Tenant's Secret Love

Chapter 182: Ridiculous Life

I sat at the table eating the hot meal my mother had prepared, while she sat opposite me keeping me company. My father remained in his original position on the sofa watching TV.

My heart was unmoved, so I didn't let my emotions affect my appetite, and I wolfed down my food, driven by hunger.

"Lucas, do you know how old you'll be after this Chinese New Year?" My mother finally spoke, her first words to me.

"Twenty-seven."

"Well, you're not senile yet!"

I stopped chewing and looked at my mother, and after a long pause I said, "Mom, why do I feel like you always treat me like an idiot? Normally it's fine, but is this the first day of the new year?"

"If you weren't stupid, could you have done so many things that didn't make sense? Tell me, what should the life of a 27-year-old man be like?"

"Marry a wife and have children, and have a stable career. Is that a reliable answer?"

"It is reliable, but look at yourself. Does this description of your life even apply to you?"

I shook my head with a lack of confidence and said, "No... But since the second half of last year, I have been following these words and working hard. You must not deny me this."

"I won't deny you, but you have to tell me the results of your efforts."

"Mom, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight, so how can there be results so quickly?"

"Whatever you say, you always find a way to argue your way out of it... I don't want to nag you during the New Year, so I'll just ask you one thing."

"You ask, I promise to give you a sensible answer."

Mom nodded and said, "Tell me, after you finish things in Suzhou, do you plan to go back to Xuzhou or not?"

"Well... I'm not really sure at the moment."

Mom's face suddenly turned sour: "You irresponsible child, I don't expect you to wake up on your own. I'll make the decision for you. I'll give you two months. After two months, you come back to Xuzhou with me... It'll be a good time for your father and I to borrow some money from relatives and friends to help you pay the down payment on a house. After that, you can stay in Xuzhou and get a job to pay the mortgage yourself!"

"Mom, how can I let you and dad worry about the house? You're both getting on in years, I really can't bear it. Even if I buy a house, I'll find a way myself..."

My mom sneered, "Find a way yourself? One day when the price of a house in Xuzhou drops to 2,000-3,000 yuan per square meter, I'll see if you can handle it."

I was instantly embarrassed, and I knew even more about my mother's clever tactics. She just wanted to trap me in Xuzhou forever with a house. If I really bought a house and had a high mortgage, I would have no choice but to be dishonest.

But what could I do? My miserable years had long since made my mother completely lose confidence in me. I guess I really failed, to the point that no one is willing to give me the slightest bit of trust.

My father, who had always kept quiet, finally spoke up at this time. He said to my mother, "I don't agree with borrowing money to buy a house. This is something he should solve on his own. We have fulfilled our duty as parents by financing his university education."

"You're wrong to say that. Haven't we worked hard all our lives for our son? Buying him a house is not about indulging him, but about adding some pressure to him, so that he knows how to pull himself together."