novelraw Chapter 820 837: Mr. An the Gambler
Chapter 820 837: Mr. An the Gambler
Mrs. An smiled and quickly made space for Lin Mu, welcoming Lin Mu and An Qi'Er inside.Lin Mu smiled and walked in together with An Qi'Er!
"Come, Lin Mu, have a seat, have some fruit!" Mrs. An was very cordial, pulling Lin Mu's hand to sit him on the sofa, then placing the fruit from the tea table in front of Lin Mu.
"Auntie, you're too kind!" Lin Mu said, feeling a bit embarrassed, as Mrs. An was being overly hospitable.
"Mom, you're not even thinking about your daughter, huh? I'm really upset!" An Qi'Er playfully pouted at Mrs. An.
"You!" Mrs. An pointed at An Qi'Er, laughing. It seemed their mother-daughter relationship was very close.
"Mom, is Dad not home again?" An Qi'Er asked, furrowing her brows.
Mrs. An sighed, her face full of worry, "Ah, he went out again, left at noon, hasn't come back yet. I'll call him later. Lin Mu's here today, he must come back to have a drink with Lin Mu."
"My dad is just too much, always gambling. Mom, seeing the wrinkles on your face breaks my heart. I'm grown now, you shouldn't have to endure so much!" An Qi'Er said with concern, looking at Mrs. An.
"Ahhh!" Mrs. An responded with only a helpless sigh.
Lin Mu sat on the side, gathering from the conversation that An Qi'Er's father might be a gambler. No wonder Mrs. An's face was full of wrinkles; it looked like they were caused by exhaustion!
"Mom, what happened to the money I brought home?" An Qi'Er asked again.
"Sigh, your dad took it all to gamble with, and there's still debt owed outside. A few days ago, some people came demanding repayment, and I had no choice but to use the money you sent for supporting the family to pay them off!" Mrs. An shook her head, her tone full of helplessness.
Gambling is really a bottomless pit! Even if one has a fortune, it's not enough. And for a regular family like An Qi'Er's, even more so!
"Mom, from now on, the money I give you is yours, don't give it to Dad. If you keep paying off his debts, he'll just keep gambling, and it'll never end!" An Qi'Er said.
"Sigh, that's easy to say, but I can't just watch your dad get his hands and feet chopped off by people, can I?" Mrs. An shook her head and sighed.
"But at this rate, when will it end? If this keeps up, I see he'll lose the house too. This can't go on!" An Qi'Er said.
"Sigh, alright, I'll give your dad a call and make sure he comes back tonight." Mrs. An said, then smiled apologetically at Lin Mu, "Lin Mu, I'm sorry for this first impression. The meal is ready, I'll call An Qi'Er's dad, see if he can come back, and then have a drink with you."
"Auntie, don't worry." Lin Mu nodded.
Mrs. An called out, then turned and went back to her room!
Leaving only Lin Mu and An Qi'Er in the living room.
"Your dad still gambles?" Lin Mu asked.
An Qi'Er nodded, "Yeah, he started gambling a year ago. At first, it was small bets, but then he got more and more addicted, almost gambling as if his life depended on it. All our savings are gone. I used to try to persuade him, but he didn't listen; every time I tried, he'd say it was the last time, that once he won back the lost money, he'd quit. But gamblers always have that mindset—if they win, they want more, and if they lose, they want to recover it, so my dad sank deeper into it, practically living in the casino. Look at my mom, she turned into worrying about him every day. To be honest, I wish my mom would divorce my dad, but she refuses, saying we'll just get by... Sigh, there's really no way..."
Lin Mu listened to An Qi'Er, understanding the bitterness in her words. Gambling is truly a bottomless pit; once you get caught in it, it's hard to quit, and it can destroy countless families!
That's why Lin Mu, from running a business to now, never touched gambling. There's never too much money, you can always earn more, but Lin Mu won't engage in anything that causes harm and violates ethics; it's his bottom line, he won't build his fortune on destroying others' family happiness!
"Looks like your mom has it really tough." Lin Mu nodded.
"Yeah, ever since my dad took up gambling, the whole family's burden fell on my mom. She's really worked hard, sacrificing a lot for my dad and me..." An Qi'Er said, tearing up.
"Alright, don't think too much, maybe I can help you!" Lin Mu smiled and said.
"You can help me?" An Qi'Er asked with some skepticism, then followed up, "How will you help me?"
"You don't need to worry about that. If there's a chance, I'll talk to your dad; maybe I can stop him from gambling!" Lin Mu said.
"I think that's tough, no matter how hard my mom and I tried, he didn't listen. He still gambles. If you talk to him, he won't listen either, you don't know him." An Qi'Er said with helplessness.
"Haha, don't worry, I'm not saying I'm 100% sure, but I'm at least 80% confident I can reason with him. Don't forget, I'm an unusual man! Hehe! As you said, I'm special; being special comes with peculiar insight and ability!" Lin Mu grinned.
"Brother Lin, if you can guide my dad back to the right path, I should really thank you. You don't know how much my dad's gambling has stressed me and my mom, if you can wake him up, my mom could finally have some good days!" An Qi'Er said emotionally.
"Haha, how are you going to thank me? How about becoming my girlfriend?" Lin Mu joked, looking at An Qi'Er.
When An Qi'Er heard this, her face blushed, she lowered her head, biting her lip shyly as if making a major decision!
"Alright, if you can truly bring my dad back to the right path, I'll agree to be your girlfriend." An Qi'Er said after careful consideration.
"Come on, let's forget about it. I don't like forcing people; whether you agree or not, I'll help you either way. I'm all about love, but when it comes to romance, there must be no impurities interfering. I want you to willingly be my girlfriend, not just because of my help, but with true acceptance from your heart." Lin Mu said earnestly.
An Qi'Er looked at Lin Mu, furrowing her eyebrows, "Brother Lin, you're really different from other men. Other guys might use this to pressure the girl into agreeing, but you keep things so clear…"
"Haha, that's compelling the good to go rogue, something I'm incapable of. What I want is willingness; forcing things doesn't get the best results, I'm a firm believer in that!" Lin Mu laughed.