Chapter 3

The person on the other end of the phone immediately changed. It was Dad. He had been listening silently the whole time. Now, seeing that I showed no sign of backing down, he finally couldn't hold back.

His tone remained condescending, "Don't you know you're wrong?"

I retorted, "You have money, why don't you lend it to me?"

"You..."

"Eighty-eight tables for the banquet, 150-200 dollars per table. You have money to support her, but you can’t even lend me some to tide me over."

Dad, being a professor, remained calm, "Then it's my money, I have the right to dispose of it."

I nodded, "I know it's your money, your connections, you can use them on whomever you want. Then how I use my money and my time in the future is my business."

I hung up the phone, turned it off and finally, the world was quiet. The adult world didn’t have time for sentimentality.

After failing the entrance exam for Scotland University's graduate program, I went to another university for graduate studies.

Unwilling to give up, I tried starting a business with a friend. The result was predictable, failure, leaving me with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. I wanted to borrow some money from my parents, but they'd rather throw a graduation banquet for their own students than help me out.

I had to find a way to pay off the debt myself. The rent in this area was now unbearable for me. I decided to move back to the university.

The university provided graduate student accommodation in double rooms. Although it was not very convenient, the advantage was that I only needed to pay for utilities, which saved a lot of money. Without my parents' help, I could still pay off the debt.

Although the business failed, I still built some connections. The profit sharing from some outsourced projects was still quite good. I started getting busy. I had to juggle between my studies and projects.

I worked from the moment I opened my eyes each day and fell asleep the moment I closed them at night. Even when I went to the bathroom, I was thinking about which data needed improvement.

My mother, whom I hadn't been able to reach for a long time, waited for me at the school gate. She brought my aunt along as a mediator.

"Helena, why are you living in the school dormitory? Didn't you say you weren't used to living with others? The dormitory is so small, it's inconvenient to live there. Why did you give up your previous place?"

I anxiously checked my phone; the meeting was about to start.

"Because I couldn't afford rent anymore. Living at the school only requires paying for utilities."

My mother's eyes reddened.

My aunt said, "Helena, you and your parents still need to have a serious talk..."

"Talk about what? Haven't I already followed their instructions to avoid suspicion?"

"Mom, please don't show up here, lest people say I got in here through connections and tarnished Professor Murphy and Professor Clarkson's reputations."

I abandoned them and chased after the bus. If I missed this bus, I would have to take a taxi. Every penny must be spent wisely before I paid off my debts.

Suddenly, I heard urgent shouts behind me. An electric scooter swerved out from a blind spot and hit me.

In a split second, I managed to protect my laptop, which rolled twice on the ground. The laptop was fine, but my left ankle seemed to be twisted; it hurt so much I couldn't put weight on it.

"Helena, are you alright? Don't move! I will call an ambulance right away. How could you drive like that?!"

I took a deep breath and said, "Give me my phone first. I need to explain something at work." My phone had just been thrown away.

But my mother flew into a rage, "What time is it? You're still thinking about work, thinking about money! Is money more important than your life?"

She grabbed my phone, refusing to give it to me and hung up on me.