into tears.
Years of pent-up grievances poured out in that moment, his tears falling like rain.
-------------------------------------
Featured projects:
Bleach Getting Stronger, Starting from Teaching 320 chapters
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha 300 chapters
The Crime Value System 120 chapters
I Have Caught a Pokémon — 700 chapters
Goddess Training Manual — 800 chapters
Second Generation Villain (Revised Version) — 90 chapters
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem — 1050 chapters
----------------------------------------------------------------
👉 Join and support these projects at: patreon.com/LEYI396
— Don't miss a single chapter or any manga translation done on demand!