Before Lin Jin went home, he stopped by the supermarket and bought some Chinese new year's goods.
However, it was really just some dried fruits and other snacks, spending a little over a hundred yuan. It barely counted as New Year's goods. He also bought a red lantern to hang on the balcony. Additionally, he got some firecrackers, one has to set off some firecrackers on Chinese New Year after all.
The atmosphere during Chinese New Year has been dwindling over the years. The only thing to look forward to during the Chinese New Year holidays was the break itself. But in reality, the break wasn't all that great for Lin Jin. He had no friends and nothing to do, he would just squat at home and become his dad's caretaker. He had to endure his lectures and watch him go crazy after losing money gambling and getting drunk. It was tormenting. A lot less comfortable than hanging out at school.
Holding a bunch of big and small bags, he had spent a total of almost three hundred yuan before he slowly returned home.
There was a new set of sofas in the house, probably delivered this afternoon. Coupled with the wall mounted big TV and the TV cabinet underneath, the living room finally looked less empty than before.
There was only one set of sofas, one placed vertically and the other horizontally. The material felt quite comfortable to the touch, it should not one of those cheap sofas that cost just a few hundred yuan. A transparent glass coffee table sat between the two sofas, which looked somewhat poor in quality. It was just composed of four legs and a piece of glass. Nevertheless, the living room looked better than a few days ago and finally resembled a home.
However, the bedroom was still empty, even worse than the shabbiest budget motel rooms. Just a bed, completely empty.
He placed the bags in the dining room. The dining room was actually a repurposed bedroom, originally where his mom slept separately from his dad after he became addicted to gambling. After his mom left with Lin Chen, this bedroom was transformed by his dad into a dining room and a storeroom, with clutter occupying almost half of the corner. His mom's small desk became the dining table.
Speaking of which, his mom was quite the literary person. Lin Jin often saw her reading all sorts of classics and novels when he was young. From martial arts and fantasy to more adult content, his mom was indiscriminate in her reading.
Of course, Lin Jin didn't know that his mom was reading H novels at the time. He had only seen the titles of the books his mom read. Later, he found on the internet that they were actually H novels.
He wondered how a literary girl like his mom could have fallen for a coarse man like his dad.
While reminiscing about the past, Lin Jin organized all the bags of stuff he had brought. He put most of the snacks in his bedroom and a small portion on the coffee table, then went back to his room to lie down quietly.
Whenever his dad was not around, Lin Jin would always assume he had gone off to drink and gamble. Now that it was nearing Chinese New Year, most of the shops on the street had been closing one by one. His dad had also said there was not much work available, so naturally, he wouldn’t have found any temporary jobs.
After lying in bed for less than ten minutes, Lin Jin heard the sound of the front door being unlocked by a key. He also heard his dad and several men talking.
"Chengchang, let's go! If we don't go today, the boss will go home for the New Year tomorrow and won't be back until after the tenth" one man spoke loudly, tempting his dad with bewitching words. "Why not gamble one last time today? You've already poured so much money into it, maybe you can win it all back?"
"I don't have any money" his dad reluctantly responded.
Then another man began to chime in: "What do you mean you don't have money? I see you’ve spent a lot of money recently, what with the water heater and the TV and all."
"That money was earned by my son through his part-time job" Dad's voice sounded somewhat anxious, but he still patiently explained to those men. "How could I possibly use my son's money?"
"Isn’t your son's money is also your money, what's the big deal?" The man hooked his arm around Dad's shoulder, laughing as he spoke. "The New Year is almost here, win a few rounds before it, and the holiday will be even better, right?"
"I promised my son I won’t gamble anymore."
Lin Jin carefully leaned against his bedroom door, listening to his dad's words.
As expected of my dad! Well done! Don’t be fooled by this group of scumbag friends!
But didn't I tell him before not to let these people into our home? Why did he bring them back again?
"No problem, your son won’t know!" The man dragged his father's hand and tried to take him out of the house by force. He kept saying, "If you win money at the casino, we'll treat you to drinks, you've been a 'God of Wealth' these past two weeks, hardly losing at all, right?"
