novelburst
Chapter 239: 240: Repaying Debts for Others
Chapter 239: 240: Repaying Debts for Others
Chapter 239: Chapter 240: Repaying Debts for Others
“Whether I’m afraid of dying is none of your business,” Xiao Han replied, then added, “The money she owes you, I’ll pay it back in full!”
“You?” The man glanced at Xiao Han unexpectedly and said, “Do you even have that much money?”
“Isn’t it just thirty-eight thousand yuan?” Xiao Han snorted coldly and said, “Wait here, I’m going to get it for you right now.”
“Haha…” The man laughed boisterously upon hearing this and said, “Alright, old man will wait right here. If you don’t bring the thirty-eight thousand yuan in ten minutes, I’ll take her as payment in flesh!”
As he spoke, the man pulled out a dagger from his body and viciously stabbed it into the table. The blade embedded itself into the wood, looking extremely sharp and menacing.
“Xiao Han…” Li Ruobing looked at Xiao Han timidly, seemingly scared. Xiao Han appeared to be her lifeline, so she watched him eagerly, hoping he would stay rather than leave.
“Wait here for me, I’ll be right back,” Xiao Han reassured her with a glance.
“Don’t go…” Li Ruobing’s face turned pale with fright. She was truly terrified of Xiao Han leaving, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine what she would face once he was gone.
“I’m not going,” Xiao Han said gently patting the back of her hand, then added, “I’m going to withdraw the money to pay off your debt.”
“Mhm.” Li Ruobing nodded, her eyes finally showing signs of relief.
Xiao Han turned and left, walking briskly out with an air of urgency.
At that moment, the sturdy man grinned and said, “Your boyfriend’s gone, you can come with us now.”
“No, he won’t leave!” Li Ruobing shook her head hastily, then said, “You… don’t take me with you.”
“Hehe…” The sturdy man’s lips curled into a sinister smile, then he said, “You don’t have to wait anymore. Men are all the same; he said that just to find an excuse not to get beaten up. Did you really think he would be willing to pay so much money to ransom you?”
“You promised him!” Li Ruobing quickly pulled away the hand that was grabbing her arm and said, “You promised you’d wait ten minutes!”
“Fine, since you said so, I will wait ten minutes!” The sturdy man was also somewhat irritated and said, “If he doesn’t come back in ten minutes, then you’ll come with us willingly!”
Li Ruobing didn’t respond; she clasped her hands tightly together, hoping that Xiao Han would return quickly. However, as time slipped by second by second, there was still no sign of Xiao Han. There were plenty of ATMs in University Town, and many major banks had their machines there.
In theory, ten minutes should have been enough time for a round trip. Yet ten minutes passed, and Xiao Han had not returned.
“Hehe…” The sturdy man glanced at his watch and said, “Li Ruobing, your boyfriend’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”
“No, no, he wouldn’t deceive me.” Li Ruobing had pinned all her hopes on Xiao Han; with his absence, she felt utterly devastated.
“Come with us!” The sturdy man laughed heartily and said, “Tonight, no one can save you.”
Just when everyone thought Li Ruobing was completely doomed, suddenly, a figure rushed in from outside in a hurry.
“I’m here!” Xiao Han was drenched in sweat.
“Why did you only come now?!” Li Ruobing looked at him with teary eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Xiao Han wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “The few ATMs in University Town were out of cash, so I ran to the counter at the entrance of the Business and Trade School to withdraw thirty-eight thousand yuan!”
As he spoke, Xiao Han threw the wad of money he held onto the dining table; the bright red notes were particularly eye-catching. Many people were stunned.
“My God, he actually ran to the entrance of the Business and Trade School!”
“That’s over a kilometer away!”
Many were astounded. Xiao Han had made a round in University Town, where he only managed to withdraw five thousand yuan. Having no choice, he followed someone’s advice and went to the bank counter at the entrance of the Business and Trade School to withdraw over thirty thousand yuan, then hurried back. During this whole trip, Xiao Han practically sprinted. His back and chest were almost completely soaked through.
Many were dumbfounded and speechless, staring with eyes wide open and jaws dropped.
“Xiao Han, you… you actually went to the Business and Trade School to withdraw the money?” Li Ruobing was astonished.
“Mhm!” Xiao Han nodded and said, “Only the bank counter could make the withdrawal; otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken so long.”
Li Ruobing looked at Xiao Han with a grateful expression, while the sweat cascaded down his body. Outside, the temperature was over thirty degrees, and although it was nearly six o’clock, the heat hadn’t subsided at all. The restaurant was cool with air conditioning, but the outside temperature was suffocating, and one could feel the sweat pouring down with just a walk.
“Thank you, Xiao Han!” Li Ruobing said gratefully.
“Hmph!” The other party took the money and snorted coldly, saying, “You got off cheap.”
