Chapter 24: No Need to Repay the Interest?
Cheng Yuan smiled and nodded. "Okay, just watch me when the time comes. Dad, you should keep this piece of jade."
As he spoke, Cheng Yuan held the jade out to Lin Xinghe.
"How could I possibly accept this? I can’t take something like this from someone of the younger generation."
Despite his words, his heart was itching with desire. His eyes were glued to the jade, unable to hide his envy.
Cheng Yuan spoke sincerely. "Dad, Ruoxi and I were very hasty in registering our marriage, and we disregarded proper etiquette. Please consider this piece of jade as part of Ruoxi’s betrothal gift. You must accept it."
Betrothal gift??
’Lin Ruoxi’s heart began to pound. It seemed Cheng Yuan wasn’t just saying things—he really wanted to turn this fake relationship into a real one! He even had the betrothal gift ready!’
Lin Xinghe gave Cheng Yuan a long, hard look. ’This kid is certainly magnanimous. He just gave away a thirty-million-yuan piece of jade without batting an eye!’
"Since it’s a betrothal gift, then I’ll accept it! However, Xiaoyuan, I have to be blunt. Even if you’re skilled at jade-gambling, getting past the Old Master won’t be so easy. You need to be mentally prepared."
"Okay."
=============
After seeing Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao off, it was already past eight in the evening. A great weight was finally lifted from Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi’s shoulders.
Lin Ruoxi went to her room to catch up on sleep, but Cheng Yuan couldn’t get to sleep at all.
Wang Shanshan was also unable to sleep.
Not only could she not sleep, she was lying face down on her bed, sobbing softly.
’This was truly agonizing!’
If only she had held on for a few more days, until Cheng Yuan was released from prison, she could be marrying into a wealthy family right now, living the carefree life of a rich man’s wife.
But alas, she had ruined everything.
"Shanshan, why aren’t you coming out to eat?"
Wang Shanshan’s mother, Liu Ying, pushed the door open. Seeing her daughter crying, her heart ached. "Shanshan, why are you crying? What happened?"
Wang Shanshan threw her arms around Liu Ying and cried even harder.
"Mom, Cheng... Cheng Yuan is out of prison."
Liu Ying’s expression changed. "Wasn’t Cheng Yuan sentenced to five years? How did he get out so fast?"
"He got his sentence reduced for good behavior."
"Did Cheng Yuan come find you at school? You can’t let him ruin your relationship with Xiaojin! That damn ex-con! Doesn’t he know his place? What gives him the right to harass my precious daughter?"
Wang Shanshan choked out, "That’s not what I’m worried about. The most painful part is that I only found out today... Cheng Yuan is actually a rich heir!"
Liu Ying rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Shanshan, don’t be ridiculous. When your brother was three hundred thousand short for his house deposit, we lied and said your grandma was gravely ill. It took Cheng Yuan’s family half a month to scrape that money together. How could he possibly be a rich heir?"
"He really is! I saw it with my own eyes. He spent over five hundred thousand at Hisense Square without even blinking!"
GULP.
Liu Ying swallowed hard.
"Cheng Yuan is actually a rich heir? Well, that simplifies things! Dump Jin Pengfei right now and go get Cheng Yuan back! He loves you so much, your future will be set!"
Wang Shanshan shook her head in despair. "It’s hopeless! Completely hopeless! Cheng Yuan already has someone new. And what’s more, he’s making me pay back that three hundred thousand!"
The moment she heard "pay back the money," Liu Ying’s expression soured.
"Pay it back? What right does Cheng Yuan have to ask for that money back? You were with him for a whole year! Isn’t that worth three hundred thousand as compensation for your wasted youth?"
As they were speaking, a series of frantic knocks echoed from the front door.
"Knock it off! You in a hurry to get to your own funeral?"
Muttering, Liu Ying stomped to the door and yanked it open.
When she saw Brother Gou and his crew standing on her doorstep, Liu Ying’s bravado evaporated. "B-Brother Gou... wh-what are you doing here? We don’t owe you any money!"
Da Gou grinned. "Well, well. It seems I, Da Gou, have a bit of a reputation. In that case, I won’t beat around the bush. I’m here to collect a debt, on behalf of a Mr. Cheng."
Collect a debt?
And Cheng Yuan sent you?
Liu Ying’s expression shifted, and she forced a smile. "Brother Gou, you must have the wrong place. We don’t owe anyone any money."
"Two years ago, an elderly member of your family was gravely ill and needed surgery. You borrowed three hundred thousand yuan from Mr. Cheng. What, are you going to play dumb now?"
"Brother Gou, you’ve definitely made a mistake. The last of our family’s elders passed away five or six years ago. How could we have possibly borrowed money for a surgery two years ago?"
Da Gou frowned. ’Did I get the wrong address?’
’But this is the exact address Brother Cheng gave me.’
Just then, Wang Shanshan came out of her room, a look of annoyance on her face. "Mom, who is that? It’s so loud! Are they trying to wake the dead?"
The moment he saw Wang Shanshan, Da Gou’s doubts vanished. ’Yep, that’s her. No mistake.’
"Too noisy for you? Fine. Pay us the money, and we’ll be quiet as mice."
With that, Da Gou pushed past Liu Ying and strode into the apartment.
Wang Shanshan stared at Da Gou coldly. "This is trespassing! I’m warning you, get out right now, or I’m calling the police!"
Da Gou laughed. "Paying what you owe is the law of the land. Go ahead, call the cops! Be my guest!"
As he spoke, Da Gou plopped down on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table.
This infuriated Wang Shanshan and her mother. ’That bastard Cheng Yuan is so heartless! He actually hired thugs to collect the debt!’
"Brother Gou, if you want to collect a debt, that’s fine. But first, you’ll have to show us an IOU. If you have an IOU, we’ll pay up immediately."
Brother Dog sneered. "If there was an IOU, would they have needed to call us? Don’t play games. Pay up now, or we’ll pack you both up and sell you off to Northern Myanmar!"
One of his underlings chuckled. "Brother Gou, this girl’s pretty cute. No need to ship her off to Northern Myanmar. Put her to work in a nightclub, and she could probably pay off the debt in two months."
Another lackey chimed in, "Why wait that long? We could just harvest their kidneys. One kidney would be more than enough."
’Sold to Northern Myanmar?’
’Harvest my kidneys?’
The color drained from Liu Ying and Wang Shanshan’s faces. These men were utterly ruthless.
"Brother Gou, this is against the law!"
Da Gou snorted. "Fine, then let’s try something that isn’t illegal. We’ll pay a visit to your workplaces. And to the workplaces of all your friends and relatives. We’ll help you two deadbeats become famous."
Wang Shanshan’s reputation was already in the gutter, so she didn’t care. But Liu Ying panicked. If these thugs caused a scene at her son’s company, he could be fired!
Then, everything would be ruined.
"Brother Gou, we really don’t have three hundred thousand. Can you give us a few days’ extension?"
"If I give you an extension, who’s gonna give me one? I’ll level with you. If I don’t get this money back within a week, I’m dead! And if I’m not gonna live, you sure as hell aren’t going to live either!"
With that, Da Gou whipped out a dagger and slammed it down, embedding it deep into the coffee table.