"It's just small amounts, a few hundred at a time" Dad said with a wry smile. His luck had indeed been good these past two weeks, but the stakes were low. He only dared to gamble a couple hundred each time. Some nights he won, some he lost, generally only making two or three hundred, which was less than those people in the mahjong rooms.
Moreover, whenever he won money, these people would pull him into having meals and drinks, so not much was actually left.
"Still, it adds up! Plus, there's your son's money. Pool it together, and we can gamble big tonight! Maybe by the New Year, you'll have tens of thousands to spend. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"But...but..."
His father seemed to waver.
"What's there to think about? Think about how much money you've invested over the years? Since it's going to be your last time playing, shouldn't you go all in? What's wrong with winning back a little?"
Dad seemed even more tempted now, to the point where he didn't know what to say anymore.
Lin Jin knew he had to step in at this point. Otherwise, his father would definitely be taken away to gamble. And this time, his father was actually tricked into planning to use the money he gave him to gamble?
Quietly opening a crack in his door, he peeked at the four men in the living room. Other than his dad, the other three were all burly men, one even had a tattoo covered arm. At a glance, you could tell they had volatile tempers and were difficult to deal with.
He gulped hard, feeling nervous. After all, he looked too young and easy to bully, and his dad's friends were all big and tall. Although his dad was there, and they probably wouldn't do anything excessive to him, he would definitely be overpowered by their presence, right?
Lin Jin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled forcefully. He felt slightly less nervous.
If you succeeded this time! Maybe dad would never gamble again! You got this!
Lin Jin composed himself emotionally, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and filled his beautiful, long lashed eyes with tears.
If he couldn't overpower their presence, then he’d change the strategy!
Mustering up the courage, Lin Jin suddenly flung his bedroom door open, exposing himself to the group of men.
"Dad, you're going to gamble again?"
Lin Jin looked at his father with tearful eyes, blinked hard, and the tears in his eyes began to drip to the ground.
"Dad?!"
Before Lin Jin went home, he stopped by the supermarket and bought some Chinese new year's goods.
However, it was really just some dried fruits and other snacks, spending a little over a hundred yuan. It barely counted as New Year's goods. He also bought a red lantern to hang on the balcony. Additionally, he got some firecrackers, one has to set off some firecrackers on Chinese New Year after all.
The atmosphere during Chinese New Year has been dwindling over the years. The only thing to look forward to during the Chinese New Year holidays was the break itself. But in reality, the break wasn't all that great for Lin Jin. He had no friends and nothing to do, he would just squat at home and become his dad's caretaker. He had to endure his lectures and watch him go crazy after losing money gambling and getting drunk. It was tormenting. A lot less comfortable than hanging out at school.
Holding a bunch of big and small bags, he had spent a total of almost three hundred yuan before he slowly returned home.
There was a new set of sofas in the house, probably delivered this afternoon. Coupled with the wall mounted big TV and the TV cabinet underneath, the living room finally looked less empty than before.
There was only one set of sofas, one placed vertically and the other horizontally. The material felt quite comfortable to the touch, it should not one of those cheap sofas that cost just a few hundred yuan. A transparent glass coffee table sat between the two sofas, which looked somewhat poor in quality. It was just composed of four legs and a piece of glass. Nevertheless, the living room looked better than a few days ago and finally resembled a home.
However, the bedroom was still empty, even worse than the shabbiest budget motel rooms. Just a bed, completely empty.
He placed the bags in the dining room. The dining room was actually a repurposed bedroom, originally where his mom slept separately from his dad after he became addicted to gambling. After his mom left with Lin Chen, this bedroom was transformed by his dad into a dining room and a storeroom, with clutter occupying almost half of the corner. His mom's small desk became the dining table.
Speaking of which, his mom was quite the literary person. Lin Jin often saw her reading all sorts of classics and novels when he was young. From martial arts and fantasy to more adult content, his mom was indiscriminate in her reading.
