Chapter 60: Debt Collection

For several consecutive days, Rong Xiu clung to Fan Xia, whether during work hours or leisure time after work, as if he wanted to die on her. This made Fan Xia unable to go back to see Wen Lan Sheng for days, forcing her to pretend to be busy and say a few kind words on the phone to appease him.

Wen Lan Sheng had no choice. At this time, he had no bargaining chips or confidence. Besides being obedient, he could only be obedient, like a thoroughly tamed puppy, not daring to generate even a bit of resistance. If she said a couple of perfunctory gentle words and returned home for lunch during the lunch break, he would happily wag his tail.

However, Wen Ming Yue’s days were not going well at all.

Since moving out of Fan Xia’s house, not only did her living environment plummet, but even her daily meals took a significant hit. After all, when they lived at Fan Xia’s house before, Wen Lan Sheng was in charge of preparing meals, and with Fan Xia’s generous living expenses, Wen Lan Sheng would always cook lavish meals with meat and fish, with four dishes and a soup being the bare minimum.

But now, her salary alone had to support herself, Xie Cen, and the good-for-nothing Wen Jing. Wen Jing was picky about food, preferring takeout over the home-cooked meals Xie Cen made. In a week, the money spent on her takeout alone took up one-fifth of Wen Ming Yue’s salary, and Xie Cen still indulged her.

This was just a minor issue. What truly made Wen Ming Yue’s life unbearable was Old Zou’s repeated debt collection, which felt like she was coming for her life. They worked in the same unit, so she couldn’t even find peace during work hours.

During lunch break, Old Zou once again came to the office to find Wen Ming Yue. After Wen Ming Yue’s multiple attempts to delay repayment, Old Zou’s attitude and tone had changed significantly from before. She slammed her tea mug on the desk, blocking Wen Ming Yue’s path: “Old Wen, trying to run again, aren’t you? Are you a mouse, running every time you see me? Well, you won’t be able to run this time. One simple question: when will you pay back the money?”

Old Zou deliberately raised her voice, and it was clearly heard by nearby colleagues who disliked Wen Ming Yue: “Oh, Old Wen borrowed money from you? That doesn’t seem right. Her daughter-in-law is so wealthy, why would she need to borrow money from you?”

“Not just borrowed, but borrowed fifteen hundred thousand,” Old Zou openly stated. “Old Wen, you’re not short of money. Why do you keep avoiding me and not paying back? My daughter has her eye on a house in the city center and urgently needs the money!”

“Don’t rush, Old Zou. I’ve been having some issues with my card recently. Give me a couple more days, and I’ll definitely pay you back,” Wen Ming Yue said with a careful smile.

Old Zou was a bit angry: “Old Wen, how did you brag to us when your son Lan Sheng got married? You said just one ring for your son cost several hundred thousand. How come now you keep delaying paying back just fifteen hundred thousand? That’s not your money! It’s my money! If you can’t pay it back, I’ll go to Fan Xia right now to ask for the money! I remember where Fan Xia’s house is!”

Wen Ming Yue was terrified and quickly waved her hands: “No, no, no!”

“Oh my, these days the debtors are the masters, while the lenders are the fools. Her son’s ring costs several hundred thousand, but that was bought by Fan Xia, it has nothing to do with Old Wen. Fan Xia is rich, but she’s not a fool who’s willing to pay her mother-in-law’s debts,” a colleague said gleefully from the side.

Wen Ming Yue glared at her: “What’s it to you!”

The colleague snorted: “I just can’t stand people who borrow money and don’t pay it back. I’m speaking up for Old Zou. Can you pay back the money or not?”

Wen Ming Yue’s face turned pale with anger, but she mumbled, not daring to speak out.

The colleague immediately said: “Old Zou, looks like you’ve run into a deadbeat. She has no intention of paying you back at all.”

Old Zou’s eyes widened, her eyeballs almost popping out: “You dare not pay me back? Wen Ming Yue, I never thought you were this kind of person. Not only did you borrow my money, but you also borrowed 2 million from Old Zhang. You… you’re committing fraud!”

The colleague stood up in delight, not expecting this unexpected gain, and immediately stood beside Old Zou: “She even borrowed 2 million from Old Zhang? Borrowing so much money at once, she definitely can’t pay it back.”

“Wen Ming Yue, if you dare not pay back the money, I’ll tell Old Zhang right now, and we’ll both go to your house to make a scene,” Old Zou angrily left.

Wen Ming Yue was so scared her legs went weak. She wanted to chase after Old Zou, but was blocked by her colleague.

By the time she chased out, Old Zou and Old Zhang had already left the factory during lunch break. Although they had been friends for many years, how could casual friendships compare to money? Upon hearing that their money might not be returned, the two rushed to Fan Xia’s residential area and knocked on the door.

Wen Lan Sheng was at home preparing lunch. Fan Xia had said she would come back for lunch, and he was happily dizzy with excitement. He had gone to the market at six o’clock to buy the freshest vegetables and meat, and had prepared a full table of dishes, waiting for Fan Xia to return.

Hearing the knock on the door, he thought it was Fan Xia without her keys, and ran to open the door with a smile. But when he opened it, he saw two angry faces.

“Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zou? Why are you here?” Wen Lan Sheng was very surprised.

Old Zou and Old Zhang walked in without changing their shoes, looked around the room, saw the table full of dishes, and said irritably: “Eating such good food every meal, yet pretending to have no money.”

