Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 25

After dropping Shen Tian off at school, Shen Xian received a call from her mother early in the morning. Her mother only said that the whole extended family was having a big argument at Shen Xian’s grandfather’s place and told her to hurry over. Shen Xian hung up and rushed to the Yujing Garden residential complex where her grandfather lived.

Speaking of the house her grandfather now lived in — it was actually bought by Fang Jinglan, Shen Xian’s mother. Her grandfather only paid for the renovations.

Originally, her grandfather did own a house, but it had long since been transferred to her uncle, Fang Chengqian. After the house was transferred, her previously attentive uncle and aunt-in-law immediately showed their true colors and kicked the eighty-something-year-old grandfather out. Shen Xian’s three aunts had argued with the couple about this many times, but since the house deed had already been transferred, arguing was pointless.

The old man was also quite stubborn. Although all three daughters wanted to take him in and care for him, he held on to his traditional beliefs and refused to live in any of their homes. He insisted on renting his own place. But once landlords heard that an elderly man in his eighties wanted to rent, none of them were willing.

Left with no choice, Shen Xian’s mother, Fang Jinglan, simply bought a 60-something-square-meter second-hand apartment. The renovation and furniture were paid for by her grandfather. After he passed away, the house would still belong to Fang Jinglan. However, they had underestimated how shameless Fang Chengqian and his wife could be.

After the grandfather moved in, Fang Chengqian and his wife Yan Qinqin also moved in and refused to leave. They claimed it was to take care of the old man, but in reality, they were eyeing both his savings and the small one-bedroom apartment.

By the time Shen Xian arrived at the hallway, the argument inside was already out of control. She had to knock for quite a while before someone finally opened the door.

No one greeted her when she entered. All she heard was Yan Qinqin crying as she said, “The money can’t be split evenly! Our Fang Yan is the only grandson of the Fang family, and he’s about to graduate from college. Buying a house, a car, getting married — it all takes money. You can’t just ignore that!”

Her third aunt was immediately provoked by those words. “Why can’t it be split evenly? You two know full well why Dad’s living here. And don’t forget, the previous house was already given to you. The remaining money isn’t being denied to you, we just want it split fairly. Every time Dad has health issues, who’s the first to call us all over? Even for something as small as buying medicine, I’m the one you call. The three of us sisters come to see Dad all the time — we’re not stupid. We’ve all contributed. And now you want to take everything? Are we just doing all the work so you can enjoy the benefits?”

“That’s not what I meant! You’re always bringing up that house — what kind of son doesn’t get help buying a home to get married? That’s ancient history already!” Yan Qinqin sounded more and more wronged as she went on.

Fang Jingping shot her a glare and asked the old man, “Dad, what do you say? How should the money be divided? Are you planning to leave everything to your grandson?”

The old man clearly knew what kind of person his son was, though in his heart, he still leaned toward his son. But he also knew that it was his daughters who had been managing things whenever he got sick or needed hospitalization.

“I can pay for my grandson’s tuition,” he said, “but I never said I’d leave all the money to him.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “If it’s really an issue, then just give the eldest daughter’s share to Chengqian. She lives out of town and doesn’t come by often.”

“No way. If we’re splitting, then it’s equal shares for everyone,” Fang Jingping said firmly. “If our eldest sister finds out that everyone else got a share but not her, how heartbroken would she be? And anyway, the money’s in my name. Even if you take the passbook, it’s just a piece of paper. Chengqian, if you two keep being unreasonable, don’t expect to get even a single cent.”

Previously, the grandfather’s salary and medical cards were kept by Fang Chengqian and Yan Qinqin. But a few times, the grandfather noticed that large sums were missing from his salary account. When he asked, he found out Chengqian had lost money gambling and withdrawn money several times — adding up to five or six thousand yuan. On top of that, the money originally meant for her grandfather’s medicine had been used by Yan Qinqin for her own father’s medication. So the grandfather eventually handed his salary and medical cards over to Shen Xian’s third aunt, Fang Jingping, for safekeeping.

When Yan Qinqin heard what Fang Jingping said, she had nothing to argue with. So she shifted her attention to the house. “Third Sister, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just thinking about Fang Yan. All of your kids don’t even carry the Fang surname. The Fang family only has one grandson — Fang Yan. It’s fine to split the money, but this house should be left to him to get married with.”

When Fang Jinglan heard that Yan Qinqin was now aiming for the house she paid for, she was immediately upset.

“How many times do I have to say it? I paid for this house. And you both know why I bought it. Dad only paid for the renovations. This house is for Dad to live in, and when he passes, it’s still mine. The property deed has my name on it. There’s no reason and no way it would go to you two.”

“How could this not be Dad’s house? You’re just targeting the two of us! If the deed wasn’t under Dad’s name, would you have let him live here for so long?” Yan Qinqin clearly didn’t believe her.

Fang Jinglan sneered. “You think I’m like you two? If Dad really gave all the money to you, then it would truly break our hearts. Chengqian, when your father-in-law was in the hospital, you stayed overnight to care for him. But when it was our Dad, you never once stayed overnight. We’ve just been too nice to you over the years.”

“I don’t care. This house must go to Fang Yan in the end,” Yan Qinqin said, her tears already dried up, but she still spoke in a tearful tone.

Shen Xian, who had been silently watching from the side, felt like she was witnessing a full-blown drama. What a mess! In an ABO world no less — how were people still this obsessed with sons over daughters? And the funniest part? The house really was paid for by her mother, Fang Jinglan.

“Auntie,” Shen Xian said, “who inherits this house depends on the deed. We won’t charge Grandpa rent, of course. But after he passes, whether we sell it or keep it is our decision. The property deed is in my mom’s name, after all.”

