Chapter 11: His Two Million

Early the next morning, Xu Anhao walked toward the hospital carrying a thermos of freshly cooked millet porridge.

For the past half month since Mother Xu had been hospitalized, she had unfailingly delivered breakfast every day.

Just as she reached the bus stop at the hospital intersection, a red car screeched to a halt in front of her. The door swung open violently, and Shen Zhixia rushed out.

Before Xu Anhao could react, a sharp slap landed hard on her cheek with a loud crack.

Xu Anhao’s head snapped to the side, her cheek instantly reddening.

The thermos in her hand wobbled, spilling some porridge that scalded her wrist.

“Why are you seducing Chen Zhi!” Shen Zhixia’s voice was shrill and tearful, drawing the attention of passersby who stopped to watch.

Many onlookers discreetly raised their phones; their curious and probing gazes fixed on the two women.

Xu Anhao held her burning cheek and looked up at Shen Zhixia.

She wore an exquisite dress with her hair perfectly styled, but the bloodshot eyes and uncontrolled expression had stripped away all the arrogance she’d displayed at the birthday banquet.

Xu Anhao remained silent, knowing explanations would be useless.

Chen Zhi’s persistence and the Shen family’s engagement had all become evidence of her “seduction” in Shen Zhixia’s eyes, yet these were things she had never wanted.

Xu Anhao lowered her head, wiped the porridge stain from her wrist, and turned to leave, but Shen Zhixia grabbed her wrist fiercely.

“Don’t you walk away! Why did you have to appear? Why did you have to ruin my life!

I finally have the status of Shen family daughter and Chen Zhi. What right do you have to come back and steal them!”

Xu Anhao frowned, trying to free her hand. “I’m not stealing anything from you, and I don’t want to ruin your life. Let go.”

“You’re lying!” Shen Zhixia grew more agitated, shaking her wrist.

“If you don’t want to steal, why did you come to the Shen family? Why didn’t you stay far away! Say something!”

Xu Anhao took a deep breath, watching her hysterical display, then suddenly spoke:

“I still need to visit my mother at the hospital. She’s waiting in her sickbed for me to bring porridge.

Shen Zhixia, she’s your mother too. Do you want to come see her?”

“Who would acknowledge that woman as a mother!” Shen Zhixia reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, violently throwing off her arm with a fierce glare.

“She’s just some impoverished woman. How could she ever be worthy of being Shen Zhixia’s mother? Xu Anhao, don’t you dare use her to disgust me!”

She leaned close to Xu Anhao, her voice lowered but full of threat.

“I’m warning you stay away from Chen Zhi! Stay away from the Shen family!

If I see you approaching them again, next time it won’t just be a slap!”

With that, she turned and slipped into the sports car parked by the roadside. The engine roared as it sped away, leaving Xu Anhao standing alone.

Xu Anhao rubbed her redden arm and touched her burning cheek.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in her heart, and quickened her pace toward the hospital.

When she reached the hospital room, Mother Xu was leaning against the headboard waiting for her. As she entered, her mother’s eyes immediately fell on her face, eyebrows furrowing.

“Anhao, what happened to your face? Why is it so red?”

Xu Anhao quickly set down the thermos and turned to fetch a bowl, avoiding her mother’s gaze as she feigned lightness in her tone.

“It’s nothing, Mom. I wasn’t paying attention while walking and bumped into a doorframe. It doesn’t hurt.”

“A doorframe bruise that evenly?” Mother Xu clearly didn’t believe her, reaching out to touch her face. “Did someone bully you?”

Xu Anhao quickly dodged away, smiling as she picked up the bowl of congee and handed it over. “Really, it’s nothing, Mom. Hurry and drink the congee. I simmered it for a long time it won’t taste good if it gets cold.”

She deliberately changed the subject, scooping a spoonful of congee for Mother Xu. “Try it. I added some goji berries, they’re good for your health.”

Mother Xu noticed her evasive gaze and, though puzzled, didn’t press further. She simply took the bowl and sighed softly.

That evening, after returning home from the hospital, Xu Anhao dragged her exhausted body inside. Just as she placed her change of clothes in the bathroom, her phone suddenly rang.

The screen displayed an unfamiliar landline number. Hesitating for a moment, she answered.

