"I never thought about it like that. The house isn't under my name—back when my little brother was born, it was already transferred to him. It's not like you guys don't know."
Everyone certainly knew about this. Back then, when they couldn't get the house themselves, they figured if it fell to Zhenzhen, she'd get married and the house would end up someone else's. So they thought it'd be better to give it to Mei Mengchen, which is why they pressured the kids along with the Mei parents to transfer the house years ago.
But now it's a whole different situation. The Mei parents are gone, Mei Mengchen is only three years old, and if they want the house, they still have to go through Zhenzhen. Uncle Mei Yongan said coldly, "Don't try to shift responsibility onto anyone else."
"I'm not shifting anything. If my little brother agrees, the house can go to you, just like that. But…"
"Zhenzhen, do you even hear yourself?" Mei Yinan immediately shouted when she heard this. She tried to cut Zhenzhen off, but it was too late—the words were already out, everyone had heard them, and interrupting now was pointless.
Mei Yinan was furious at how fast Zhenzhen's mouth worked, not considering consequences at all.
"Big sister, let her talk. 'But' what?"
"Yeah, why did you cut her off? I want to hear the rest."
"Whatever you're thinking, just say it now while we're all here."
"That's right, big sis. Everyone's here, let her say whatever she wants. Why interrupt her? You're dad's daughter, too, your share isn't going anywhere."
The relatives talked over each other, and Mei Yinan really couldn't get a word in.
Well, after the house is demolished, as dad's daughter, she'd naturally have a share too.
But still, the two in front of them were just kids. Was it really necessary to go this far?
"Let me finish," Zhenzhen said coolly. "The house is currently under my brother's name, and it's about to be demolished. Everyone knows that already."
Everyone did know, since this entire area was slated for demolition—not just their place, but all the relatives' homes too.
That's the advantage of living close: One house gets demolished, all the families do, everyone together so no one envies another.
"It's just a year or two, really. I have one year left before the college entrance exams, the school's not far, and I've lived here over ten years. I think staying another year or two isn't too much to ask."
Zhenzhen's request really wasn't unreasonable. She said one or two years, but really just one; with Zhenzhen's grades she'd definitely get into college, and then the house would be vacant. From another angle, if she and her brother moved into someone else's place, they'd have to be looked after, eat and drink—they'd be someone's responsibility. Better let the siblings live alone; less trouble for everyone, and an empty house is empty anyway.
But…
"You say staying here isn't a problem, and dad spoiling you didn't just happen yesterday—we don't care about another year or two. But what if you just never leave? If the demolition money all ends up in your pocket, what then?" Aunt Mei Yifan got worked up as she spoke, voicing the same concerns everyone had.
Aunt Mei Yifan was the most outspoken among the sisters; more than that, she'd say anything, never worried about consequences or thinking it through—she'd pissed grandpa off plenty of times. Most of the sisters didn't actually like her, but at this moment, someone needed to say these things. Nobody wanted to be the villain.
Zhenzhen chuckled awkwardly: "Don't worry, aunt, it won't end up in my pocket. If you want it, it's yours. We can sign an agreement, but I have conditions too."
Uncle Mei Yongfu sneered. He knew it wouldn't be so simple—when did this kid get so many schemes? He said irritably, "It's not even your house, what makes you think you can make demands?"
"Fair point—but aren't you curious about my conditions? If you're not willing to listen, then we have nothing to talk about. You can't force me and my brother to go somewhere we don't want to go, right?" Zhenzhen didn't care: If we can't talk, then nothing changes; but the house stays as-is, and no one would be happy with that.
With the tension this high, Mei Yinan had no idea what to say anymore, looking at the family members and thinking nobody even wanted to show a good face.
Thinking about how everyone cried their eyes out in the hospital days ago—how much of that was genuine? That slap on Zhenzhen: how much was on purpose?
Mei Yinan felt like the looks on everyone's faces in the room were downright ironic.
Uncle Mei Yongfu looked at Mei Yinan: "Big sister, quit pulling faces. You're not getting stiffed on the money—who's your attitude for?" Everyone's the same, but you trying to act noble?
Mei Yinan spat out, "The money isn't even here yet, but you're already falling apart. Are you so determined to squeeze the two kids until there's nothing left?"
Aunt Mei Yifan glanced at Mei Yinan, "Big sister, be reasonable. When have we ever squeezed these two kids? Aren't they sitting right here, safe and sound? We're just negotiating, aren't we?" Then she turned to Zhenzhen: "Go on, I really want to hear what your terms are."
Of course, if the conditions weren't fair, no way they'd agree.
"It's pretty simple. Before demolition, my brother and I stay here, and living expenses, water, and electricity—mom and dad left us some money, should last for a while. If the house gets demolished before my college entrance exam, we move out and handle things ourselves; if it's demolished after the exam, even better." If demolition is before the exam, it's not just her who loses a place to live—all the families do, so handling it herself is only fair.
Of course, demolition would definitely happen after the exam, but she couldn't guarantee it so surely. Zhenzhen glanced at the family and went on, "But we won't transfer the house to anyone before demolition. There are so many of you—who would we even transfer it to? Also, after demolition, none of you want the house anymore anyway. When the money comes in, it can go straight to you, but for the time we lived here, we won't be paying any rent."
As soon as Zhenzhen said this, the family exploded.
"What's that supposed to mean—do you think we'd take rent from you?"
"Yeah, you've lived here for over ten years, did we ever ask for a dime in rent?"
"You've got plenty of schemes, huh? We haven't even agreed, and you're bringing up rent already."
Mei Yinan stared coldly at them. Although Zhenzhen acting on her own annoyed her, Zhenzhen's cautiousness was justified—if she didn't spell things out now, these people might actually charge rent. When money is involved, who knows what they could do. It's just that…
"Zhenzhen, do you even realize what this means? Do you understand the value of a house? You're only thinking about one year, the college entrance exam, but what about after? You know how much money your parents have—they can only really support you for this year at most. What about college? The tuition and living costs—how are you going to manage? Can you handle it?" Mei Yinan lectured, but couldn't help blaming Zhenzhen for not holding firm.