To Shen Xian, this little apartment was really nothing. The stock market had been treating her quite well lately. But making money was one thing — getting what rightfully belonged to her family was another. It was obvious to her that this couple just wanted to freeload endlessly. When the old man was sick, they called in the sisters to do everything. But the moment there was nothing to do, they started eyeing his assets.

When Yan Qinqin heard Shen Xian speak up, she was immediately annoyed. She glared at her and said, “Shen Xian, how dare you butt in? Why don’t you talk about how much money you’ve asked your uncle for? And this past New Year, I had | 20,000 yuan | in cash in my drawer, planning to deposit it a few days later. But after you left, I counted and found | 800 yuan | missing. I haven’t even said anything to you yet, and you still dare to speak up? You’re the last person qualified to talk here. Which of your uncles or aunts haven’t you taken money from? And you’ve never paid any of it back!”

Shen Xian was furious, but she knew what Yan Qinqin said was true. On the second day of the New Year, the original Shen Xian had spent it at her grandfather’s place. Her uncle and aunt ran a teahouse and regularly stored cash at home to deposit later. Sometimes the money was just thrown in a drawer until there was enough to deposit together.

Normally, who would go through someone else’s drawer for no reason? But the original host was different — her mind was only set on making money. While everyone else was busy exchanging New Year greetings, she saw money in the drawer. Thinking that taking a few bills from a thick stack wouldn’t be noticeable, and with so many people around, no one would be able to accuse her of stealing, she actually ended up stealing | 800 yuan | — and later refused to admit it.

As soon as Yan Qinqin mentioned Shen Xian, Fang Jinglan wasn’t happy. She could criticize her own daughter, but didn’t like others doing it. She defended her, “Why does it have to be Shen Xian who took it? Don’t blame everything on her.”

Shen Xian tugged on Fang Jinglan’s arm and pulled out 1,000 yuan from her bag, saying, “Auntie, I was the one who took the | 800 yuan |. Here’s 1,000 to pay you back. As for before, I did ask Uncle and Auntie for money a few times, but my mom paid all of that back for me. Don’t worry — no matter how things go for me in the future, I won’t ask you for money again. But the house is a separate matter. Grandpa lives here now, and whether it’s to take care of him or for any other reason, you can live here. But you need to be clear that the house is under my mom’s name. If she wants you to move out, she has every right to do so. Even if we call the police, we’re in the right, and in the end, it’ll be you who has to leave.”

Shen Xian glanced at Yan Qinqin and added, “Auntie, you don’t have to keep bringing up taking care of Grandpa. If you don’t want to do it, we can take turns. Each person can take care of him for one month. But I guess you’re not willing to give up that 3,000 yuan monthly allowance Grandpa gives.”

“Exactly. You all can think it over. If not, let’s just rotate care,” Fang Jingping added.

Seeing that not only did she fail to get more money, but her family of three was also close to being kicked out, Yan Qinqin immediately forced out a few tears and played the victim. “Second Sister, Third Sister, that’s not what we meant. You decide how to divide the money. We’ll still take care of Dad.”

Shen Xian had expected her aunt to say something like that. Fang Chengqian and his wife weren’t short on money in the first place. Plus, they had inherited a house from the old man. In total, they had three properties, all of which they rented out for income. The three of them squeezed into a 60-square-meter apartment with the old man — partly to get him to pay for Fang Yan’s education, and partly for the 3,000 yuan monthly allowance he gave. The old man only ate two meals a day and skipped dinner, so how much could he really spend? In the end, it was the three of them who used up the allowance money.

“Alright then, since no one has any objections, let’s split it evenly. I’ll tell Dad. If there’s nothing else, let’s not all stay here,” Fang Jingping said as she got up and spoke briefly with the old man. Only then did the sisters start to leave.

On the way back, since Shen Xian and her mother lived close to Yujing Court, they decided to walk. Fang Jinglan hadn’t said a word the entire way. Shen Xian knew she was thinking about the | 800 yuan | the original host had stolen.

“Mom, don’t worry. I won’t do anything like that again. I won’t ever let you down like that.” Shen Xian grabbed her mother’s wrist, her eyes clear and sincere. “The old me is gone. I won’t let you hang your head in front of your sisters because of me again. Mom, I’m sorry for everything I put you through.”

Fang Jinglan’s eyes turned red, but she held back her tears. With a sigh, she said, “I’ve never expected you to become someone big. I just want you to live a decent and honest life. The past is the past. Let’s go home.”

Shen Xian nodded and smiled. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

Holding her mother’s wrist, Shen Xian felt like something was off. After a moment of thought, she remembered a part of the original novel’s plot. Previously, the old man had taken 100,000 yuan from his savings to buy each of his five daughters a gold bracelet. Each bracelet had the character “Fang” engraved on the inside as a keepsake. But the one meant for Fang Jinglan had been sold by the original host.

One night, Fang Jinglan found the bracelet uncomfortable to wear while sleeping, so she took it off and placed it under her pillow. The next day, she forgot to put it back on before going out to exercise with Shen Wenkang. The original host didn’t miss the opportunity — she went into Fang Jinglan’s room, rummaged through her things, found the bracelet under the pillow, and sold it. Then she swaggered off and treated a few bad friends to a meal.

When Fang Jinglan came home and couldn’t find the bracelet, she was frantic. She didn’t want to suspect her own daughter, but the truth proved it had indeed been the original host who took it.

Shen Xian’s eyes darkened slightly. After so long, the bracelet was definitely gone. All she could do now was find a way to buy a similar one to give back to Fang Jinglan.