Just as they were about to leave, Xiao Han immediately stopped them, speaking sternly, “You’ve taken the money, now you should return the IOU, right?”
The other party hesitated for a moment, then one man rummaged through his belongings, found a stack of IOUs, and from among them, located Li Ruobing’s IOU and flung it in front of Xiao Han. Xiao Han glanced at the IOU, handed it to Li Ruobing, and said, “Check if it’s yours?”
“Yes!” Li Ruobing nodded. She looked at the other party and said, “I hope you keep your promise and delete everything.”
“Heh heh…” The other party let out a sardonic laugh and left on their own.
This time, Xiao Han didn’t stop them but let them go.
Li Ruobing hung her head, silent throughout. Xiao Han sat across from her and asked, “Why did you borrow money from them?”
“Actually, it wasn’t me who borrowed it,” Li Ruobing hurriedly shook her head, “It was a roommate who asked me to borrow it for her.”
“How did that happen?” Xiao Han asked, puzzled.
“The situation is like this…” Li Ruobing explained the situation, feeling helpless.
It was actually quite simple: some loan companies were expanding their business at the school, and some students, working part-time to fulfill tasks, would privately recruit others to take out loans, offering a bonus to their peers. However, the part-timers would use someone else’s identity to borrow money from the loan companies and, getting greedy, they would spend the money without repaying it on time.
Hearing this, Xiao Han was somewhat surprised.
“Isn’t this illegal?” Xiao Han asked, puzzled.
“By nature, it’s not illegal,” Li Ruobing said helplessly. “I even consulted with a classmate from the legal department because loan companies are part of normal private lending. Plus, college students are adults, with their own understanding and the ability to discern right from wrong. Moreover, the behavior of the loan companies is not against the rules, it’s mainly the individuals below who use the company’s money to lend to students at high interest rates.”
“Then you could choose not to sign,” Xiao Han said with a laugh.
“I didn’t expect that just by helping a classmate complete a task, and trying to help her make some tuition money, I’d end up in over my head,” Li Ruobing said with great frustration.
“So what you’re saying is, this is basically a scam?” Xiao Han asked.
“It’s more or less a scam,” Li Ruobing nodded in resignation, “No one hopes for such things to happen, but they did.”
“Where is the student who asked for your help?” Xiao Han asked, looking at Li Ruobing with curiosity.
“Gone,” Li Ruobing said, shaking her head helplessly. “We were all waiting for her to return. But apparently, since this semester began, she hasn’t returned and I’ve heard she went to work in a coastal city, hoping to earn enough to repay the debt sooner. But with her like this, how could she ever pay it back?”
“That is indeed a problem!” Xiao Han nodded and said, “Have you reported this issue to the school?”
“No!” Li Ruobing shook her head, “Some teachers are even involved in this business, recruiting people everywhere to take out loans and then charging exorbitant processing fees. For a thousand yuan, they take more than two hundred as a fee.”
“That is quite predatory,” Xiao Han said with a wry smile.
By this time, the waiter had brought up the dishes they ordered one after another. The presentation of the dishes was not bad, and the plates had an artistic touch. Li Ruobing looked at Xiao Han with a sense of relief and said, “Xiao Han, thanks for your help this time. I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
Li Ruobing’s eyes were red.
Indeed, she could never come up with thirty-eight thousand yuan on her own. Li Ruobing’s family was average; her father was a bricklayer, and her mother was a supermarket cashier. Although not wealthy, their home was full of happiness and sweetness. Li Ruobing had always been strong-willed and competitive by nature. Therefore, she had always developed a tenacious character. This time, owing Xiao Han thirty-eight thousand yuan, she felt unable to repay and experienced a sense of powerlessness.
“It’s nothing,” Xiao Han shook his head and said, “You can repay it later.”
“Thank you,” Li Ruobing nodded, then said, “I will definitely repay you in the future.”
“No rush,” Xiao Han smiled, then said, “You’re still studying now, so let’s talk about it when you start working.”
“Mhm!” Li Ruobing nodded, then breathed a sigh, “Anyway, a thousand words boil down to one—thank you!”
“Let’s eat,” Xiao Han replied.
The flavors of the dishes were quite good, and Xiao Han thought that if Hanmen Restaurant wanted to open a branch in University Town, Yujian Restaurant would be a formidable and powerful competitor. As he ate, Xiao Han pondered how to compete with them.
If he didn’t find a way to defeat the competition, Hanmen Restaurant’s establishment here might face some difficulties.
Yujian Restaurant had been here for a few years, and the students had grown accustomed to dining there. This was Yujian Restaurant’s initial advantage. Therefore, without some inherent capital, it would be difficult for Hanmen Restaurant to gain a foothold. Xiao Han thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with a good strategy.
COMMENT
0 comment
Vote
3 left
SEND GIFT