Chapter 265: Demanding a Dowry
Hearing Song Zhenyu compare her brother Song Feiyu, Tan Zhen snorted, “Your brother is young, and as his sister, you shouldn’t compare yourself to him. Is this how a sister should behave?”
Song Zhenyu glanced at Song Feiyu, who was engrossed in playing a game on his phone, and said, “He’s already twenty-two. In your eyes, you probably still see him as a three-year-old child, untouchable and beyond reproach.”
“But what about me? At three, you treated me like I was in my twenties, making me wash dishes and do all sorts of chores. Whenever you were dissatisfied, you’d hit me.”
Tan Zhen retorted, “I did all that for your own good, to help you develop good habits from a young age. Otherwise, would you have become so independent and successful so early?”
When she heard the word “independent,” Song Zhenyu said bitterly, “Independence is such a grand excuse. But ask around, do other parents make their kids walk half an hour to and from school by themselves from kindergarten?”
Tan Zhen angrily replied, “Wasn’t it because we were busy working? If your father and I didn’t earn money, how would we have raised you? On air?”
Song Zhenyu said, “But back then, I didn’t see you working. You spent your days playing cards and chatting with the villagers, always idle.”
“You, you, you… I’ll beat you for being so ungrateful!” Tan Zhen, exposed, was so angry she wanted to hit Song Zhenyu again.
This time, Song Zhenyu didn’t raise her arm to block, just stood there.
However, just as Tan Zhen was about to strike, Song Feiyu, annoyed, said, “Can you both be quiet? You’re really annoying, disturbing my game. This is a crucial match to reach gold!”
Hearing this, Tan Zhen lowered her hand, changing her attitude towards Song Zhenyu to that of a doting mother. “Alright, alright, I’ll be quieter. Focus on your game and good luck reaching gold.” After speaking to Song Feiyu, she turned to her daughter, “You be quiet too, don’t speak, don’t disturb your brother’s gaming. Your brother is a gaming genius. I read online that those game streamers earn millions every year. Once he reaches gold, he should be able to stream and make big money.”
This stark contrast in attitude was something Song Zhenyu had long grown accustomed to.
Many times, she wondered if she was adopted. Otherwise, why would her parents treat Song Feiyu like a young master and her like a servant girl from ancient times?
After a few minutes of silence, Song Feiyu suddenly threw his phone to the ground, frustrated, and pointed at Tan Zhen and Song Zhenyu, “It’s all your fault, arguing and arguing, so annoying! You made me fail to reach gold!”
Tan Zhen also got angry, but naturally, she wouldn’t vent at Song Feiyu. Instead, she pointed at Song Zhenyu, “It’s all your fault. If I hadn’t seen you, I wouldn’t have argued and made your brother lose his game. Are you satisfied now? If it weren’t for your arguing, with your brother’s exceptional gaming talent, he would have won!”
Being blamed like this, Song Zhenyu was stunned.
Is reaching gold really that difficult? Is this what they call exceptional gaming talent?!
As far as she knew, Song Feiyu had been playing the game for at least three years. If reaching gold after three years was so hard, then this talent was really questionable, wasn’t it?
When Song Zhenyu used to teach, she played about a hundred matches in her spare time and casually reached diamond level.
And that level was considered very average.
If anyone had good gaming talent, it would be someone like Xu Muyan.
Because when chatting with Xu Muyan, she mentioned that she recently started playing the game, and after a hundred matches, she reached the top rank, and after two hundred matches, she was at fifty stars in the top rank.
However, Tan Zhen, being a rural woman, was good at playing cards and arguing but didn’t understand the game’s ranking system.
Song Feiyu probably bluffed a bit in front of her, and Tan Zhen directly believed he was a gaming genius.
Song Feiyu even made excuses to play games openly, claiming he could earn millions from streaming in the future.
As for this brother, Song Zhenyu was long past the point of complaining, so she didn’t expose him, only advising Song Feiyu, “You’re not young anymore, you should grow up and not just think about playing games. Do something meaningful.”
Hearing this, Song Feiyu felt guilty and didn’t speak. He could fool his mother, Tan Zhen, but fooling his sister, Song Zhenyu, was impossible.
Tan Zhen, hearing Song Zhenyu’s words, defended her son, “Your brother playing games is meaningful. He can earn money from streaming in the future, much more useful than you.”
Song Zhenyu couldn’t even be bothered to argue, self-deprecatingly saying, “Yes, yes, I’m the most useless, my brother is more useful than me.”
“Good that you know,” Tan Zhen hummed proudly, not wanting to drag on the conversation, and directly got to the point, “Have you prepared the dowry? Go to the bank and transfer the money to your brother so he can get married.”
Song Zhenyu, displeased, said, “I already told you on the phone, I won’t pay the thirty thousand dowry.”
Song Feiyu casually said, “It’s not thirty thousand, it’s eighty thousand.”
“Eighty thousand?!” Song Zhenyu’s eyes widened in shock.
Tan Zhen calmly said, “We thought about it, and as his sister, thirty thousand is too little. Eighty thousand is more appropriate, so they can buy a bigger house, and your brother and sister-in-law can live comfortably.”
Song Zhenyu was speechless with anger for a moment before saying, “Whether it’s thirty thousand or eighty thousand, I don’t even have three thousand. You really overestimate me.”
Tan Zhen questioned, “Not even three thousand? Are you kidding? You’ve been working for years, how could you not have that much money?”
Speaking of this, Song Zhenyu got angry and said, “I used to work as a teacher in a private school, earning eight thousand a month, ten thousand at most.”
“Every time I got paid, I had to send three thousand to my brother and five thousand to you. During holidays, I had to give you at least five hundred in red envelopes.”
“Also, whenever you wanted a new phone after less than a year, I paid for it.”
“I always bought the cheapest clothes, found the cheapest place to live, and used the phones you discarded.”
“During holidays, I didn’t even dare to go out and relax because going out costs money.”
“I’ve been in Qingling for so many years, and I’ve never made friends. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I was afraid they’d ask me to treat them to a meal, and I couldn’t afford it.”
“When I got sick, I toughed it out myself, not daring to go to the hospital.”
“Calculating it all, since I started working, my bank account has never had more than ten thousand. How could I save up so much for a dowry?”
“But you never thought about any of this because all you know is to ask for money, money, money. You don’t care about me at all. In your eyes, I’m not a daughter or a sister, just a tool to provide you with money!”
The grievances Song Zhenyu had long harbored in her heart poured out with each word, her emotions growing more intense, tears streaming down her face, soaking her cheeks by the end.