After spending about an hour at the hospital, Liam and his mother finally continued their journey to Alan Hemsworth's house.
The man lived in a newly developed residential complex.
The houses here were larger than those in their neighborhood, even consisting of two or three floors.
Without at least a deputy manager position, it would be impossible to afford the installments, which could reach 2,000 dollars per month.
Unlike their own neighborhood, weekends here seemed rather quiet.
That was because most of the residents had gone camping early in the morning.
Alan's house was located quite deep inside, almost at the far end where the surroundings were still not fully developed.
It was a two-story house with a yard full of flowers, and a sedan parked there—only slightly inferior to Liam's, though of course it wasn't bought in cash like his.
Liam stopped the car in front of the yard, not driving in since there wasn't enough space.
"Mom, wait!" He got out quickly to open the door for her.
"I can open the door myself…" she said as she stepped out.
"You deserve proper service," Liam replied with a chuckle.
"I can't become popular because my photos are too bad. And the clothes you buy are too cheap—how can I become popular like this? With a MacBook, I could at least edit my outfits to look like luxury brands and make them seem real. That's what Bella did to become popular. Do you think being pretty is enough? There are so many pretty girls now. Even ugly girls become pretty with expensive treatments. Hmph, you can't even pay for singing lessons for me. You say you're successful—where's your money?"
Liam and his mother froze when they heard the loud voice of a girl shouting from inside the house.
"Hmph, if I accepted that job offer at a nightclub, I could earn more money than you."
"Linda, there's no high salary in a nightclub unless you do something inappropriate."
"So what? As long as I get money and become popular, then earn even more, it doesn't matter at all. My friends got connected to modeling agencies from working there and managed to start their careers—even though they're not as pretty as me."
"Are you drunk? Did you drink my wine, or are you using weed again?"
"Who gets drunk this early in the morning?"
"The two of you, damn it, can't you just be quiet? You're disturbing my work."
"Mom, stop doing that useless work that doesn't make money. No one wants to read your boring novel. You'd be better off working as a waitress at a bar—you'd at least earn 100 dollars a day."
"Linda, stop your nonsense."
"What? You want to hit me? Try it if you want to go to jail. I don't mind reporting my own father."
Liam, "…"
Diana, "…"
'This family is completely messed up,' Liam thought.
He couldn't help but feel grateful for his own family. Even though it consisted of only him and his mother, and their finances were poor, at least there was no chaos like this.
If it was already this noisy in the morning, what about the afternoon, evening, and night?
Fortunately, the house was located near the edge. Even if it weren't, it wouldn't matter—people in this complex probably didn't even know their neighbors.
"Where do you think you're going?" his uncle's voice rang out.
"None of your business!"
The door suddenly opened, revealing a seventeen-year-old girl—tall and slender, with pale white skin.
She had short blonde hair that suited her sharp facial features perfectly.
Her eyes were round, bright green.
With only a simple necklace around her neck, a short skirt, and a standard shirt, her charm was enough to keep anyone from getting bored of looking at her.
Her rough personality certainly didn't contradict her beauty—she was naturally beautiful even without makeup or anything else.
Of course, her expression right now was extremely gloomy, completely different from the elegant image she portrayed on Instagram.
Her claims might not be wrong. Cheap clothes and poor presentation were the reasons she couldn't become popular.
Being pretty alone wasn't enough to attract followers.
People wanted more than just beauty—they wanted luxury and a lifestyle they couldn't reach.
She frowned when she saw Liam and his mother—her cousin and aunt whom she considered useless.
However, their arrival in a new car surprised her slightly.
Then, a man in his late thirties stepped out from the door.
He had messy black hair, a handsome face, but his eyes looked like someone burdened with stress.
His face resembled Liam's mother, but as the younger brother, he actually looked older.
"Sis?" He was even more stunned than his daughter.
When his gaze fell on the car behind them, he was left in awe.
"Alan…" Diana seemed unable to say anything.
The man became awkward.
"Uncle, it seems you're having quite a hard time…" Liam commented.
"But don't worry, your nephew isn't heartless enough to let you go crazy from stress. Besides, I don't want to have an uncle who goes insane because of a daughter who wants to look rich."
"Are you mocking me?" Linda snapped angrily, already in a bad mood.
"Be quiet… Your cousin came here to help you buy the iPhone and MacBook you want."
Alan, as a man long hardened by life, had no difficulty accepting the humiliation.
Instead, he scolded his daughter.
"What? Him? How could he do that?" Linda couldn't believe it.
Even seeing Liam and his mother arrive in a fairly luxurious car, she still couldn't believe they had money. She knew how poor they had been.
Maybe it was just a boss's car that Liam borrowed to show off.
She had seen that kind of deception many times.
"Isn't this the phone you want?" Liam said, taking out his iPhone—the latest generation and highest-tier model that many young women desired.
Linda froze in shock.
For the past three days, she had been throwing tantrums, demanding her father buy her that exact phone.
Yet Liam, who used to only have a 2GB RAM Android, now owned it.
How was that possible?
"Hurry up and apologize to Liam," Alan ordered, patting his daughter's shoulder.
Of course, the girl felt extremely awkward at the thought.
She looked at Liam again and noticed something different about him—his aura had changed. He no longer looked like someone living a difficult life.
'Did he suddenly become rich? Like the main characters in my mom's ridiculous novels?' she wondered.