Chapter 20 — Behind the Door is Still Home

But it's like a basin of cold water poured straight down. Dad's finger that was resting on the edge of the sofa trembled slightly. He opened his mouth, his voice already hoarse.

"Can we continue talking about this later? I just got home, don't just come in..."

I interrupted.

“Let's say it now.”

"There's no use prolonging it, everyone is hiding it inside, and the new year won't be happy."

I stood up, took out a yellow-brown paper envelope from my backpack. The envelope is old, the corners of the paper are slightly frayed.

“I found this in a box on top of my parents' bedroom closet.”

I put the envelope on the coffee table and slowly pulled out the papers inside.

"The old record book, there is also a photocopy of the mortgage contract that year."

Tri Tinh immediately sat up straight, her eyes fixed on the pile of papers. Chu Hao also leaned over and looked over, his face full of insecurity. I looked at the two of them.

“Let's explain everything clearly, okay?”

Mom clenched the apron in her hands, her knuckles turning white. She looked at me, then looked at the stack of papers on the table. As if he had made a great deal of determination, he finally slowly opened his mouth:

“Tri Dao… at that time Chu Hao said…”

Mother's voice trembled.

"Something happened to the company and we owe hundreds of thousands of yuan. You know that."

"At that time, I had just joined a new company and didn't have much money on hand. He was so nervous that he tried to borrow at high interest rates. After hearing that, my father almost had a heart attack."

“After that, I thought of a way.”

Dad continued, speaking very slowly.

"I told my colleagues in the company that I could use this house to mortgage the bank to get an emergency loan."

“Lower interest than external loans.”

“The procedure is also more dignified.”

I nodded.

“It was I who thought of that method, and it was also me who went through all the procedures.”

I turned to look at Chu Hao.

"Back then, you called my company and said you really couldn't survive anymore. If you don't think of a way, the company will go bankrupt."

Memories of that time came back again. For several days straight, my phone almost never stopped ringing. Chu Hao's voice on the other end of the line was so urgent it was like a house on fire, mixed with cursing, irritation and even pleading. I had to reassure him... I secretly looked up the company's policies, called the bank to ask, and took advantage of my lunch break to go for consultation. In the end, I took the red book and my parents' identification documents and followed the bank staff back and forth. Make a mortgage.

“The loan is then disbursed to your company account.”

I continued talking.

"Later, the company overcame difficulties, paid off all bank debt, and mortgage dissolution procedures were also completed."

I pointed to a few lines written in the old notebook.

“The date of loan repayment, the amount and the time to cancel the mortgage are clearly stated here.”

“Isn't that done?”

Chu Hao interrupted.

"The debt has been paid, the house still belongs to my parents, why are you bringing this up?"

“Herein lies the problem.”

I raised my head.

"Back then, to speed up approval, the bank manager suggested transferring the name on the red book to someone with a stable job and good credit history."

“This will make the appraisal easier.”

I stopped for a beat.

“That person… is me.”

The living room was eerily quiet.

“What do you mean?”

Tri Tinh reacted first, her voice immediately rising.

“You mean now the red book of this house is in your name?”

“Not now.”

I corrected it.

“But from the time we mortgaged until now... it's always been the same name I."

I pulled out a photocopy from the envelope. It's a photocopy of the red book. There was a name clearly written on it. To Tri Dao. Tri Tinh's face turned white little by little. She opened her mouth but couldn't say a word.

“No way…”

Chu Hao muttered.

“Isn't it just saying to mortgage it? The house still belongs to the parents."

“Back then the bank offered two options.”

I calmly explained.

“One is to keep the old name and directly mortgage, but the approval will take a long time and there will be a lot of additional paperwork.”

"Second, transfer the temporary title to me first and then mortgage, the speed will be faster."

“Back then, people needed money urgently, so they chose the second method.”

I looked at my parents.

“Is that right?”

Dad closed his eyes and slowly nodded. He spoke softly.

“Signed by parents.”

“So why not switch back later?”

Chu Hao suddenly raised his voice.

“The loan is paid off but your name is still with you, what do you mean?”

“What do I mean?”

I looked at him, my voice still very calm.

“You should ask your parents.”

I turned to the two of them.

"Back then, after the mortgage was resolved, the bank said they could change the name at any time, or keep it the same."

“What did my parents say to me then?”

It was a night several years ago. I just returned from the bank and was so tired that my back ached. My parents sat on the old sofa in their old apartment, looking both tired and relieved.

“Forget it.”

At that time, my father was smoking and said very casually:

“We all belong to the same family, no matter who's name we have, it's not the same. Moving back and forth still costs money.”

Mother then sat next to continue speaking.