My Family Celebrated an Outsider’s Future, but Refused to Lend Me a Dollar, so I Cut Them Off

My phone almost crashed from the number of calls and messages. The first message was from my mother. [You went too far today. We raised her like our own daughter. Her life has been very hard. You have no idea how difficult her path was. We just want her to live better. Is that wrong?] The next one was from my father. [Celine is different from you, Stefan. She is very sensitive. Northbridge is her lifelong dream. When she found out she might not get in, she almost tried to end her life. I just couldn’t ignore that.] [You caused such a scene today. How will she face people now? Apologize to her immediately!] I didn’t even read the rest and simply deleted everything. Then another call came in. I wanted to reject it, but my finger slipped and I answered. “Stefan, your mom told me you want to cut ties with your family?” It was my uncle. “Yes.” “I don’t want to be harsh, but you are being very ungrateful. Your parents worked hard to raise you and now you want to leave them?” He kept talking about how difficult my parents’ lives had been. “Your dad just felt sorry for the sponsored student and wanted to help her a bit more. Is it really necessary to cut ties with your parents over this?” I waited until he finished speaking and quietly watched the city lights outside my window. When I didn’t answer, his voice grew softer. “Uncle, I’ve wanted to enter Northbridge University since I was a child.” “We all know that…” I interrupted him. “Back then, when I missed the entrance score by one point, I begged my dad to help me. He worked at Northbridge his whole life. It would’ve been easy for him.” “He said he hated people who used connections.” My uncle fell silent in an instant. Then I continued, “But Celine missed it by nine points and still got in.” “So, when it was me, he hated people who used connections. But when it was someone else, it was fine.” “Uncle, I’m his son and he must avoid suspicion. But does his sponsored student not need to avoid suspicion?” “That’s a double standard,” I said sarcastically. My father sponsored many students, but compared to what he gave them, I came last. To the outside world, he was a kind and respected professor. But to me, he wasn’t even a qualified father. Time was limited. Every bit he gave to them was taken away from me. My uncle tried to explain awkwardly. “Your dad is just doing good deeds. You don’t need to fight over this.” My head started to ache upon hearing this. “Uncle, last year I passed Northbridge’s graduate written exam. My interview result was also very good. I was almost guaranteed to enter Northbridge.” “But I didn’t get in. Do you know why?” “Why?” “Because my dad talked to people and stopped me. He was afraid others would say I used connections.” “But Celine was directly chosen as his graduate student. Isn’t that funny?” There was silence on the other end. After a long time, my uncle finally said, “Try to understand your dad, Stefan. He’s a big professor. If even his sponsored student couldn’t get into his own university, he would lose face.” I was furious. “Am I not good enough to give him face?” “I’ve been in first place since I was young. I’ve won so many awards. Why must I give up my dream school just to avoid suspicion?” “And why must parents hurt their own child for an outsider?” “What kind of parents are they? What kind of logic is this?” “Tell them not to worry. When they’re old, I will support them with money. But nothing else.”

The voice on the phone changed. It was my father. He had been listening quietly the whole time. Now that he saw I had no intention of giving in, he finally spoke. Yet, his tone was still cold and proud. “Don’t you know what you did wrong?” I asked calmly, “You have money. Why didn’t you lend me any?” “You—” “Eighty-eight tables. Each table costs two to three hundred dollars. You had money to make her look good, but no money to help me in an emergency.” As a professor, my father stayed very calm. “That is my money. I have the right to decide how to use it.” I nodded. “I know. It’s your money, your connections. You can use them on whoever you like.” “Then my future money and my time are also my own. I can decide how to use them, too.” I hung up, turned off my phone and the world finally became quiet. Adults did not have time to cry over feelings. After I failed to enter Northbridge’s graduate school, I went to another university. Still unwilling to give up, I tried to start a business with friends. The result was clear. It failed. I owed tens of thousands of dollars. I asked my parents for help, but they would rather spend money on Celine Rivers’s party than help me even a little. So, I had to find my own way to pay it back. The rent in my area became too expensive. In the end, I moved back to campus. The graduate dorm had two people in one room. It wasn’t very comfortable, but I only had to pay utilities, so I could save a lot of money. Without my parents’ help, I believed I could still pay off this debt. Even though the business failed, I had built some connections. Some outsourced projects still paid well, but I became extremely busy. I had to handle both my studies and project work. Every morning, I started working the moment I opened my eyes. At night, I fell onto my bed and fell asleep right away. Even in the bathroom, I was thinking about what data needed to be improved. One day, my mother, who hadn’t been able to reach me for a long time, waited for me at the campus gate. She brought my aunt with her. “Stefan, why are you living in the dorm? Don’t you hate sharing a room with others? The dorm is so small and uncomfortable. Why did you give up your old apartment?” I checked my phone anxiously. My meeting was about to start. “Because I can’t afford the rent. Living in the dorm only costs utilities.” My mother’s eyes immediately turned red. My aunt then tried to persuade me. “Stefan, you still need to talk things out with your parents…” “Talk about what? Aren’t I already doing what they want by avoiding suspicion?” “Mom, you shouldn’t come here either. People might say I only got in through connections and damaged Prof. Rowan Dalton’s and Prof. Natasha Fallon’s names.” I turned and ran to catch the bus. If I missed it, I would have to take a taxi. Before my debt was paid off, every dollar had to be used carefully. The moment I walked away, someone suddenly shouted behind me. Bang! An electric bike came out from a blind corner and hit me. In that split second, I managed to protect my laptop and rolled on the ground. The laptop was fine, but my left foot twisted badly. The pain was so sharp I couldn’t even stand. “Son, are you okay? Don’t move. I’ll call an ambulance. How could you ride like that?” I took a deep breath and said, “Please give me my phone first. I need to tell my team what happened.” My phone had flown away when I fell. My mother suddenly got angry. “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about work and money? Is money more important than your life?” She picked up my phone and refused to give it back. She even hung up my call.

