19. Is it Really Alright to hit Yourself in the Face? When Bai YiHan woke up the next morning, he was still feeling down. Worried, Ma asked, "HanHan, why aren"t you happy?"
"I"m fine. I"m not unhappy," YiHan replied with a smile.
Ma"s face was covered in worry. Before, when her boy was carefree and inconsiderate, she"d always hope he"d grow up. Now that"s he more understanding of others, she felt like she was being stabbed in the heart every time he forced a smile. How very contradictory
Bai FuRen looked at YiHan. "Are you still upset over last night?" he sighed.
YiHan looked up at FuRen. "No, Dad. You were right," he said with another forced smile."
"Is this some kind of riddle for us? What are you talking about?" Ma curiously asked.
FuRen could not hold out against his wife"s stare. "He came to me last night asking to borrow 50 million to buy some property in the southern districts," he replied.
"If the child wants some immovable a.s.sets, that"s a good thing. What"s there to be upset about? However, is that paltry sum really enough for everything?" Ma said.
"You don"t understand. That area is a wasteland. Any property he buys there will only depreciate in value," FuRen replied with a sigh.
"Han, won"t other areas do? I"ll help you get some," said Yan.
YiHan moodily shook his head. He intended to borrow some cash from his mother and siblings, separately. Now that his father"s explained everything, how could he open his mouth and ask? It seemed like he"d have to let this matter go. "It"s fine. I was just thinking about it. It"s nothing much even if I don"t buy anything," he said with another sigh.
XueQing watched as her beloved younger brother drooped his head in resignation. He"d pause for a long while each time he took a small bite of his breakfast. Her grip tightened around her chopsticks and loosened and tightened and loosened. In the end, she couldn"t resist speaking up. "Bro, don"t be upset. I"ll give you some money. Go buy them. Don"t think of it as an investment. Just treat it as something fun to do. Okay?" Having said so, she snuck a peek at her father. Such blatant reb.u.t.tal of her father"s words was disrespectful of her father"s lesson to YiHan, but she really couldn"t bear to look at a wilting YiHan.
On the contrary, Ma strongly agreed with her daughter. "That"s right. It"s not a big sum. Is it worth making HanHan upset? He might not have slept at all last night. Good boy. I"ll give you some too. Combined with what your sister"s offering, they should be enough for you to play with." She lovingly ran her hand through her little son"s hair. In her mind, that darned husband who made YiHan upset was being scolded and lectured to death.
FuRen: "…" So what was he holding out for? If he"d known it"d be like this, he should"ve just given the money straightaway. He"d be able to look good in front of his younger son then. Now, look what"s happened. Only he was the villain. And he made his youngest son unhappy…His wife, who loved her son as if he was her own life, was going to be a difficult challenge for FuRen to overcome now.
YiHan: "…" How did such deus-ex-machina development happen? Why did they not give what he wanted to him when he wanted it, but give it to him when he"d given up on it?
Bai Yan didn"t say anything at the breakfast table, but as soon as he arrived at the office, he silently transferred 50 million into YiHan"s bank account.
YiHan while staring down at the transfer notification: "…?"
That"s not it. Soon after, transfer notifications for the identical amount came from his mother, XueQing, and even Bai FuRen, who did it without a single notice!
Speaking of which, Dad, didn"t you disagree? Is it really alright to hit yourself in the face like this?
It was clear. Everyone thought he just wanted to play with real estate based on an impulse. The money"s just for him to spend. They never thought of asking him to return it in the first place!
YiHan held tight to the phone in his hand. His heart was overwhelmed by the bittersweet emotions swelling in him. This was his family. His family who loved him unconditionally. This time, he will cherish them more. He must never disappoint them again.
The money he"d received was more than he antic.i.p.ated. YiHan was rather excited and eager, but he didn"t know anything himself. He didn"t dare make a move himself. At last, he asked Yan to help him find a few retail stores in those areas. Fortunately, property prices in those areas were cheaper than usual. Otherwise, he wouldn"t be able to buy much. Behind YiHan"s back, Yan even topped it up for him. And so, YiHan was able to buy three blocks of tiny 3-storey shops right next to each other in the suburb he was hoping for. After some networking, those shops were quickly transferred over to YiHan.
Once this was done, YiHan became much calmer and steadier. Upon witnessing his improved mood, all of the Bai family members felt happy too. This time, the money was well-spent (thrown).
It"s been half a month since Bai YiHan"s rebirth. Mu JingYuan, who would visit the Bai family nearly every day to the point of being a resident in their home, never once appeared. Similarly, YiHan never went looking for him.
Quick Reminder:
For those who missed out on the previous notes and got weirded out by the large sum, the original translation put it as 5 million and not 50 million. Due to a mistake/typo on my part and some research, I"ve decided to leave it as 50 million RMB as property prices in China are quite high on average (even though there will always be a suburb where you"d never be able to sell anything even for 1$ per sqm).
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