Zhou Yi might be foolish, but she still had her dignity.

Paying back debts was a matter of course – she never thought of defaulting.

If she valued money above all else, she wouldn’t have fallen into Yuan Han’s trap. Yuan Han never had much money.

When she married Yuan Han, Zhou Wenbin and Jiang Hong hadn’t given her any dowry money, and Zhou Yi herself was too naive to care about such things. She just had a talent for causing trouble – whoever got close to her would unconsciously get dragged into it. Though with friends and colleagues outside, her social interactions were fine.

When Xia Xiaolan asked about repayment, Zhou Yi didn’t fly into an embarrassed rage. She was genuinely trying to find a solution.

And the solution she came up with was to work part-time to earn money for repayment.

This was a sincere approach, and Xia Xiaolan readily nodded:

“Alright, I’ll lend you the money. I trust Sister Zhou Yi’s word, but I wonder if you can handle the hardship of working under the table… There’s another thing – if work affects your studies, I’ll become the guilty party. If that happens, I’ll have to tell Uncle Zhou and the others about your lost money. Why not reconsider and come clean with Uncle Zhou now?”

While Xia Xiaolan “encouraged” Zhou Yi to come clean, Zhou Yi shook her head vigorously, feeling guilty.

How did the robbery happen?

Both Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Wenbin had warned her not to go out at night, but she was too proud when meeting Joan. Zhou Yi was already face-conscious, and with the near-assault incident, she would rather die than let others know.

These “others” included her classmates and teachers at language school, Xia Xiaolan, and even her parents!

“I’ve made up my mind, don’t tell them. I’ll fill this hole by working part-time myself.”

She had taken Jiang Hong’s words to heart somewhat.

Thinking about how much money her family spent to send her abroad, Zhou Yi now understood American prices and was shocked when she calculated them.

The money stolen from her, converted to Huaguo currency at the official exchange rate, was equivalent to her father’s annual salary.

At black market exchange rates, it would be both her parents’ annual salaries and bonuses combined… Zhou Yi became even more afraid to speak up! Currently, borrowing from Xia Xiaolan and slowly filling the gap herself was the best choice.

Seeing Zhou Yi’s determined attitude, Xia Xiaolan, who was waiting for her to learn some hard lessons, didn’t try to persuade her further and promptly wrote her a check for $1,000.

“Take it, and after cashing it at the bank, immediately deposit it in your account. Don’t lose it this time.”

Zhou Yi blushed.

After being hungry for three days, she’d learned her lesson and wouldn’t dare carry all the cash around – she would deposit it in the bank.

“$800 would be enough…”

Xia Xiaolan smiled, “Never mind, let’s make it a round number. You never know when you might need money. This time I could come quickly because I was in New York, but next time, who knows?”

Next time?

Without Xia Xiaolan saying more, Zhou Yi wanted to die just thinking about it!

Borrowing $1,000 was fine – the next time Joan came to New York on business, she could repay the $100 borrowed from her. Owing money to just Xia Xiaolan was better than owing multiple people.

“Xiaolan, thank you for lending me money, wait a moment!”

Zhou Yi dug out her homework notebook and formally wrote Xia Xiaolan an IOU.

She didn’t know what kind of salary she could find, but figured if something earned 100 yuan in Huaguo, with everything being more expensive in America, the salary should be ten times that, right?

That would be over $100.

Too little.

Zhou Yi set herself a goal of earning $300 per month, writing on the IOU “Borrowed $1,000 from Xia Xiaolan today, to be repaid before October 25th.”

Zhou Yi gave herself a three-month grace period.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t object – this was normal behavior from Zhou Yi.

“By the way, you said you lost your money right after arriving at school, so how did you get by these days?”

Xia Xiaolan had been wanting to understand this and asked after taking the IOU.

Zhou Yi hesitated before answering, “Joan, whom I met on the plane, lent me $100. She’s kind.”

Yes, kind indeed – having someone rob you, then lending you money, what a flamboyant move!

Those two thugs had nearly raped Zhou Yi.

Even the most gentle and honest woman, once turned dark, had immeasurable potential.

Ye Xiaoqiong would appear again, and Xia Xiaolan looked at Zhou Yi with considerable sympathy.

Zhou Yi felt uneasy under her gaze, “I really won’t default. I’ll pay you back as soon as I earn money from work. Don’t tell my parents, and don’t tell Zhou Cheng. Oh, and at language school, I promise I’ll study hard.”

She had been attending classes these days.

It was mainly expensive.

Every day in America, food and basic necessities require spending real dollars.

Adding tuition and accommodation fees, the money she spent each day in America, if not her father’s monthly salary, was at least equivalent to Jiang Hong’s monthly wages.

Zhou Wenbin’s insistence on self-funding Zhou Yi’s study abroad showed he had read her well.

If it were the state’s money, Zhou Yi definitely wouldn’t feel this heartache.

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “About finding work, ask your classmates at language school. Better to accept lower wages at a safe, reliable place. An untrustworthy boss not paying wages is a minor issue – lacking personal safety guarantees would be the real loss… Sister Zhou Yi, I wish you all the best!”

Zhou Yi was already a mother, but she had been too useless in previous years. Only now was she like a toddling infant, stumbling as she tried to adapt to life abroad by herself.

Was Zhou Yi having it tough?

Many international students had it tougher than her.

Once she started working under the table, she’d realize how good her job back home had been.

With such good initial conditions, she hadn’t strived to improve. Working under the table in America, forget about benefits – bosses treated student workers like slaves.

…

Xia Xiaolan waited for American unscrupulous employers to teach Zhou Yi some life lessons.

After lending Zhou Yi $1,000, she went to work at GMP as usual the next day. Matthew approached her with an exaggerated tone:

“So the 24th was your birthday, no wonder you took a day off. Did you have a birthday party? Why didn’t you invite me?”

Xia Xiaolan asked curiously, “How did you know?”

Matthew pointed to her office, “You’ll see when you go in.”

Xia Xiaolan’s office was filled with bouquets and gifts.

The flowers were from Tang Yuanyue, wishing Xia Xiaolan a happy birthday and hoping she would complete her studies and return home soon – Tang Yuanyue had apparently grown wiser, finally writing appropriately formal wishes on the card without any awkward sentiments.

There was also a box from Du Zhaohui.

When Xia Xiaolan opened it, surprisingly, it was a new set of drafting tools.

“Du Zhaohui’s imagination…”

Had Du Zhaohui’s imagination become normal?

Xia Xiaolan had been afraid to open the box, thinking it might be full of US dollars.

Such a plain and practical gift didn’t match Young Master Du’s status at all.

If it were dollars, Xia Xiaolan definitely couldn’t accept them.

As for the drafting tools, when Xia Xiaolan took them out to try, they actually fit her hand well – wasn’t Du Zhaohui’s normalcy the strangest thing of all?