Chapter 420: – Prodigal Dad
Then in Lin Jin’s first game of PUBG, dropping to the ground ended up being her finale. Out of a total of 95 players, Lin Jin ranked second, from the bottom…
She felt sorry for the title of game knowledge champion.
Lin Jin instantly lost interest in this PUBG game. She'd seen that this game was very popular and the effects of streaming it was quite good too. The game looked quite fun on stream, so she was always eager to try it out. But she had never played it because her computer couldn’t run it. Now, after finally experiencing it, she suddenly realized that she really wasn’t suitable for this kind of ratty game that also tested one’s aim and awareness.
She really was only suited for playing strategy games that didn’t require fast reflexes, APM, and at most only tested one’s intelligence…
Xia Tian’s company didn’t seem to have much going on recently. Because of the success of the last project, Xia Tian was promoted from being on probation to a regular full time employee. As a regular full time employee, his salary was around a thousand higher than before, and he now also got full benefits and a housing provident fund. The conditions were pretty good.
Plus, Xia Tian lived right next to the college. So if he was willing, he could blend in and eat at the school cafeteria. With his rent only being five hundred a month, he could actually save quite a bit of money every month.
Lin Jin hung out at Xia Tian's place until about nine at night. After the scare last time, she didn’t dare to stay too late before going back. She even dragged Xia Tian to walk her to the gate of her community.
When she got home, her dad happened to be coming back too and the three of them bumped into each other right at the gate. Lin Jin immediately put on a face of complete indifference and just left her dad behind without a word. Xia Tian thought it was just some random passerby and didn’t even realize that it was actually Lin Jin’s father.
Ever since her dad said something that sounded similar to selling her off, Lin Jin’s feelings toward him had hit rock bottom. If he hadn’t been her father, then Lin Jin would never have let him stay in her home.
She slowly made her way back home, washed her face and stuff, then returned to her bedroom. She locked the door and checked the progress of her video upload. She saw that with the slow wifi at her rental apartment, it would probably take all night to finish the upload. So Lin Jin didn’t bother with her computer. She went to the closet, found some pajamas, and got ready to take a shower.
Soon after, her dad came back too. He carried the sack and slowly made his way to the living room. Glancing at the closed bedroom door, he sighed, and placed the sack in the corner of the room.
“I’m going to take a shower. Lin Jin walked out holding her pajamas. She glanced at her dad, who was looking down at his phone, then headed straight for the bathroom.
Her dad’s head followed her, appearing to be thinking about something. Just as Lin Jin was about to step into the bathroom, he suddenly called out: “Wait.”
“What?” Lin Jin stopped, still holding her pajamas.
“In the future, will you live with your mom, or with me?” Her dad looked a bit uneasy. His wrinkled and aging face once again allowed Lin Jin to see his old age.
“I’ll live on my own, probably in Xiamen, or maybe go to Guangdong.” Lin Jin decided to imitate Xia Tian’s emotionless look.
“After I graduate, I’ll probably find a job and rent a place. As for our hometown, I’ll probably go back for a few days during Chinese New Year.”
Even though Lin Jin’s relationship with her dad wasn’t that good, she still had a pretty good relationship with her grandparents. She didn’t plan to transfer her issues with her dad over to her grandparents.
“Oh. her dad nodded thoughtfully.
Lin Jin pursed her lips, not sure what was going on with her dad. She decided to just ignore him and headed to the bathroom to take her shower.
Taking a shower was a treat for Lin Jin. Although there was no bathtub or the legendary milk bath, Lin Jin still enjoyed the relaxed feeling of the hot water running down her body.
After her shower, she quickly ran back to her bedroom with her dirty clothes in hand, only to find that she had a missed call on her phone.
It was mom’s.
She called back, and within moments, her mom’s voice came through.
“Something happened to your dad.” her mom said bluntly.
Lin Jin was startled by this. She thought maybe her dad got hit by a car or something, but then she heard the noises coming from the living room and immediately felt relieved.
“What happened?”
Lin Jin grabbed her hair dryer, intending to dry her wet hair after the call ended.
“He sold the house.”
Her mom’s tone was very calm, as if she had been expecting this all along.
“Ah? Our house is gone?” Lin Jin’s reaction was bigger than just now. Her entire person even jumped up “What happened?!”
“Gambling, debt, loan sharks, selling the house, just like that.” Her mom’s tone remained calm from beginning to end, exactly like an active volcano about to erupt. She let out a cold humphed, “If I hadn’t asked his brother, I wouldn’t have even known what was going on.”
No wonder why her dad came over here. So it was because there was nowhere to stay at their hometown’s side, right?
“What about the house in the countryside?” Lin Jin asked with a frown.
“That house isn’t worth much, but the land in the countryside has been bought clean.” Her mom’s voice was full of ridicule. “Your dad is a hopeless case. In this life, don’t expect him to ever get back on his feet, and don’t expect him to be able to make money like he used to.”
“He came to Xiamen saying he was doing business, but actually, he just couldn’t stay in the hometown anymore. Now your grandparents are both furious.”
As expected. After all, half of the money for that house had come from her grandparents.
Lin Jin vaguely remembered when she was little, her dad’s business wasn’t doing well, but he still moved the family from the village to the town just so she and her younger brother Lin Chen could attend a slightly better school. With help from her grandparents, they bought that house in the county town. Later on, when her dad got money, he didn’t plan on buying another house but instead poured everything back into the business. In the end, because of gambling, the business was gone, the money was gone, and he lost his wife and kids were gone. Now, even the house was gone.
Lin Jin couldn’t help but have some complaints towards her mom. Back when they split up, why was she given to her dad instead of being taken by her mom.
That way, there wouldn’t be this much to worry about.
“Dad’s been setting up a small stall outside my school lately to make some money.” Lin Jin told her mom about her dad’s situation these days. “It seems like he still made a bit. But lately, it seems he’s been leaving earlier and earlier. I don’t know where he’s gone.”
“He’s probably found a nearby casino.” Mom said matter-of-factly.
Sigh, having a gambling addict for a dad was just tragic.
Lin Jin shrugged, not really sure what to say.
“Okay, that’s it. I’m hanging up. Remember, don’t give your dad any money.” After her mom concernedly said, she ended the call.
Even though her mom’s tone seemed stable the whole time, Lin Jin could tell she was holding something back.
Anyways, it was pretty clear that her mom had lost all hope in her dad. Lin Jin too was also starting to lose hope.
Translator’s Notes: Full benefits mean pension, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, workplace injury insurance, and childbirth benefits. The housing provident fund is a saving fund both the employer and employees contribute to, to be used by the employee for buying a house.