Chapter 1

After I started college, my mother announced that she would be giving me my living expenses in installments.

"Hank, you're grown up now. To teach you how to manage your money, I've decided to give you your living expenses in installments."

At first, I assumed she meant she would send my allowance once a month. At worst, maybe once a week.

But on the day I checked in, she walked around the cafeteria, then transferred $6.80 to my bank account.

I stared at her in confusion. "Mom, you sent the wrong amount."

She shook her head with a smile. "Silly boy, that's your lunch money for today. I already picked out the cheapest meal for you. Just get the set lunch from that place. From now on, you can apply to me for the cost of each meal based on this amount."

I was completely stunned.

So when she said "installments," she did not mean monthly or even weekly. She meant every single meal.

But by the third day, I was standing at the breakfast counter, struggling to come up with the $1.50 I needed for an egg.

When I asked my mother for money, she refused. Instead, she simply said, "I paid for your brother's house in full yesterday. I don't have any extra cash on hand right now. Missing one meal won't kill you, will it?"

The cafeteria lady looked at me with surprise and pity. That look burned a hole straight through my already fragile pride.

That day, I held the egg the lady had given me and searched for a part-time job.

Yet, when I no longer needed my mother, she was the one who panicked.

Chapter 1 Training Day Four

It was the fourth day of our mandatory freshman training program. I agonized over my message, typing and deleting it again and again before finally sending it.

"Mom, there are only a few days of training left. If I skip breakfast, I won't have the energy to get through the training. Just send me $2."

To my surprise, she replied almost immediately, but the moment I saw her response, my spirits plummeted.

"$2? Isn't one egg only $1.5? What do you need that much money for? Are you trying to trick me?"

Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead.

My stomach was already aching from hunger. Still, I carefully explained, "One egg won't fill me up. I want to get a breakfast biscuit, too."

…

This time, she took a long time to respond.

By then, my roommates had already finished breakfast and were getting ready to head to the field for training.

I held my growling stomach and could not help glancing toward my roommate's desk.

A box of fresh, delicious-looking pastries sat there untouched.

Hudson Foster, my roommate who was studying medicine, was a spoiled rich kid. On the first day of college, his parents had taken one look at our six-person dorm room and immediately frowned.

They worried their son would not sleep well. They were afraid his particular personality might cause friction with his roommates.

I still remembered his father, a powerful businessman who was a force to be reckoned with at his company, repeatedly asking the other five of us to be patient with his son and look out for him.

It was the kind of concern I had never once seen from my own mother.

At that moment, Hudson was complaining that there was a tear in his training uniform and he could not wear it.

I thought about it again and again before finally throwing what little remained of my pride out the window.

I picked up my own training uniform and said to Hudson, "Hudson, I'll trade uniforms with you. But could you give me one of those pastries?"

In an instant, I felt several scorching looks boring into my back. Then came a burst of snickering.

"Is this kid starving or something? Does his family not feed him?"

My face burned red, but I could not say a word. Because ever since I started college, my family really had stopped feeding me.

I thought Hudson would laugh at me like everyone else.

Chapter 2 Twenty Dollars

A warm sensation spread across my palm.

When I looked up, I saw that Hudson had placed a small pastry in my hand. He did not say a word. He simply swapped training uniforms with me and left the dorm.

I wolfed down the pastry as I ran to the field, but on the way, I received a message from my brother, Jude.

"Hank, I heard you asked Mom for money this morning. She was so upset about it she could not even eat. I have to say something too.

"Mom's been stressing over the cost of renovating the house lately. You shouldn't keep asking her for money. I'll send you some to use for now. Just don't bother Mom about money for a while."

I stared blankly at the message, unable to process it for a long time.

…

In the end, though, I wiped my stinging eyes and accepted the $20 Jude sent me.

Yeah. That would be enough to get me through the rest of training, but I still never imagined my mother could stop loving me to this extent.

Halfway through training, my advisor suddenly pulled me aside. She asked sternly, "Did you lie to your family to get money?"

I looked at her in confusion. "No."

Her expression grew even more serious. "Your name is Hank Miller, right? Your mom just called me. She specifically told me that you lied to your brother and tricked him into sending you money.

