Thinking about how she’d dragged Chen Jiang to a hotel last night and even soiled his clothes during her detoxification…
she was so mortified she could have dug a hole in the floor with her toes and crawled into it.
Outside, Chen Jiang swept a cold glance over the group.
“How much does Mrs.
Xu’s family owe you?”
The bald man swallowed hard.
“With principal and interest, it’s a full 1.2 million.”
Chen Jiang slapped him across the face.
“I’m talking about the principal!”
The bald man’s lip started to bleed, and his body trembled.
“The principal…
the principal is five hundred thousand.”
“Have they paid you anything before?”
“Yes, they’ve paid back two hundred thousand in installments, but that all went to interest.
The principal hasn’t gone down at all…”
“A five hundred thousand loan, two hundred thousand paid back, and now they still have to pay 1.2 million?
You people are absolutely ruthless.” Chen Jiang sneered.
‘These loan sharks are worse than vampires!’
“Sir, this…
this has nothing to do with us!
We’re just the grunts.
The higher-ups gave us a direct order to collect this debt.
If we can’t get it this time, in three days, our boss is going to come here himself!”
“Are you threatening me?” Chen Jiang’s tone turned icy.
“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare!” The bald man looked at Chen Jiang fearfully but still forced himself to say, “But listen, kid, our boss, Master Zhou, is a big name in this area.
He’s not someone to be messed with!”
“After all, paying what you owe is just how the world works, right?”
Chen Jiang’s gaze darkened.
“In three days, I’ll pay you back the principal.
But as for the interest, don’t even think about getting another cent.
If your boss has a problem with that, tell him to come talk to me!
Now, get out—”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
As if granted a pardon, the bald man and his crew scrambled and stumbled down the stairs.
Chen Jiang returned to the apartment.
Both sisters were staring intently at him.
Jiang Yuning shrank back slightly.
“Brother Chen Jiang, you promised them you’d pay them back in three days.
But where are we going to get five hundred thousand in three days?”
Chen Jiang said, “The five hundred thousand…
I’ll figure something out!”
“You’ll figure something out?” Jiang Yutong found that a bit laughable.
“You were just needing my mom to help you get by.”
Chen Jiang said, “If I say it, I can do it.”
‘With my medical skills, I wouldn’t dare claim I can raise the dead, but as long as a person is still breathing, I can extend their life!’
‘Treating rare diseases and critical illnesses is even easier.’
‘Scraping together five hundred thousand in three days should be possible.’
“All talk,” Jiang Yutong muttered.
She knew Chen Jiang meant well and wanted to help them solve this problem, but now he had beaten up Master Zhou’s men and promised to pay off 500,000 in three days, which only made things more complicated.
“Alright, let’s not talk about this for now.” Jiang Yutong glanced at Chen Jiang.
“Come to my room.”
Chen Jiang followed behind her, watching her swaying figure.
He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
‘They say a woman’s waist is a deadly blade, and the saying couldn’t be more fitting for Jiang Yutong.’
‘How did I manage to hold back last night?’
‘Just thinking about it makes me feel like I was way too much of a gentleman!’
Jiang Yutong’s room was simply decorated with a cool color palette, much like her personality.
A crisp, faint fragrance hung in the air.
This scent wasn’t perfume, but Jiang Yutong’s own natural fragrance, which was both refreshing and captivating.
Suddenly, Jiang Yutong’s face flushed red.
She rushed forward and snatched a pink object off the bed, but the cord connecting it to the remote was so long that it took her a few seconds to gather it all up.
By then, her face was so red it looked like it might start bleeding.
Seeing Chen Jiang staring blankly at the object in her hands, she couldn’t help but snap, “What are you looking at?”
Chen Jiang gave an awkward laugh.
Though he lived in the countryside, he wasn’t completely cut off from the world.
‘He’d only ever seen that kind of thing in “adult films.”‘
‘Who would have thought that the cold and stunning Jiang Yutong would use something like this…’
‘What a contrast.’
Jiang Yutong grew even more embarrassed.
She had been under a lot of stress lately with no outlet, and Chen Jiang had seen the device she’d bought before she even had a chance to use it.
‘In a single day, this guy had seen every single one of my embarrassing moments.’
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
“Starting today, you can stay in my room.
Also, about last night, you are not to mention a single word of it to my sister or my mom.”
Chen Jiang’s expression turned serious.
“I can keep your secret, but when you said you were going to pay back the five hundred thousand, you don’t mean you’re planning to…”
Jiang Yutong nodded.
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
“Why would you throw yourself away like that?”
Jiang Yutong gave a desolate smile.