Of course, Lin Jin didn't know that his mom was reading H novels at the time. He had only seen the titles of the books his mom read. Later, he found on the internet that they were actually H novels.
He wondered how a literary girl like his mom could have fallen for a coarse man like his dad.
While reminiscing about the past, Lin Jin organized all the bags of stuff he had brought. He put most of the snacks in his bedroom and a small portion on the coffee table, then went back to his room to lie down quietly.
Whenever his dad was not around, Lin Jin would always assume he had gone off to drink and gamble. Now that it was nearing Chinese New Year, most of the shops on the street had been closing one by one. His dad had also said there was not much work available, so naturally, he wouldn’t have found any temporary jobs.
After lying in bed for less than ten minutes, Lin Jin heard the sound of the front door being unlocked by a key. He also heard his dad and several men talking.
"Chengchang, let's go! If we don't go today, the boss will go home for the New Year tomorrow and won't be back until after the tenth" one man spoke loudly, tempting his dad with bewitching words. "Why not gamble one last time today? You've already poured so much money into it, maybe you can win it all back?"
"I don't have any money" his dad reluctantly responded.
Then another man began to chime in: "What do you mean you don't have money? I see you’ve spent a lot of money recently, what with the water heater and the TV and all."
"That money was earned by my son through his part-time job" Dad's voice sounded somewhat anxious, but he still patiently explained to those men. "How could I possibly use my son's money?"
"Isn’t your son's money is also your money, what's the big deal?" The man hooked his arm around Dad's shoulder, laughing as he spoke. "The New Year is almost here, win a few rounds before it, and the holiday will be even better, right?"
"I promised my son I won’t gamble anymore."
Lin Jin carefully leaned against his bedroom door, listening to his dad's words.
As expected of my dad! Well done! Don’t be fooled by this group of scumbag friends!
But didn't I tell him before not to let these people into our home? Why did he bring them back again?
"No problem, your son won’t know!" The man dragged his father's hand and tried to take him out of the house by force. He kept saying, "If you win money at the casino, we'll treat you to drinks, you've been a 'God of Wealth' these past two weeks, hardly losing at all, right?"
"It's just small amounts, a few hundred at a time" Dad said with a wry smile. His luck had indeed been good these past two weeks, but the stakes were low. He only dared to gamble a couple hundred each time. Some nights he won, some he lost, generally only making two or three hundred, which was less than those people in the mahjong rooms.
Moreover, whenever he won money, these people would pull him into having meals and drinks, so not much was actually left.
"Still, it adds up! Plus, there's your son's money. Pool it together, and we can gamble big tonight! Maybe by the New Year, you'll have tens of thousands to spend. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"But...but..."
His father seemed to waver.
"What's there to think about? Think about how much money you've invested over the years? Since it's going to be your last time playing, shouldn't you go all in? What's wrong with winning back a little?"
Dad seemed even more tempted now, to the point where he didn't know what to say anymore.
Lin Jin knew he had to step in at this point. Otherwise, his father would definitely be taken away to gamble. And this time, his father was actually tricked into planning to use the money he gave him to gamble?
Quietly opening a crack in his door, he peeked at the four men in the living room. Other than his dad, the other three were all burly men, one even had a tattoo covered arm. At a glance, you could tell they had volatile tempers and were difficult to deal with.
He gulped hard, feeling nervous. After all, he looked too young and easy to bully, and his dad's friends were all big and tall. Although his dad was there, and they probably wouldn't do anything excessive to him, he would definitely be overpowered by their presence, right?
Lin Jin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled forcefully. He felt slightly less nervous.
If you succeeded this time! Maybe dad would never gamble again! You got this!
Lin Jin composed himself emotionally, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and filled his beautiful, long lashed eyes with tears.
If he couldn't overpower their presence, then he’d change the strategy!
Mustering up the courage, Lin Jin suddenly flung his bedroom door open, exposing himself to the group of men.
"Dad, you're going to gamble again?"
Lin Jin looked at his father with tearful eyes, blinked hard, and the tears in his eyes began to drip to the ground.
"Dad?!"
