I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 62: How Can There Be Such a Shameless Person in the World

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: How Can There Be Such a Shameless Person in the World

"Um..." Wang Haiyan hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"Zhou Qiang is about to get married, but his girlfriend wants a place of their own. He can’t afford a marital home, so we were thinking..."

"Thinking what...?" Xia Qing asked, looking at Wang Haiyan in confusion. A bad feeling suddenly crept over her.

"We were hoping you could do us a favor and lend us that empty house of yours for a while, to use as a marital home for Zhou Qiang and his girlfriend."

After Wang Haiyan finished speaking, the living room fell completely silent. The smile on Xia Qing’s face vanished, replaced by a look of utter disbelief.

Even someone as gentle as Xia Qing couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger after hearing Wang Haiyan’s words.

After a few minutes, Xia Qing suppressed her anger and said, "Sister-in-law, Tongtong and I still stay in that house sometimes."

The implication in Xia Qing’s words was obvious: she wanted Wang Haiyan to drop the subject of borrowing the house for her son’s marriage.

Unfortunately, Xia Qing had clearly underestimated how shameless Wang Haiyan could be.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Wang Haiyan said, "Xia Qing, you haven’t been back to that house in years, not since Zhou Xian passed away."

"Even when you come back to town, you always stay with your parents. Instead of letting it sit empty, why not just lend it to us for a while?"

At the mention of her late husband, Xia Qing’s expression instantly soured.

Zhou Dazhuang, who had been silent until now, suddenly added nonchalantly, "My brother doted on Zhou Qiang when he was alive. If he knew Zhou Qiang didn’t have a marital home for his wedding and needed to borrow that house you haven’t used in years, he would’ve definitely agreed..."

"Exactly! If Zhou Xian were still alive and knew his own nephew didn’t have a marital home, he’d definitely find a way to help him... You’re his aunt, after all. Your nephew is in trouble, and you don’t even live in that house, so what’s the harm in lending it to him for a while?" Wang Haiyan immediately chimed in, echoing Zhou Dazhuang.

Hearing Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan repeatedly bring up her deceased husband, Xia Qing could no longer contain her fury. Her face became an emotionless mask as she looked at them and spoke coldly.

"The house your family is living in right now is also ours. All these years, I haven’t charged you a single cent in rent. That alone is special treatment I’ve given you for my husband’s sake."

"And while it’s true I haven’t lived in the house you’re talking about for several years, it was the first house my husband and I ever bought. It holds all our beautiful memories together."

"Even if I’m not living there, I would never rent it out or lend it to anyone." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan never expected that Xia Qing, who was always so good-tempered and never got angry with anyone, would actually lash out at them. They were so shocked that they didn’t dare say another word.

The reason she could shut this shameless couple up was because everything she said was the truth.

「Many years ago, Zhou Tongtong’s paternal grandparents passed away in a car accident.」

Using his status as the older brother, Zhou Dazhuang took all five houses and several million in savings left by their parents for himself. He gave his younger brother, Zhou Xian, who had just been accepted into Rongcheng University, a mere ten thousand yuan and kicked him out.

As the adopted son of the Zhou Family, if Zhou Xian had really taken the matter to court, he would have been able to claim a portion of the houses and savings.

But out of gratitude for his adoptive parents’ kindness, he accepted the ten thousand yuan and officially separated from his brother’s household.

Later, Zhou Xian proved his worth. Through work-study programs, he not only completed his university education but also, relying on his outstanding talent for cultivation, successfully passed the Exotic Beast Hunter qualification exam upon graduation.

Several large corporations extended olive branches to the recent graduate, but Zhou Xian politely declined their invitations. He chose instead to become an Exotic Beast Hunter, fighting Mutant Beasts in the wilderness.

Brilliantly intelligent and exceptionally talented in cultivation, Zhou Xian became a veteran Exotic Beast Hunter in just three short years after graduating, his strength advancing by leaps and bounds.

He became one of the few Exotic Beast Hunters in the Rongcheng Exotic Beast Hunter Guild to break through to the Peak of Tier Two before the age of thirty, truly a rising star.

At the same time, as an Exotic Beast Hunter, Zhou Xian also earned a lot of money. After purchasing two properties in his hometown, he still had several million in savings.

While his career flourished, his love life also blossomed. He married and had a child with Xia Qing, the campus beauty from his department in university, who also happened to be from his hometown.

Before the age of eighteen, Zhou Xian’s life had been full of hardship. After eighteen, through his own efforts, his life changed as if it were night and day.

In stark contrast was his brother, Zhou Dazhuang, the one who had kicked him out all those years ago.

A gambling addict, Zhou Dazhuang had people to keep him in check while his parents were still alive.

But after his parents passed away, despite having several houses and millions in savings, his unrestrained gambling addiction led him to squander the entire inheritance. He even ended up over a million in debt.

This good-for-nothing was also incredibly shameless. With nowhere else to turn, he went to the very brother he had thrown out and begged for help.

Faced with Zhou Dazhuang’s desperate pleas, Zhou Xian couldn’t bear to see his brother’s family end up on the streets. So, he lent his spare house to Zhou Dazhuang’s family and even helped pay off their debt of over a million.

A man of such integrity and talent should have lived a long, happy life. Unfortunately, fate played another cruel joke on him.

「One day, several years ago, just as Xia Qing had finished her postpartum confinement after giving birth to Zhou Tongtong, her husband, Zhou Xian, received a phone call from the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild.」

After the call, Zhou Xian said to his wife, "There’s an urgent mission. I have to go out of town and will probably be back in about a week." Then, amidst his wife’s concerned nagging, he began to pack his bags.

"Remember to come back right after the mission is over! Tongtong and I will be waiting for you at home," Xia Qing urged her husband, who was about to leave, as she held their one-month-old daughter.

"Mm." Zhou Xian nodded. He kissed his wife’s forehead, then kissed his one-month-old daughter’s little cheek.

Then, under his wife’s gaze, he left the house and got into the car sent by the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild to take him on his mission.

VROOOM...

The car started up and drove toward the distant street corner, disappearing from sight in moments.

WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH...

The moment the car vanished, the one-month-old Zhou Tongtong, bundled in her swaddling clothes, suddenly burst into tears.

"Shh, Tongtong, be good. Daddy will be back in a few days." Unaware that this goodbye would be their last, Xia Qing smiled and soothed her crying daughter.

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