Difficult To Raise Chapter 15

Chapter 15 The Phone Call

Jiang Jin knocked on the door for a long time, but Jiang Ran wouldn’t open it. He simply stopped knocking, pulled out the spare key, and unlocked the door himself.

Jiang Ran had been sitting on the bed sulking. When he saw the locked door open on its own, his eyes widened in surprise.

Jiang Jin smiled, raising the key in his hand. He said proudly, “I had a spare key made. You can’t hide from me, Gege.”

Jiang Ran was so annoyed he almost rolled his eyes. He grumbled, “Get out immediately. I’m annoyed with you right now. Don’t provoke me.”

“Gege.” Jiang Jin sighed, walked over, and sat beside him, burying his head in Jiang Ran’s neck. His voice was low and hoarse. “Even if I keep studying, you’re out of money, aren’t you? I saw your ledger. How long were you planning to keep lying to me?”

Jiang Ran froze instantly. Jiang Jin was right; he was broke. His waiter job only paid a little over two thousand yuan a month. Even with extreme saving, feeding three people and buying medicine for Old Man Chen meant that money was far from enough. He had been worried about it for days but hadn’t told Jiang Jin.

Feeling somewhat ashamed, he lowered his head and said hoarsely, “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already figured out a solution. In a few days, I’ll switch to a higher-paying job. I can support you.”

“What solution do you have?” Jiang Jin’s eyes were dark and deep, as if they could see through his heart. “Are you planning to do manual labor?”

The question hit the bullseye. All of Jiang Ran’s plans were exposed before him, leaving him deeply embarrassed. He didn’t want his little brother to think he was incompetent, yet he was exactly that.

He had no education, no skills, and certainly no clever mind, and the family was dirt poor. It wasn’t that he couldn’t calm down and focus on self-improvement, but what he needed most right now was money, and what he lacked most was time. He had no other choice.

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” Jiang Jin pressed tightly against his chest, comforting him. “You still have a month until you turn eighteen. You’re already carrying enough on your shoulders. Let me help you share the burden. I earn more singing for one night than you do. I’m also planning to create an account and post videos of myself singing. Maybe that can earn some money too. If the two of us work hard together and take care of Grandpa Chen, all our problems will be solved.”

Jiang Jin’s body temperature was high, and leaning against him was especially warm and easy to sink into.

His voice was so gentle, as if he were using the greatest patience he possessed in this lifetime. He had never spoken to anyone with this tone before, except for his brother—only his brother. He wished he could offer him all the best things in the world so that he wouldn’t have a single worry.

He had known how to protect his brother since he was a little sprout. How could he stand by and watch his brother endure all the hardships?

Jiang Ran remained silent for a long time, his heart overwhelmed with sorrow.

What should he do? Was there any way out? Who could help them? He could accept dropping out himself, but he absolutely could not accept Jiang Jin doing the same. Jiang Jin was still just a child. When others his age were studying peacefully in school, he was starting to hustle for a living. If only he were more capable, if only…

In the silence, something suddenly flashed through Jiang Ran’s mind. It was as if he had suddenly dug up a conversation he had heard a long, long time ago from the depths of his memory.

“What about Jiang Jin? Is he also the son of you and your paramour?”

“No, he’s another man’s. That woman had a child with another lover, but she was short-lived and died right after giving birth. I… I just took some money.”

…

That was right. Jiang Jin was different from him; he had a father. The fact that the man was willing to give his mother money meant he wasn’t poor. If he could find him, maybe Jiang Jin wouldn’t have to drop out…

Once this idea sprouted, it took root in Jiang Ran’s heart, refusing to go away.

After suppressing it for over half a month, Jiang Ran finally couldn’t hold back anymore. Relying on his memory, he dialed that woman’s number. He was only trying it out and hadn’t held out any hope, but the phone rang only twice before someone answered.

“Hello? Who is this?”

A somewhat familiar female voice came through, identical to the one deep in his memory. Even across such a long span of time, Jiang Ran recognized it instantly.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt clogged, and he couldn’t speak for a long time.

The woman on the other end grew impatient. “Speak up. If you don’t say anything, I’m hanging up.”

“It’s me.” Jiang Ran swallowed, his voice hoarse. “Jiang Ran.”

The other end of the line instantly fell silent. All he could hear was the woman’s slightly rapid breathing, in and out.

They were supposed to have a very intimate relationship, yet now they were worse than strangers. They confronted each other silently over the phone, each more quiet than the last.

After about half a minute, perhaps longer, the woman suddenly snapped back to reality and said with a trembling voice, “It’s you… Do you… need something from me?”

This reaction was actually within Jiang Ran’s expectations. If this woman had any affection for him, she wouldn’t have abandoned him and run away back then. Even if she had taken him with her, even if she had just asked about him—but she did nothing, which spoke volumes.

However, this person was still his mother, and she had been with him for so many years.

Jiang Ran’s eyes felt a little sore, but he forced himself to cheer up. “It’s nothing major. I just wanted to ask, Jiang Jin’s… father, his biological father, do you have his contact information?”