"College scams are everywhere these days. If you're having financial trouble, you need to tell your family first. If that's not an option, come to me. Whatever you do, don't get yourself mixed up in anything shady."

Her words made my blood run cold.

So that was what had happened.

Yes, I had accepted the money from my brother, but I had never tricked him into sending it to me.

To prove it, I pulled up my messages with Jude. "I really didn't trick him into giving me money."

The woman standing in front of me, who was only a few years older than I was, was surprised when she read through our conversation. "$20?"

I nodded.

Just then, Jude happened to call. At my advisor's gesture, I answered.

The moment I picked up, my sister-in-law, Clara, launched into me.

"Hank, what the hell were you thinking? You knew Jude and I were already stressing over the renovation costs, and you still went asking him for money. Send it back right now."

Her sudden accusation left me at a loss.

I lowered my voice. "I didn't ask him for it. He offered to send it."

But Clara refused to listen.

She tore into me over the phone. "Your mom was right. You're nothing but a spoiled brat. If you hadn't caused your dad's death, would Jude and I be struggling like this?"

Of course. No one knew exactly where to hurt me like my family did. They knew my weakest spots and exactly how to pour salt into the deepest wounds.

The moment Clara brought up my father, my entire body started trembling as I gripped my phone. "Shut up!"

It was probably the first time I had ever spoken to her in that tone.

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then, Clara completely lost it, hurling every vile insult I could have imagined at me, but her words were not what hurt the most.

It was the faint sound of my mother's voice in the background.

"Yeah. Keep going. He took money he had no business taking. He deserves it."

The next second, the call ended with a sharp click. I stood there, my legs weak beneath me.

Seeing the complicated expression on my advisor's face, I instinctively apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you trouble—"

But she cut me off.

When I looked at her again, there was nothing but warmth in her eyes. "This isn't your fault, Hank. I'll testify that you never tricked them into giving you the money."

Chapter 3 A Debt to My Mother

After saying that, she took my phone. Before I could react, she opened my payment QR code. "$20 isn't nearly enough. If you're ever in trouble again, come to me first."

The words had barely left her mouth when a notification sounded. "$200 has been deposited into your bank account."

I stared at her in shock and quickly waved my hands. "No, I can't take your money."

But she shook her head, her expression serious. "What are you thinking? Consider it a loan."

I had gone hungry for three days without crying. I had been insulted by Clara without crying.

But when I felt the kindness of someone I had known for only three days, the tears came pouring down.

With my advisor's help, I managed to eat properly for the next few days and successfully completed the training program.

Finding a part-time job went smoothly, too. I handed out flyers outside a shopping mall for $30 an hour.

At that rate, I would be able to pay back the money my advisor had lent me soon.

But on the day I received my first paycheck, my mother called. "Hank, did you secretly get a part-time job?"

I could hardly believe it. Aside from my roommates, I had not told anyone about my job. Then, something occurred to me.

The day before had been a weekend. I had left early that morning, and although I had deliberately tried to keep quiet while getting ready, I still woke Hudson.

He immediately blew up. "Hank, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you getting up and making all that noise this early? Don't you know I'm still sleeping?"

I knew I was in the wrong, so I patiently apologized. "Sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

But he was not satisfied.

As he got out of bed, he shot me a look. "Your parents sent you to college, and you're out there handing out flyers? What a loser."

That was the first time I experienced Hudson's strange temper firsthand.

Unfortunately, I was in no position to stand up to him. Besides, he was right. I was a loser. All I wanted was enough money to eat, but would he really tell my mother about my part-time job?

As my thoughts spiraled, I heard my mother say, "Now that you can make your own money, I'm going to stop giving you living expenses for the time being."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

But after we hung up, I received a bill from her.

In black and white, it stated that she had raised me for eighteen years and that I owed her $180,000.

"It's the installment repayment plan. Hank, you'll pay me $1,000 a month."

I tried to type a reply, but my fingers trembled uncontrollably. Then, my mother sent another voice message.

"Considering that you're still young and don't have much earning potential, I'll give you a discount. During college, you only need to pay me $700 a month. Once you graduate, though, you'll have to pay back a lot more."

