(MC POV)
Diao Chan left the shop more subdued than normal and by the look on Lian Li's face, she most likely saw our exchange and knew exactly why Diao Chan was acting like that.
"Ehehehe~ Diao Chan was more interesting today, wasn't she, Darling?" Lian Li giggled.
"Mmm… I suppose so," I chuckled before switching my gaze to the clock on the wall.
It was already close to evening and the streets outside were lit by the roadside lamps powered by Monster Crystals.
"Hmm… If my memory is right… I guess the next person who would be showing up is…"
The door was pushed open again and another familiar face walked in.
"Oh, Brendan. Welcome, welcome. How's your day my friend?" I waved to him as he entered.
"Master Lin… Missus Lin." He greeted us.
Lian Li blushed, "Ehehehe~ Missus Lin~"
Brendan looked at Lian Li weirdly but did not comment on it, opting to sit down heavily at the counter instead.
"Black coffee like always?" I asked while picking up a cup.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of gold coins that he spread on the table in front of him haphazardly.
In this World, Brendan ended up dropping out of Heaven Sect to take over his family's business. He ended up becoming really successful and elevated his family to become one of the richest merchants in the capital city.
To the outsider, it would sound like Brendan was winning in life, but if you were to look at him right now, you would not think so.
His robes were messy and crumpled while his face was unshaven and his hair in disarray. With a look like that, it wouldn't be weird for anyone to think that he was sleeping in the streets.
Yet here he was pulling out gold coins that was enough to get him top class service at the best inn in the city like the coins were just peanuts.
He picked up a gold coin to place on the counter without bothering to keep the rest.
"Yes… And keep the change, Master Lin."
I smiled at him, "Thank you for your patronage as always. Do you want any sweets to go with your coffee?"
"Hmm… I suppose I can go for something sweet. I'll leave it to your recommendation."
I started preparing his coffee while Lian Li went to pick up a cake suitable for his taste.
"So how are things with your family?" I asked.
He sucked in a deep breath and sighed, "It's the same as always, Master Lin… As much as I love them… They might just be the death of me…"
I remained silent, letting him decide if he wished to elaborate while I poured hot water into the filter paper I would be using to make his coffee.
For a short while, there was no sound between us except for the water sloshing into the pot.
Brendan then looked up at me, "What would you do… If your family has lost their way?"
I smirked, "Do you mean like they got lost in a forest or?"
His lips also curled up into a smile before shaking his head, "I meant them losing sight of what is important and becoming lesser versions of themselves… And despite your best efforts to help them, they refuse to change?"
I poured the pre-measured coffee beans into my hand grinder, "Hmmm… And I suppose that part of the reason they lost their way is related to my own actions?"
He hesitated but nodded in the end.
I took a moment to grind the coffee beans before pouring them out onto the filter paper, making sure to empty the pot below the funnel of water first before I poured in the hot water to let the coffee drip through the filter.
I then leaned against the counter, "I would say… Just stop doing the thing that is making them lose their way."
He sighed, "But… If I were to stop giving them money… They would starve… And they might do even worse things outside while calling me unfilial…"
Ahh… The problems with money…
Now that Brendan is rich, the rest of the family had come to realise that they could simply live off of him and indulged themselves in a decadent lifestyle.
From what this World's version of me knows, his family has been involved with drugs, alcohol and gambling addictions, with a number of them ending up on the wrong side of the law and needing him to bail them out constantly.
He has also come to blame himself for spoiling them and doesn't know how he could help them recover from this.
It got so bad that now he would rather stay outside than return home to see the pathetic state of his family, sometimes even simply sleeping out on the streets despite having the money to stay at the fanciest inn in the capital.
He's lucky that he never went public with his appearance so no one knew the unkempt man sleeping by the roadside was one of the richest merchants within the city.
Which was how this World's version of me met him since I found him sleeping outside our shop one day. And instead of kicking him away like the other shops, I invited him inside and gave him a cup of coffee thinking his situation was the same as Eris's.
"Hmm… So what do you wish to do, Brendan?"
"I don't know… On one hand, I feel like I would be unfilial if I were to cut them out of my life… But I do not wish to be the reason that they continue down this path of self destruction either…"
"Have you tried not giving them any monetary support?"
"They would just go and borrow money from somewhere else and I would have to end up paying back their debts anyway…"
I poured out the coffee into a cup, "Even if you were to put them on some sort of blacklist?"
He shook his head and received the cup of coffee from me, "They will always find someone else… Besides, no one would say no to having me owe them a favour… Except you of course, Master Lin."
Truly quite a predicament he is in…
"And what if you were to… Let's say… Confine them somewhere to recover?"
He looked at me weirdly, "You mean to lock them up in their rooms? I can't do that, Master Lin… They would sooner destroy themselves than recover… I can't keep watching them…"
I sighed while handing him his coffee, "Unn… In that case, how about having someone watching over them and helping them recover?"
He paused, "That's… Actually not a bad idea… Why didn't I think of that?"
I reached over the counter and patted his head, "It's ok, Brendan, you don't need to feel like you have to shoulder everything on your own, you know?"
He nodded, "Thank you as always… Master Lin… Your coffee is great."
"Heh, of course it is."
"If only… Things could go as smoothly for me as your coffee…"
Poor Brendan, I really want to go over there and give him a hug right now.
