Chapter 61: Repaying Debts
Wen Lan Sheng’s fists and palms rained down on her like giant hailstones. Being beaten on the ground by her own son was something Wen Ming Yue had never experienced before. She immediately pushed him away. A man’s strength was ultimately no match for a woman’s. No matter how angry and desperate Wen Lan Sheng was, he couldn’t overpower Wen Ming Yue.
She stood up from the ground, panting heavily, her eyes filled with coldness and annoyance: “Stop using us as an excuse. Don’t think I don’t know that Fan Xia has long been keeping other men outside. You can’t hold onto a woman’s heart, and you have the nerve to blame your parents?”
“If you hadn’t constantly asked Xia Xia for money, she wouldn’t have left. She loves me. It’s all because of you!” Wen Lan Sheng knelt on the ground, crying and shouting.
Wen Ming Yue felt only disgust. She had thought that when Old Zhang and Old Zou caused a scene at Fan Xia’s place, Fan Xia would, for the sake of face, reluctantly give at least a hundred thousand or so, even if she was unwilling. Who knew she would be so heartless, not giving a single cent, and even breaking up with Wen Lan Sheng.
She coldened her face, preparing to leave, when suddenly someone grabbed her.
“Well, well, Wen Ming Yue. So Fan Xia never even registered her marriage with Wen Lan Sheng. She was never your daughter-in-law at all. You’ve been lying to us all along!” Old Zou grabbed Wen Ming Yue’s collar angrily.
“Damn it! If I had known you had no relationship with Fan Xia at all, I would never have lent you 200,000. Wen Ming Yue, you must give us an explanation. When will you pay us back? Otherwise, we won’t let your family off easy!” Old Zhang even raised her fist. That 200,000 was her retirement savings.
Seeing the fist about to hit her face, Wen Ming Yue was terrified. This fist would be much heavier than Wen Lan Sheng’s. Old Zhang was notorious for her vicious beatings.
She hurriedly bowed and begged for mercy: “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me! Old Zhang, give me some time. Let me think of a way, alright?”
“Think of a way? What way can you possibly think of? Before, you had Fan Xia to help you with money and effort. Now you have neither house nor savings. How are you going to repay?” Old Zhang glared, asking.
Wen Ming Yue was naturally at a loss, scared out of her wits: “But even if you beat me to death, it won’t help. Why don’t you give me a week to find the money, alright?”
Old Zhang and Old Zou exchanged a glance, feeling this was the only option: “Fine, we’ll give you a week. If you can’t repay after a week, we’ll take the IOU to court and have you thrown in jail.”
“By the way, their whole family has been kicked out by Fan Xia now. Where are they living?”
Old Zou said: “Wen Ming Yue, take us to where you’re living now. Old Zhang and I will keep watch every day to prevent your family from running away like deadbeats!”
Wen Ming Yue’s face turned as green as a bitter gourd. If Old Zou and Old Zhang blocked their doorway, Xie Cen would surely find out about the hundreds of thousands she owed, and another big fight would be inevitable.
But under the threats of Old Zou and Old Zhang, she had no choice but to lead them to the rented apartment.
The group entered the elevator together. As for Wen Lan Sheng…
Wen Ming Yue touched her still-aching face, full of resentment. Such an ungrateful wretch deserved to be kicked out by Fan Xia. He could go wherever he wanted; she didn’t care.
But on second thought, Wen Lan Sheng was still a laborer. He could earn a few thousand a month working outside, helping to ease the family’s burden. It would be a waste not to use him.
So she held the elevator door and asked: “Lan Sheng, come with us. Fan Xia doesn’t want you anymore.”
Wen Lan Sheng knelt blankly on the ground: “I don’t want to… Even if I die here, I won’t leave. I am Fan Xia’s man. We had a wedding ceremony. She can’t abandon me.”
Old Zhang and Old Zou rolled their eyes. This man was obsessed.
On the drive back to the company, looking at her empty ring finger, Fan Xia felt a lightness and freedom she had never experienced before.
In her good mood, she even took a detour to a Chinese restaurant Rong Xiu often frequented, getting takeout to bring back. They had been busy all noon, leaving Rong Xiu no time for lunch.
When she returned to the office carrying the steaming food, Rong Xiu immediately noticed her bare finger, his eyes pausing for a moment.
He closed the door, took her hand, and lowered his head to leave a string of ambiguous, warm, and moist traces on her fingertips: “You and Wen Lan Sheng… broke up?”
Fan Xia nodded: “We broke up. Completely.”
Now she no longer needed Wen Lan Sheng to divide the Wen family. Wen Ming Yue was in debt for millions, Wen Jing was a hopeless case, and Xie Cen was nothing but a nitpicking househusband. This family would self-destruct without her scheming. She just needed to watch from the sidelines.
Rong Xiu held her waist, his knuckles tightening. Their passionate heartbeats collided like surging waves in the deep sea. A scalding tear fell on her collar.
AD 9Fan Xia cupped his face: “Why are you crying?”
Rong Xiu wiped away the tears from the corner of his eye, his gold-rimmed glasses slightly askew: “It’s nothing. I’m just happy.”
Happy that he finally didn’t have to endure in silence, didn’t have to hide from the light, didn’t have to be jealous of Wen Lan Sheng occupying the position of her official husband. He even fantasized that one day, he might be able to sit in this coveted position, appearing openly and proudly before everyone as Fan Xia’s husband, instead of having to hide their intimacy like today.
He felt like he had been going crazy lately.
At first, he thought he would be satisfied just seeing Fan Xia once a day.
Later, he became greedy, hoping to become Fan Xia’s man like Gu Jin, even if it meant being despised by thousands as a mistress. He didn’t care.
