At dinnertime, Melody Summers had just set a plate of fragrant fried pork tenderloin on the table when she suddenly heard a frantic knocking at the door.

A flicker of confusion crossed her grandmother’s face. She murmured, "Who could be visiting so late?"

’Who could it be?’

Recalling the events of the day, Melody Summers and Grace Sutton exchanged a look. A sudden, bad feeling welled up in both of them...

Then, a familiar voice came from outside—Clark Summers was shouting, "Grandma! Uncle! It’s me, Clark! Please, open the door!"

Hearing Clark Summers’s voice, Melody’s heart sank. ’The truth always comes out. It looks like we can’t hide this from Grandma after all...’

Colin Summers didn’t know what had happened earlier that day. Hearing Clark shouting outside, he instinctively went and opened the door, letting him in.

Seeing Clark’s face flushed from the cold, Colin Summers asked in confusion, "Clark, what are you doing here so late? Why are you alone? Where are your parents?"

Clark grabbed onto Colin Summers’s clothes as if clutching a lifeline. He looked up at Colin and said urgently, "Uncle, can you lend me some rice and coal? I swear I’ll pay you back later!"

Colin Summers was confused. ’He knew that Grace Sutton and Melody Summers had just delivered coal to apartment 1101 not long ago. How could they have used it all up so quickly?’

While Colin Summers was trying to make sense of it, Melody Summers quietly walked over.

Melody Summers gave Clark a cold look and said in a low voice, "Didn’t we give you one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal just this morning? How could you have used it all up so quickly?"

Clark froze for a moment, then stammered, "I... I..."

He stammered for a long moment but couldn’t form a coherent sentence.

Her face grim, Melody Summers stared at Clark and said coldly, "Clark, you and your dad went gambling again, didn’t you? Did you lose all one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal?"

Clark couldn’t meet Melody Summers’s eyes. His gaze shifted away as he muttered, "I... I just wanted to win back our losses. I didn’t think it would end up like this..."

Listening to their exchange, Colin Summers was able to piece together what had happened. ’Clark had gone gambling too!’

At that realization, a wave of fury shot straight to Colin Summers’s head.

His face flushed crimson with rage. He kicked Clark off of him and pointed a finger in the boy’s face, roaring, "You punk! You’ve started gambling too?! How dare you!"

Colin Summers felt his vision darken. ’One Cameron Summers had already brought the family to the brink of ruin. He never imagined that Clark would become a gambler too!’

’That father and son... both of them are a scourge!’

Seeing the enraged Colin Summers, Clark’s knees suddenly gave way. He dropped to the floor with a THUD, crying, "Uncle, my luck is way better than my dad’s! I almost won everything back! I was so, so close!"

Melody Summers was floored by Clark’s words.

’She had originally assumed that while Clark went with Cameron Summers to the gambling den, at only sixteen, he would have just been watching while his father played.’

’But she had never, ever imagined it! Her younger cousin was a gambler himself! He’d been at the table playing the whole time!’

’And to think she’d made Clark and Jade Rowan choose between two options this morning. To think she’d given them one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal. That was no different from handing cash straight to a gambler so he could keep betting!’

As the realization sank in, Melody Summers closed her eyes and cursed herself internally.

’She hadn’t been this thoroughly duped since her rebirth, and now she’d been screwed over twice in a row by Uncle Cameron’s family!’

’Gambling really is poison! And so are the addicts!’

Colin Summers was so enraged by Clark’s words he nearly fell over backward. He snatched a shoe from the rack and started beating Clark with it mercilessly!

Colin Summers showed no mercy. Clark was yelping in pain, scrambling frantically around the room to dodge the blows.

Grace Sutton stepped forward and blocked Colin Summers. She said coldly, "He has his own mother and father. If they don’t care, why are you wasting your breath trying to discipline him!"

’Grace Sutton had no desire to deal with Clark right now. He had chosen his own path. Clark was already sixteen. If he wanted to gamble and his own parents wouldn’t stop him, then there was no reason for his aunt and uncle to wade into this muddy water.’

Clark stumbled back toward the sofa and saw his grandma watching him, her face cold and hard.

Clark’s eyes immediately lit up. As if spotting a new lifeline, he scrambled toward his grandmother, crying out, "Grandma! Grandma, please save me!"

Grace Sutton’s heart lurched. Afraid this good-for-nothing grandson would anger the old woman into a health crisis, she rushed over. "Mom, don’t get angry. Let me help you back to your room to rest."

But Grandma waved her off. She wasn’t angry. On the contrary, she was the calmest person in the room, as if she had long expected this day would eventually come.

She looked down at her grandson and asked calmly, "How much rice and coal do you want?"

Clark gritted his teeth and replied, "Grandma, just give me one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal! Consider it a loan. After the snow disaster is over, I’ll find a job. I promise I’ll work hard and earn money, and I’ll pay you back with interest!"

Melody Summers’s brow furrowed. She walked up to Clark and asked coldly, "One hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal? Is that the total you owe them?"

Clark froze for a moment, then nodded. He looked at Melody Summers, his face a mask of sincerity. "Yes, Cousin. I owe them one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal. I truly regret it this time. I’ll never touch gambling again! Gambling is poison! I’ve learned my lesson!"

"Grandma, Cousin, please, just lend me one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal! I want to pay off my debt. I swear I’ll turn over a new leaf! If I ever gamble again, you can chop my hands off!"

The sincerity on Clark’s face was flawless, as if the word "genuine" were etched into his very features. It was a performance so convincing he might have even fooled himself. But inside, ’he didn’t care about any of that anymore. All he wanted was to get his hands on one hundred pounds of rice and one hundred pounds of coal!’

’He knew that if he brought those supplies to Saul Archer, he’d be allowed to gamble again! And as long as he could gamble, he had a chance to win it all back!’

’He was confident that Lady Luck would smile on him again sooner or later. This time, he would go all in. All he needed was one more chance to turn everything around!’

Melody Summers let out a cold snort. She didn’t believe a single word Clark said, nor did she believe he had only lost that much.

She looked at Clark, sneered, and said, "I’m not giving you a single grain of rice. Get out, Clark!"

The moment the words left Melody Summers’s mouth, Clark’s expression turned resentful.

He glared at Melody Summers, then turned back to their grandmother. "Grandma! Please, help me! I’m your grandson!"

"Ian’s off doing disaster relief, and who knows if he’ll even make it back. My two cousins are just girls. Right now, I’m the only grandson in the Summers family! For the sake of our dead grandfather, please, help me!"