Chapter 328: – Suddenly don’t want to leave
"Brother, welcome."
Lin Chen recognized Lin Jin at first glance, not for any other reason but simply because he saw a somewhat familiar looking girl getting out of mom's car.
"Mm." Lin Jin smiled and nodded with his bag in hand. He greeted his younger brother before turning to look at their mother who just parked the car.
Mom’s expression wasn’t as pleasant looking as Lin Jin’s. Seeing Lin Chen standing outside the parking shed with his schoolbag, her face darkened immediately and she scolded, "What time is it and you're still not going to class!"
"Aren’t I waiting for brother?" Lin Chen said sheepishly, scratching his head.
Over the winter break, Lin Chen's hair had grown to be as long as a finger. Although the hard texture of the long hair made it look a bit explosive, probably because Lin Jin was used to seeing Lin Chen with short hair, he felt the longer hair was somewhat odd.
And why did it seem like his hair had gotten thinner?
"Brother, I'm off to school." Lin Chen had wanted to say more to Lin Jin, but seeing their mother's stern look, he chickened out and rushed out of the community with his head down.
"Your brother's grades are still okay, but he's about to take the college entrance examinations," Mom's face softened a bit as Lin Chen left. She picked up Lin Jin's bag and explained, "There aren’t many highly educated people in our family. Mom didn’t finish elementary school. Your dad is a bit better but he’s still only graduated elementary school. Now the person with the highest academic performance in the family is your brother."
His mother had always put great emphasis on education and Lin Jin’s grades were originally pretty good with her around. But now his academics have fallen, so Lin Chen became her only hope.
"It would be great if Lin Chen could get into Tsinghua or Peking University and bring honor to our ancestors." Mom’s voice was filled with expectations for Lin Chen as she held Lin Jin's arm and led him towards building three at the center of the community.
The neighborhood was run down, seemingly without even a security guard. But fortunately, the residents here were very nice. They were all smiling and familiarly greeting mom in Cantonese, and she, having lived here for over a decade, responded in kind.
"Mom's business is not bad now, enough to afford Lin Chen’s university. Masters if possible, PhD would be best. That would be really bringing honor to our ancestors and something to be proud of." Mom was filled with excitement as she said this. With a warm smile, staring blankly ahead as if she could already see Lin Chen coming home in his doctoral gown.
But moments later, her smile turned cold as she lamented, "Your father is unbelievable! Back then, your grades were so good. And after I left? All you could worry about was your dad, needing to think how to stop him from gambling away all the money. It harmed your grades so much you ended up only in junior college."
Lin Jin gave a bitter smile. His mom was clearly dissatisfied with his current school situation. She also believed none of it was Lin Jin’s own fault and that it was all his dad’s doing.
Even though a part of it was because of his dad, most of the reason was actually Lin Jin himself not wanting to study.
As she spoke, Lin Jin followed his mom into their home.
The home's condition was a stark contrast to the shabby community outside. The flooring was solid wood, as was the furniture, and there were two potted plants in the corners of the living room. The overall interior decor was warm and when the hazy hall lights were turned on, they immediately filled the space with a strong, cozy atmosphere.
But most importantly! The living room was actually at least fifty square meters large! The room was so large, even the TV was a forty something inch with a curved screen.
To Lin Jin, a home with complete furniture was enough to make him envious, let alone all the electronics in this home that seemed luxurious to him.
"Three bedrooms and one living room. You and Lin Chen will stay in those two rooms, I've already cleaned up your room and even bought you a computer," Mom led Lin Jin into a bedroom with a huge floor to ceiling window. This bedroom had a TV, computer, game console, everything. It was clear his mother had put in a lot of thought to make Lin Jin’s stay more comfortable.
She placed Lin Jin's bag on a nearby table and glanced at Lin Jin’s delighted face, feeling she had successfully lifted his spirits. Eagerly, she continued, "How about you just live with mom from now on?"
Lin Jin, who was still caught up in surprise just now, quickly came back to his senses and instinctively shook his head, "I still have classes. The school is too far from here."
"How is it far, you can just stay here during your winter and summer breaks. Mom has already arranged everything for you." Mom enticed Lin Jin. "You're not great at studying. During the breaks, mom will teach you to cook tasty food. That way, you can be picky with who you marry."
What the f*ck! Mom?! Even before the surgery happens and the eight characters are checked, you’re already thinking about me marrying a man?
Lin Jin didn’t know what to say to his mom’s big heart. He could only manage an odd smile and nod before tactfully declining "But dad can’t cook, and aren’t you planning to remarry him later?"
"That’s for later. If your dad can’t take care of himself, how can he take care of our family?" Mom's face darkened immediately when Lin Jin brought up dad. "You can’t look after him your whole life, right?"
“That’s true…”
Lin Jin found it hard to refute.
"Rest, rest. I'll make you something to eat, and tonight we'll go out for dinner," When his mother saw Lin Jin agree, she smiled and cheerfully ruffled Lin Jin’s growing hair, "Go watch TV or play on the computer, I’ll call you when it’s ready."
"Okay."
Lin Jin nodded obediently. He pulled off his socks and climbed onto the bed barefoot, watching his mom leave his bedroom.
Then Lin Jin silently surveyed the room, which was flawless in both lighting and decoration...
This bedroom, was really too great!
And the quilt was so soft! The pillows were so soft! The bed was soft too! The computer screen was super big! Even the headphones and microphone were prepared! There was even a PS4 game console! Everything was ten times better than at dad’s place!
If possible, Lin Jin would even be willing to live here forever!
But even though his dad wasn't that great, he was still his dad. If he really moved here for winter and summer breaks without discussing it with him, he would definitely be beaten.
He excitedly rolled around on the big bed several times, tainting the quilt with his scent. Then he laid down all spread out, satisfied, and gazed at the beautiful ceiling light fixture.
Was this what Lin Chen's life was like?! Suddenly, he felt so envious!
Lin Jin excitedly jumped up from the bed and hurriedly ran to turn on the computer. Ten seconds later, the desktop appeared with a wallpaper of him in a princess dress from his birthday.
Having that photo as the wallpaper was so embarrassing!
The computer already had Lin Jin's favorite games downloaded, obviously done by Lin Chen, including Dota, Steam games, and other software Lin Jin frequently used.
So thoughtful, Lin Jin suddenly felt like he didn’t want to leave.