Wen Lan Sheng was confused: “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zou, what exactly are you talking about?”

Old Zou snorted and sat on the sofa: “Where’s Fan Xia? Call her back!”

Wen Lan Sheng, for some reason, suddenly felt panicked, sensing that something was wrong, and it must be related to Wen Ming Yue. Fan Xia was about to return, and if she found out that Wen Ming Yue had caused trouble for the family again… A chill instantly invaded his bones.

He said softly: “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zou, what exactly happened? Xia Xia isn’t here right now, why don’t we go out to talk?”

Old Zou’s eyes rolled: “The old one tries to fool us, and now the young one wants to fool us too? I’m telling you, if we don’t see Fan Xia today, we’re not leaving!”

“That’s right!” Old Zhang also sat next to her, agreeing.

“What do you mean by not leaving?” Fan Xia returned home, saw the two unfriendly visitors, and could barely control the smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Fan Xia, you’re finally back! You need to give us an explanation today.” Old Zou stood up immediately: “Wen Ming Yue borrowed fifteen hundred thousand from me, and two million from Old Zhang, but now she’s not paying back. She’s your mother-in-law, you have to take care of this.”

Fan Xia pretended to be shocked for a moment: “So much money?” Then she turned her gaze to Wen Lan Sheng, angry and disappointed.

Wen Lan Sheng couldn’t believe that Wen Ming Yue had borrowed so much money, and the debt collectors had come directly to their home. His mind was in chaos, and a fear spread through his heart, not afraid of the large debt, but afraid that Fan Xia would be completely disappointed in him.

He quickly distanced himself from Wen Ming Yue, clarifying: “Xia Xia, I don’t know, I really don’t know anything. I’ve been listening to you all this time, I haven’t contacted my family at all, not a single word.”

“Whether you know it or not, Wen Ming Yue did borrow money from us, and we have the IOUs! Fan Xia, you’re her daughter-in-law, you can’t ignore this!” Old Zou said.

Fan Xia looked deeply at the panicked Wen Lan Sheng, who was frantically explaining, with faint disappointment on her face: “Aunt Zou, I think you must have misunderstood. Although Wen Lan Sheng and I had a wedding, we haven’t registered our marriage, so we’re not legally husband and wife. Wen Ming Yue is not my mother-in-law, and her borrowing money has nothing to do with me. Whoever she borrowed from, you should go to them for repayment, don’t come to me!”

After saying this, she reached for her left ring finger, took off the iris ring that embodied half of Wen Lan Sheng’s life’s dream, and slowly placed it on the table, her voice cold and decisive: “Wen Lan Sheng, I think we were ultimately not meant to be. Please find time to move out soon, and just leave the ring on the table when you go.”

With that, Fan Xia walked out without any attachment. Wen Lan Sheng’s mind exploded, his face turned pale, and he chased after her crying, grabbing her arm and refusing to let go: “Xia Xia, I really didn’t know about this, don’t go! That’s my mom’s debt, it has nothing to do with me, I didn’t know anything, don’t go! I’m begging you, don’t go!”

Fan Xia was unmoved, coldly saying: “You’re Wen Ming Yue’s son, even if you didn’t know, you still have to help her pay the debt. Wen Lan Sheng, I’m really tired of being sucked dry by your family. Let’s part ways amicably.”

“No!” Wen Lan Sheng cried out loudly: “I don’t want to part with you, Xia Xia, I love you, I’ve loved you since I was little, marrying you is my lifelong dream, I can’t live without you, Xia Xia, I… I won’t help her pay the debt, okay? We’ll cut off all ties with them, okay? Xia Xia, I won’t interfere with my family’s affairs anymore, Xia Xia come back, let’s start over, okay? You said you wanted me to give you a baby, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten about Jia Jia?”

Fan Xia grabbed his chin, saying without a trace of emotion: “You’re not the only one who can give me children, there are plenty of men out there who want to give me children.”

This plain sentence, entering Wen Lan Sheng’s ears, was like a thunderbolt, exploding hot in his skull. He suddenly realized that he could no longer hold onto Fan Xia. His body was cold all over, only Fan Xia’s hand that he was frantically grabbing was warm. He used all his strength to not let go, his voice pleading like a bird about to die: “No, Xia Xia, don’t find other men, you said you loved me.”

“Thanks to your family, I no longer want to love you now.” The elevator arrived, and Fan Xia pulled her hand away without any hesitation and walked into the elevator.

Wen Lan Sheng rushed forward, stumbling, trying to stop the elevator, but he was a step too late. Fan Xia had completely disappeared from his sight, never to be chased back.

He knelt at the elevator, crying heartbrokenly.

Ding dong, the sound of another elevator next to them rang out, and Wen Ming Yue rushed out. Seeing Wen Lan Sheng lying on the ground crying loudly, she came forward and asked: “Lan Sheng? Did Old Zou and Old Zhang come? Did you help me settle them?”

Wen Lan Sheng was crying so hard his vision was blurred and dark. Through his tearful eyes, he clearly saw Wen Ming Yue’s deeply furrowed face, and a burning anger suddenly rose in his pupils. He rushed out, hitting Wen Ming Yue wildly, his voice almost bleeding from shouting: “It’s all because of you! It’s all because of you! You’ve ruined everything for me! She doesn’t want me anymore… She doesn’t want me anymore…, are you happy now, why don’t you just die!”