The three Yuan women arrived in Pengcheng, exhausted from their journey.
Yuan Han had no concern for his sickly mother who looked ready to collapse; he only wanted to know if they had gathered the money!
“Without this money, I’m finished!”
The words “tall and handsome” were rapidly becoming distant descriptors for Yuan Han.
He had taken several days off work, both because his facial injuries hadn’t healed and because he needed to appease Zhou Yi. Yuan Han had no energy for work.
He also feared hearing gossip about “Section Chief Yuan” at the office. The adultery incident that day had caused such a scene, with many hotel guests witnessing it. In the chaos, he hadn’t paid attention to who was watching… Perhaps while he didn’t recognize them, they had recognized him?
The combination of injuries and psychological pressure had severely diminished Yuan Han’s looks.
When Zhou Yi looked at him now, there were no rose-colored bubbles; instead, she only saw a sleazy man.
Did he have substance?
No, he was all facade.
Yuan Han had no real depth. Zhou Yi couldn’t understand how she had been so blind before, thinking she had so much in common with him.
Zhou Yi didn’t want to admit one fact—when she used to hang around with Tong Lili and those people, she had no substance and couldn’t judge whether men had any depth!
So why could she judge now?
Because her romantic illusions about Yuan Han had shattered.
Her mind had cleared.
And she had been abroad, seeing more of the world. If nothing else, during her months at language school, she had steadily advanced level by level in her studies.
After seeing truly hardworking people, looking at Yuan Han again… He always claimed his talents went unrecognized by leaders. But besides his looks, what talents did he have?
Perhaps his only talent was deceiving women into bed.
Zhou Yi accompanied Yuan Han to meet his family, not because she liked them, but because she also wanted to know if they had gathered enough money!
But she wasn’t as desperate as Yuan Han.
Seeing how weak Yuan Han’s mother looked, clearly ill, Yuan Han didn’t show any concern, only asking about money. Hah, why should she care? It wasn’t her mother, and if Yuan Han didn’t care, she certainly wouldn’t.
Mother Yuan wiped her tears:
“For this troublesome matter of yours, we’ve sold our house and brought you the money. Can this be resolved properly?”
While lamenting, she secretly watched Zhou Yi.
She was waiting for Zhou Yi to respond.
Though Yuan Han was at fault, Zhou Yi couldn’t escape blame – what kind of wife would cause such trouble, demanding 150,000 Hong Kong dollars just for catching her husband in the act?
Zhou Yi sneered, “I’m not the one who cheated, why look at me?”
Second Sister Yuan frowned, “Xiaoyi, what Yuan Han did was wrong, but speaking to elders this way is too—”
Elders?
The old woman who refused to sign at the hospital and wouldn’t let Yuan Han sign either, nearly causing her death? Zhou Yi hadn’t considered Mother Yuan an elder since then.
Now she didn’t even want Yuan Han, what connection did she have to the Yuan family?
Zhou Yi turned her head away, even Yuan Han was furious.
But Yuan Han was spineless, unwilling to give up the comfortable life provided by the Zhou family. How dare he say anything against Zhou Yi now?
Eventually, they moved past the topic. Hearing about the house being sold, Yuan Han assumed they must have gathered enough money.
“Selling it is fine, out with the old, in with the new. As long as it doesn’t affect my work, why worry about having no place to live in the future?”
Since he hadn’t built it brick by brick himself or spent money on it, Yuan Han wasn’t particularly attached to the house.
Just like when selling Ye Xiaoqiong’s “junk,” Yuan Han hadn’t considered whether he was getting a fair price. Firstly, he didn’t understand their true value and lacked channels to sell them at high prices; secondly, these things were obtained freely from a previous marriage, not earned by himself, so of course he didn’t care!
Yuan Han just wanted the money quickly.
Second Sister Yuan couldn’t control Zhou Yi but hadn’t forgotten her purpose.
“I want to meet that harlot. Such a large sum of money, just giving it to her—”
Screech—
A van stopped beside the Yuan family, its door sliding open dramatically. Several people emerged, surrounding the Yuan family and Zhou Yi. Then He Shiyuan appeared in her red sports car.
He Shiyuan didn’t even step out of the car, just removed her sunglasses, exuding arrogance:
“Section Chief Yuan, you haven’t taken my words seriously. I received your returned 45,000 the day before yesterday, when will you give me the rest?”
Just as He Shiyuan was mentioned, she appeared.
Second Sister Yuan had wanted to “reason” with He Shiyuan, but seeing the red sports car and the people emerging from the van, she didn’t dare breathe.
They all looked rough, with tattoos on their arms and necks, clearly not to be trifled with!
Yuan Han’s legs went weak as he remembered how He Shiyuan’s bodyguards had held him down and beaten him severely.
His family had just arrived in Pengcheng, and He Shiyuan immediately appeared, proving she had been monitoring him.
“We’ve gathered it, definitely gathered it, I was just about to give you the money!”
He Shiyuan sneered. His courage was as tiny as a needle point; despite his good looks, he was worse than those greasy johns.
That the Zhou family’s young miss could fancy such a man—He Shiyuan’s mocking gaze swept over Zhou Yi, making her feel as if she’d been stripped naked in the street. Yuan Han was uncomfortable seeing He Shiyuan, and Zhou Yi felt the same—He Shiyuan had traumatized them both, creating a conditioned response!
He Shiyuan found this role thrilling to play. She put her sunglasses back on and waved her hand:
“Take them all!”
“Come on, you expect our miss to drive you herself?”
“Looking at your cowardly appearances, you’re not worthy of riding in a sports car!”
He Shiyuan’s people herded the Yuan family and Zhou Yi into the van, cramming about ten people inside, making it hard to breathe.
Second Sister Yuan trembled, “Where are you taking us? I’m telling you, this is illegal…”
He Shiyuan’s thugs laughed heartily, “Paying debts is righteous and lawful, what’s illegal about it? If Section Chief Yuan has the guts to cheat Miss He’s money, I’d respect him as a real man if he dares to report to the police station… Section Chief Yuan, shall we take you to the police station?”
“No police station, no! I just want to pay Miss He back!”
Pah, such a spineless shrimp.
The thugs were all hired to help. He Shiyuan had only told them it was a relationship dispute—Yuan Han had a wife but played around outside, and she had leverage over him, so he absolutely wouldn’t dare report it.
He Shiyuan’s prediction proved correct.
These people, having taken money to work for their employer, all despised Yuan Han.
They didn’t touch Zhou Yi but looked down on her.
On the way, they thoroughly humiliated Yuan Han with pushes and curses, nearly causing Mother Yuan to faint before they even reached their destination.
When the van stopped and Yuan Han was dragged out, his legs grew weaker.
This desolate place was his and He Shiyuan’s former love nest!
Zhou Yi swallowed her humiliation and told Second Sister Yuan to take out the money. The three Yuan women had sewn the money into their clothes’ pockets, and it took quite a while to get it all out. He Shiyuan pinched her nose while looking at the money as if she couldn’t stand the stench of it touching the Yuan family:
“I remember asking for Hong Kong dollars.”
Zhou Yi clutched the money, “This is Chinese yuan, take it or leave it. How could we exchange for Hong Kong dollars? He Shiyuan, don’t push people too far!”