Unfortunately, she's hopeless, a bottomless pit.
So, there's always a reason why someone is pitiful.
Sometimes, it's best to cut ties decisively. It's not about severing ties with parents; sending money to them is fine, and parents giving money to her brother is fine too. But you can't keep asking for more; it'll only get worse.
In this situation, she had to be firm with her parents.
If they give her brother the money meant for their retirement, she wouldn't send any more.
Her brother is able-bodied; he could easily earn a thousand or two doing anything.
Fan Shengmei has been extremely worried lately.
First, the rent went up. If you averaged it out among the three people in room 2202, it would be three hundred more per person.
After Guan Juer and Qiu Yingying got together with Zhao Tianhao, he gave them a lot of pocket money.
Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of yuan at a time. After all, they were his women, their bodies and souls were his; what did it matter if he spent a little more money on them?
This led to the situation where, even though the two women weren't particularly materialistic, the things they bought—snacks, desserts, milk—were all relatively expensive.
This small detail reveals the whole picture.
Even if Fan Shengmei was careless, she couldn't possibly miss it.
Moreover, both Guan Juer and Qiu Yingying treated Fan Shengmei like a close older sister, and had taken care of them in the past, since they were both recent graduates with little social experience.
Therefore, they didn't hide the fact that they were Zhao Tianhao's women. Fan Shengmei couldn't believe it—her two younger sisters.
And then there was An Di, the elite woman next door, who willingly became Zhao Tianhao's woman.
At first, she didn't understand, but then she became envious.
How she wished she could live such a life—supported, with plenty of money, able to do whatever she wanted.
Unfortunately, it was just a thought, a thought for her own family.
Fan Shengmei knew the two girls hadn't moved out yet because they wanted to share the rent with her.
So now, receiving the landlord's call about raising the rent, she was both saddened by the extra expense each month and embarrassed to ask her two sisters to share it.
Fan Shengmei felt like crying. Just then, Qiu Yingying returned. An Di had just brought her back. "Sister Fan, are you alright?"
Qiu Yingying saw Fan Shengmei lying on her bed with the door open, her eyes even a little red, and asked with concern.
"I...I'm fine. Little Qiu is back." Fan Shengmei had a very high sense of pride; how could she possibly let her guard down in front of her younger sisters?
"Yeah, I brought some delicious cake. Their cakes are amazing. Here, Sister Fan."
Qiu Yingying put down her bag, took a piece of cake from a beautifully packaged box, and handed it to Fan Shengmei. Fan Shengmei really didn't want to eat it, but Qiu Yingying innocently held it to her lips. Smelling the aroma, she couldn't resist and took it, taking a bite.
"How is it?"
Qiu Yingying asked.
"Mmm, it's delicious."
Fan Shengmei genuinely replied, "Right? Haha, I waited in line for ages."
Qiu Yingying chuckled foolishly.
"Um, Xiao Qiu, the landlord just called and said he's raising the rent. It'll be 300 yuan per person on average."
Eating someone else's cake while having to share the rent—honestly, only Fan Shengmei knew how she felt at that moment.
"Okay, I'll transfer it to you now." Qiu Yingying transferred the money to Fan Shengmei directly via WeChat. "Why did you transfer so much?" Looking at the 7000 yuan pending payment in her WeChat account.
"Oh, and Guan Guan's too."
Qiu Yingying casually replied while eating her cake. The Qiu Yingying who used to complain about not having enough money, squeezing onto the subway every day to get to work, and even needing her parents to subsidize her, was now casually tossing away thousands.
The Qiu Yingying who used to complain about rent was gone forever.
Fan Shengmei suddenly felt her cake lose its appeal.
"Oh, little earthworm, I'm going to rest now." Fan Shengmei went back to her bedroom and lay on her bed, lost in thought.
Leaving Qiu Yingying alone in the living room eating her cake.
After a long while, seemingly feeling lonely, Qiu Yingying went to room 2201 to find An Di.
...
The next day, Fan Shengmei's good mood was completely ruined. It was payday, but she hadn't received her paycheck.
She was waiting to pay her rent.
She was already upset enough about not getting paid.
But the next news made it even worse.
Fan Shengmei's old classmate called.
Fan Shengmei's brother was unemployed, married with children, yet still irresponsible, a spendthrift, and a lazy bum who only knew how to ask their parents for money.
Fan's parents, besides her father's small pension, had no money; naturally, they relied on Fan Shengmei for funds.
Fan Shengmei only had money when she got paid. After paying rent, utilities, and sending money to her parents for household expenses, she had practically nothing left over. So, her mother demanded that she find her brother a job.
Fan Shengmei agreed and asked her old classmate, who worked at a hotel, to get her brother a job. Now, her classmate was calling about her brother's situation: he had assaulted the manager's boss, both of them getting injured, first in the hospital, then in jail.
Her old classmate didn't dare to protect Fan Shengmei's brother; with his impetuous nature, he might lose his job too, which would be a huge loss.
Fan Shengmei expressed her understanding and repeatedly apologized, saying she was sorry for causing trouble.
After hanging up the phone, Fan Shengmei felt truly helpless. She didn't know how her brother could ever become a decent human being.
Fan Shengmei felt she was close to a breakdown. When she got home that evening, her parents called again. "Hey, Xiaomei, have you heard about your brother?" her mother asked anxiously.
"Yes, I heard. What happened?" Fan Shengmei tried to keep her voice calm.
"The hotel wants to fire him! What are we going to do?"
"He hit someone, and it was his boss! He deserves to be fired."
"How can you say that about your brother?"
"What else can I do? I spent money and asked people to help him find a job, and he just punched it all away. Now even my classmate is involved. What can I do?"
"Yes, yes, Xiaomei, I know. It's your brother's fault. You know what kind of person he is. When he had a job, your sister-in-law was always threatening to divorce him. Now look at them! How are they supposed to live? He's in detention, and your sister-in-law is constantly threatening to take Leilei back to her parents' house. That's going to kill us!"
"Mom..."
"All these years you've treated me like toilet paper, wiping my brother's messes every day. He got into trouble, he borrowed money, and I always solved it for him. But this time, it's different. He brought this on himself, and there's nothing I can do."
"Xiaomei, you...you can't just stand by and watch him die! Your brother's lost his job and has to pay medical bills. Where is he going to get that much money? Think of something, okay?"
"He can't afford that much, how could I? I only make so much money each month. I have to pay rent and send you living expenses."
"Xiaomei, listen to me!"
"I'm not saying anything more. I'll send it tomorrow. If you want to help my brother, then help him. Goodbye."
After hanging up, Fan Shengmei couldn't hold back her tears.
The next day, after receiving her salary, Fan Shengmei paid her rent and sent money to her parents. Then, her sister-in-law called her again.
"It's true what they say, 'Birds of a feather flock together,' they're really taking advantage of every little thing they can get their hands on."
"Hey, Shengmei, your brother's locked up inside, and that family's demanding medical expenses. They came to our house all night yesterday, and Leilei was so scared he kept crying and crying. Your mom came this morning and took Leilei to school, but they're still blocking my way, I can't even go to work. I didn't expect that family to have so many brothers. They said they'll break your brother's leg when he gets out. What are we going to do, Shengmei?"
Fan Shengmei's sister-in-law fired off a barrage of questions like a machine gun.
"What can we do? Call the police!"
"Yes, yes, but the medical expenses are already over two thousand, plus the lost wages and nutritional expenses later on."