Chapter 63: Acting Pitiful, Playing the Emotion Card

Xia Qing’s angry rebuke plunged the entire living room into a dead silence.

After hearing Xia Qing’s furious outburst, Wang Haiyan and Zhou Dazhuang knew it was now impossible to borrow her vacant apartment for their son’s wedding.

The shameless couple exchanged a look and immediately moved on to their backup plan.

"Xia Qing, since you won’t lend us the apartment, then lend us some money so we can help Zhou Qiang with a down payment on one!" the sharp-tongued Wang Haiyan demanded.

"..." Hearing their request to borrow money, Xia Qing’s face went blank. She said nothing, simply staring at them.

"Zhou Xian was such a powerful Exotic Beast Hunter; he must have made a lot of money. Lending us three hundred thousand for a down payment should be easy for you. We’ll earn it back and repay you in the future..." Zhou Dazhuang chimed in.

"Over the years, I’ve lent you money here and there for your business ventures. It adds up to four or five hundred thousand...

"Let’s not even talk about interest. You haven’t paid back a single cent of the principal, and now you have the nerve to ask me for another three hundred thousand?" Xia Qing, who had been silent, said quietly.

"Well... it’s not that we didn’t want to pay you back for the previous loans! It’s just that the businesses failed, so we didn’t have the money to repay you.

"This time is different. We’re not borrowing money to start a business, we just want to help Zhou Qiang with a down payment for his wedding apartment..." Zhou Dazhuang said, looking a bit awkward as Xia Qing brought up the unpaid debts, then tried to justify himself.

"That’s right! We aren’t borrowing for a business this time, just for a down payment... Oh, Xia Qing! If we can’t secure an apartment for the wedding, Zhou Qiang’s engagement will definitely be called off. Please, do us a favor and help us out!

"Zhou Qiang is crazy about his girlfriend. If the wedding is canceled, I’m afraid he might do something drastic.

"You’re his aunt. You can’t just stand by and watch your nephew fall into despair, can you!" Wang Haiyan pleaded, her face a mask of misery.

"..." Xia Qing fell silent again after hearing Wang Haiyan’s words. After a few minutes, the soft-hearted woman sighed and spoke to the couple before her.

"For my husband’s sake, this is the last time I will help you. Don’t come looking for me again after this..."

"Yes, yes, of course. We won’t bother you again," Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan said, nodding eagerly, thrilled that Xia Qing had agreed to lend them the money. They quickly made their promise.

"Give me a bank account number. I’ll transfer the money to you later," Xia Qing said.

"Here, I’ve already written the account number on this piece of paper." Wang Haiyan quickly pulled a slip of paper with the number from her pocket and handed it to Xia Qing.

"..." Xia Qing froze for a moment as she looked at the paper. ’They must have planned for every possible scenario before they even came here,’ she thought.

But at this point, Xia Qing couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. She just wanted to get these two shameless people out of her house so her life could return to its usual state of peace.

Seeing Xia Qing take the pre-written slip with the bank account number, Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan voluntarily stood up to leave.

They knew Xia Qing’s character; since she had agreed to help them, she would definitely keep her promise.

Their recent actions had already angered her, so it wasn’t a good idea to stay any longer. By leaving proactively, they would give her space to cool down, which might also prompt her to transfer the money sooner.

CLICK.

THUD.

"Whew..." After Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan left, Xia Qing, sitting on the living room sofa, let out a long sigh of relief.

"Mom." Zhou Tongtong, who had been hiding in her bedroom doing her homework, heard her uncle and aunt leave and came out of her room.

Xia Qing’s unpleasant expression immediately softened into her usual gentle smile upon hearing her daughter’s voice.

"Tongtong, is there anything you’d like to eat for lunch? Mom’s about to head out to the market to buy groceries."

"Mom, I want braised fish," Zhou Tongtong said after a moment’s thought.

"Okay, I’ll go buy a fish at the market in a bit and make braised fish for my Tongtong," Xia Qing said to her daughter with a cheerful laugh.

DING.

The elevator doors opened, and Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan stepped out.

"See! I told you my plan would work..." Zhou Dazhuang said smugly to Wang Haiyan.

"First we ask to borrow the apartment, then as a fallback, we ask her for money. Then I just play the victim and beg a little, and she basically gives in... Honey, you’re brilliant!" Wang Haiyan laughed.

"Don’t be fooled by how gentle and good-tempered Xia Qing seems. She’s actually strong on the inside—she responds to a soft approach, not a hard one... As long as we play the sympathy card, she’ll usually help if she can."

Zhou Dazhuang gloated, sharing his analysis of Xia Qing.

"So the down payment for our son’s wedding apartment is finally settled. Honey, let me know as soon as Xia Qing transfers the money. We’ll take our son to look at apartments right away and lock one down as soon as possible."

"Mhm," Zhou Dazhuang nodded, mumbling in agreement. His eyes flickered for a moment, a hint of some private scheme in his mind, but Wang Haiyan didn’t notice anything unusual about her husband.

***

The day was bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. Golden sunlight streamed down, filtering through the gaps in the leaves of large trees and casting dappled shadows on the road below.

An occasional breeze rustled through the branches, making them RUSTLE and sway. The mottled shadows on the road danced back and forth with the movement of the leaves.

"CHIRP, CHIRP..."

The tireless cicadas chirped incessantly, their calls weaving together with the roar of passing cars to create a strange symphony.

In front of Rongcheng City First Hospital, Lin Li held a physical examination report in his hand.

All the indicators on the report were normal, which made Lin Li, who had been worried about his health, sigh in relief.

However, the fact remained that his appetite had suddenly increased. Since a comprehensive physical exam had revealed no health issues, there could be only one other possibility.

’My sudden increase in appetite is most likely caused by the small fruits from that Magical Little Tree I ate,’ he reasoned.

’I’ll just wait and see,’ he thought. ’After all, the report says I’m perfectly healthy.

’Even though my appetite has grown, it’s still within a normal human range. Maybe this side effect from eating the fruit will disappear in a few days.’

Lin Li muttered a few words to himself and decided not to dwell on his suddenly larger appetite anymore.

***