"How can that be."
"No way."
Mei Yifan and Mei Yongfu nearly shouted, but Mei Yinan ignored them. "Go get the money now, give it to the kids, or I'll tear up this agreement right now."
Now Mei Yinan regretted it. She really should've made them hand over the money as they signed the agreement.
It's not that she hadn't anticipated this situation before, she just didn't want to make things look too ugly. But these younger siblings themselves were the ones making things downright ugly, so why was she still worrying about saving face? What's the point?
"Sis, don't..."
"Sis, how could you be like this."
"How am I like this? Lying to the kids is the right thing to do? Don't you guys have any shame at all?" Mei Yinan was genuinely pissed this time, couldn't stay sitting, and stood up, pointing at each of their noses and giving them a full scolding.
But who cares, really? It's just a scolding, and they'd save two thousand yuan a year.
Everyone sat in their chairs pretending to be dead. After Mei Yinan finished scolding, they didn't care—they just got up and walked off cool as can be.
Watching her siblings' backs as they left, Mei Yinan couldn't hold in her anger. "Why are you so stubborn, huh? Wouldn't it be good to come stay with us? Why must you insist on living alone with your brother? And now the house is just split up like this. Doesn't it break your heart?"
Of course, she was also one of the beneficiaries of the house, so technically she wasn't in a position to say this. But seeing the kids with no one to rely on—and homeless—she couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
But Mei Mengzhen replied with total honesty, "Auntie, even if I live in your place, nothing would change. When the house gets demolished in the future, I still won't be able to protect any money for myself. If I don't split the money now, they'll just keep chipping away at it little by little through me in the future. Why not just divide it up honestly and be done with it."
Mei Yinan was at a loss for words, blocked by Mei Mengzhen's logic. Considering everyone's nature, it was really exactly the kind of thing they would do. She sighed. "Should've made them bring the living expenses before signing. Now that they're gone, forget about getting the money. What'll you guys do for your life in the future?"
Mei Mengzhen smiled knowingly. "Auntie, even if the money and the signatures came together, they'd find a new excuse for something else. They'd just drag things out again and again. Why bother? I have a bit of money on hand, you don't need to worry."
"Where did you get the money?" Mei Yinan asked, exhausted.
"Grandpa left it to me. Not much. Grandpa was afraid my parents wouldn't let me go to school, so he set aside money for my tuition. These years, my parents really didn't bother with my school fees. I used some for tuition, books, and materials, but there's still a bit over 10,000 yuan left. Plus whatever my parents left behind, it's enough."
In her previous life, she didn't trust anyone, so she always kept that money safe. Even after so much happened, she never mentioned it. It was her final safety net when she had nowhere else to turn.
Hearing that Mei Mengzhen still had a backup plan, Mei Yinan finally breathed a full sigh of relief. "Alright, as long as you have money. If they ask, just say the money came from me."
Mei Mengzhen nodded in agreement. "Okay, thank you, Auntie."
Mei Mengchen had been sticking close to her side this whole time. Now that everyone was gone, he still didn't want to leave her. When he heard his sister thank Auntie, he quickly joined in as well. "Thank you, Auntie."
Hearing his adorable little-kid voice, Mei Yinan couldn't help but laugh despite being angry. "Do you even know what you're thanking Auntie for?"
"Sister thanked you, so I have to thank you too."
This time, not only Mei Yinan, but even Mei Mengzhen burst out laughing.
"Alright, there's only half a month until school starts. When classes begin I'll come pick up and drop off Chenchen. Let's get you through your senior year of high school first. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, and don't let all this affect your studying. Right now you don't have anyone to rely on, so studying is your only way out. Get into a good university, and life won't be so hard in the future."
"I know, Auntie."
"Lock the door and come eat at my place."
Mei Mengzhen hurriedly refused, "No need, Auntie, I'll cook by myself in a bit. I have to learn these things while I'm on holiday anyway."
Mei Yinan didn't insist, since what Mei Mengzhen said was true. Not just now, but in the future she'd need these skills too. "We live nearby, so if anything happens just tell Auntie. If I can help, I absolutely will."
"Mm, Auntie, you should get going. Don't wear yourself out worrying. Go home and rest. Goodbye, Auntie."
Mei Mengchen glanced at his sister, then echoed, "Goodbye, Auntie."
Mei Yinan nodded and turned to head home.
Once Mei Yinan was gone, this house really only had the two siblings left.
The brother and sister looked at each other and smiled, feeling truly happy.
...
Uncle's house.
When Uncle Mei Yongan got back home, Auntie Hu Chunyu, as well as their son Mei Mengcheng, couldn't contain their excitement. As soon as they heard the key in the lock, they hurried to the door to greet him.
When Mei Yongan suddenly saw the mother and son's beaming faces, he jumped in fright. He shut the door, then said, "What are you two doing? Scared me to death."
Hu Chunyu said, "I just wanted to check how things went. You wouldn't let me go with you. How did I scare you?"
Mei Mengcheng chimed in, "Yeah, Dad, how did it go then? Did you get it?"
Mei Yongan walked to the living room and sat on the sofa before speaking slowly, "No one else brought anyone, so it wouldn't look good if I did. But it's done—everyone split the money equally between the six siblings."
Hu Chunyu asked quickly, "What about those two kids? Yongan, let me tell you now, we are not taking them in. Just think how much more food we'd have to buy with an extra mouth. I don't agree."
"You don't want to take them in, and the kids wouldn't want to come here anyway. They're just staying in that house for now, looking after themselves. No need to bother us. Big Sis will help out by taking Chenchen to school and back, so we don't have to do anything."
But Hu Chunyu immediately noticed something off about what he said. "Why is the money divided between six siblings? Should be five shares, right? The fourth is gone—why should they get a share?"
Mei Mengcheng nodded approvingly. "Yeah, why did you count that share too?"
Mei Yongan snorted coldly. "That fourth brother of mine was useless. After they sold their house, the only thing left for those kids was 3,200 yuan. No parents, no house, not a penny to their name. How can you be shameless enough to fight them for that share? Aren't you afraid people will say we bullied those orphans to death?" Sure, he wanted the money too, but he wasn't that ruthless—after all, those were Old Fourth's kids.
Hu Chunyu didn't buy it. "No way it's just that little. Maybe they're hiding more somewhere."
Mei Mengcheng fully agreed with his mom. "Yeah, did you ask them again?"
"I did. My fourth brother and his wife could barely get by as it was. I checked their bank statements—each month they spent everything they had. Only reason there was any left this month..." They died early in the month; their wages had just been paid, so there was still money left. If they'd died later in the month, there probably wouldn't even be 3,200 left."
Mei Yongan didn't spell it out, but everyone understood what he meant.
Money—everyone wants it. But no need to go too far, and dividing it into six shares is basically fair. Hu Chunyu pursed her lips, "So how will the kids get by after this?"
"Big Sis suggested everyone give 200 yuan for the kids' living expenses. But then little sis and little brother objected, so it went down to 100, and in the end we came home with nothing. But don't worry, the 3,000-something yuan will last them a while. Besides, Big Sis won't let those two end up stranded."