But when he really became Fan Xia’s lover, he wasn’t satisfied. He began to want more. He wanted to squeeze out Wen Lan Sheng, drive away Gu Jin, and become Fan Xia’s only man. The enormous greed was like a red-eyed monster starved to madness, devouring the rationality in his brain, torturing him constantly.
“I know you’re happy for me, but things aren’t over yet. Don’t cry. I brought you food. Eat while it’s hot. We still have work this afternoon.” Fan Xia opened the meal boxes, arranging the dishes on the table one by one.
Rong Xiu sat next to her and asked: “What do you mean it’s not over?”
Fan Xia smiled and said: “Wen Ming Yue killed my mother in a car accident and caused my father’s death. How could I easily let them off? I once thought about uncovering the truth and sending Wen Ming Yue to prison rightfully. But now I only have one witness, and all the physical evidence has been cleaned up by Wen Ming Yue. Even the crucial Santana car has been scrapped and can’t be found anymore. Since I can’t make the truth public, I’ll use other methods to take revenge on them.”
“Rong Xiu, I’m not a righteous person. I can do anything for revenge.” She gently ladled a bowl of crab roe tofu pudding and pushed it in front of Rong Xiu, her voice ethereal and cold, making his heart ache.
Rong Xiu gripped her hand tightly: “I understand. I understand.”
When Fan Xia spoke like this, Rong Xiu already knew what she wanted to do: “Wen Ming Yue now owes over a million. Debt collectors are at her door every day demanding payment. She must be desperate.”
“I’ve already sent messages to all the Wen family relatives, explaining that Wen Lan Sheng and I never registered our marriage and have now separated. If Wen Ming Yue wants to borrow money from them, she can no longer use me as a guarantor. Do you think those relatives will still lend her money?” Fan Xia’s smile was cold.
On the sixth day, the last day Wen Ming Yue promised to repay the debt, the torment of the past few days had already worn Wen Ming Yue down beyond recognition. Old Zhang and Old Zou lived in their home every day, constantly pressuring her. After Xie Cen learned she still owed outside debts, he became even more agitated, cursing her every day. After cursing, he would start crying loudly, lamenting his bad fate, never having a moment of peace, unable to even sleep soundly.
For two consecutive days, she was dizzy and could barely think. She had called almost everyone she knew, but no one would lend her money, even when she invoked Fan Xia’s name.
“Fan Xia as a guarantor? Old Wen, stop joking, will you? We all know now that Fan Xia never even registered her marriage with your Lan Sheng. She’s already dumped your son. Fan Xia’s money and property have nothing to do with you.”
“Moreover, Fan Xia said that you now owe a lot of outside debt, with debt collectors even coming to her home. If I lend you money now, I definitely won’t get it back. I’m not going to be that fool.”
“Ah, Fan Xia is really kind-hearted, calling specially to warn us. Otherwise, our hard-earned money would have gone down the drain. Wen Ming Yue, we’re all relatives. How could you harden your heart to harm us? Don’t call our family anymore. I don’t have a relative like you!”
Wen Ming Yue hung up the phone with a bang, her murky and weak eyes almost spitting fire.
“Fan Xia, you actually harmed me!” Wen Ming Yue gnashed her teeth in hatred, about to call and curse her out, but realizing the deadline was almost here—after work, Old Zhang and Old Zou would come back to collect the debt—she was forced to hold back from scolding Fan Xia for now.
But if even relatives wouldn’t lend her money, where else could she borrow from?
Just as Wen Ming Yue was anxiously racking her brains, she suddenly saw the large numbers on a stack of documents in front of her.
As a cashier, she handled many account books every day, with large sums of money passing through her hands, though not a penny was her own. If she secretly misappropriated some… wouldn’t it be undetectable?
No! Once discovered, she would definitely go to jail.
Wen Ming Yue instantly sobered up, but…
Misappropriating public funds wasn’t a crime if repaid within three months. Only if she couldn’t repay after three months would she be sentenced. Taking this money now could solve her urgent problem, pay off her debts to Old Zou and Old Zhang, and even clear her stock market debts.
She would have three months to think of other ways to fill the hole from the misappropriated funds.
Didn’t Fan Xia say she broke up with Wen Lan Sheng? But she saw that the ring worth hundreds of thousands was still on Wen Lan Sheng’s hand.
Could it be that Fan Xia was so rich she didn’t care about the ring? Or maybe she just gave it to Wen Lan Sheng?
AD 10If she sold the ring, she could immediately repay half the debt. For the rest, she could ask Fan Xia.
Although she had broken up with Wen Lan Sheng, her son had been sleeping with her for so many years. Asking for some compensation for youth lost wasn’t too much, right?
Wen Ming Yue’s hand trembled uncontrollably, her eyes flashing with an indescribable gleam.
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*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
Daily Life of a Scumbag Man Giving Birth (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The way for a promiscuous scumbag man to atone for his sins is to let him get… pregnant.
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, scammed countless women, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to scam them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
● The female lead has a deceased husband and a daughter.
● The male lead is a scumbag with no bottom line, undeserving of sympathy. Even after being with the female lead, he still tries to cheat, but fails to climb the wall and is caught and severely punished, gradually being educated into a female-dominated man.
● The male lead has a constitution prone to pregnancy. As retribution for his scumbag behavior in his previous life, he will give birth to more than one child and experience miscarriages.
● This is an unhealable healing story.
*
Ancient and fantasy Chinese novels are very difficult to translate accurately, especially the way characters address each other according to their roles, status, positions, and titles.
Sometimes, the main characters have multiple different names, and depending on whether the person is a close relation or a stranger, they will call them by one name or another.
There are also idioms, metaphors, place names, things and phenomena that I don’t understand specifically what they are.
So I often take liberties with the translations.
When reading, please be understanding and don’t place too much importance on this issue.