“My internship salary after graduating college is only four thousand a month.
The interest on our family’s debt can snowball to five hundred thousand in a single year.
Even if I work diligently for ten years, I still couldn’t pay off one year’s worth of interest.”
“Yuning is still in school, and now the entire burden of the family is on my mom…”
“The most valuable thing I have is this body.
What other choice do I have?”
“If I’m willing to submit and become their cash cow, they’ll give me a five hundred thousand advance in one lump sum.”
“If I just let go of my dignity, Yuning and my mom can live normal lives, without having to live in fear…”
“It’s a good trade.”
Jiang Yutong’s tone was flat, but she couldn’t hide the sadness and helplessness in her eyes.
“You have no idea what kind of life we’ve been living for over a year!”
“I can’t take this torture anymore…”
“I’ve had enough!”
At this, tears streamed down her face, and she began to sob quietly.
A pang of pain shot through Chen Jiang’s heart.
He instinctively pulled her into his arms, patting her shoulder gently to comfort her.
“Give me three days.
I will definitely get the five hundred thousand.”
Feeling the masculine presence emanating from Chen Jiang, Jiang Yutong didn’t push him away.
Instead, she felt a sense of security.
In her entire life, this was the first time she had ever leaned on a man’s shoulder.
After venting all her pent-up grievances and bitterness, she gradually calmed down.
She pulled away from Chen Jiang’s shoulder, wiped her tears, and said as if she had made a firm decision, “Y-You wait for me in the room tonight.
I’ll come find you after Yuning is asleep.”
Chen Jiang froze.
“Find me for what?”
Jiang Yutong looked up at him, her red lips slightly parted.
“To finish what we didn’t finish last night.”
Chen Jiang was stunned.
But before he could speak, Jiang Yutong had already opened the door and quickly walked away in her high heels.
‘He wasn’t so conceited as to think Jiang Yutong had been won over by his masculinity, fallen in love at first sight, and was ready to give herself to him.
He just assumed she was teasing him.’
‘The most important problem now was how to get five hundred thousand in three days.’
「 」
After dinner, the two sisters took their showers one after the other.
When Chen Jiang went in, the bathroom was still filled with the scent of shower gel and the two women’s natural fragrances.
On a nearby rack, a pair of cartoon underwear was hanging.
Chen Jiang felt his blood rush.
Sensing his body begin to stir, he sighed, took a cold shower, and finally managed to suppress the heat rising within him.
Just as he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw Jiang Yuning, who had been sitting in the living room, dash into the bathroom with a flushed face, only to jog back out a moment later.
Chen Jiang couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Looks like that cartoon underwear belonged to Jiang Yuning.
That certainly fit her personality.’
As if she had seen Chen Jiang smile, Jiang Yuning puffed out her cheeks and jogged over, the magnificent peaks beneath her loose pajamas rising and falling.
“Brother Chen Jiang, you saw it just now, didn’t you?”
Chen Jiang feigned ignorance.
“I didn’t see anything.”
“It’s gone.
Did you take it to do something naughty?”
“Hey, it has nothing to do with me.
I’m not into cartoons, only lace.” Chen Jiang felt he was being outrageously framed.
“Hee hee hee—” Jiang Yuning’s pretty eyes narrowed into crescents.
“Brother Chen Jiang, you’re not being honest.
You just said you didn’t see anything.”
Only then did Chen Jiang realize he’d been played.
‘This girl had deliberately come over just to tease him.’
Jiang Yuning nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly laughed again.
“So you like things a little sexier.
I’ll wear lace from now on, then.”
Chen Jiang swallowed.
‘What’s the point of her wearing it?
Is she going to let me see?’
“CREAK—”
The door to Jiang Yutong’s room was pushed open.
Wearing a silk nightgown with her long hair tied up, Jiang Yutong walked out.
She stood in the doorway, looked at the two of them, and said faintly, “Yuning, it’s time to come back to sleep.”
“Brother Chen Jiang, good night!” Seeing her sister hurrying her along, Jiang Yuning stuck out her tongue, gave Chen Jiang a sweet smile, and then ran back to her room.
Standing in the doorway, Jiang Yutong shot Chen Jiang a look full of meaning.
Chen Jiang’s heart couldn’t help but pound.
‘What did that look from Jiang Yutong mean?
Is she really planning to come over tonight?’
‘He’d been so restrained last night.
If it happens again today, how could he possibly hold back?’
After entering the room, Chen Jiang turned off the lights but tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Jiang Yutong’s earlier words and that meaningful glance kept replaying in his mind, making his body feel unbearably restless.
Before long, the door was pushed open with a CREAK…