Chapter 357: Collecting a Debt
Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Collecting a Debt
Xu Xianhui, who was eavesdropping from behind, was stunned. ’So the relatives Su Qing found in Beijing are actually high-ranking officials?’
’And Su Qing actually had the gall to openly say she was rich in class! Just how rich must she be to say something so brazenly?’
At the thought of money, Xu Xianhui’s heart began to pound uncontrollably. She needed money. She needed a lot of money. If she couldn’t pay it back by next month, she really wouldn’t be able to get out of this.
’But Su Qing isn’t willing to get close to me at all right now. I’m sure that if I just rashly go up and ask to borrow money, she’ll definitely refuse.’
’No, that’s not right!’
’Su Qing is so rich, maybe she’s just loose with her money?’
Lost in thought, Xu Xianhui followed Song Yufang and Zhao Xiaohui toward the cafeteria. By the time she snapped out of it, she was already standing in the main hall.
From a distance, Xu Xianhui saw Su Qing sitting at a table with a few of her dorm mates, eating and laughing together.
Xu Xianhui bit her lip. She wanted to go right up to Su Qing and ask for money, but she was afraid that if Su Qing refused her in front of everyone, she would lose face. So, Xu Xianhui took a deep breath and decided to eat first, then figure out what to do next.
While eating, Xu Xianhui kept glancing in Su Qing’s direction. It wasn’t until she noticed someone from their table looking back that she quickly lowered her head and didn’t dare to look over again.
After she finished eating, Xu Xianhui went to the small grove of trees by herself. She used to have close classmates, but she still hadn’t paid back the money she’d borrowed from them. Now, whenever those people saw her, they would ask when she was going to repay them. She had started dragging her feet, only returning to the dorm at bedtime. Even so, she couldn’t avoid the people demanding their money back.
’But where is she supposed to get the money to pay them back now?’
Her heart heavy with worry, Xu Xianhui walked into the grove, found a relatively clean rock, and sat down glumly. She slowly began to ponder how she could borrow money from Su Qing.
"Well, well, Xu. You’re a hard one to find." Suddenly, a man’s voice came from behind her.
Xu Xianhui shot up in fright. She looked at the man behind her, her face turning pale. "You... how did you get into Beijing University?"
"What, you think only you geniuses can get into this university? Are us country bumpkins not allowed?" The man speaking was passably handsome, but the gloom in his eyes was frightening.
Xu Xianhui backed away two steps in fear. "I... I didn’t mean that."
"Then what did you mean?" The man took two steps forward, staring intently at Xu Xianhui. "You’ve got some nerve. Didn’t you say at the end of last semester you’d pay me back as soon as school started? I waited for you at your school gate for days and didn’t see a shadow of you. I thought you’d forgotten. Then I came in and asked around, only to find out you’d taken a leave of absence. Fine. You’re good. Trying to dodge your debt, are you? Let’s see how you’re going to dodge it today."
"I wasn’t! I... I just had a family emergency, so I took a few days off to go home," Xu Xianhui hurriedly tried to explain.
"Cut the crap. Where’s the money?" The man leaned against a tree, lit a cigarette, and blew a smoke ring at Xu Xianhui. "Don’t tell me you don’t have it."
Xu Xianhui cowered slightly, her head bowed, and whispered, "Just... just give me a few more days. In a few days, I’ll definitely pay you back, okay?"
"Heh. You think I’m a three-year-old? That I’m that easy to fool?" The man spat on the ground and snorted. "I believed you last time and helped you drag it out for over a month. What, you trying to play me again? If it weren’t for the fact that you’re a Beijing University student, I would’ve gotten rough with you long ago. Let me tell you, my boss isn’t as easygoing as I am. I helped you once, and that’s me being more than generous. It’s not happening again. Otherwise, you’re coming with me. You can pay off your debt with your body. We’ll call it even when the money’s paid back."
As he spoke, the man moved to grab Xu Xianhui’s arm.
Xu Xianhui was terrified. She hadn’t understood before, but she knew all too well now. If she really had to pay the debt with her body, her life would be over. These people were not kind. She was filled with immense regret. A relative had told her they could get cheap goods wholesale from Guang Province, bring them back to Beijing, and resell them for several times the price. Her family, afraid of the high risk, had refused. Besides, where would they get that much money? But in a moment of impulse, she had borrowed five hundred yuan from the man in front of her.
She had thought that once her relative brought the goods back, she would make enough money to repay the loan. Who knew that relative would never return?
She didn’t dare tell her family about it, so she could only scrape together some money by borrowing from her classmates. But how could that possibly be enough to pay it all back?
Xu Xianhui’s voice was tinged with tears. "I already paid you eighty yuan. Can you just give me a little more time, please? I’m begging you."
"Heh, eighty?" The man looked at Xu Xianhui with amusement and pointed to himself. "When you borrowed the money, I told you there was interest. You agreed to it then. What, you think eighty yuan is a lot? It’s not even enough to cover the interest."
Xu Xianhui was stunned. She wasn’t an economics major; she didn’t really understand things like interest rates these people talked about. At the time, she only knew there would be interest, but she never imagined it would be this much.
"Eighty! Eighty yuan isn’t even enough for the interest?" Xu Xianhui felt like she was about to break down. "I only borrowed five hundred yuan."
"Only five hundred yuan?" the man sneered. "Do you have any idea what a worker’s monthly salary is? It’s easy for you to say."
Xu Xianhui cried, "But you said eighty yuan isn’t even enough for the interest."
"Of course it isn’t," the man said coldly. "Don’t forget, you’ve had this money for three months. The monthly interest is twenty percent. After three months, you should be paying back eight hundred sixty-four yuan. Your eighty yuan doesn’t cover shit for interest."
Xu Xianhui was dumbfounded. "You... that’s not what you said at the time. You said the interest rate was something-something."
The man scoffed. "If you had understood it back then, would you still have borrowed the money?"
Xu Xianhui said resentfully, "You tricked me!"
"How did I trick you?" The man’s eyes widened. "It was just a different way of putting it. The result is the same. You were too stupid to understand, and now you’re blaming me? I’m telling you, if you don’t pay this money back, you’re coming with me. When you’ve earned enough money for me, then you can come back and be your precious ’great scholar’!"
With that, the man grabbed Xu Xianhui and started to drag her away.
Terrified, Xu Xianhui clung to a nearby tree and shouted, "I’ll pay! I’ll pay! Just give me one day! I’ll pay you back tomorrow! I’ll pay you tomorrow!"