Chapter 4

I was sleeping comfortably in the hotel when I was woken up by a call from my neighbor.

He said my son had suffered heatstroke and had crawled to his doorstep in the middle of the night for help. He was currently being treated at the hospital.

I notified Richard to rush to the hospital.

By the time I arrived, Liam’s condition had stabilized.

His face was still flushed, as if it had been scorched by fire.

When he saw me, his eyes reddened, and he stubbornly turned his face away.

“What are you doing here? Go back to your hotel and enjoy your AC! Just let me die from the heat!”

I was both angry and amused. “So, you really don’t want me here?”

He retorted without hesitation, “Who needs you here? Without you, my dad would take care of me. Living with him is a hundred times, a thousand times better than living with you!”

I chuckled. “It only takes about fifteen minutes to get here from your dad’s place, while it takes me half an hour from the hotel. I only left after I notified him, and I’ve been here for ten minutes already, but he still hasn’t arrived. Do you really think he puts you first?”

Just as I finished speaking, Richard arrived.

He was wearing a loose, shapeless white undershirt and faded black shorts, his head completely shaved. He looked like he’d stepped out of the 80s.

The first thing he did when he saw me was to curse. “How could you take care of our son so poorly? The AC was on at home, and he still got heatstroke?”

Liam started sobbing, touched.

Watching this touching father-son scene, I suddenly said, “Alright, since you say I can’t take care of him, then you take him. Anyway, he doesn’t care to live with me.”

Both of them froze.

Richard opened his mouth and chuckled awkwardly. “Sarah, don’t try that on me. You begged and paid to get custody of our son back then, and now you’re willing to give him up? I don’t believe your nonsense!”

Liam also had a cold expression, saying impatiently, “She’s just so dramatic. She’s unwilling to help her family at all. She’s just a self-centered and manipulative person who only cares about her own pleasure.”

I had no strength to argue back.

After a sigh, I said, “Say whatever you want. Anyway, I won’t interfere with your affairs.”

Liam immediately sat up and pulled out his IV drip.

“I told you to transfer the money to Dad, so you better do it! Otherwise, I’m leaving with Dad today, and I’ll never see you again!”

Richard chimed in, “My son, so young, understands this, but you, an adult, don’t. You should reflect on yourself. Anyway, if I just get fifty thousand to solve my brother’s urgent problem, I can relax for a while.”

As he spoke, his phone rang.

From the sound, it seemed to be his brother, David.

“Bro, I’m hungry. Can you bring me some food? I want crayfish and stir-fried noodles, and a cold beer, plus Michelle’s bubble tea, a large one! Hurry up and bring it. You know my room number. Just send it up with a robot; you don’t have to run all the way, save yourself the trouble.”

Richard looked troubled. “David, your nephew is in the hospital. I can’t leave right now. How about I transfer two hundred dollars so you can order takeout?”

The voice on the other end wouldn’t give up. “I don’t trust takeout, Bro. I only trust food from the places you personally buy it from. And isn’t Liam with his mom? How could you bother yourself with this?”

“Anyway, if you don’t bring it, then we’ll just starve. We might just get stomach problems, and then Mom and Dad will have to worry about me and lose sleep.”

At this point, Richard quickly agreed. “Alright, alright, Bro, I’m going to buy it for you now. Just wait. There should be some crackers in the hotel; eat those to tide yourself over.”

He hung up the phone and looked at me. “Sarah, you heard that. My brother’s here. You watch Liam. He seems stable enough.”

I asked him, “Your brother’s here, why isn’t he staying with you in your rental? Don’t you always preach frugality?”

He frowned. “He brought his girlfriend; could I make them stay with me? Besides, I’m the eldest brother. It’s only right for the eldest brother to take care of his younger siblings. Why are you so against my family doing well?”

I waved my hand. “Forget it, I don’t care. It’s none of my business anyway.”

He hesitated, then turned to Liam. “Liam, Dad has to go. Take care of yourself.”

Liam nodded, his eyes soft. “Dad, I know your struggles. Don’t worry about me; I can take care of myself.”

As soon as Richard left, Liam’s eyes reddened.

“My dad works so hard. He earns the money, but others get to enjoy it. Some people just don’t have any sympathy for him.”

He still hadn’t reinserted his IV. He glared at me resentfully. “I think Uncle David is only here for that fifty thousand. He won’t leave until he gets the money. For Dad’s sake, can’t you just let him use the money?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He got angry. “Fine, you’re something else. Then you can guard your money. From today on, I’m moving in with my dad!”