Seeing the defensiveness and refusal in his mother’s eyes, Cameron Summers felt an unbearable ache in his heart.

His voice trembling, he pleaded with his mother, "Mom, I know I’ve made you suffer all these years. It’s all my fault, but I’ve really changed... I’m not asking you to forgive me right now. I’m just begging you to take us in for a few months. Just a few months will be enough."

"I didn’t want to trouble you, really. But the house we were living in got buried by the heavy snow, and our supplies have been cut off for days. I had no other choice, which is why I came to you for help!"

"Even if you don’t care whether I live or die, please, at least save Clark. No matter what, he’s still your own grandson!"

At this, Clark Summers also looked up, staring pleadingly at his grandmother.

He was fifteen or sixteen, but he looked unusually frail due to long-term malnutrition. Frost clung to his long eyelashes, and his lips were covered in chapped wounds that were still bleeding.

Seeing this, the grandmother’s heart ached with pity. Cameron Summers might be a monster, but Clark was truly innocent. For a moment, she was torn.

Just then, Melody Summers walked out.

She took her grandmother’s hand and said softly, "Grandma, it’s cold outside. Let Uncle Cameron and the others come in first."

The grandmother looked at Melody, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, but when she thought of Clark, she finally nodded.

She sighed softly and turned to Cameron Summers and his family. "Fine. You can come in first, and we’ll talk."

Hearing this, Cameron Summers was overcome with joy. He shot Melody Summers a grateful look before leading his family into the house.

...

As soon as Cameron Summers and his family stepped inside, a wave of warmth washed over them.

Cameron Summers sighed in relief. "It’s so warm in here... We were about to freeze solid outside."

Seeing Grace Sutton and Miss Lowell in the living room, Cameron Summers quickly greeted them, "Grace! Miss Lowell! You’re both here... It’s been a long time."

Miss Lowell smiled and returned the greeting.

Grace Sutton stared at their blood-crusted lips and said in surprise, "Oh my, how did you get so frozen? Are you all right?"

Cameron Summers shook his head with an awkward smile. "We’re fine, we’re fine."

The three of them had been so cold outside that they’d gone numb, and they couldn’t even feel the pain from their chapped wounds anymore.

Their clothes were soaked through with melted snow. Seeing the cream-colored sofa in the living room, they looked hesitant and didn’t dare to sit on it, choosing instead to sit down on the carpet.

Watching her uncle’s family act so cautiously, Melody Summers lowered her gaze, her feelings complicated.

’In my memory, my uncle had been a decent person when he first came home, but ever since he got hooked on online gambling, it was like he’d become someone else entirely...’

’Not only did he squander all the family’s savings, but he also racked up huge online debts from all sorts of platforms, both legitimate and shady.’

’He didn’t just use his own ID to take out loans; he secretly used his family members’ IDs as well.’

’Winnie, Colin, and Grandma couldn’t escape either. He stole their IDs and took out large loans in their names. To pay back those debts, the Summers family had to endure a very difficult time.’

’When I was just reborn and started stockpiling supplies, I never even considered taking out an online loan to buy things, even when I was short on cash.’

’The reason was simple: my uncle’s debts had left such a deep impression on me that I had a profound, deep-seated aversion to online loans.’

’I still remember how Winnie, afraid that the overdue loans in her name would ruin my future by affecting her credit score, tearfully sold a shop she had worked so hard to buy in the city...’

’My uncle swore up and down every time that he would quit gambling, but he always went back on his word.’

’Eventually, Grandma, who could no longer tolerate it, kicked him out of the house again.’

’Has my gambling-addicted uncle really changed for the better now?’

Melody couldn’t be sure.

After a moment of consideration, she asked, "Uncle Cameron, how did you find this place? Did Uncle Caleb give you the address?"

Cameron Summers nodded. "Yes, your Uncle Caleb told me."

Hearing this, Grace Sutton immediately pressed, "What did Caleb say?"

Cameron looked at Grace, a little embarrassed, and said, "My brother... he told me to come here and back up his mother-in-law’s family. He wanted me to find a way to convince you all to take good care of her. He even said I should try to persuade you to free up a whole apartment for them to live in."

Grace Sutton snorted and muttered, "Just as I thought. That Caleb! He’s always scheming..."

After hearing what Cameron said, the grandmother’s expression darkened even more.

’She really hadn’t expected Caleb Summers to come up with such a scheme!’

’Using his own younger brother as a pawn... he’s completely unscrupulous!’

Seeing this, Cameron quickly said to his mother, "Mom, don’t worry. I know my brother doesn’t have good intentions. I would never listen to him! I have no plans to help his mother-in-law’s family!"

"I came here this time to repent to you in person. I want you to know that I have sincerely changed my ways!"

"Mom, I’ve been working odd jobs all these years, saving up to pay off my loans. I never dared to bother you before. I kept thinking that once I paid everything off, I’d save up another sum of money to pay the family back and make it up to you all. Only then would I come back..."

"But unfortunately, right after I finished paying off the loans, before I could save any more money, the disaster struck... All the factories shut down, and I lost my job..."

"But I promise, as soon as this disaster is over, I’ll go out and find a job immediately. I will pay back every cent I owe you! I won’t gamble again, and I won’t be a burden on the family anymore!"

Melody listened without comment.

’Even though my uncle seems to have turned over a new leaf, it’s also a fact that in my past life, he didn’t even come back for the family’s funerals...’

’You can never truly know what’s in a person’s heart. I have to be on my guard against him.’

Listening to Cameron’s tearful confession, the grandmother’s expression remained largely unmoved.

She just waved her hand dismissively. "Enough, enough. I don’t want to get involved in your affairs anymore. Do whatever you want."

At her words, a flicker of sadness and loneliness crossed Cameron’s eyes.

But he quickly pulled himself together, adjusted his emotions, and forced a smile. "So... Mom, can you let us stay for a while? We can sleep in the living room, or even the bathroom. We just need a place to stay temporarily."

His voice was tinged with desperation. "We really have nowhere else to go. The place we were staying is uninhabitable now, and the supplies there were cut off days ago!"

Beside him, Jade Rowan nodded repeatedly, adding in a hoarse voice, "It’s true, it’s true. No one’s in charge there anymore. All the neighbors who could flee, fled! The ones who couldn’t... they all died..."

Before they left, Cameron and his family had even gone to call on an elderly couple next door, wanting to ask if they wanted to leave with the government’s disaster relief vehicles so they could look out for each other on the road. But they found the couple had already frozen to death in their home, their bodies stiff...

Seeing their desperation, Melody replied, "Uncle Cameron, the supply situation in our community is still normal. You should rent an apartment here."

Cameron’s expression turned awkward. He scratched his head sheepishly. "Clark was sick a while ago, with a persistent high fever. We had to sell everything we owned just to buy fever medicine. We’re completely broke and can’t afford the rent right now..."

Melody replied, "Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay the rent. You just focus on settling in."

Melody couldn’t live with Cameron’s family, but paying for them to rent an apartment in The Metropolis Residences was no problem at all.

************

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PS: Make no mistake, a gambling addiction is incredibly hard to break. If you meet a gambling degenerate, cut ties with them as soon as possible.