The woman seemed stunned, apparently not expecting him to call about this. After a moment, she said, “Oh, you want to find him. I do have his number, but we haven’t been in touch for many years. I don’t know if it still works. If you want it, I’ll send it to you later.”

Jiang Ran said, “Okay.”

“If there’s nothing else, then I…”

“Mom!” Jiang Ran suddenly gripped his phone and asked in a low voice, “How have you been… all these years?”

“Good… I’m doing well.” Finally, a hint of a sob entered the woman’s voice. She said sadly, “I don’t deserve to be your mother, child. Forget about me. Don’t call me again. We don’t have a mother-son bond in this life. If there’s a next life… I’ll make it up to you.”

Beep, beep, beep…

The sound of the call disconnecting came through. Jiang Ran’s forced composure instantly crumbled. The intense emotional fluctuation made his eyes slightly red, but he had long learned not to cry over the years. He knew tears were the most useless thing.

So he just bit his lip, holding back fiercely, trembling all over, biting his lip until it bled.

Jiang Ran thought over and over in his heart: I don’t have a mother. I never did. Never…

The other party quickly sent a string of phone numbers. Jiang Ran tried calling again and found that the number was unreachable. It seemed she had blocked him. He scoffed and promptly blocked the number himself.

Let it be, Jiang Ran thought. Why invite further humiliation? He held the phone, silent for a long while, before opening the call function again and tentatively dialing the unfamiliar digits.

“Beep, beep, beep…”

“Hello, this is Jiang Yue.”

After three rings, the call was answered. The voice on the other end was a man’s—a little deep and very magnetic, sounding extremely charming.

The moment he heard that voice, a strong premonition suddenly rose in Jiang Ran’s heart: This was him. This man… was Jiang Jin’s biological father.

He just hadn’t expected him to also be named Jiang… Well, even if the son was born to a mistress, no one would want him to take another man’s surname.

“Hello,” he quickly said. “Mr. Jiang, you probably don’t know me, but I have something very important to tell you.”

“You have one minute,” Jiang Yue said coldly.

Jiang Ran took a deep breath, taken aback by the man’s authoritative tone. He felt a little uncomfortable, but right now, besides this person, he didn’t know how else to pull Jiang Jin out of the mud. He could only suppress his temper and explain the reason for his call.

After he finished, he felt extremely anxious. He was afraid this man would be like his mother and simply not want to deal with Jiang Jin. After all, if he had cared even a little back then, how could he have allowed Jiang Jin to call another man ‘Dad’?

To his surprise, Jiang Yue’s attitude miraculously softened a bit after hearing the explanation. He even chuckled softly. “So you’re Jiang Jin’s older brother. I remember you. You’re Jiang Ran, right? Since you called, I won’t hide anything from you. I actually looked for Jiang Jin privately before, but unfortunately, he didn’t want to come back with me. He said he wanted to stay by your side. Although I really want to acknowledge my son, I’m not the type to force people. After all, I want a son, not an enemy, right?”

Jiang Ran was speechless. He truly hadn’t known about this, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond, so he remained silent.

This reaction seemed to be within Jiang Yue’s expectations. He didn’t mind, instead saying with considerable grace, “However, if he is willing to come back of his own accord, I would certainly welcome him. How about this: we set aside some time to meet? What do you think?”

Jiang Ran’s breathing quickened slightly. Jiang Yue was acting too enthusiastically. He instinctively felt something was off, but he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. He could only attribute it to the fact that they were biological father and son—who truly wouldn’t want to acknowledge their son? Moreover, he was truly desperate now. He was willing to do anything for Jiang Jin to be able to study properly.

He only hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Then tomorrow afternoon at six o’clock, at the coffee shop near West River High School. I’ll send you the address later.”

Jiang Yue replied with a smile, “No problem, kiddo.”

…

The next day, the two met as agreed at the coffee shop. The moment Jiang Ran saw him, he was almost immediately stunned. The man was incredibly handsome. He wore a well-tailored suit and a watch that looked expensive, exuding the charm of a mature man in every gesture. Coming to this small coffee shop felt like condescending to a lower status.

The coffee shop waitress clearly thought the same. When taking their order, her movements and posture were as reserved as could be. Jiang Yue, however, was quite relaxed. After ordering, he smiled at the young, pretty waitress. “That’s all. Thank you for your trouble.”

Perhaps it was Jiang Ran’s imagination, but he felt that the smile carried a subtle, ambiguous, and somewhat alluring quality.

The waitress’s face indeed flushed red. While saying “You’re welcome,” she kept staring intently at the man, her gaze quite fervent.

A moment later, she brought over two cups of coffee.

As Jiang Yue reached out to take the coffee, the waitress looked at him with watery eyes and slipped something into his hand. Jiang Yue curved his lips into a smile and subtly scratched the back of her hand.

Jiang Ran saw their little exchange. His expression was strange, but he didn’t say anything, only stating, “Uncle Jiang, why exactly did you ask me to meet you?”