But the more I listened, the more dizzy I became. When I was born, no one told me that I came into this world already in debt.

Or maybe I really did owe her. After all, three years ago, I had indirectly caused my father's accidental death.

It happened during my freshman year of high school, when I was accepted into the city's top high school.

My whole family had been thrilled, especially my father.

However, at the time, he was still waiting to be paid for a construction project. To scrape together the $500 I needed each month for living expenses and the more than $2,000 I needed for books, room, and board, my father took a temporary job at a construction site.

He sounded so happy when he called. He said he would be home with the money in three days, but fate played a cruel trick on me, and on my kind, honest father.

He never made it home.

A workplace accident took his life, leaving him forever behind at that construction site under the blazing sun.

That was why I had accepted my mother's installment-based approach to giving me living expenses.

But now, the bullet fate had fired three years ago had finally struck me right between the eyes.

Chapter 4 The Price of Freedom

I came to understand too late that there really were mothers in this world who did not love their own children.

Fine. If I owed her, then once I had paid off my debt, I would be free, right?

Within a week, I applied for a financial aid grant for disadvantaged students. Whenever I was not working part-time, I studied like my life depended on it.

To prove myself, I forced myself to stand outside the mall entrance all day handing out flyers.

I needed money. A lot of money.

But at the time, I did not realize that I could not make a lot of money by simply running my body into the ground.

So, on the fourteenth day of my part-time job, my blood sugar dropped dangerously low.

Through my blurred vision, I saw an elderly woman with a head of white hair saying something to me. But before I could respond, I collapsed to the ground.

…

When I woke up again, I realized that I was in a hospital room. A kind stranger had taken me to the hospital.

At the same time, my fate took its first turn.

The first person I saw when I opened my eyes beside the hospital bed was the elderly woman.

Yesterday, I helped steady her three-wheeled cart when she was picking up recyclables at the intersection.

Today, she held my hand, tears filling her eyes. "Jasper, you're awake? I stayed right here with you the whole time. Don't be scared. You're okay now."

I looked at her in confusion, not even having time to ask why she called me Jasper.

Then, my mother called. When I answered, part of me was still hoping she would show some concern for me.

But in reality, she had only called to collect a debt.

"Hank, you've been working part-time all week, right? Then, you must've made quite a bit of money. Remember to give me the money by the end of the month. Oh, and you can just transfer it to your brother."

The sharp smell of disinfectant stung my nose, and my eyes reddened.

I was just about to tell her that I had passed out and was in the hospital when the door to the room was suddenly shoved open.

A young woman with delicate features walked in. The jewelry she wore looked incredibly expensive.

I wondered whose family member she was. Then I watched as she walked straight toward us.

"Grandma, why did you wander off again? When I heard you were in the hospital, I nearly died of fright!"

It suddenly clicked. She was the elderly woman's granddaughter. However, just when I thought she would take her grandmother home, the young woman's gaze fell on me.

Her eyes immediately reddened. "Grandma, this is the Jasper you were talking about?"

I stared at her, completely bewildered. And while I was still trying to make sense of everything, I received a contract in black and white.

This time, it was not an installment bill. It was a sponsorship agreement.

The elderly woman kept clutching my hand, her eyes fixed on me as if she were afraid I would disappear.

The young woman spoke slowly. "My name is Nora Yeardley. My grandmother misses her grandson who passed away, and she mistook you for Jasper. She's been looking for you everywhere these past few days.

"As for the phone call just now, I heard everything. You look like you're having a hard time. Maybe this contract can help you. And it could help us, too."

Believing I had to be dreaming, I read through the contract from beginning to end.

Only then did I learn that everything Nora had told me was true.

Three years ago, her younger brother Jasper had gotten into a car accident near the mall. After losing her grandson, their grandmother suffered such a shock that she began picking up recyclables around the mall every day.

By chance, she saw me handing out flyers at the mall entrance and mistook me for Jasper.

After all, Jasper had also been working part-time there when the accident happened.

As of today, she had been looking for me for three whole days. And today, when I collapsed, she happened to be right there in front of me.

This time, she had finally managed to save her "grandson".