I shouted back even louder. “Because I have debt to pay! Because my parents would rather spend money on an outsider’s party than lend me money in an emergency!” “If I don’t work hard to earn money and pay my debt, what choice do I have?” “Give me my phone!” My words stunned my mother, then my aunt quickly took the phone and handed it to me. I called back, briefly explained what happened and then stood by the road, waiting for someone to come pick up the laptop. The woman who had been riding the bike looked around and chose to settle the matter privately. She quickly transferred one hundred and fifty dollars to me. She said nothing. She just patted my shoulder and glanced at my mother. Everything was understood without words. My mother’s face turned red, this time from shame. She stayed with me while I waited, but she still couldn’t stop talking. “Stefan, your main task now is to study. After you finish your studies, you will have many good jobs to choose from.” I showed her my call records. “Every day, I get more than ten debt collection calls. Do you think I can study peacefully like this? I’m not asking you to help me anymore. Please just stop interfering with my work.” My mother moved her lips several times before she finally spoke, her voice dry. “Stefan… do you hate us?” I looked at her. “I’m just very disappointed.” That day, my mother left in a daze. Not long after that, I saw my father on TV. Celine was crying as she thanked him, calling him her second father. My father was also in tears. I only glanced at the screen before returning to my even busier work. From my last project, I earned seven thousand dollars. It eased my pressure a lot. I became even more driven. I wished I could split every minute into two. In the past few days, my mother seemed to have thought things through and sent me some money. Ten thousand dollars. I stared at the transfer on my phone for a long time before accepting it. Yes, I needed money. I needed a lot of money. That was why I wrote an IOU and mailed it to my mother. She called me right away. “Stefan, that money is from a mother to her son. You can just take it. You don’t need to write an IOU.” “It’s better to be clear.” I insisted that I would pay her back in the future. My mother had no choice but to change the topic. “Stefan, Celine told us that she feels that your relationship with your father became tense because of her. She feels very sorry and wants to apologize in person. Could you make time to meet her?” After receiving the ten thousand dollars, it was hard to refuse. Anyway, it would only take a few words to ease her mind, so I said, “Pick a time and send me the address.” I arranged my work and took a taxi there. But when I opened the door, I saw someone I truly did not want to see. My father was sitting calmly in the main seat. Beside him were my uncle and aunt. I immediately looked at my mother. She lowered her head in guilt and did not dare to meet my eyes. Still, she pulled me down into a seat. No one spoke. The air grew heavy. Celine then stood up to break the silence. “Stefan, the professor helped me, but hurt you. The real fault isn’t your father. It’s me. I’m really sorry.” She raised her glass to drink. My father stopped her. He looked at me with anger and disappointment. “Look how sensible Celine is. Not like you, who loses your temper so easily. Let’s forget this. From now on, you should help her more. She came from a small place and is still getting used to life here.”

My mother tried to persuade me too. She talked about how hard Celine’s life had been, how everything she had now came from her own effort. The more she spoke, the more I wanted to laugh. Then, I placed my suspension notice on the table. “My life is hard too. The school forced me to suspend my studies. Why don’t you feel sorry for me as well? Why don’t you help me just once?” My father’s hand trembled as he stared at the paper. Then he slammed the table and stood up. “So, you stayed away from home because you were angry and now you’ve even stopped going to school? Even if this school isn’t as famous as Northbridge, it’s still one of the best around here!” “I had no choice. My own parents had money to throw big parties for someone else, but no money to help me in an emergency. I missed too many classes. That’s why I was forced to suspend.” “I’m really pitiful. Why don’t you help me too?” I looked straight at my father with mockery. “I don’t understand how you can give your heart to someone else, but be so cold to your own son.” “I used to believe you were fair and upright, but after what you did for Celine, I finally saw it. You have double standards.” “My father… is actually a terrible person.” I had long known why my father insisted on sending Celine Rivers to Northbridge University. Next year, he would apply again to become a full professor. He had failed many times before. At a place like Northbridge, full of talent and competition, his qualifications were still not enough. He needed a reputation boost. And what sounded better than saying that a student he personally sponsored had entered the same university? At such a critical time, he didn’t dare let me apply to Northbridge. He was afraid people would say he used his position to help his own son. He didn’t want that to hurt his promotion. But I could have entered on my own. In his plan, he gained a reputation. Celine gained an opportunity. Only I was left paying the price. I had no choice but to suspend my studies and work to pay off my debt. I closed my tired eyes. “You want to avoid suspicion? Then let’s cut off our relationship completely. From today on, pretend you don’t have a son like me.”