A rough, hoarse male voice came from the other end it was Brother Bao from the gambling den.

He spoke with impatient harshness: “Xu Anhao? The three-month deadline is up. When are you going to pay back the one million your father owes?”

“My father?” Xu Anhao was stunned, then remembered what had happened three months ago.

Back then, Father Xu had been lured into gambling by someone who promised guaranteed wins.

Hoping to provide a better life for the family, he had plunged headfirst into it.

In the end, he not only lost all the family’s savings but also racked up a million in high-interest loans.

At the time, Mother Xu hadn’t been hospitalized yet. Clinging to a last shred of hope, Xu Anhao had begged them for an extension, promising to repay the debt within three months.

But before she could gather enough money, Father Xu, overwhelmed by guilt and unable to bear the blow, swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills and took his own life.

She had thought that with his death, the debt would be written off.

After all, Father Xu left behind no inheritance, only a mountain of bad debts.

Later, she became busy scrambling to cover the surgery costs for Mother Xu, who had suddenly fallen seriously ill. The one million gambling debt had been buried deep in her memory, almost forgotten.

“He’s already dead. There’s no use coming after me!” Xu Anhao’s voice trembled, but she forced herself to retort.

“So, he dies and the debt just vanishes?” The man on the phone sneered, his tone growing fiercer. “Back then, you were the one who thumped your chest and said, ‘I’ll repay the debt for my father’! Your contact information is still on the IOU! Trying to weasel out of it now? Listen, Xu Anhao: either bring the money tomorrow, or I’ll pay a visit to your hospitalized mother at the hospital. Tell me, if something happens to a patient because of a scare, whose fault would that be?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Xu Anhao’s voice tightened instantly, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

“What wouldn’t I dare to do? The man’s tone was provocative. “I’m giving you one last day. Otherwise, face the consequences!”

With a sharp “click,” the call ended, the dial tone buzzing in her ears.

Xu Anhao stood frozen, phone in hand. The living room was so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat—fast and heavy, as if trying to burst out of her chest.

Just as she felt on the verge of breaking, something suddenly occurred to her.

Xu Anhao turned and rushed to the table, grabbing the bag she had casually set down earlier. She yanked the zipper open and frantically rummaged through it.

Tissues, payment receipts, her mother’s medical records…

Her hands moved swiftly until her fingers brushed against something cold and smooth black bank card. Her heart leaped.

It was from Lu Shiyan.

Two million. It was enough to repay the debt.

The next evening, Xu Anhao, clutching the black bank card, arrived at the gambling den.

Two bodyguards in black suits stood at the entrance, scrutinizing her. Their eyes swept over her plain clothing with undisguised contempt.

As she pushed open the glass door, a wave of noise crashed over her like a tide:

The crisp clatter of dice, the music from slot machines, men’s shouts and women’s coquettish laughter all mingled with thick, suffocating smoke that made her cough uncontrollably.

The red carpet was stained with liquor and cigarette butts, while the crystal lamp on the ceiling dazzled the eyes.

“Miss Xu? Follow me.” A young lackey approached, his tone impatient as he turned and walked deeper inside.

The private room door swung open, releasing an immediate cloud of smoke.

Brother Bao sat in the center of a leather sofa a man around forty with greasy flesh piled on his face, spinning a gold ring on his finger.

A woman in a spaghetti-strap dress was nestled against him, feeding him pieces of fruit.

Spotting Xu Anhao, he spat a fruit pit into the ashtray and squinted with a grin: “Did you bring the money?”

“Yes.” Xu Anhao handed over the bank card, her voice tight. “There’s two million in this card enough to cover my father’s one million debt.”

But Brother Bao suddenly burst out laughing as if he’d heard the world’s greatest joke, slapping his thigh in amusement. The lackeys on the sofa joined in the raucous laughter, the sound piercing Xu Anhao’s ears.

“Two million? Miss Xu, are you still half asleep?” Brother Bao’s laughter vanished, his expression instantly darkening as he knocked his knuckles against the coffee table.

“Your father did owe one million, but it’s been three months overdue! With late fees, penalty charges, plus our ‘service fee’ for tracking you down these months the total comes to ten million!”